When Nicole Crance-Matienzo lost her father Nelson Crance to cancer in 2017, she began baking as a form of therapy; now she is using her passion to raise funds for local charities through her non-profit, Bake a Difference Cayman Islands.
She holds monthly auctions of specially baked goods on its Instagram page to raise funds for various charities around the island, and the effort has been garnering support.
“I think [my dad] would be so proud and happy to see that,” Crance-Matienzo told the Cayman Compass on Wednesday.
She said she did not know what to expect when she started the organisation in 2020.
“I’ve really had a great view of humanity from doing this… deep down, most people are kind and wanna be able to help… ,” she said.
Passion project
In December 2020, Crance-Matienzo decided she wanted to give back to the Cayman Islands Cancer Society at Christmas.
As a thank you for all the support they provided to her family when her father was battling cancer, Crance-Matienzo held a bake sale.
“It’s personal to me to know that it’s because of [my father]… blooming out of pain is what I call it. It’s amazing to be able to do something with that and the Cancer Society is always a special one to me because of what they did for my family,” she said.
She said sharing sweet treats was something she and her father would do so it was not surprising that she chose baking for her fundraising.
Her first sale for the Cancer Society raised $1,200, which also included some donations from friends and family.
“[I]t just really touched my heart to see how people cared and… actually enjoyed the baked goods,” she said.
Since November 2021, every month Crance-Matienzo has held a sale to raise money for a different charity, raising a total of $5,500 to date for 12 different non-profits.
She has shifted from in-person bake sales to on-line auctions, which have been “super successful”, she said.
Love for baking
Crance-Matienzo developed a love for baking at an early age as it was a holiday tradition in her family to make treats at Christmas.
However, it was during the COVID-19 lockdown and watching lots of episodes of the ‘Great British Bake-Off’ while stuck indoors that motivated her to take her baking more seriously.
“I just started to have an itch to bake,” she said.
Crance-Matienzo said when she first started, she would make all the treats on her own, but that became a challenge.
She recruited some friends and expanded her offerings.
She was later invited to be part of another online auction and submit treats for donations, and that led to her using social media for her own sales.
“We have high hopes it’ll get bigger,” she said, adding she is looking to raise at least $6,000 this year.
Community effort
As her initiative grew, Crance-Matienzo said she needed additional support and decided to engage with local bakers to get items for auction.
“It has been so awesome to be able to partner with different bakers on island. Being able to meet so many other small business owners and the food industry here,” she said.
She added she welcomes donations for the auctions and the platform is also a good place to showcase local talent and how they are trying to benefit charities.
“We’re looking to get more sponsorships from local businesses that want to be able to invest in what we’re doing, that believe in the initiative,” she said. adding that there is room in Cayman for young bakers who want make that a full-time career, and donate some of their creations as well.
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