Two Days to Go
We’ve got just over two days to go on our Crowdfunder, and every penny we raise for the crowd from now on will go towards funding baking projects with and in the community.
Over the last few years we’ve worked with a whole host of different groups; from vulnerable pupils at the local school, to Employment Support Allowance claimants, to older people at risk of isolation. We want to give people and groups like this the chance to benefit from the therapeutic qualities of baking bread.
By pledging you’ll help us nourish the community, and you can grab a great reward too. Choose from vouchers for bread or workshops, VIP pizza night tickets, or donating your reward to people less well off. Please consider pledging and sharing.
We’ve Done It
We’ve done it! We can’t quite believe it yet, but earlier today we hit the £20000 mark. Thank you, thank you, thank you to every one of our 200+ backers so far, who have ensured we can kit out the bakehouse on Stoneham Road and further nourish the community.
Those of you who have been keeping an eye on the target will have seen that we jumped very speedily from £10000 to £20000; in fact it was one pledge. We’d applied to the Santander Changemaker Match Fund, and we’re really pleased to say that we were accepted, meaning that Santander pledged the remaining £10000 of our target.
So what next? Well, Crowdfunder give us the chance to add a stretch target. This is a great opportunity, and we want to grab it with both hands and use it to support more people with their wellbeing through working with dough. With the money we overfund, we want to run more projects with the local schools, older people’s groups, women going through times of difficulty, and be able to reach areas of the community we’ve not worked with before.
We still knead you, but so does the wider community!
We Knead Your Help
Today we launched our crowdfunding campaign with a pop-up shop in our premises on Stoneham Road. As many of you will know, we’ve been busy filling, sanding and painting. It’s now time to fill the space with new wiring, an oven, mixer…and all the other equipment we will need to turn the shape into a community bakery. We ‘knead’ your help!
In return for your money, we have some great rewards for you. For the small amount of £10, you can support us, and in return receive a loaf a week for four weeks when we’re open. We also have other rewards, including spaces on our breadmaking workshops, an opportunity to attend a VIP pizza night, and even the chance for a personalised breadmaking workshop for you and some friends. So, if you want to help us out please visit our crowfunder page, and make a pledge.
Stoneham Bakehouse at the Gateway Centre
One of the great things about Stoneham Bakehouse’s growth over the last few years has been the range of people we’ve worked with. From children in pre-schools, to older people suffering from dementia, we’ve used breadmaking to support their wellbeing.
The other week, I had the privilege to work with a group of women from the Gateway Centre, run by Off the Fence. The women who use the centre are often going through times of difficulty or emotional distress, and I was humbled to be welcomed into the group so warmly. Baking bread with a group always has a way of easing tensions, and encouraging chat, and these words below show how this group benefitted from the session.
It was lovely to see all the women so happy baking bread.
It brought back lots of happy memories of baking when I was a child
I could have kneaded all day – it was very relaxing.
At this exciting time for the Bakehouse, with painting and bakery planning going on, it was a brilliant reminder of the importance of our work in the community. As we move forward, we want be able to support people across the community whatever their difficulties, and we’re excited about doing so at the bakehouse on Stoneham Road.
