Javairia is a baker who runs her own local business in Reading, Sweetie Bakes. She has been volunteering for Alana House for three years to support the women who use our services.
Each week, Javairia runs a baking group with the women to teach them about baking skills and offer useful advice on making and decorating cakes and sweet treats. The women gain valuable skills and knowledge about baking and food hygiene which they can use when cooking at home for themselves and their families. The women also sell their cakes and baked goods at the Alana House community café each week, which boosts their confidence and self-esteem, and the money raised goes towards supporting the café.
Javairia has donated her time and her cakes many times to support the work of PACT and Alana House. If the baking group is not taking place, she provides cakes for Alana House to sell at the café to keep it up and running. She has baked for Alana House events such as the Open Garden and the International Women’s Day celebration, where her cakes were sold to raise money for PACT’s work. She has created delicious centerpiece cakes for PACT’s adoption Family Fun Days at a discounted price through her business. Javairia also contributed several mouth-watering recipes to the Alana House recipe book, Love Trust Hope, including her signature Malteser Millionaire’s Biscuit. The book can be ordered here in PACT’s online shop: www.pactcharity.org/shop
Javairia said: “It has been really rewarding seeing the women learning new skills in the kitchen. I am so pleased with how willing they have been to try new things and how quickly they picked up techniques which they could then go on to recreate with their families.”
Thank you Javairia for the time and expertise you share with Alana House; you are a PACT superstar!
If you were inspired by Javairia’s story you can make a donation to Alana House here or find out more about Alana House’s work here.
