Clarke Living hosts an annual feel-good cake making fundraiser.
by Kelly McCoy
When Joanne O’Connell describes a little boy with a warm smile and loving spirit, she says he would make you laugh with his impish curiosity and inspire you with his leadership. His favorite color? Orange. Favorite food? The special chocolate cake his mom makes every year to honor his memory on his birthday. On September 9, 2008, Tim O’Connell died of acute myeloid leukemia, just two days after his tenth birthday. From the time Tim was diagnosed in 2007, family, friends, and neighbors in the O’Connells’ hometown of Holliston, Massachusetts, wanted to help in some way. And they are still making a difference in his memory more than 16 years later. Touched by Tim’s strength and courage, thousands of people have come forward over those years in different ways. Together, they have raised more than 1.2 million dollars for The Timothy O’Connell Foundation.
The Foundation has raised funds in Tim’s memory through fun runs, marathons, whiffle ball tournaments, and the Orange Appeal, an evening of camaraderie, delicious food, and education. Perhaps the most unique fundraiser that Tim O’Connell inspired is the Foundation’s annual “Timmy Cakes” bake sale. “During Tim’s illness, as a result of his chemotherapy, he had lost his sense of taste and his appetite and was losing dangerous amounts of weight. In hopes that he’d keep some weight on, I began foisting on Tim a chocolate cake that I’d been baking since my cooking school days, which was his favorite,” explains his mom, Joanne. “When Tim passed, and we were discussing keeping his memory alive by funding a scholarship at our local high school, it dawned on us that we could fund it by baking and selling cakes, which, of course, provided me with the extra benefit of baking—something I enjoy—with friends. And to do that with so many friends who knew and loved Tim and supported our family throughout Tim’s illness has made it so much more special.”
Sales of the initial batch of 50 “Timmy Cakes” baked by Joanne and her team in the fundraiser’s first year were so successful that Joanne, in subsequent years, found herself baking as many as 350 cakes.
Joanne credits her and her team’s ability to produce such prolific numbers of cakes, and thus the success of the Foundation’s fundraising from cake sales, to the generosity of the Clarke family, who owns three Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove appliance showrooms in New England. Joanne was acquainted with Tom Clarke from work she had done for chefs on-site at Clarke’s largest showroom, which just so happens to be in Milford, right next to the O’Connells’ hometown of Holliston. Tom was aware of Tim’s passing, and learned of Joanne’s plans for a cake sale, and kindly offered the Clarke showroom kitchens and their state-of-the-art ovens for her use during Labor Day week, which falls in September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and typically includes Tim’s September 7 birth date and the date of his passing, September 9. And so that week is both poignant and jubilant for the O’Connells. The Clarke family has welcomed the Foundation’s bakers each and every year since 2010 for the Timmy Cakes baking marathon. This year, Tim’s Team, which now includes an army of Tim’s family, Clarke staff, and friends– including some of Tim’s and his brothers’ childhood friends and schoolmates, now in their mid-20s– mixed, baked, decorated and packaged more than 275 cakes in four days. Every last cake was sold within the last day of baking.
“Almost everyone at Clarke is a parent or grandparent,” said Clarke President Sean Clarke. “This is such a special fundraiser for all of us. We are so proud to be the place where wonderful ingredients and true love are poured into these cakes, and the result helps families struggling with the challenges of pediatric cancer.”
Tim’s cancer battle has not only challenged both his mother Joanne and his older brother Brendan to become marathon runners to raise funds in his memory, but it brought and has held together an entire community to raise crucial funds for cancer research, medical education, and grief support. Tim O’Connell remains at the forefront of the memories of so many, and his courage and positivity continue to inspire charitable works that are making a difference in thousands of lives. For more information on The Timothy O’Connell Foundation and more than a dozen important initiatives they have supported, please visit timsteam.org.
