Sandy Cipriano — Cupcakes For Kids With Cancer

another edition of What's Involved. Great to have you along with us. Now, you know me, always talk about my special guest, but this guest, this guest is especially special. And I'll tell you why in just a bit. Who is she? She is Sandy Cipriano. So hello, Sandy. Welcome. Hi, thank you so much for having me today. It's an absolute pleasure. Now, why I'm so glad to have you on the show is you founded an initiative and you run it. It's called Cupcakes of Hope. It's basically an NGO that raises funds for children with cancer. And well, we need some cupcake angels, basically. But let's start right at the very beginning because my sort of first experience with you guys and your organization was through Darren Scott and his little son Mark. And I know his wife at that stage, Sarah Kate, was very involved in Cupcakes for Kids with Cancer. So tell us a little bit of background there, because there's always a story behind why we do what we do.

Yes, so Cupcakes of Hope started as a little, little fundraiser. That's where I'm originally from. And because a very close friend of ours lost her little three-year-old little Kiara to cancer, and seeing what the family went through, the journey that little Kiara went through, God just put it on my heart to help similar families. And that's when Cupcakes of Hope started. So we in the restaurant back, that's our business in the restaurant field. So we started with a small fundraiser for a specific meal on the menu people could donate towards our cause. And yeah, and that was the beginning of helping children with cancer. And it's grown because now it's a lot bigger than a little thing like that. So tell me, how did it grow out of passion and it grow out of a need? Are there a lot of people that need support in this area? So what happened with the journey through Kiara story? It was just so heartbreaking to see. And when we then started the fundraiser at Rio Sol the first year, it was extremely small. I mean, we worked the whole, whole month. And that whole month, we put our hearts into it. And at the end of the month, we raised a whopping 5,000. And I must honestly say I was a little bit disappointed till I received the phone call of a newly diagnosed patient in Sri Anakung. So little Keegan was only 18 months old. He was diagnosed with tumors on the spine, which made him paralyzed.

And what the parents needed was a new car seat that could tilt with a little one so you wouldn't fall out of the car seat as well as special mattresses to prevent bed sores. So all in all was it cost 4,000 rand and we then still had an additional 1,000 rand to pay for our standing medical pharmacy pool, as well as by nappies and clothing. And that was my very first lesson. It's not about how much money you raise because every little thing makes a difference. And so that was the first year. I said, "Okay, you know what? I'm going to do a little bit different." And we organized an auction at the restaurant. It then raised 50,000 rand. And then the third year, I actually asked Mahavi, I said, "Babes, I needed a little bit longer time to prepare something properly." And I just put it on my heart because we actually were on a camping trip in Mozambique. And on our way back from Mozambique to Feenehang, that six-hour road trip, the whole time, I just put all these messages in my heart and he said two things. He said, "Make a circle bigger and create awareness." And we were thinking, "How can we create awareness?" By the time I hit Feenehang, I said, "Okay, being in the restaurant industry, we're going to bake. We're going to do something with food and we're going to set a world record because we can do it. Why not?" And we then attempted to break the world record for the most cupcakes on display, which was 16,000 cupcakes.

And what I did is I contacted all our suppliers. We've got eggs, flour, sugar, everything donated from our supply. And then we made hampers and we invited the community to come and collect these hampers at the restaurant. And their task was just to bake cupcakes. They could follow any recipe as long as they remember to include the secret ingredients, which was it had to be made with love. So that was back in 2011. And we raised funds for five different children's dance organizations in South Africa. And we raised over 200,000 grand for these five different organizations. Just one step back, I mentioned earlier on about Little Keegan. So Little Keegan's prognosis wasn't very good. The doctor said that he wouldn't make it for the second birthday, but we are pleased to say that last year he's celebrated his 14th birthday. So I love sharing his story, especially with newly diagnosed families, just to show them that miracles happen every single day and they must never lose hope. No matter what the doctors tell you, never, ever lose hope. So yeah, so by the third year, like I mentioned, we had been raised this bulk sum of a month. It's 200,000 grand for five different organizations. And then portions of those funds went to Little Mark. That's how I got involved with and met the family. I mean, how amazing is Little Marky doing at the moment? But that was kind of before even our charity was registered. But what clearly pivoted us in that direction of actually starting the charity as a registered nonprofit was meeting a young boy by the name of Harat. So Harat was only 15 years old when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, which is the cancer of the bone. And unfortunately, he lost his leg. And although this family had medical aid, they could not afford the prosthetic limb, which was about 60,000 grand. So I remember clearly going to Pretoria that day he went for his final fitting. I remember clearly how his granny wheeled him into the doctor's room. And in front of me was this young man, very shy, very skinny, very unsure of himself and just looking down at his hands the whole time. But it was amazing to see the transformation that within an hour, how this young man learned to walk again, learn to climb steps to walk down ramps. And at the end of that session, I went up to this young man and I gave him such a big hug. And he said these words to me, he said, yes, it's like a court, meaning you extremely short. And just like you'd have the same reaction, everybody would start laughing. But in that moment, it brought tears to my eyes because I realized that in front of me is no longer that young man that was so unsure of himself that I met an hour ago. In front of me is a young man that is standing on his own two feet now. And he's ready to face the world. And that I think was the moment when I realized that I wanted to make a difference in children's lives. Like how I wanted to help them reach their full potential, no matter if they've got a year left or five months, even a week left, we're wanting to make a difference and giving their families hope, love and light during a very, very difficult time. And yes, that evening we drove back to Preetyanathan and we contacted the bookkeepers and that was the beginning of Cupcakes of Hope. And we registered Cupcakes of Hope in 2012 and this year is our 10th birthday. I think that is absolutely amazing. And I think the work you do is amazing. And I mean cancer in and of itself is a devastating illness. But cancer in children and in these little people who are just starting out in their lives, that is truly heartbreaking. And I think it takes a very big heart to work in that sort of arena. We are chatting to my special guest.

She is the founder of Cupcakes of Hope. It is Sandy Cipriano, the 10th anniversary. So we're going to get into more about what's happening with that in just a bit. This is what's involved. When we come back, we'll be chatting some more with Sandy. And we're back. What's involved it is. My special guest, Sandy Cipriano is the founder and who currently runs Cupcakes of Hope. It's an NGO, Raises Friends for Children with Cancer. Now, now, so you registered in 2012. This year is your 10th birthday. When I looked at what you were hoping to raise in your 10th birthday year, I had to sit down for a little bit because it sounds like a lot of money. And yet, if you are a parent that has a child with cancer, yeah, that's not a lot of money. It's not a lot of money. So tell me, we've now got National Cupcake Day. Did you just go, okay, I want to have a National Cupcake Day? Yes. So basically what happened is September is childhood cancer awareness month. So we needed to create awareness for our kids. We needed to make our circle bigger. So the only way, and 10 years back, Facebook was our saving grace. Obviously, we reached out to our Facebook followers and we said we needed to bake up cakes and we needed people all across the country. So yes, we own the day. It's always the last Saturday of September, besides this year. This year we're doing it on the first of October, just purely because it's off the payday. But normally up to now, it's always been the last Saturday in September.

And it's our way of getting the whole community involved. I mean, our fakers, we call them cupcake angels, are as young as three years old, right up to 90 years old. And we encourage them to, but most of us know somebody that is currently fighting cancer. Some of our family, we've lost family members to cancer. I mean, we've got, you know, I've lost both my grannies to cancer. I've lost little Kiara to cancer. We've got so many people that are currently fighting it. And it's our way of honoring our loved ones by baking a batch of cupcakes, asking our friends of family to make a 10 or 20 rand donation for that cupcake. And in that way, we are helping to raise and assist children with cancer. Our target this year is crazy. It's 10 million rand. It's just to tie in with 10 years, so why not? And you know, God has really been so good to us. He's really opened doors that only he can open. I mean, COVID was a huge setback for our charity, not just for our charities, I mean, for the whole country, for everybody. But we thought our cancer families were taking huge, huge financial strain. And during the periods of COVID, we were averaging about 70 to 90 patients every single month that we were financially assisting. Last month, Cupcakes of Hope Financial Assisted 254 kids in just one month. So as you can see, the need is growing.

It's nearly tripled in the past two years. And that's why we had to set such a huge target so that we could continue to do what we do and continue to do what we love doing and continue to spread cupcake love and God's love all across the country. Sandy, let's get into the mechanics of this, just so I understand how it works. So basically what you do is if you are a baker, you go visit our website, which is cupcakesofhopes.org. You go and view which mall is your closest participating mall. So we are close to 60 malls across the country. You choose your closest participating mall. The contact details are there of our coordinators, which a big shout out to our coordinators because they are all volunteers from all across the country. So you then pop them an email. They will then liaise with you and organise a delivery time and points for you to bring your cupcakes on the 1st of October. And then if you are not a baker, we invite you to come and support us on the 1st of October. For a 10 or 20 rand donation, you will be making a difference in helping children with cancer. So that is people that want to support the 1st of October. But if you are not available that weekend, or you would like to do something at work, you want to help create awareness about the cancer early warning signs and do a mini pop-up at work, you know, you can pop us an email at signup@cupcakesofhope.org. It's super easy. You just chat to somebody in your CSI department at work or you, you know, you talk to your work care colleagues. You challenge them all to bake cupcakes. They bring them to work and you spread the cupcake love. Super, super easy. We thought, I mean, the other day we had a school that did a fun

excavation for us. And I mean, they raised over 15,000 ran in just one morning. And that would literally assist 15 children this month by paying for the medical bowl. So it's super, super easy. And anybody can get involved. Okay. So now, just so I understand. Coming up on the 1st, we look for a mall that's nearest us. We go to cupcakesofhope.org and we figure out get involved. And it says the National Cupcake Day. Now, me as a baker. Okay. And I use the term me as a baker quite loosely, because I'm not much of a baker. I'm a better cook than I am a baker. But now I decide, okay, I want to get involved. I supply all the ingredients and the bits and pieces to make the cupcakes. Okay. Then those cupcakes get not sold, but people give donations for them. And that cash then goes to cupcakesofhope. Am I right? Do I understand correct? That is correct. That is super, super easy. That is correct. And the funds that we get in, like I mentioned last month, we financially assisted 254 children. The youngest, only five, well, now six, excuse me, now six months old. It's a little boy that has got bilateral cancer on the eye. Unfortunately, he's already lost or starting the one eye. We're hoping and praying that the doctors will be able to still save the second eye. But what we basically help them is shortfalls on medical balls. So all those lab accounts, I mean, last week, Friday we received a patient that actually has got medical aid, but they've depleted their funds. So she's new now for chemo.

There's a shortfall of 6,000 for that one treatment that we are going to be assisting them with, as well as just before that they need to do a CT scan, which they've already done their limit for the year. So there's another 12,000 men that outstanding. And that is then where we will step in. And we want to assist the families because a lot of these families are, have had to let go of their full-time job to take care of their children or child full-time. So their salary literally at home has been cut in half. In other cases, we have got a lot of single parents that now all of a sudden don't have work full-time jobs and they are dependent on us and obviously other charities. I mean, the charities in South Africa, a big shout out to every single one of them that support childhood cancer. Now more than ever, they are making such a big difference in helping all our families out there. In South Africa, we get between 800 and 1,000 children diagnosed every single year. There are 20 pediatric oncology wards all across the country. We have been so blessed that we are, you know, they allow us to deliver our activity packs in the hospitals. We work close hand in hand with the doctors at all these hospitals with the social workers. So if people want to know how they can refer a new patient to us, they can go pop us an email. We will send in the application form, but these forms need to be filled out by the doctors because we need a doctor's letter to confirm the child's diagnosis and then they send the request through to us and we try and assist them as far as possible. Unfortunately, some of the balls are huge. Some of our patients need to sometimes raise a million rand to get, for example, a stem cell transplant. We have had the case with the boy from Pretoria, Little Malty. He relapsed and unfortunately, his specific medical aid didn't approve the second stem cell transplant that he went through and the family had to raise a million rand. We actually then set a world record. I don't know if you've seen some of our world records that we set up there, but one of the world records was creating the tallest tower of cupcakes, which was 10.7 meters tall. We raised over 300,000 that day to help children that were waiting for stem cell transplants and Malty was the biggest beneficiary on that day.

We paid the shortfall, which was 270,000 and I'm very pleased to say that Malty is in remission. He is in school. He wants to become a YouTuber and he's doing so, so well. So if it wasn't for the amazing community, somebody like Malty might not have been here today. So become a cupcake angel. It is by far the sweetest way to help save a child's life. I think it is and I think it's such a lovely, lovely initiative. We're going to take a break now, but when we come back, I just want to dive in a little bit more to this cupcake day that we're having on the first of October because, well, it sounds fantastic, but I just want to get a little bit more detail. This is what's involved and my special guest, Sandy Cipriano, she is the founder and the chief cook and bottle washer, can I say, for Cupcakes of Hope. We'll be back in just a bit.

And we're back with my special guest. What's involved that is, and this is such a worthy cause, my special guest, as I mentioned, is Sandy Cipriano, founder of Cupcakes of Hope. So now it's coming up. Okay. This first of October, we're there and you've got literally a bunch of shopping malls that are sort of part of this whole thing. The goal is to raise 10 million rand. So now if I want to get involved, I look for the mall nearest to me and okay. Yeah, there's a couple of them. Then what do I do? Do we sort of just mail who that contact person is? So for example, where is it? Stone Ridge, Tiger Valley. You can get hold of somebody there. Who's the one near me? Woodlands. There we go. So I would just then email Anzal at cupcakesofhope.org and say, all right, Anzal, I want to be part of this. Please tell me what to do. And then she would give me all the necessary info. That is correct. And if you don't find a mall near Yousef, for instance, you are president in far race, then just copy an email. It's Sandy at cupcakesofhope.org. I will then guide you through how you could do a mini fundraiser in far race, how you could get the community involved. I mean, it's super, super easy. We've had golf days. We've had numerous events.

So it's just so much fun. I mean, when I started this charity, the base of our foundation of the charity is basically that we don't need a lot of money to make a difference. All you need is time and love. And that is something that I learned from watching the Oprah's Angel Network. And I'm not going to give my age away. It is a program that was on TV, many, many, many moons back. And, and literally, I remember watching the one day and I saw this 13, 14 year old girl that wanted to make a difference, but she didn't have money. And all she did on weekend, she would go to all their homes and she would go and do the lady's teeth and nails. And, and I said, you know what, there's the basis of what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a difference. I didn't have money, but I've got lots of labs and lots of time. And, and like my mother Teresa says, we can't all do great things, but we can do little things with great love. And that is what cupcakes of hope is all about. Okay. So now I've, I've baked my, do I just need to bake a tray of cupcakes or can I bake a dozen, two dozen, or is there no limits if I'm feeling very energetic? There's no limit at all. As many as what you would like to bake. We've had people that just baked 12 or 24 and then we've others that fetched a hundred because, you know, they, they're getting the whole family, everybody involved in both. So there are COVID protocols in place. So all our cupcakes need to be packaged in boxes of six of the fours or one individual.

So you need to keep that in mind as well. But the coordinator will guide them through all of, all of that. And yeah, it's just so amazing. I mean, I can still not believe that this year's our 10th birthday. If I look back how we started with just one patient the first year, how we just wanted to make, and if you, the listeners out there, if they go and look at our website, they'll see our logos, but a little heart on top of the cupcake. And with a big circle, just like coming out of it. And it's literally about spreading cupcake love all across the country. I mean, when we started this, it truly is like a random act of kindness, which has a ripple effect with no end. And we see it all over the country. In fact, during COVID, which I call it one of our miracles during lockdown moments was that we actually registered a nonprofit in the UK called Global Cupcakes of Hope UK. And the aim with that is to try and bring towns back into South Africa, so that we can even assist more patients. So it's not just something that is in South Africa, it really is, I mean, the spark of everybody in the Valtra angle, it can be seen, you know, even up in Europe now with Global Cupcakes of Hope UK, also doing and doing their little bits to make a difference for children in Africa that are currently fighting cancer.

I think it's phenomenal what you've achieved. And yeah, 10 years seems like a long time, but it goes by in the blink of an eye. Sandy, let's say now, I'm somebody that's listening to this, I'm like, well, I want to help, I want to be involved, but I'm not a baker, but I love cupcakes. Can I go to one of those malls on the first and go, here we go, here's my donation for some cupcakes. Absolutely. But please go early in the morning, because we are planning to be there the whole day, but some of the malls do run out by lunchtime. So if you definitely want to come in and support, I'll definitely encourage them to do it before lunchtime, because after lunchtime, we might not know what will be left behind. Oh, I'm going to go early, because I want to get hold of some of the bestest cupcakes. The only problem is if I go and look at, and you know, it's even more sad 10 years, I'm a diabetic, so I shouldn't eat cupcakes, but everybody around me that I know loves cupcakes. So, you know, I would want to buy a good few. And I think, what better way? If you're going to buy pasties, what better way? I mean, you know, we're helping and changing the lives of children that are struggling with cancer at the moment. I love the payoff line that you've got here where you say together, we can make a difference. So it's all about cupcakes of hope. Let's just do a bit of a refresh on when it's all going to be happening. The actual official cupcakes of hope is happening on the 1st of October, which is National Cupcake Day. We're looking to raise 10 million rand. Sounds a lot. But in terms of the fight against cancer, it really isn't okay. And I firmly believe that you guys are going to get there, Sandy. So we're going to do it at the malls. If we need to do that, we go to cupcakesofhope.org. And then we just look for our nearest mall and get hold of the contact person there. And then they'll give us all of the info and bits and pieces that we need.

But if we are in the back of beyond, as Sandy said, and we want to do something, then what do we do? Sign up or do we go Sandy? Which one is easier? It's easier. Whatever you would like to choose the button to me. So pop me an email and we will definitely guide you guys on how you guys can do a fun event at your work. It's an awesome way to do team ball there for school. It's a lovely way to get kids involved, even part of the intrapreneers day. So it's super fun. Yeah, and let me repeat it. Sandy@cupcakesofhope.org. Or you can go sign up at cupcakesofhope.org. And then I also just wanted to mention because September's cancer early cancer, elder cancer awareness day, I also just wanted to encourage everybody to pop onto the website. We have got the early cancer warning signs available in all 11 official languages. So please go and have a look if you have got kids, don't have a look what to look out for. Because unfortunately in our country, our biggest challenge is that our kids get misdiagnosed or diagnosed way too late. So go and have a look what the cancer early warning signs are. If you have a business printed, put it up in the canteen, let the staff members have a look at it and play your part in helping to create awareness this month. Yes, September is childhood cancer awareness month, but it does not mean that our kids don't fight cancer the whole year through.

So if you cannot support us this month, there's always next month, there's always December, there's always next year. So please always have and think of our little cancer patients that are fighting with us every day. They don't deserve to fight the battle alone. Absolutely. I mean, just just go on go onto the website. Okay, if you haven't been there cupcakes of hope.org, just go and look through those galleries that will melt the coldest, hardest heart I guarantee you, because to see the joy that these little people that are having such big struggles to see the joy and the light on their faces is, it's just the most amazing thing. What else can I say, Sandy? But thank you. We're sort of reaching the end of our time here. And for me, I think it's been a brilliant, brilliant chat and wonderful getting to know you and to know about the passion. And I encourage each and every one of you to get involved in some way. Because I'm sure if you just reached out to Sandy and said, I want to get involved. I'm not a baker. I don't know what to do. I'm sure Sandy could figure out something because there's always a need for volunteers and people who want to get involved. So the big event is coming up on the 1st of October. And it's at malls all across the country. You can also find out about hosting your own little mini events, which is quite cool. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge to the corporates out there. And the easiest way to find out more about it is just go to cupcakes of hope.org or just email sandy@cupcakesofhope.org. Sandy, thank you for taking the time. And I know you're very, very busy and for having a chat to us. We do wish you all the very best for the 1st of October.

And I'd love to hear back from you or to read the press release that says we smashed our 10 million Rand goal. Oh, from your once again, thank you to all our supporters for the past 10 years. And I'm looking forward to all those new ones and to welcoming them all part of our Cupcake Angels team 2022. Wonderful stuff. There we go. That is my special guest. And we have been talking to Sandy Cipriano. She is the founder and she currently runs Cupcakes of Hope, the NGO. And it raises funds to help out children with cancer. What better way to do it? So you can make a difference. Go and check it out. Once again, cupcakes of hope.org. As I said, it wraps it up with our special guest, Sandy, to each and every one of you. Look after yourselves. Take care. And thank you for listening.