On Wednesday 18th November we are holding our hvoss 'BBO 12 hour Bake Off Bonanza' from 8am - 8pm. During the 12 hours we aim to bake/cook: bread, soup, jam tarts, lemon drizzle cake, vegan curry, and shortbread. Different members of the group will be leading each bake.

During the first national lockdown BBO moved activities online, finding ways to enable social engagement at a time where many were shielding and felt isolated. One of the ways we found to do so was through a weekly baking workshop. At the start many of us had never baked independently, so together we supported one another to develop new skills and found a way to stay connected. As we enter a second lockdown we wish to hold an event which celebrates all we have overcome, but also celebrates our continued commitment to support one another to promote mental wellbeing and ease feelings of social isolation.

The funds we raise for hvoss will allow us to keep staff working from home and supporting people. Specifically, the money will be used to pay for publication of two booklets we created with participants over lockdown. 1. Stories from lockdown of individual journeys, 2. BBO Baking Book of recipes. Both are important community and historical documents detailing the work we have done over 2020. 

This has been a challenging time for many of the people we work with who are isolated and shielding, living alone with a range of physical and mental health challenges. Our employability workshops online help people to move into volunteering and paid work and our virtual social events and 121 support help people make friends and keep connected. Your donations will help us to keep doing this.