Cake A Difference Day

Between 22 October 2008 and 23 October 2008, in Manchester

Friday began with that sugar-rush thrill of excitement, because we had finally reached ‘Cake-A-Difference Day'!  The Agents4Change project covers the whole of Greater Manchester, so I started off by heading up to Bury, to Bury College and Holy Cross College to collect some contributions from eager students. The next stop was Manchester's famous patisserie, Slattery's in Whitefield, where I loaded my car with two very generous boxes of cakes that were being donated to the campaign by a very smiley sales assistant called Linda.

Back in the office, volunteers were popping into the BBC to proudly drop off their cakes, flapjacks, biscuits and buns.  A couple of first-time bakers nervously revealed their creations to cheers and pat's on the back!  It wasn't long before that lovely smell floated around the office and admirers began passing my desk to enquire after ‘Make A Difference Day'.  Six sandwich cakes and thirteen huge boxes bursting with buns, plus another two from Slattery's, were then onto their next leg of their journey!

Mustard Tree, a Christian charity for the homeless, welcomed me with eager anticipation onto their Friday-night soup run.  A team of ten worked away all evening cutting cakes, preparing hot drinks and making sandwiches ready to go down to Store Street.

It was a cold night, but the weather stayed fair for us all.  Approximately 45 people turned out to be fed that evening and the cakes were a welcome surprise!  Several people thanked the volunteers and I for giving up our time to help that evening, knowing that no-one had to be there.  Dolly mixture decorations lit up one mans eyes, as he was handed a slice of sponge cake rather than the biscuits that are usually supplied.

As the time approached ten pm and the street began to empty we packed up what was left.  Tony, the team leader, couldn't believe how wonderful the Agents4Change volunteers had been to donate all this to people less fortunate than themselves.  We made one last trip over to a shelter on Downing Street for homeless men, to drop off the remaining cakes and sandwiches, ensuring that nothing was wasted.

Arriving back at Mustard Tree to finish off the washing up, I had time to reflect on the day as a whole.  New volunteers involved, new skills learned and lots of good done by all.  This may not have been the biggest event in the UK, but there was no denying the smiles that showed how much Manchester's volunteers enjoyed Making A Difference this year.

Posted on 15 October 2008 10:00:48 by Becky Taplin

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