Teen baker sweetens lives making desserts for those in need

Vedika Jawa’s mission to sweeten the lives of those in need began when she was just 13, on a family trip to San Francisco. She could not help but see the multitudes living on the streets.

Jawa organized a neighborhood bake sale, collected ingredients in her school and contacted a shelter’s CEO, who eventually allowed her to bake for residents. That was the start of Bake4Sake, her student-run nonprofit that distributes desserts to those in need. During the pandemic, the project expanded from a handful of friends who helped her bake in her hometown to more than 100 volunteers who now work with 15 homeless shelters in 10 locations across the United States.