Great British bake off star Karen Wright helps Wakefield Hospice celebrate Volunteers Week

The hospice was keen to give thanks to its 400 volunteers as part of last week’s annual celebration but was unable to organise an event due to the coronavirus pandemic.

So, they decided to host a Zoom tea party on Saturday, June 6, with help from Karen, who designed a cupcake recipe especially for the occasion. She baked the cakes alongside the hospice’s catering staff in advance. Volunteers then collected their tasty treat and special Wakefield hospice teabag while adhering to social distancing rules.

The tea party also featured appearances from Wakefield MP Imran Khan and the Mayor of Wakefield, Coun Charles Keith, who congratulated the volunteers, and the hospice on their efforts.

Karen said: “Being a Wakefield lass, I simply couldn’t turn down the opportunity to help the hospice. I thoroughly enjoyed hosting the tea party and celebrating with all the incredible volunteers. I designed an indulgent chocolate cupcake for them to enjoy with their brew and it seemed to go down well.”

Karen has also recorded a video on behalf of the hospice that she hopes will encourage more people to donate to the Covid-19 appeal at www.justgiving.com/campaign/wakefieldhospice30.

Director of income generation, Helen Knowles said: “We’re incredibly grateful to all our staff and volunteers, and we just had to celebrate this special week by doing something. Karen’s tea party injected so much positivity into the occasion and we were able to forget our worries for a short while and enjoy the tea party. I’d like to thank all of our volunteers again, as well as Karen.”