First Place Awardee Sadie Hays and with Baking Contest Emcees. The Sophie Fund
n October 19, The Sophie Fund hosted its ninth Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest to promote dialogue around suicide prevention. This year, the contest was sponsored by Visions Federal Credit Union, Cayuga Health, and Maguire.
The Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest was created to introduce The Sophie Fund to the community, contribute to local suicide prevention efforts, and bring joy to the greater Ithaca community. The event pays tribute to the organization’s namesake—Sophie Hack MacLeod, a Cornell student who was passionate about music and baking before her death in 2016. Scott MacLeod, Sophie’s father and co-founder of The Sophie Fund, told The Tattler that Sophie was an aspiring pastry chef and “an artist when it came to tasty and creative cupcakes.” Friends and family of MacLeod shared stories of her cupcake creations at the event, noting that they were some of the best cupcakes they’d had.
A 501(c)3 nonprofit, The Sophie Fund was created in memory of MacLeod in 2016. Since then, it has spearheaded various initiatives in Tompkins County to increase awareness about and fight the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health. For example, the Sophie Fund is collaborating with partners to support suicide prevention within Tompkins County’s seven school districts. The organization also continues to advocate for mental health awareness through its membership with the Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force. This year, The Sophie Fund has been honored with an Agda Osborn Award from Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca and a James J. Byrnes Award for Excellence from Tompkins Community Bank and the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County.
Over half a dozen local mental health organizations set up stands at this year’s event, from the Ithaca Free Clinic to Be Kind Ithaca. Micaela Corazon, a Certified Peer Specialist for the Mental Health Association of Tompkins County, emphasized the importance of finding support for mental health. “Reach out. Reach out to people, reach out to peers. Don’t suffer alone,” she stressed.
Emceed by returning host Carley Robinson and Gabriella da Silva Carr, a friend of Sophie’s, the event also featured an hour of live music preceding the awards ceremony. Performances by Joe Gibson and Dan Collins, Singtrece and Kenneth McLaurin, and Rachel Beverly were enjoyed by dozens of eventgoers of all ages.
In total, twenty-nine bakers entered the contest. Many received personalized “Special Awards,” from the “Got Me Feline Good Award” to the prize for the “Most Em-‘Pink’-athetic” cupcake. Nine bakers received honorable mentions, including IHS student Katy Holloway ’26, who has participated in the contest since 2019. Her vanilla cupcake, filled with pomegranate curd and topped with pistachio frosting, paid homage to the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades.
A youth award was given to Isabel Perkins for her “Dream Cupcake,” a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting and filled with dulce de leche. Perkins told a tale in which the protagonist encountered a cupcake-shaped building containing the “dream” chocolate cupcake.
The three finalist’s cupcakes were tasted and judged in front of the audience. Judges Yuko Jingu of Akemi Food, Via Carpenter of Via’s Cookies, and Susan Hack of The Sophie Fund assessed each cupcake based on its appearance, originality, and taste.
The “Harvest Caramel Apple Cupcake” received third place, highlighting three different types of apple, apple butter, and apple pie filling. The baker, Grace Qi, used apples in her cupcakes to honor childhood memories of eating caramel apples with her mom, reflecting that they were “a tribute to those moments.” Jingu remarked that the cake was the perfect blend of sweetness and tartness, reminding her of autumn.
A combination of Bengali and Dominican flavors, the “Ras Malai Tres Leches Cupcake” baked by Marina Mahasin took second place. “The thing that struck me most about this cupcake was the lightness of it,” Hack told the audience; Jingu compared the airiness of the cupcake to Japanese cheesecake. Mahasin cited her upbringing in Bangladesh and adult life in America as inspiration for the cupcakes, writing that “combining [Ras Malai and Tres Leches] would be the perfect way to blend my culture with new experiences.”
Baked by Sadie Hays, the winning cupcake, the “Orange Pomegranate Cupcake,” featured hints of spice complimenting bright citrus flavors. Carpenter described the cupcake as “gently sweet” with a soft texture; Hack noted the jamminess and moistness of the cupcake. In her story about the cupcake, Hays wrote “There is a lot of struggle in the world these days. Through it all, I am looking for the sun rays, the lightness, the freshness, the optimism, and above all, the harmony.” An experiment with Middle Eastern flavors and spices, the cupcakes aimed to reflect this harmony and balance.
When asked about his message to community members struggling with their mental health, Mr. MacLeod shared two main points of advice. Firstly, he urges all to use the vast mental health resources available in the community; “Seek help for yourself. Or, if a friend or loved one seems to be struggling, help guide them to getting support.” Secondly, he encourages everyone to expand their knowledge of mental health. “Knowledge is power,” he told The Tattler. “With it, you can go a long way toward helping yourself and others.”
To learn more about The Sophie Fund, donate, or browse their extensive list of local, state, and national resources, visit thesophiefund.org.
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