A plea to save an organisation that bakes for children is being heard as people are coming forward to volunteer as team leader.
Free Cakes For Kids Liverpool helps give the gift of a birthday cake to children who would otherwise be unlikely to receive one.
The service, which began in 2008, provides treats for children across the country.
The Merseyside group was set up in 2012 by Kelly Roskell, but after a few years decided she could not longer run it due to her busy schedule. Rachel Garner and Jen Burgess, who are now the group co-ordinators, decided to take over because they did not want to see it close.
Ms Garner told JMU Journalism: “We wanted to keep it ticking over, but in the past few years we have wanted it to grow and without a new member we cannot do this.
“Instead of feeling guilty that we cannot reach more children we decided to find someone,” she added.
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The organisation first advertised for a volunteer leader position in October of last year but it wasn’t successful. Two weeks ago they decided to seek someone for role again, but this time with the sad news that they would have to close in April if they didn’t find anyone.
The urgency has been felt and Ms Garner says she has had four people approach her with interest.
The 40-year-old, who also works for the NHS and Tesco, told JMU Journalism: “We want to reach out to children across Merseyside, especially because our closest free cake service no longer exists.”
The charity works with agencies who contact them with a child they believe needs a cake. The organisation then messages all the volunteers to see who wants to create the dessert, along with the child’s age, gender and theme to help guide their baking. Those who volunteer do not need any particular qualifications, just a love of baking.