Cake + love = joy

Birthday cakes bring a once-a-year magic that Free Cakes For Kids UK wants every child, whatever their situation, to enjoy. “The volunteer bakers in our network go above and beyond with their creations,” says Jon Dell, an accountant and co-director of the charity. “We once had a referral from a social agency to make a cake for a child who was mad about fire engines. A woman in the Sheffield group made a lovely novelty cake, and it just so happened that her daughter was a firefighter, so the cake arrived at the child’s school in a fire engine… The kid was over the moon: a cake, a fire engine and a firefighter! It would have made them feel so special.”

BAKING A DIFFERENCE

The charity’s first group was set up in Oxford in 2008 by Henriette Lundgren, who’d read about the Free Cakes for Kids concept in the US. It works on a simple premise: every child should have their own birthday cake. It could be for any number of reasons that they might otherwise go without, and referrals are made to one of the 80-strong network of independent regional groups through children’s charities such as Barnardo’s, food banks, prisons and social agencies – all handled confidentially.

A call then goes out to volunteers in the local group, who will bake a cake for free. They may make a simple victoria sponge or fulfil a wish, bringing a favourite theme to life: anything from Peppa Pig and Pokémon to unicorns and Buffy The Vampire Slayer (some groups also provide cakes for care leavers who are aged 16-25).

“Receiving a cake brings the child a sense of pride: ‘Someone has made this for me, I’m special, this is my day’,” says Jon, himself a keen baker. “Cakes are made for sharing, so it’s not just the child but also those in their support network – who may also be in a not-great situation – who have a bit of a celebration.”

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