‘So far, I’ve made 302 cakes, I want to make 1,000 cakes before my 18th birthday. I’m 15, so I have three more years to go.’

Noah Rabinowitz, Dix Hills

“I used to bake cakes and cookies with my mom when I was younger just for fun. My temple had a program to make food for a soup kitchen, and the main thing they didn’t have was dessert. I wanted to have a leadership role within my community, and I realized that baking was a fun thing to do.

“So far, I’ve made 302 cakes, I want to make 1,000 cakes before my 18th birthday. I’m 15, so I have three more years to go. If I get to my goal, I’ll probably set a higher one.

“I mainly get money for this through donations. I’ve found the best cakes are mixes from Costco or Target — they’re cheap and easy to make. When I go to the store, I usually get the whole shelf. I use my donation money to get whatever I can. I usually bake six cakes every Sunday morning. If I had more funding, I might branch out and try different things.

I mainly bake during the weekends, and I study while the cakes are in the oven.

“At school, I’m in a club called One World, and their main goal is to give back to charity. I talked to my adviser in the club, and she emailed all the teachers in the school about what I’m doing. I got a lot of donations, then my school posted on Facebook, and through that there was a link to my website. That’s when donations really picked up.

“I would say I’ve raised around $300 so far. Once or twice a month, I bake at my temple, and the temple brings the cakes to the soup kitchen. Mainly I bake at home, and me and my mother drop the cakes off Monday mornings before school.

“I go to Half Hollow Hills East. I play soccer and tennis and run track. My favorite subject is probably math because I feel like that comes the easiest to me, and I think social studies is interesting, even though it’s hard.

“I mainly bake during the weekends, and I study while the cakes are in the oven. In my free time, I hang out with my friends. I play video games sometimes, but I don’t really have enough time. In the future, I want to be an entrepreneur like my dad and grandpa.

“The people who work at the soup kitchen are very proud of what I’m doing; they’re very appreciative. I’ve gone to the soup kitchen and volunteered. It feels good. It’s very nice to see all the people come in and have smiles on their faces.”

Find out more about Noah’s work at noahscommunitycakes.com

Interviewed by Barbara Schuler