We wanted to share with you a letter that was written to us last week by Julie Barrett, a teacher who mobilized her class to host a cupcake stand at their school. Read below how God moved in the hearts of the entire school to multiply their efforts and impact many.

Dear Cupcake Kids/Sixty Feet,

Y’all are awesome! We had a great time with our cupcake sale. I wanted to share the story with you because it was such an unbelievable experience for my students. I met some folks from Sixty Feet at the Created for Care retreat in 2012. I’m a middle school teacher at a Christian school, so I tucked the idea of a Cupcake Kids fundraiser away in my brain; I’m always looking for ways to expose my students to things happening around the world and open their eyes to areas of injustice. For one week during April, our school abandoned the normal schedule and had exploratory-type options for students to choose from. Teachers were asked to create five half-day sessions on one topic. I chose the topic of local and global social justice issues. As part of the week, the students decided to have a cupcake sale on Friday. We planned to make cupcakes in the morning and distribute them at lunch. We also allowed people to order ones to be picked up at the end of the day, too. There are a litte over 200 students in our school. In my head, I imagined we’d be making and decorating 100-200 cupcakes and make a few hundred dollars.

The students learned about Sixty Feet on Tuesday. They created a presentation to share with classes and spent time praying for Sixty Feet and for their sale. They presented to classes on Wednesday. Order forms were collected on Thursday. When we started looking through the order, it was evident that we were going to be making way more cupcakes than originally expected. Once we totaled all the amounts, it came out to almost 46 DOZEN cupcakes. I entered the teachers’ lounge at lunch, wide-eyed and wondering how in the world I was going to help orchestrate the execution of so many cupcakes. Teachers were excited about the sale and asked about how many cupcakes had been ordered. I laughed and told them over 500 cupcakes. They immediately responded with things like, “What?! How are you going to do that? You need to let us help!” I ended up sending out an email to all the teachers in my school saying, “If you wanted to throw a dozen or two cupcakes in your oven tonight, I certainly wouldn’t mind.” Staff more than rose to the occasion and baked an enormous amount of cupcakes that night. On Friday morning, cupcakes kept coming in and we ended up with more than enough. The students in my group decorated for a few hours and then distributed the cupcakes to all those who had ordered.

With all the decorating, we ran short on time, so I told the students that I’d count the donations after school and let them know how much it was. I started to count the checks and money and could hardly believe my eyes. The total came out to $1513!!! So awesome to see how God took one little idea and multiplied resources, time, energy, and donations to be so much more. I know we’re just one little story of God’s movement in the hearts of people to love, care, and provide for orphans around the world. However, I don’t think that this experience will be something that my students (or I) will quickly forget. The whole school has be abuzz about it for the past week.

Thanks so much for letting our community be a part of the greater work that God is doing through Cupcake Kids and Sixty Feet. We were so honored and blessed through participating with you all.

Julie Barrett
Rockford Christian School

Thank you, Julie, for sharing your story with us! We are so grateful to you, your amazing students and your entire school for such generosity. Your efforts will go a long way in loving and serving the precious children in Uganda.

A year ago, 80,000 Aggie fans, clad in maroon, were rooting for their team, and I stood there thinking, “What if just $5 of every $80 ticket was donated to Sixty Feet?” Yesterday, I was driving our golf cart with my daughters around our neighborhood, and after taking a huge whiff of our clean air, I was reminded of the smoggy, polluted, diesel-fueled air in Kampala. Today, as I made sixty copies of work in just a few seconds for my 4th graders, I thought of the dedicated teachers in Bwerenga, who stay up late at night to hand-write worksheets for their students. No copiers for them.

That’s what Africa does to you. It infects every part of your life. It shatters any barrier to your thoughts, and like a crazy virus, starts infiltrating every area of your mind. It’s hard to even turn on the water faucet without thinking of jerry cans on top of tiny, ebony heads.

I also think of her. The girl at M1. I can’t get her out of my mind. The harsh “clack” of her words as she spoke sharply to a little boy, who was waiting to get food. She was a leader in her group, and there are no words for the guarded, angry way she carried herself. Working herself into a frenzy yelling at this little boy, I casually reached out my hand to touch her shoulder…hoping to calm her down. With a quick swat of her hand, she pushed mine away. Her eyes glaring, bent to show me that what I was trying to do was not allowed. She would not have love. Probably never has.

It is this memory that rocks me to my core and infects my thoughts. The unloved. The unwanted. The least of these. God will build his church. And the foundations will be laid by the hands and feet of his people who are not afraid to show His love to these souls. Maybe for the first time.

A sweet friend of mine once said, ” The playground of His Kingdom is vast and there is Kingdom business to be had (everywhere).” This is one infection that I don’t mind spreading. The world needs it to spread from person to person. I thank the Lord for those who understand that mission.

In case you are wanting a little infection of your own, read up on a few of the other blogs listed on this site, or head on over to www.sixtyfeet.org to get better acquainted with the cause. Watch a video or two while you are there…. better yet, sign up for a trip to go see with your own eyes. You won’t regret it. In fact, you’ll be ready to infect someone else in no time. I promise.

I am not a runner.

I’ve never been a runner and I don’t like running.

It makes me hot and sweaty.
I get out of breath just walking up a hill.
I like my sleep, and I’m just too busy.

So why would I sign up to run a half-marathon?

Because it can change lives.

 A baby, picked up by police for begging on the streets.

I run for her.

A little girl, abandoned with her two brothers.

I run for them.

A young man, in prison for 3 years.

I run for him.

Since August 2011, I’ve been living in Uganda and working for Sixty Feet. And now I’m moving home. Soon, I’ll be leaving the children and the people that I’ve grown to adore. I won’t be able to see their sweet faces and hug their necks every week. I won’t be here to love on them, learn from them, or advocate on their behalf anymore.

New interns will come and take my place and the Sixty Feet staff will continue to pour out their hearts and their lives everyday to help these children. And even though I won’t be on the ground in Uganda anymore, I can still do something to help.

We can do something to help.

We can run for them. We can raise money to support an organization that God is using to change the lives of imprisoned children.

The money can put a child in school who didn’t think they had a future.
It can pay for life-changing surgeries.
It can provide additional nutritious food to kids.
It enables Sixty Feet to have staff who help keep the ministry running.

And to me, this matters.

These kids matter.

So I run.

Running is hard; it takes time and commitment. But, to be honest, living in prison is harder and if I can do anything to make it even a teensy bit better for them, then running will be worth it. And let me tell you, when you see joy on their faces, hope in their eyes, and hear laughter from their lips, it is worth it.

So, will you join me and run for them?

“If you excuse yourself, saying, ‘Look, we didn’t know anything about this,’ doesn’t God, who knows what you’re really thinking, understand your motives? Isn’t your Protector aware of why you aren’t protecting the innocent? Will He not repay you in kind?” Proverbs 24:12

Today’s post comes courtesy of our dear friend, Lovelyn, who blogs over at Moments With Love. We are thrilled for her to officially kick off Cupcake Season 2013!

 calling all kids ready to make a HUGE impact on children’s lives on the other side of the world!

it’s time to launch Cupcake Kids season!

Cupcake Kids was born of kids watching their parents be involved in helping the imprisoned children in Uganda, Africa and wanting to help, too. they came up with the idea to sell cupcakes and donate all the money to that non-profit, Sixty Feet. then, they asked kids all over the world to do the same and, through them, God has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the imprisoned children.

Sixty Feet is an action-based organization created to bring hope and restoration to the imprisoned children of Africa in Jesus’ name. We are not referring to a figurative prison of poverty or circumstance, but real places, with real bars.

the words above from their website are true. these are real places. several of them throughout the country of uganda. i’ve been there. i’ve seen the children. seen the hunger. seen the hurt. seen the pain. seen the bars. seen the prison cell. i’ve also seen God work through Sixty Feet to bring medical care, food, hygiene, clean water, education and even some fun to these kids’ days. most importantly, i’ve seen them bring the gospel and those children’s eyes

that had been filled with hurt? they begin to glimmer with hope.

now we have a chance to be Cupcake Kids, too! it’s simple. the official

[Inter]National Cupcake Kids sale day is:

May 4th, 2013.

are you up for having a Cupcake Kids sale?

we’d like to have at least one in every state and see how many countries, too!

 i would love to hear if you’ll be participating, then head over there and sign up!

there’s one more way you could help right now. they’ve also added another [healthier] component this year. I Run For Cupcakes [IRFC] will run as a group in the Nashville, Tennessee Half-Marathon on April 27, 2013. each team member will be asked to raise pledges for their race in support of SixtyFeet.

if you can join them in Nashville, great! if not, you are welcome to run ANY race, ANYwhere for I Run For Cupcakes

this is a real, tangible way that we can love on some of the most vulnerable children in the world AND we get to do it with our friends, family and cupcakes!

so, come on!  

who’s with me?!

register your Cupcake Kids sale HERE.

register for I Run For Cupcakes HERE.

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Cupcake Kids website • facebook 

all my posts about Sixty Feet 

Today’s post is the next installment in our series about running. Katie Seevers is a homeschooling mom of 6 littles, including two children recently adopted from Ethiopia. Katie will be serving as the Team Captain for this year’s I Run For Cupcakes Team. Read her story, get inspired and join her team for the Nashville Half Marathon this April!

This guest post is the first in a series about runners and running. These guest posters are writing in an effort to encourage and inspire anyone considering running the Nashville Half Marathon in support of The Cupcake Kids.

Tonight’s post is from Shelly Owens — a homeschooling mom of 5 littles. Shelly’s husband, Dan, is the President of SixtyFeet.

I became a runner completely by accident. I really never meant for it to happen. I’ve always enjoyed a little moderate exercise from time to time — perhaps a past faced walk with a friend or an occasional aerobics class — but never anything serious.

I honestly used to feel sorry for runners. I live in a large metropolitan area that is constantly crawling with runners and fitness types. It’s not uncommon to spot multiple runners on a single, short drive through the city — and just looking at them was enough to stir compassion in my heart. Why on Earth, I wondered, would someone run ON PURPOSE? Because that looks simply awful.

But about this time last year, I started experiencing some stress-related health problems including heart palpitations, insomnia and other issues. I finally visited my doctor who promptly recommended I begin a regime of regular medication — such as beta blockers and other meds. I was only 36 years old and this all seemed rather extreme to me.

I came home from the appointment and talked with my husband, Dan, who advised that we simply spend some time praying about it before taking any course of action. And the very next week it happened: An out-of-town friend, who knew nothing about my health situation sent me a completely random, unsolicited invitation to join her in running the Savannah Half Marathon with several other ladies.

I had two initial thoughts:

1. I HATE running.

2. I already have no margin in my life. I don’t have time to exercise.

But Dan and I agreed that this was likely the answer to the prayers we’d been offering up. In order to improve my health, I probably needed to exercise.

So I dealt with concern #1 (the hating running thing) by starting out very, very slow and working my way up. I ran on a treadmill for over a month before I ever even attempted to run outside. And even then, I alternated running and walking by running 3 minutes then walking 3 (or 5 or 6 or 10) minutes.

At first, I continued to hate it. But I stuck with it anyway. And little by little, I grew to enjoy it.

I forced myself into training goals by signing up for races of various distances. At first I ran a 5K, then a 10K, then another 10K. My training runs got longer and longer. My pace improved, my endurance improved and, not surprisingly, my health issues disappeared.

And there were unexpected bonuses… running gave me time to be alone and to think. It gave me more time to pray. It gave me clarity, energy and more patience with my children.

And regarding concern #2… I don’t have time to run. I have 5 small children, I homeschool, I help my husband run a ministry in Africa and my life is constantly a three- ring circus. The truth is that I still don’t have time to run. I never did. I make time to run. It’s like anything else — you prioritize the things that are important. I run early mornings, late nights, in the rain, in the cold, at the gym, on vacation… I’ve even been known to run on an African mission trip. I try to schedule my runs on my calendar at the beginning of every week and then stick to the schedule.

For the Savannah Half Marathon, my saving grace was the fact that three friends were signed up to run the race with me. Every time I was tempted to quit, I remembered that they were counting on me to join them for the race, to sweat alongside them and, um, to share the hotel and gas bills. When all else fails, peer pressure will make it happen.

And the rest is history. I’ve become a runner. And even if you’re not a runner now, I pray that you’ll sign up to run with the I Run For Cupcakes team this April — and by then you CAN become a runner. If I can do it, anyone can.

Savannah Half Marathon Finish Line, November 2, 2012 Time: 2:06:08

“And will you succeed? Yes you will indeed, 98 3/4% guaranteed.” — Dr. Seuss

Get excited friends. Dust off your muffin tins, get your ovens cranked up and mark your calendars. Because on May 4, 2013…

The Cupcake Kids

are

BACK!

This year we have a new Cupcake Queen. Soon to be announced.

We have some new ideas and new ways for you to get involved. Also soon to be announced.

And we have a relentless, loving God who uses cupcakes, little kids and busy moms to provide funding for His work on behalf of imprisoned children in Africa. It’s truly amazing.

Plan to join us this year! We need lots of hearts, lots of hands and lots of faith to make this happen. Details coming very soon. Stay tuned…

Over the weekend, Dan and I sat on our couch to pray together. This time, we prayed not to ask the Lord for anything but only to offer up thanksgiving and praise.

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!!