Dreamscheme youngsters cook up a treat for residents

Residents at one of Merlin Housing Society’s sheltered schemes tucked into some homemade cakes made by children taking part in a local Dreamscheme.

The tasty treats were served by the six children themselves to residents at The Haven in Kingswood at a special tea party held on Thursday 13 August. The 8–11 year-olds met residents the day before to ask what type of cake they’d like. They then researched recipes and baked the cakes with help from tutor Maxine Golburne.

The cake bake was organised by Kingsmeadow Community Flat as part of its newly launched Dreamscheme initiative, supported by Merlin, Knightstone Housing Association and Avon and Somerset Police.

Dreamscheme is a national project encouraging young people to get involved in their local community, learn new skills, try new challenges and meet new people. In return for doing useful jobs in their neighbourhood, young people earn points and spend them on trips of their choice.

Diane Block, chair of the Kingsmeadow Community Flat, said: “We were encouraging the young people to respect people of all ages, so when I watched them presenting the cakes my heart skipped a beat. We only hear negative things about the young but with a bit of guidance, anything is possible.”

Merlin’s Community Investment Manager, Heidi Leyshon, added: “This was a very successful event. The kids really enjoyed baking the cakes and serving them to the residents. In fact, they’d like to go back and see them again. Dreamscheme is the sort of community project that we are keen to support and we’re looking forward to future events.”

Merlin’s Support advisor, Sharon Clark, said: “Having the children come into the scheme was a nice treat for the residents. They appreciated the effort that they had put in and are looking forward to their next visit.”

For more information about Dreamscheme, visit: www.dreamscheme.org.uk