Bedford station hosts colossal community cake sale for homelessness charity

NOAH Enterprise, the Luton-based charity providing support for homeless and excluded people, has received a donation of £850, the proceeds of a gigantic bake sale by staff and businesses at Bedford station working with the Bedford - St Albans City Community Rail Partnership.

Thanks to generous Thameslink passengers, cakes and pastries loaded onto two rows of trestle tables sold out in just one morning.

NOAH provides a wide range of support from street outreach and hot meals at their day centre, through temporary accommodation and help with access to health services to training, work experience and support in work.

Jim O’Connor MBE, Chief Executive of NOAH Enterprise, thanked all the partners and passengers at the cheque presentation last week. He said: "I’m hugely impressed by this tremendous total, achieved by the baking skills and hard work of Thameslink’s very own specialist ‘patisserie’ bakers and friends, as well as a persuasive sales team! How wonderful that the Bedford station team should be so generous in their time and effort – and not forgetting the public with their generosity in supporting this event. The result will make a difference to those who have so little."

Bedford - St Albans City Community Rail Partnership Officer, Andy Buckley, said: "We'd like to thank Bedford station staff and their travelling customers for their generous support and contributions to the NOAH Project. NOAH help thousands of vulnerable people off the streets and into work, and they need every donation they can get to keep that support going.”

Thanking all the bakers, sellers and buyers, Station Manager Joe Healy said: “This was a great team effort to raise awareness and funds for the homeless in the area. It costs NOAH £24.00 a night to shelter a homeless person so the money raised will help at the busiest, coldest time of year.”

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