Originally published in Algemeiner

Image Description
Sara Katsoff is not the typical seminary girl spending her gap year studying in Jerusalem. Back in New York, the 18-year-old from Monsey owns Sara’s Sweets, a custom cake and design business where she sells specialty cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. The talented teen decided to bring her cake-baking talents to Israel as well, but she is putting them to use in a different way there.

Katsoff got in touch with OneFamily Fund, Israel’s only national organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of victims of terror attacks and their families. Together, OneFamily and Sarah decided to coordinate a cake-decorating class for 25 Israeli victims of terror and bereaved mothers, who lost children in terror attacks.

Over the course of three hours, Sarah taught the group the basics of working with fondant, and assisted them in creating individual cake masterpieces.

“It was my first time teaching a cake-decorating class,” Katsoff told Tazpit News Agency. “When the moms saw me – this 18-year-old girl ready to teach – they didn’t know what to expect and were kind of surprised.”

“Before I opened my cake business in New York, I spent several years teaching myself how to professionally decorate cakes,” explains Katsoff. “It was a special and important experience for me to teach what I know to people who have gone through such tragic experiences.”

Katsoff says that the smiles at the end of the cake-decorating session were worth the experience. “At the end, everyone was happy with the cakes they created,” she said.

According to OneFamily, the victims of terror and bereaved mothers had an empowering experience, where they enjoyed creating items that impressed their friends and family.

Katsoff is committed to returning to OneFamily for additional classes. “I can’t wait to do this again,” she says.