Once again, God has blown us away with His provision and goodness. He’s accomplished miraculous work – using only some cupcakes and some little children with big, willing hearts.

So far this year, The Cupcake Kids have raised

for the imprisoned children of Africa. This amount represents only a portion of the total – as many sales have not yet reported and many sales are still to come over the coming weeks and months. There’s no telling how far that number will rise by the end of the summer when all sales are complete.

So as you can see, a praise and thanksgiving session was most definitely in order. We thanked the Lord for:

*Every Mom who worked tirelessly to spent her weekend baking and transporting cupcakes, cleaning sticky kids, making posters, setting up folding tables and much, much, much more.

* Every Dad who called in favors and finagled ways to host Cupcake Kids stands at neighborhood pools, retail shopping plazas, public schools, t-ball fields and elsewhere.

* Every Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin and friend who couldn’t personally attend a sale but donated online.

*Every person who came out, purchased cupcakes and supported SixtyFeet through The Cupcake Kids.

*Every local cupcakerie who generously donated a percentage of their day’s profits or donated cupcakes for sales.

*Every dedicated toddler, child, and teenager who helped bake in the kitchen, who sat outside in the broiling sun, who sold cupcakes to friends and strangers alike and who shared about the mission and work of SixtyFeet for hours on end.

*And we especially thanked God for our very own Joy Harty, who we affectionately refer to as our “Cupcake Queen.” Two years ago, Joy took the simple idea of a little girl and turned it into a huge, international fundraiser. With The Cupcake Kids, she created a brand that any ministry in America would be proud of. She came up with fun, creative ideas for engaging more children and more families in our work. She worked with retailers, wholesalers, graphic designers and independent contractors to create awesome products. In short, she’s the driving force behind The Cupcake Kids and the one who made it what it is today. We love you, Cupcake Queen!

Please check back with us over the coming weeks and months to see how God continues to use “little people with big hearts for God” all over the world. Also, stay tuned for information on next year’s {Inter}National Cupcake Kids sale. We can’t wait to see all that God has in store and we’re so thankful to be along for the ride!

1. Pray with Your Children Beforehand: In the days and weeks leading up to your Cupcake Kids stand, pray together as a family. Pray for good weather, pray for a great turn-out and pray especially that the Lord would use your family to bring hope and restoration to imprisoned children in Africa.

2. Dress for Success: If possible, purchase Cupcake Kids t-shirts from the SixtyFeet store for your entire team, including the adults.

3. Be Prepared to Share about SixtyFeet: Spend time on the SixtyFeet site and get familiar with our work and mission. Help your children understand what they’re doing and specifically, what they’re raising money for. The more passionate they are about the cause, the more funds and awareness they’ll raise. Also, be prepared to educate others on the ministry of SixtyFeet and send your customers to our website for more information or to make online donations.  Print out some literature on who SixtyFeet is and what SixtyFeet does.

4. Let Your Kids Take Charge: After all, it’s The Cupcake Kids. Not The Cupcake Moms. Put them to work in the kitchen – baking and decorating the cupcakes and cleaning up afterwards. On the day of your sale, let them do the selling.

5. Don’t Price Your Cupcakes: The stands that offer their cupcakes for “free with any donation to SixtyFeet” fare much better than those who put a specific price on their items.  Just a few weeks ago, a single cupcake was sold for $200!

6. Offer Curbside Service: Seriously… people love it.   Even sell your cupcakes in half-dozen to go boxes.

7. Sell Virtual Cupcakes Before AND After Your Sale: Everyone who signs up to host a Cupcake Kids stand is given a personal fundraising page. You can send your link, for your specific Cupcake stand, out to friends, family and anyone who cannot physically attend your sale and give them the opportunity to purchase a “virtual cupcake” from you. You can promote the link to your stand both before and after your sale date — using blogs, facebook or email. This is a GREAT way to increase your total sales and to spread the word about SixtyFeet. Check out The Cupcake Kids’s personal site for an example.

8. Dress Up Your Table: Cupcakes make any table look fancy, but adding some height and variety to your table adds interest.

9. Hang Bright, Cheerful Signage: Making signs is another great way to put your kids to work!

10. Delight in the Work You’re Doing! Rejoice in knowing that, through your efforts, you and your children are making a real and lasting difference for imprisoned children in Africa. Cupcakes are no small matter to SixtyFeet. The Cupcake Kids is the fundraising arm of our ministry and every penny of the money raised through these stands immediately goes to work on the ground in Uganda. We are thankful for you!!

Of course, my girls chose The Cupcake Kids!!

But here’s the really neat thing…even though our girls’ mom and dad have been doing this thing in Uganda for two years now and they’ve done gazillion of Cupcake Kids sales (even my 2 year old knows when I whip out the cupcake pans to say “Cupcake Kids”!), it wasn’t until this service project that the lightbulb really went on.

Here’s the comment their teacher emailed me last night:                                                                                                                                                          Just a quick note to tell you that Brooke and Taylor each did a great job yesterday sharing about how they have been serving God and orphaned children of Uganda.  The other children really enjoyed the cupcake shape of Taylor’s display and the cupcake background of Brooke’s display.  They both provided a very good explanation of how the money that they earned would provide the children with the chance to eat healthy food instead of posho and to sleep on clean mattresses instead of ones that were bug infested.  They both seemed very proud of their displays and super excited about presenting which was very sweet to see.

I’ll let their projects speak for themselves…..(taken directly from their poster project)

“THE CUPCAKE KIDS”
by Taylor & Brooke Harty

These are the ingredients to make the cupcakes.

We are making the cupcakes.

We are selling the cupcakes.

We made $900 for the kids in Uganda!

Instead of eating posho,

they can eat healthy food.

These are their old mattresses…..

….these are their new mattresses!

Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

About this time last year I was preparing for a significant lifestyle change. I am a stay-at-home
mom with 3 young children and my husband, who works full-time, was about to begin graduate
school on top of his day job. We were very nervous about how we would juggle everything, but
thought if we bunkered down we could somehow get through the next 2 years.

A few weeks into the chaos my sister asked me if I would be interested in hosting my first
Cupcake Kids sale in our area to raise money for kids in Uganda. I was hesitant at first. I hadn’t
quite gotten a grip on my new life and adding one more thing to my list made me nervous. I
finally agreed and was so glad I did. It truly was a great experience, one my children loved, and
it completely changed me.

This year my girls were dying to help again. I called all my friends and contacted my
neighborhood’s HOA for approval to hold the sale by our pool just like we did last year. I
waited patiently for the responses to pour in and…nothing! Everyone was out of town the
weekend of the sale or had other commitments and could not help. My neighborhood board
would not return my calls and were ignoring my emails. I tried to remember if I had forgotten
anyone that might be able help or if I could do the sale somewhere else. My husband was 12
months into graduate school and had no spare time. Keeping up with 3 kids certainly
didn’t offer a break in the day for brainstorming either. Once everyone was snug in their beds
after violin lessons and soccer practice and homework I was too exhausted to lift a pencil. I
wanted to just wave my white flag and tell myself better luck next year.

But at the end of the day, I didn’t want to let down the kids in Uganda. I didn’t want to set a
bad example for my children either. I decided to pray to ask God how to handle my sale. Once
I turned this over to Him things started to happen. My dear friends that were going to be out of
town offered to make signs, to spread the word, and contact local cupcakeries. My friends that
had other commitments that day realized they could make some goodies in advance and got
back in touch with me. Some of my friends had just forgotten to respond, but wanted to help
any way possible. Inspired by my friends’ support, I remembered we have a lovely Christian
woman on our HOA board. I told her what we wanted and our sale was approved that same
morning.

Sure, sometimes all of our plans work out exactly how we imagine and things come together
almost perfectly. But I believe it is in those times where we can’t do everything on our own
where we truly see how God can work in our lives. My girls and I will be out there selling
cupcakes on May 5th trusting in him to make it a success.

Proverbs 16:3 – Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

It is not too late to sign up and have your own Cupcake Kids cupcake fundraiser for the children in Uganda. Head on over to The Registration Page to find out more details and to register your stand.

Just over a year ago God used one seemingly random mouse click to completely turn our family’s world upside down (or maybe right side up!).

Shortly before stumbling upon the Sixty Feet website I had been praying that God would break my heart for what breaks His and He didn’t pull any punches. The words imprisoned and children do not belong in the same sentence and after reading The Story I was immediately broken. We no longer could say we didn’t know, close our eyes and pretend these kinds of things weren’t happening.

This past September my husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to travel to Uganda to serve along side Sixty Feet. We visited these prisons and we saw that the pain, suffering, and difficulties these children face are real but more than that we saw hope. God is there in these prisons and these beautiful children are not forgotten. The gospel is being preached, He is changing hearts, and redeeming lives. Many of these young men and women have such a strong faith and vibrant love for Jesus that it was amazing to see. With what appeared as having all the odds against them and facing unimaginable hardships everyday they had an incomprehensible joy that you could see spread across their face. Worshiping with these brothers and sisters inside a hot and dirty prison was truly one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had.

We are now blessed to call the Sixty Feet board and team on the ground friends. The love, transparency, and sacrifice we have seen displayed is incredibly encouraging. God is using this ministry and He is doing amazing work and one beautiful way is through the simplicity of cupcakes.

Last year, we had the opportunity to hold our own Cupcake Kids Sale in our area and get our friends, family, and even complete strangers involved. We were already holding a big garage sale to raise funds to start our families personal adoption from Uganda and thought this was a great opportunity for the kids set up a tent and tables in the grass. We spread the word ahead of time and many friends baked us cupcakes to sell. We had friends and family come and buy cupcakes but also were able to share with many strangers who stopped by to see what was going on. God blessed our efforts and our little sale raised almost $600.00!

What I love about this idea is that it’s such a tangible way to get our children serving. My daughter knows about Uganda, loves to look at pictures and we pray for the children half a world away but to have something she can help with makes it very real for her. We are planning and looking forward to this years big sale on May 5th, and what is so exciting is to know that kids across the country and even across the world, will be doing the same thing. Will you join us?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can get so discouraged as a mom when it comes to teaching my kids to live outside of themselves.

My husband and I work daily to instruct, reprove and train our children. We want so much for their hearts to be Christ-centered and not self-centered.

And in a country where ME is central, this is a very difficult task. Our efforts are continually thwarted by the world.

Maybe if I could put my kids in a little box and only let them out to eat occasionally…hmmmm…

No?

Here’s the thing…we want our kids to be wholly devoted to the Lord. And as a result, out of the overflow from their hearts, they would love and serve others. And they wouldn’t live their lives wrapped up in themselves…they wouldn’t grow up to be typical Western, entitled, indulgent, rebellious teenagers and adults.

But here’s the other thing (the reality in which I live)…by the time my kids get home from school, get their homework completed, eat dinner, go to swim practice, go to church activities, (and on and on) they barely have time to play outside and be a kid, much less have time to add on extra service projects and other similar activities that would occupy one more night.

I had no idea that life would become so busy. (life was so simple when they were babies…I just wish I would have realized it!!)

But, The Cupcake Kids has provided a wonderful opportunity to get our kids involved in a ministry that we are passionate about. It gets them excited about raising money to give to SixtyFeet. It gives them the chance to work hard to accomplish a purpose. It gets them involved in praying for the imprisoned children, for whom these cupcakes are sold.

It gets them doing Kingdom work.

And I have no doubt that this is shaping their hearts.

This summer, my family and I have the amazing opportunity to go to live Uganda for 5 weeks and work for SixtyFeet. Besides the fact that I’m ecstatic about being back in Uganda to minister to these precious children, I am thrilled upon thrilled to have our children there with us…and for them to meet the children for whom they’ve prayed, baked, cleaned up mixing bowls and cupcake tins, and sold baked goods…to serve those children, love on them and be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Have you signed up yet for {Inter}National Cupcake Kids Day yet? I promise you, it will be so worth your while.

Can’t do your sale on May 5th? You can do a cupcake stand any time of the year. And you don’t even have to limit your sales to cupcakes! We’ve sold brownies, African-shaped sugar cookies, and even hot dogs, chips and sodas. Let your creative juices flow!

And get signed up today! Nothing would make me happier than to see this entire map of the US, decked out in pink. 

I know, I know…having a cupcake sale with your kids isn’t entirely life-altering for them. But these little things will eventually sink in…and add up…and ultimately shape their hearts for the glory of God.

Wanted to tell you the good news: we raised $3,558.55 for precious children in Uganda!  Praise God.  It’s humbling to see the generosity of our military community–people who already give their lives, but are willing to give more.  As we shouted “Have a cupcake and help an orphan at the same time!” they couldn’t resist.  The kids never ran out of energy either.  It was a blessed day–fueled by God’s heart for hurting children in Uganda.

He provided the cupcakes, the kids, the moms, the buyers, the enthusiasm.
 
To Him be the glory!
 
Love in Christ,
Jen in Okinawa
 
PS: Thanks again for your service to our King.  He is Risen!

I think the perfect way to celebrate our freedom in Christ over Easter weekend is to sell cupcakes in an effort to bring freedom to children on the other side of the globe. I am also so excited to see military families think outside themselves and their own dangers and struggles and into God’s kingdom and how He would use them. Our ministry’s mission statement is to “Exalt Christ in the Nations Through the Lives of Transformed Military People.” I love that they can exalt Christ in Uganda while they are living in Okinawa! Thank you for your ministry and for thinking creatively about how people around the world can participate. I’ve been spreading the word all over this island and on my blog, so here’s to praying for sunshine and God’s movement amongst hungry cupcake eaters who may be walking by the military base shopping area!

I always get tickled, and a little annoyed, when folks say, “Oh, I’d love to buy a cupcake, but I’m on a diet.”  Or, “Aaawww – I wish I could come by and support your sale, but we are going to be out of town.”

Did you know that you can still donate money to this little ministry that helps change lives of imprisoned children without consuming hundreds of empty calories?   Even if you are hundreds or thousands of miles away?

Let me introduce you to a sweet little concept called a virtual cupcake (no baking experience needed!)

When you register your cupcake sale, you will receive a handy-dandy link to your very own personalized Cupcake Kids donation webpage.   Use this webpage to share the location and time of  your sale.  You can also share this page with friends and family who cannot make your sale.  When you do, they will be able to make a donation by buying a virtual cupcake.

And, you don’t even have to wait until your sale…..go ahead and start sharing this nifty feature and watch the dollar figures accumulate at the bottom of your page!  So, go ahead and post your personalized Cupcake Kids link on your blog or facebook.  Send out an email to your great aunt Myrtis or Grandma…and all those friends who ask you to buy gift wrap or cookie dough for their little cutie.

It’s fast…it’s easy….and best of all, you’ll consume no calories!