Cupcakes for a Cure

Kayla Houchin, a senior majoring in health and physical education, is baking cupcakes this month to help raise money for those fighting breast cancer.

Education students whom have had the privilege of taking classes with Kayla Houchin, a senior majoring in physical and health education, know that this girl can bake a mean cupcake.

However, she isn’t only baking and bringing in cupcakes for her classmates. Instead, this month Kayla is using her baking skills to sell cupcakes that will help benefit breast cancer fighters around the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Her cause is called “Cupcakes for a Cure” and the cupcakes will be sold for $5 each. The two flavors available are chocolate chip cookie dough and vanilla almond. Each cupcake is topped off with a sugar cookie in the shape of a breast cancer ribbon.

This is the second year Kayla has baked cupcakes for this cause, and last year she was able to sell roughly 500 cupcakes.

All of the proceeds from Kayla’s cupcakes will benefit Bras on Broadway, which helps those in the F-M area fighting breast cancer.

“I really liked the fact that all the money that they raise stays local – it all stays in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota – so it didn’t take me long to decide like that’s where I want the money to go,” Kayla said.

A big inspiration for Kayla to raise money for this particular cause is Toni, her mother. Toni is a breast cancer survivor who also has a knack for fundraising.

When Kayla and her siblings were growing up, Toni knew a new running track needed to be built for the students in their hometown of Pheasanton, North Dakota.

“She was like, ‘I want my kids to run on a track – I don’t want them to run on a dirt road.’ She got lots of help and basically built the track, and that was around $30,000.” Kayla recalled. “If she ever wants to do something, she’ll just do it. That’s where a lot of my motivation comes from.”

Even though Toni helped give the students of Pheasanton a place to run, she remains very humble about her love for helping others. “I’m sure she’s raised over $100,000 [for different causes] and she doesn’t talk about it. She thinks it’s nothing but it’s actually a lot.”

While Toni was sick, she managed to be present for every single sporting event that Kayla and her three brothers participated in. “It was almost like she didn’t even have it. She didn’t stop doing anything that she did before,” Kayla said. “She just acted like it was nothing, which was crazy.”

Kayla’s dad, Clay, would drive Toni to her chemotherapy appointments at 5 a.m. all the way from Pheasanton to Bismarck and she still managed to come home afterwards to work and be there for her kids’ games.

After having a single mastectomy, Toni is now cancer-free. “She’s always been very selfless. I think I took her for granted a lot because I didn’t really realize all that she’s done until I came to college,” Kayla recalled.

Just like Toni had the community to help her build a track, Kayla is also not alone in her fundraising endeavor. Many of Kayla’s friends have been helping reach her goal of $5,000 for Bras on Broadway. “We have our eyes set on [$5,000], but we have no idea what will happen,” Kayla added. “I’d be pretty happy if it was anything over $5,000.”

Being involved in the campus organization Blue Key also helped propel her to want to do something for others. She mentioned that a lot of the people in that group are focused on helping others, which then rubs off on her.

“Everybody in that group basically inspires me one way or another, and some of the people from there are helping me a lot. We have this great team and it’s a great group of people,” Kayla said. “I’ve always found that whenever I’ve felt really good is when I’ve done something for others.”

Her passion for baking was sparked as a young girl when she would watch her babysitter bake for her and her siblings growing up.

“[Baking] is something that I guess I’m good at, and I think it’s a gift from God. I think we each get special talents, and to honor them and to honor Him we should use them to our best ability as much as we can,” Kayla mentioned. “By doing this little thing I think I’m honoring this gift that He gave me, and I love to do it.”

Kayla understands that it only takes a little effort from one person that can truly create change.

“It baffles my mind when so many people think that they can’t do anything or they can’t make a difference,” Kayla added. “But it’s always the little things that add up and make such a big difference, and if we can all do a little something, we can all do so much I think.”

How to place an order or donate money:
Email indulgence.cupcakes.fargo@gmail.com
Call or text 701.341.8952