Yummy delights help make dreams real for sick kids

Lily Galperin sold trays of cupcakes to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. [Meaghan Wexelman photo]

“Everyone loves cupcakes.” That’s why Lily Galperin, 7, chose to hold a cupcake bake sale as a way to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Lily, who lives in Montreal and just finished Grade 1, had been learning about the importance of charity at school, and she wanted to put those lessons into practice. “She had come to me and she said, “Mommy, I really want to do something. I really want to help people,’” said Stephanie Rappoport-Galperin, Lily’s mother.

In her eagerness to help, Lily wasn’t sure which cause to choose. “Lily just wanted to help everybody – she wanted [the money] to go everywhere,” Rappoport-Galperin said.

The family sat down to talk about different organizations that they could donate to, and after watching videos on YouTube of children with life-threatening illnesses having their wishes come true, Lily quickly decided that the Make-A-Wish Foundation was the charity she wanted to help.  The Make-A-Wish Foundation works to bring joy to children who are suffering from severe medical conditions through granting their greatest wish.

Lily’s mother suggested a cupcake bake sale as a way to raise money, and Lily was thrilled with the idea. “Cupcakes just seem to make people happy,” Rappoport-Galperin said, adding that the personal touches that people can add to cupcakes they make show that the baker is “really putting their heart into it.”

In fact, many of the Galperin family’s friends put their hearts into the cause, volunteering to help bake the 500 cupcakes that were for sale at the June 10 event, which was aptly named Cupcakes for a Cause.

The bake sale was held in the Galperins’ yard at their Dollard-Des Ormeaux home, just outside Montreal. “They were staying – they weren’t just buying their cupcakes and leaving,” Rappoport-Galperin said of the many guests who enjoyed the bake sale. Along with the cupcakes, Lily and her family served complimentary lemonade, making for a relaxing and refreshing day outdoors.

At the end of the event, Lily and her mother decided to take the leftover cupcakes to the neighbourhood fire department. “They were so happy,” said Rappoport-Galperin of the firefighters who received the treats and insisted on making a donation to the cause.

By the end of the event, Lily had raised more than $1,200 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “It was important because I love helping people – I always wished to do something like that,” Lily said, adding that she hopes her efforts will inspire others to follow suit. “I did it because I want other people to do the same thing.”

Rappoport-Galperin was happy to see her daughter taking initiative, and very pleased with how the event turned out. “Her wish came true by helping other children’s wishes come true,” she said of Lily.

Lily and her family are hoping to make Cupcakes for a Cause an annual event. “A mitzvah is not just a one-shot deal,” Rappoport-Galperin said, adding that many of her friends and family who weren’t able to come out this year are already asking about the possibility of next year’s event. “We can’t disappoint,” she said with a laugh.