Take on the challenge of rainbow baking with family, friends or colleagues

Have fun and raise vital funds to help give families with a seriously ill child precious time when it matters more than ever.

Leading children’s charity, Rainbow Trust, is calling on families across England to take part in a new campaign, the Great Rainbow Bake, on Bank Holiday Monday, May 7 to help support families caring for a seriously ill child. The campaign invites families and friends to celebrate spending precious time together and give themselves a baking challenge while raising vital awareness and funds for Rainbow Trust to give families with a seriously ill child time when it matters more than ever.

The charity is encouraging people to Bake and Donate either by making a donation themselves or selling their cakes to family, friends and colleagues. Cakes do not have to be rainbow-themed – the campaign is all about having fun and raising awareness of a worthy cause. Rainbow Trust enables families who have a child with a life-threatening illness to make the most of their time together by pairing each family with an expert family support worker who helps them at home, in hospital and in the community, for as long as it is needed. Rainbow Trust has eight care teams of family support workers covering nine locations in England.

The awareness and funds raised from the Great Rainbow Bake will help families like the Phillips, from Drayton, Portsmouth, who have been supported by Rainbow Trust for around three years. Mum Katie and her three sons, nine-year-old Jacob and three-year old twins Louis and Charlie, who has an undiagnosed genetic condition and has started walking against the odds, are fronting the Great Rainbow Bake because they are so grateful for the support they have received from Rainbow Trust.

“I would encourage people to take part in the Great Rainbow Bake and help families like ours because Rainbow Trust has been like a lifeline,” Katie said. Little Charlie is partly tube fed and cannot speak. He is on oxygen at night and he has difficulties co-ordinating and controlling his movements and doctors are continually analysing his DNA to try and find out more about his undiagnosed condition. Yet, despite all this, he is doing really well. Rainbow Trust family support workers, Dawn and Amanda, have supported the Phillips family ever since Katie first returned home following a five-month stint in hospital with Charlie. They helped Jacob come to terms with his younger brother’s illness, helping him feel less isolated by taking him out on day trips with other children.

“Dawn and Amanda help Jacob feel special again,” Katie said. “I still don’t know what the future holds for Charlie but this time last year I would not have said he would be walking.”

Oonagh Goodman, director of fundraising and marketing at Rainbow Trust, said: “We are very excited to be launching the Great Rainbow Bake, which offers a great opportunity for families to spend precious time together having fun taking on a baking challenge. This campaign is all about taking part, having fun and raising awareness of families caring for a seriously ill child.

We would love to see as many families as possible join in and help Rainbow Trust’s Family Support Workers reach more families like Katie’s.”

You can find out more about the Great Rainbow Bake and watch an animation about the campaign by visiting http://rainbowtrust.org.uk/great-rainbow-bake
Participants are also being encouraged to share their Great Rainbow Bake pictures – good and bad – on social media using the hashtag #GreatRainbowBake

Rainbow Trust is a national charity providing expert practical and emotional support to families, where they need it, to help them make the most of each new day. It relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and thanks to the generosity of its supporters helps over 2,300 families through its nine care teams in England.

To donate to Rainbow Trust and to find out more about the charity visit http://rainbowtrust.org.uk/great-rainbow-bake