Victoria Dixon, a 19-year-old business marketing student at Texas Southern University, has had a heart for service since her kindergarten days. Unlike most, whose hearts grow colder and harder with age, Dixon’s has only expanded, as has her initiative to help those in need.
Enter the initiative Baking To Bless. And bless it has.
“Baking to Bless is an initiative that I started when I was six years old,” said Dixon. “Of course, back then I had a lot more help. But it is essentially a glorified bake sales system.”
Truth be told, Dixon is being modest. Her “glorified bake sale” has impacted hundreds, if not thousands, of lives over the years.
“We do different bake sales for different charitable initiatives, emergency relief efforts, different things like that. When I was six years old, we did it for the first time for Haiti when there was a hurricane there in 2010. The second time we did it for Hurricane Harvey,” recalled Dixon.
Not only do members of her church, Community of Faith, pastored by her father, Dr. James Dixon, look forward to donating their baked goods for the effort, but the younger Dixon also receives donated baked goods from various bakers and bakeries from around the city, all help raise funds for the chosen cause for that particular year.
ORIGINS
Dixon, who seeks to become a make-up artist and build a beauty empire to fund her charitable efforts, traces the idea for Baking To Bless to elementary school.
“I was attending a school called the Woodland School for Young Scholars, somewhat of a Montessori-type school. We held a bake sale in order to assist in the relief efforts,” said Dixon, who felt the need to do more after the school project was complete.
“I remember feeling like I had really done something that mattered and of value, but still also feeling like I hadn’t done enough… I said to my dad, ‘We have to do more. We have to do another one. Maybe we could do one at the church.’ I just wanted to find ways to expand and keep giving back. And my dad was amazing in connecting me with the right people and assisting me in bringing it to fruition.”
THIS YEAR’S EVENT
This year’s event, scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 3 at 12:345pm at King’s Court (1024 Pinemont Dr., Houston, 77018) will feature guest appearances from Mayor Sylvester Turner, Paul Wall and more. Donated goods for the bake sale and auction will come from Greasy Spoon, Esther’s Cajun Café & Soul Food, 5 Central, Momma Mims, Wall and some sports memorabilia Dxion’s father has collected over the years.
“What most excites me is just how much bigger it is this time around. This time around, we are doing the initiative to support Toys of Hope and Coats of Compassion with Good Gang USA, two projects that benefit under-resourced but greatly deserving children in our community.
“There’s really nothing like Christmas time and the holiday season. It’s something that just going through day-to-day like, we may take for granted that other people don’t experience that same holiday joy – especially the children. It is so important for me to use this season to really do something bigger than myself. The biggest gift for me and my amazing team that I’m working with is to give back,” she added.
Dixon and her team are requesting that individuals or businesses wishing to make donations of baked goods, restaurant gift cards, or funds email victoriadixon12345@gmail.com. Donations can be made directly to Cash App ($goodgangusa) or Zelle (donate@goodgangusa.org) with the memo “BakingtoBless”
ABOUT VICTORIA DIXON
Place of Birth: The Woodlands, a little bit outside of Houston.
Education: I graduated high school. I was homeschooled for my last two years via Ignite Christian Academy. I’m currently studying at Texas Southern University, pursuing a major in marketing and I plan to declare a minor in Spanish.
Favorite thing about Houston: The melting pot culture of it all. There’s always so much to do. I feel like a lot of cities, they have one cuisine that stands out. In Houston, you can find everything good, so I love that.
Professional Aspirations: I am going to become a makeup artist. I’m currently working on that right now. I plan to have a product line in the future. So, all things beauty, hair, skin, makeup, that’s where I plan to build my empire. And I also plan to use my empire to fund Baking To Bless and do more charitable things. That’s what I see myself doing in the future.
What are you reading currently: To be very honest, I am currently working on getting more into the Bible. I know that sounds probably like a cliche answer, but I am currently working through the Book of Psalms with my sisters. That has been taking up a lot of my reading time because it’s a bit of a hefty book. But it was a goal of mine this year, especially in the last six months, to really dive deeper into that.
What’s on your playlist these days: A lot of Beyonce. I love Beyonce. I’m a Houston girl through and through. Old Beyonce in the “Check on It” era. New Beyonce in the “Renaissance” era. I’m pretty sure she wrote “Church Girl” just for me. So, that is heavy, heavy on my playlist. We just went to the reunion concert, so I’ve been listening to a lot of Clark Sisters, Kirk Franklin; all of them have been in the rotation too.
Mantra: Yes, “You are always exactly where you’re supposed to be.” I struggle with anxiety, so that is something that is always calming for me to just remember that my steps are ordered and even when things don’t feel right, they always are working out for your good. So, I always say to myself when things are seeming a little bit uncertain, “This is a part of the plan. You are exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
