Cupcakes for a Cause, a fundraiser held by Hoffman Estates High School, will be taking place on Oct. 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the help of Fremd’s organization Love Your Friends Equally (LYFE). Cupcakes will be sold in the Hoffman Estates High School cafeteria to raise money for their Special Olympics program and Blessings in a Backpack and Hawks’ Nest, two organizations that feed at-risk school children in the U.S.

LYFE, which began this fall at Fremd, defines their cause as building friendships in the community. After encountering a similar program at Palatine High School, math teacher Shannon Denna offered to sponsor the idea, having gone through an altering personal experience with her daughter, who was born with Down Syndrome.

“We thought we might be able to offer a different type of club for students with disabilities to connect with the rest of the school that they don’t regularly see in classes, and connect students with volunteering opportunities for people with disabilities,” Denna said.

LYFE decided to help out with Hoffman Estates High School’s Cupcakes for a Cause because the fundraiser spreads awareness for special needs children.

Sophomore Varun Cidambi believes LYFE and the Cupcakes for a Cause fundraiser help the community reach out to people they don’t always see at school.

“I think it’s good that we have fundraisers like these to keep the student populace in touch with the special needs kids,” Cidambi said. “We don’t reach out to them as much, and LYFE is an outlet for us to do that.”

Entry at the event is free,while cupcakes are priced at $2 or a dozen for $20.  Face painting and other games for children will be available. Anyone can volunteer to bake or assist LYFE at Cupcakes for a Cause by registering here online. The organization recommends registration be completed before Oct. 15. Additionally, a cupcake contest can be entered by baking for the event. At Fremd, students can bake cupcakes on Thursday, Oct. 22, in room 112 from 3-5 p.m.

Even though the fundraiser is specifically for Hoffman Estates High School, junior Emily Keith hopes to replicate Cupcakes for a Cause at Fremd as LYFE expands.

“I think as LYFE grows, Fremd might have fundraisers like these in the future,” Keith said. “We’re still pretty new, and something like this is a big thing to get off the ground.If it is something that everyone shows interest in, then we can look at putting something like this together in the future.”