This year started with a big bang. Free Cakes for Kids was invited to attend the launch of Oxfordshire Community Foundation’s (OCF) Jubilee Fund at the Turl Street Kitchen. On 11 January, the fund was officially launched by HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, in celebration of the Queen’s 60th jubilee this year. We had been invited to the event as a result of two successful funding applications of Free Cakes for Kids Oxford in 2010 and 2011, granting the group £1,000 each year to support the development of local community baking activities.

A fabulous time was had by all at the launch, particularly Henriette Lundgren (Founder of Free Cakes for Kids in the UK and Oxford Coordinator) and Stephanie Griggs-Trevarthen (Free Cakes for Kids Network Coordinator), who were on hand to represent our project to the Prince. His Royal Highness took the time to speak to each of the projects on display and seemed particularly enamoured with the jubilee-themed cupcakes Jette and Steph had on offer. While not remembering his own birthday cakes particularly well — and no, we weren’t cheeky enough to ask if the Queen made his birthday cakes! –, he was delighted to hear how far and wide the project has spread across the UK in such a short amount of time.

The first Free Cakes for Kids group in the UK was founded in December 2008. Having read about the project in the US, Henriette Lundgren adapted the model to her local community and started the first group in Oxford. Since then the group has grown steadily, extended its activities to community baking sessions and helped others set up groups in their communities. Especially 2011 was an extremely busy year with Free Cakes for Kids UK going from only a handful of groups in January to over 30 by December. Groups now exist all across the UK, including Inverness, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, Torbay, Manchester, Birmingham, Norwich and many parts of London.

Inspired by the dedication and commitment The Queen has shown to community service and charity work during the past 60 years, the Jubilee Fund will create a community fund for Oxfordshire for the next 60 years. It will be used to support future grants to small, local voluntary groups in need of money to continue their vital work providing support and services to those who need them most on our own doorsteps in Oxfordshire.

Free Cakes for Kids Oxford is very grateful for the grants that OCF has awarded the group in the past, and we are excited about the opportunities that the new Jubilee Fund might bring for Oxfordshire. The royal seal of approval will certainly help and maybe even foster similar initiatives in other parts of the country.

See also: Video report on OxBox, Oxford Times article

It’s only been two-and-a-half years since the first Free Cakes For Kids birthday cake changed hands in the UK, but the FCFK network is growing rapidly. Volunteers are now baking for families in Bicester, Bristol, Birmingham, Braintree, Cardiff, Croydon, Leeds, London (Ealing, Hackney, Merton, Redbridge & Sutton), Neath, Newport, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Shipton, Swansea, Waterlooville and Wallingford! And even more groups are currently getting started. You can find an up-to-date map of local groups on our Where we bake page.

With the network now spanning a vast proportion of the UK, we thought that this is a great moment to get together, take stock and celebrate what we have achieved already! As a result, the first-ever Free Cakes for Kids UK Network Day will take place this Saturday in Oxford. For the first time, organisers and volunteers from local groups across the country will come together for a day of celebration and sharing, discussing and exchanging of ideas and best practices. The goal is to get to know each other as a network, compare notes, think about the future and celebrate our common cause. Hopefully, this will become an annual event!

Over the past ten weeks, a busy team of FCFK volunteers has been out and about enabling this day to happen. Big thanks to Henriette Lundgren and Malte Ziewitz (FCFK Oxford), Sarah Williams (FCFK Cardiff) and Steph Griggs-Trevarthen (FCFK UK). We are also extremely grateful for the generous support from local Oxford businesses. These include:

• Debbie Warland and her team at The Picnic Hamper
• Pat Green (Tesco Community Champion)
• Ian (Sainsbury’s, Cowley Road, Oxford)
• Robin (Co-operative Supermarket, Divinity Road, Oxford)
• Honest Stationery (Cowley Road, Oxford)
• Professional Music Technology (Cowley Road, Oxford)

We are very much looking forward to the first-ever Free Cakes for Kids UK Day 2011 and cannot wait to meet everyone on the 10th of September!

by Henriette, Free Cakes for Kids Oxford

For all those who missed Monday’s interview with Sara and myself on BBC Radio Oxford, here is the full recording. We were invited for a 10-minute interview in Malcolm Boyden’s morning show.

Free Cakes for Kids Oxford on BBC Radio (mp3)

As you can see on the photo below, we had a lot of fun. You can get quite nervous about talking live on the radio, but Malcolm Boyden turned out to be a great and welcoming host.

Henriette & Sara getting giggly at BBC Oxford

Malcolm even called on Didcot and Abingdon to set up new groups. So what are we waiting for, Oxfordshire? :)

by Steph, FCFK UK Network Coordinator

We just updated our website, and as you can see, not much has changed. We hope that you like the new platform, which will make it easier for us to keep you posted on the latest developments in the growing Free Cakes for Kids network.