At Cake Fest Middlesbrough on July 1st, The Gazette chose the Transporter Bridge cake as their winner, which had been baked by Tees Valley Women's Centre.
We were eager to find out more about the centre, what they do and the ladies behind the impressive cake, so we went along to one of their classes for a chat.
Tees Valley Women's Centre is the only centre of its kind in the area. It is "a pioneering grass roots venture providing a one stop shop for women in a non threatening safe environment, helping to support the well being of local women, improve their quality of life by supplying one to one support, advice & guidance, training and education, and employment opportunities."
As of now, they offer 47 courses (both accredited and non-accredited), an on-site creche which is free to use for all women that are enrolled in a course, access to legal services, referrals to outside agencies and so much more.
As Kathy Lloyd, the centre manager, told me, this centre is often a lifeline for women. "Every day is different and we never know who is going to walk through the door, but we don't turn anyone away."
The centre sees women from all walks of life, from unemployed women to addicts, from offenders to those simply seeking advice, and the staff there aim to help them all. No problem is too big and there are plenty of success stories from the women that have visited.
Tracy Golden, the cake decorating course leader, explained to me that while that particular course isn't accredited, she's had three women go on to set up a cake decorating business, either online or in a physical shop.
While it is clear that this is a much-needed service in the area, it does not receive any funding and this is something that is typical for women's charities, says Kathy. This is shown in an article from The Guardian that states that "only two in 10 charities awarded funding from the government’s controversial tampon tax are specialist women’s organisations, despite a pledge to dedicate £15m a year raised from the levy to “women’s health and support charities”.
However, whilst there is no constant stream of funding for Tees Valley Women's Centre, the charity is popular and always buzzing with people. Donna Middleton, their training co-ordinator, told me that their enrollment day (held September 7th this year) is always busy with new women and women that have enrolled previously.
When asked about their plans for next year's Cake Fest, the group cake decorating group remained tight-lipped, but vowed to keep building bridges with the other women within the community.
Tees Valley Women's Centre
Website: teesvalleywomenscentre.org.uk Phone: 01642 296166
Upper Albion Street, Southbank, Middlesbrough TS6 6XG
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