A Scout's generosity: How one 4th-Year Scout from Innisfil made a difference with 110 cake kits

A 4th-year scout from Innisfil provided 110 shelf-stable cake kits to youth through the charity Christmas for Kids.

Nathan Brennan, a Chief Scouting Award recipient from the 2nd Innisfil Scouting Troops, raised $1,800 for the Christmas for Kids charity through social media.

"I'm very proud of him that he wanted to do this Chief Scouting Award. There are different steps to this award, and doing a community project is one of the steps; not all Scouts chose to do this type of award," said Melinda Brennan, Nathan's mother.

The Christmas for Kids charity provides food and toys to families in need. The toys are collected in local schools and given to Innisfil families.

After speaking with the charity's head, Melinda realized there was a great need for birthday cakes in the community.

One day, Nathan and his mother stumbled across a unique cake recipe online. The cake's ingredients were made from different sodas, which inspired them to try it out.

"It works in some way; the pop reacts with the cake mix; you mix it with the cake batter, and then it gets placed in the oven for like 25 minutes," said Nathan.

The Brennans took it upon themselves to create a homemade kit with all the components for baking the ultimate birthday cake. The kit includes a cake mix, a can of pop, icing, sprinkles, birthday candles, a birthday card, and the pan to bake it in.

"Sobeys Alcona gave Nathan a discount on some of the baking ingredients, and they reached out to pop suppliers and got all of the pop donated to Nathan," said Melinda.

After mastering the art of baking cakes, Nathan created an informational video with his father that can be viewed through a QR code. The video teaches children how to make their own cakes at home using their personalized kits.

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"The cake that I really like baking the most is Devil's Chocolate and Root Beer; the ones that people enjoyed were chocolate fudge and Pepsi," shared Nathan.

Diet Coke, Root Beer, Mountain Due, and white cake mix were some of the other fascinating flavours the kids appreciated.

"We are proud that Nathan wanted to take on this challenge and do the work to achieve it," said Melinda.

An assembly was held on March 18 at Sunnybrae Elementary School; the charity celebrated with the youth from Scouts and Cubs.

"Together, we can ensure that every child in Innisfil is celebrated this year," concluded Nathan in a personal note to his community.