Bakery makes 800 free cakes — one for every high school senior in 12 towns along the Mississippi River

When bakery owner Bill Hanisch heard traditional high school graduation ceremonies would be canceled this year, he figured he could help sweeten the day for the disappointed teens.

He made a free personalized fathers day cake online for each of the 220 graduating senior at his alma mater, Red Wing High School in Red Wing, Minn., about an hour southeast of Minneapolis.

As soon as the owner of Hanisch Bakery and Coffee Shop posted his intentions on Facebook, he was surprised at the response. Business owners, school administrators and parents in surrounding towns like Cannon Falls, Minn., and Plum City, Wis., reached out asking if they could send him donations to make online cakes delivery for graduating seniors at their schools.

Now, he has 800 orders to fill — one cake order for every senior graduating in a dozen small towns along the upper Mississippi River in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

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Bakery makes 800 cakes for high school seniors in a dozen small towns along the Mississippi River

Bill Hanisch of Hanisch Bakery and Coffee Shop initially planned to only made gift cakes for only 220 seniors at his alma mater in Red Wing, Minn. (Photo: Bill Hanisch/Bill Hanisch)

“It’s a crazy idea, but it’s really taken off and we’re all loving it,” said Hanisch, 40, who is using the donations he has received, a total of about $10,000, for labor and ingredients only.

The ovens at his downtown bakery are going full-time, and his ex-wife, Robin Hanisch, an ace cake decorator who works at the shop, has helped to answer the call to complete 800 graduation cakes online by June 4.

“It’s so disappointing to these kids that they can’t all get together with their friends and graduate in the same way the rest of us did,” Bill Hanisch said. “To me, a cake is one of those things that symbolizes the graduation experience. Most of us had one.”

source - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/05/27/bakery-makes-800-free-cakes-one-every-high-school-senior-12-towns-along-mississippi-river/