Preheat your ovens and get baking for the babies of Canberra’s NICU

Posted on 13 June, 2023

Bake for Babies is back again this year, and the beautiful little newborns in Canberra’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit need you!

Officially running until 31 August, Newborn Intensive Care Foundation’s (NICF) Bake for Babies encourages Canberran’s to sell their homemade baked goodies to raise much-needed funds to help improve the lives and care of the babies in Canberra Hospital’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

100 per cent of all donations received by the NICF this year will go towards upgrading a vital piece of technology—the NICUcam. The NICUcam provided the families of newborns to access a private live stream of their child when they couldn’t be by their side but unfortunately, this system is no longer supported in Australia. NICF aims to use the money raised by Bake for Babies to fund the purchase of Angel Eyes as a replacement to provide already struggling families with a connection to their newborns.

It’s easy—first, register online via their website. Then, get organised! Plan your impressive bake sale menu (or work out what baked goods you can actually make!) and gather all your ingredients and supplies necessary for a successful stall. Once you’ve gotten yourself sorted, make sure to spread the word. And once stomachs and hearts are filled with sweetness, deposit the profits of your event to the provided NICF bank account.

Baking is about creativity, so don’t think you have to limit yourself to a simple cupcake bake sale. You can bake anything your stomach dreams of – think scones, pizza, or maybe even cheesecake! You don’t even have to host a stall. Invite your friends over for an all-you-can-eat baked buffet and charge them a ‘ticket’ per seat, have a pop-up morning tea at work, or take on the Bake Challenge—get sponsored to learn how to bake (or be sponsored to stay well away from your oven!). In whatever way the kitchen calls to you, and no matter how big or small, every donation from a Bake for Babies event makes a significant difference in a precious newborn’s life.

Tina Martinovic, NICF Canberra’s fundraising coordinator, has a special connection to the cause that drives her passion for the annual event—her son, Kristijan. Without NCIF, and the Canberra Hospital’s NICU, Kristijan wouldn’t be here. And Tina knows all too well how important the NICUcam was firsthand.

Kristijan, after his birth, spent 3 months in hospital, with the NICUcam vital in providing a link between Kristijan and his family. Tina will be forever grateful to the NCIF and Canberra Hospital for the level of work and care they provide and understands just how critical fundraising events such as Bake for Babies is for their support.

So, roll up your sleeves and don your aprons Canberra—let’s get baking!