Welcome to our new trainees!
Over the last couple of weeks we have been absolutely thrilled to welcome a new group of trainees to our social enterprise Rise bakery.
The idea behind our training programme? It’s simple: to help people experiencing homelessness to integrate and grow in confidence through the extraordinary power of baking.
Our premise is to create an environment of compassion, inclusiveness and acceptance. It’s vital that our trainees have greater opportunities to reach their potential and broaden their hopes for the future.
Throughout the 10-week programme, our trainees meet weekly to learn about 10 different types of baked goods, from brownies to pizza dough, to vegan baking to traybakes. For some participants it’s a steep learning curve.
The trainees radiate such a wonderfully positive energy. They are curious and open to increasing their knowledge.
Many of the participants are in a vulnerable position. They are often under a huge amount of stress. This is why these classes provide a way for people to connect, as well as build confidence and skills for employment.
For each cohort of trainees, we try to ensure that there is some opportunity for employment after completing the course.
Some exciting news: next week we are organising a bakery trip to visit Better Health Bakery in Haggerston. Better Health Bakery is a social enterprise, which is part of The Centre for Better Health, a long-standing Hackney-based mental health charity. They offer trainee placements in their bakery to adults who have been distanced from employment due to mental ill-health.
We will get a “behind-the-scenes” tour of their bakery as well as sampling their delicious products. We can’t wait! We are so grateful to be connected to Better Health bakery. One of our current trainees has already secured a placement with Better Health to begin in the Autumn.
Some other fab plans: we are extending our bakery, which means we will be able to increase the number of trainees (and brownies that we bake). We will be updating you in due course.
In the meantime, enjoy this photo of some of our trainees’ scrumptious treats….
