Community Foundation of Tompkins County

Cupcake Joy, 2017 Edition

October 18, 2017November 11, 2017thesophiefund

Enjoy a photo gallery from the 2nd Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest, held in the Commons on October 14, 2017.

Bernie Milton Pavilion, October 14, 2017

registration Let the Contest Begin: Angela registers Tamarynde Cacciotti’s entry, cream puff cupcakes with Earl Grey pastry filling that went on to win the Grand Prize.

alistrongwater Happy Halloween: Ali Strongwater’s 2^nd Prize-winning pumpkin and ginger cupcakes haunted by sugar ghosts.

Raspberries and Butterflies: Alexander Quilty’s 3^rd prize-winning chocolate raspberry-filled cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosting.

monicacotto Emerging Brightness: Monica Cotto’s vegan blood orange dark chocolate cupcakes topped with edible crystal geodes (Honorable Mention).

Forest of Cupcakes: Beth Goelzer Lyons’s chocolate chip cookie dough-filled vegan chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate trees.

melaniehardy Fall Foilage: Melanie Hardy’s Campfire S’more Cupcakes with marshmallow fluff frosting topped with a Hershey bar (Honorable Mention).

robynschmitt Winter Wonderland: Robin Schmitt’s vanilla cupcake topped by an edible peanut butter and nutella pine cone (Honorable Mention).

“Healthiest Cupcake” Award: Lianna White’s gluten-free carrot raisin walnut cupcake.

nataliemccaskell Land of Unicorns: Natalie McCaskill-Meyers’s unicorn cupcakes won an Honorable Mention Award and “Best Youth Cupcake” Award.

judges The Hard Part: The judging begins!

judging2 Tastes and Scents: The judging continues!

debbielazinsky Cupcake Joy: Debbie Lazinsky of GreenStar Natural Foods Market samples the cupcake submissions.

alternativesfcu Coloring Contest: Volunteers from Alternatives Federal Credit Union run the Coloring Contest for Under-8’s.

jacobparkercarver Jacob Parker Carver of the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County sets up an interactive mental health quiz for attendees.

amyleviere Amy LeViere of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County welcomes the contestants.

Lee-Ellen Marvin, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service, thanks The Sophie Fund for being a catalyst for change in suicide prevention in Tompkins County.

yukojingu Meet the VIP Judges: Yuko Jingu (friend and co-worker of Sophie)

deleilanorman Meet the VIP Judges: Daleila Norman of GreenStar Natural Foods Market

ameliasauter Meet the VIP Judges: Amelia Sauter of Felicia’s Atomic Brewhouse and Bakery

“Richest Cupcake” Award: Mary Sever Schoonmaker receives a GreenStar gift certificate for her chocolate zucchini cupcakes with meringue frosting garnished with cashew toffee bark.

tamaryndecacciotti copy She’s No. 1: Tamarynde Cacciotti with her Grand Prize award for her cream puff cupcakes with Earl Grey pastry filling and mocha buttercream frosting.

mickiequinn The Maestro: Event Producer Mickie Quinn

The Great Ithaca Cupcake Bake Off

September 25, 2017September 25, 2017thesophiefund

Warm up your ovens! The 2^nd Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest will be held in the Commons on Saturday October 14.

Contestants of all ages are invited to enter their tasty masterpieces, which will be eligible for more than $500 in prizes. The contest is open to amateur bakers only.

The contest is organized by The Sophie Fund, which was established in 2016 in memory of Cornell University art student Sophie Hack MacLeod to support mental health initiatives aiding young people.

The 2^nd Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest is sponsored by the GreenStar Natural Foods Market, Alternatives Federal Credit Union, and La Tourelle Hotel, Bistro and Spa. It is also supported by Waffle Frolic, Active Minds of Ithaca College, and Alpha Phi Omega, Phi Sigma Pi and Cornell Minds Matter of Cornell University.

Sophie’s own longstanding passion for baking and cupcakes inspired the launch of the contest. At the time of her death by suicide at age 23, while on a medical leave of absence from Cornell, Sophie was active in Ithaca’s vibrant culinary scene. According to her family, she hoped to open her own bakery after completing her Cornell degree.

To enter the cupcake contest, entrants are asked to bring their submissions to the Bernie Milton Pavilion in the Ithaca Commons from 10–11:30 a.m. on Saturday October 14. The winners will be announced and prizes awarded at a ceremony in the Pavilion later the same day at 3 p.m.

Last year, 57 contestants participated in the bake off, with Monica Lee Cotto taking home the top prize with a pumpkin cheesecake cupcake, set in a chocolate cage and topped with a confectionery yellow and coral rose and a butterfly crisp. The Best Youth Award went to 9-year-old Natalie McCaskill-Myers, who submitted a batch of lemon cherry cupcakes laced with lavender.

Sophie was born in Johannesburg and spent her childhood living in South Africa, then France, and eventually Egypt. But she adopted Ithaca as her hometown, spending five summers in the violin program of the Suzuki Institutes at Ithaca College and then enrolling at Cornell in 2010.

In conjunction with the contest, The Sophie Fund is organizing a fundraising campaign, with monies donated to suicide prevention causes in Ithaca and Tompkins County.

Click here for all the information on contest procedures and rules, and to download a registration form.

2016 Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest Winners

October 16, 2016October 16, 2016thesophiefund

The 1^st Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest was held on Saturday October 15, 2016 in the Bernie Milton Pavilion of the Ithaca Commons. The Sophie Fund sincerely thanks the 57 contestants for their fabulous entries and congratulates this year’s winners!

Monica Lee Cotto receives the Grand Prize–a $250 Greenstar Natural Foods Market certificate–from GreenStar’s Debbie Lazinsky.

Monica Lee Cotto’s winning cupcake: pumpkin cheesecake in a chocolate cage topped with a confectionery yellow and coral rose and a butterfly crisp.

1^st Prize:

Monica Lee Cotto

2^nd Prize:

Becca Johnson

3^rd Prize:

Aušra Milano

Honorable Mention:

Zoë Dubrow

Stephanie Harris

Natalie McCaskill-Myers

Holly Lopez

Audrey and Isaac Greene

Best Youth Award:

Natalie McCaskill-Myers

Healthiest Award:

Reba McCutcheon

Best Gluten Free Award:

Tamarynde Cacciotti

Top Vegan Award:

Patti Meyers

Best Sprinkles Award:

Amber Pierson

Best Cupcake-Sundae Award:

Rebekah Long

Best Filling Award:

Lena Bartell

Creamiest Filling Award:

Veronica VanCleave-Seeley

Best Surprise Inside Award:

Robyn Schmitt

The Cavity Award:

Claire Litwin

Richest Icing Award:

Emily Dvorak

Best Frosting Award:

Brook Smith

Most “Fall” Award:

Katherine Estaque

Nuttiest Award:

Sadie Hays

Most Beautiful Butterfly Decoration Award:

Alexa Martin

Best Embellishment Award:

Lisa Kellmurray

Berriest Frosting Award:

John Gunn

Berry Berry Good Award:

Gabriella Thurmond

Most Soothing Award:

Linda Linton VanNederynen

Most Intricate Topping Award:

Summer Saraf

First Steps for The Sophie Fund

May 1, 2016May 23, 2016thesophiefund

The Sophie Fund is off to a heartening start. Nearly 100 donations arrived—from within the Ithaca community and from people all over the world—in just the first two weeks of the fund’s existence.

Our very deep thanks for your thoughtful and generous contributions. The Sophie Fund also thanks George Ferrari, Amy LeViere, and everyone at the Community Foundation of Tompkins County for their tremendous efforts on the fund’s behalf.

Posters announcing The Sophie Fund are going up all over Ithaca.

Please help us spread the word so The Sophie Fund can better support mental health issues in the greater Ithaca community.

At the Ithaca Farmer’s Market

At the GreenStar Natural Foods Market

At the Tompkins County Public Library

A Way To Help

April 10, 2016September 29, 2016thesophiefund

The Sophie Fund, established in April 2016 in memory of Cornell University fine arts student Sophie Hack MacLeod, supports mental health initiatives aiding young people in the Ithaca, New York area.

Sophie was bursting with talent and plans for the future until she succumbed to her battle with depression at the age of 23 on Easter Weekend in 2016. At the time of her death from an overdose of prescription drugs for her condition, she was on medical leave from her senior year studies. She was working in Ithaca’s vibrant culinary scene, and exploring a career as a pastry chef and opening a bakery after completing her degree.

Please consider making a contribution to The Sophie Fund through the Community Foundation of Tompkins County

Send a check payable to the “Community Foundation of Tompkins County” to the Foundation’s address:

Community Foundation of Tompkins County
200 East Buffalo Street
Suite 202
Ithaca, NY 14850

Or, visit the Community Foundation’s online giving page here.

Please be sure to designate that your donation is for “The Sophie Fund.”

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