NILES — Burgers, veggie bowls and macaroni and cheese will not be the end of one’s meal at The Rage Saturday, Jan. 18.

From 2 to 4 p.m., in the midst of the Hunter Ice Festival, people can drop by the restaurant, 219 N. Front St., to purchase cupcakes, eat them and vote on the best at the Baby Cakes Cupcake contest, hosted by LifePlan’s Niles branch, 527 E. Main St.

All proceeds for the event will go toward LifePlan’s regular programming. The Christian-centered nonprofit specializes in pregnancy and family planning, providing free resources, such as peer-to-peer counseling, ultrasounds, pregnancy tests and infant products.

A truck accepting used infant items for needy parents will be accepting donations near LifePlan from 1 to 4 p.m. in conjunction with the event and the nonprofit’s Sanctity of Life Month.

Baby Cakes participants can donate $20 by Jan. 13 to LifePlan to create up to two flavors for the contest, but $5 can be added for each additional flavor. After Jan. 13, the base donation goes up to $30. Registration forms can be found at lifeplan.org/babycakes.

Bakers can enter into the adult, youth or professional categories. The youth category is for those 17 and under, and the professional category is for those who own a business or sell their baked goods.

After a 12:15 p.m. dropoff at The Rage Jan. 18, the Baby Cakes contest will open to the public at 2 p.m., where judging results, purchasing and eating will commence.

Cupcakes will be available by donating $2 for each cupcake, giving $5 for three or $15 for a baker’s dozen.

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories: best tasting, best presentation, people’s choice and best representation of LifePlan and its values.

Lyndon Azcuna is one of the judges who will ultimately designate prizes. He started judging five years ago when he first came to LifePlan as its executive director.

He has learned some tips of the trade since then.

“After you taste 35 cupcakes, you get lightheaded from all the sugar,” he said with a laugh. “I’m going to pace myself this year and not each so much. Small bites from each one.”

Aside from tasting great cupcakes, Azcuna said he enjoys raising awareness about LifePlan and its free programs. Like other events, Baby Cakes is meant to bring the nonprofit closer to area residents, informing them of a resource they otherwise may not know about.

“I love just working with the community, bringing the community around needs and challenges,” Azcuna said. “We’ll all work together to build a better community, healthier kids, better schools, better marriages and stronger families.”

To do so, LifePlan has been expanding its outreach through public events and in-school presentations, allowing the nonprofit to “be more proactive than reactive,” when personal and familial crises and needs arise, Azcuna said.

“We can’t wait for clients to come through our doors,” he said. “We have to go out and meet them.”

Promoting the 39-year-old organization is especially important, Azcuna said, as a recent name change from Pregnancy Care Center in 2018 may still cause confusion for some people.