We were thrilled to see so many of our community baking it and faking on Valentine’s Day and throughout February and March for The Big Bake 2021.
Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 restrictions, our ingenious bakers went above and beyond, holding virtual bakes or bakes in their households to spread the love – all for a great cause!
We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part – every treat sampled and every penny raised will make a real difference to those affected by brain tumours.
Our fabulous bakers raised over £25,800 in total – enough to fund more than 100 days of world-class research!
We’re especially grateful to our community for coming together over cake at what’s been a really tough time for the brain tumour community and the UK as whole. We’ve been so inspired by your passion and creativity,
Here are just two of the myriad ways our supporters baked up a storm during lockdown…
Tanya T’s Virtual Cakeathon
Tanya Thomas held a 12-hour virtual cakeathon on Saturday 13 February and has so far raised an amazing £1,450!
At the beginning of each online group session as part of her cakeathon event, Tanya shared her own story of being diagnosed with a brain tumour. She’s documented her story and her fundraising efforts in this video:
Tanya said, “It was pretty powerful sharing my story at the start of each session. When you hold a coffee and cake event, you just do it but don’t always take the opportunity to talk about why you’re doing it. I put raising awareness and funds hand-in-hand with each other.”
Tanya said it felt most emotional putting her video together but that she also found the process therapeutic and would recommended it to others.
Tanya D’s Doorstep Bake
Tanya Dorrance set up Super Sam’s Fund in memory of her son Sam, who passed away from a medulloblastoma in 2016. For The Big Bake, she decided to bake cakes and traybakes and put them outside her house along with a collection tin for donations. She raised over £950 in total, plus a friend that lives over 200 miles away also baked and sold cupcakes to raise a further £100!
Tanya said, “I found that people wanted to stop and chat and it was lovely to see friends again that I hadn’t seen in a while in a socially distanced way.
“One of my first customers was a lady who stopped to tell me her daughter had passed away from a brain tumour 20 years ago and today was her birthday! She said she couldn’t believe it when she saw the banners and balloons when out for a walk.
“She posted a message on her Facebook account so we very quickly had people coming along and mentioning her daughter. At one point we had a queue down the street and within two hours we’d completely run out of cake!”
We’re hugely grateful to Tanya T and Tanya D for their amazing efforts and ongoing support – as well as everyone else who baked up a storm in their kitchens to raise much-needed funds and shine a light on the awareness that brain tumours desperately need. Thank you!