TODAY we profile Stephanie Griggs-Trevarthen, who is a volunteer co-ordinator for Free Cakes for Kids, a community service which provides birthday cakes for families who struggle to provide for them.

When she lived in Cowley Ms Griggs-Trevarthen, 26, looked after 20 volunteer bakers as well as training new ones. She recently moved to Cardiff and is trying to expand the Free Cakes for Kids model around the country.

For her work she was given Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action’s volunteer award.

She said: “It was such an honour to have won this award. It was a surprise and I was happy to raise the profile of the charity through the event.”

* How did you become involved with the charity?

I saw oan appeal for bakers. I met up with the person who organises it and it sounded fantastic. I got involved with it straight away.

Baking is always something I have enjoyed and I used to bake a lot.”

* How long have you been involved in it?

Coming up for three years now. At the start I probably gave up three or four hours a months but now I do a couple of hours a day.

* What does the charity mean to you?

I feel like the charity is my baby because we are helping people set up Free Cakes for Kids projects around the country When you talk to people about the idea they love it I like to think of it as so much more than a cake. It is about the memories. I never remember what I got for my birthday but I remember the pink birthday cake that my mother made for me.

“It is about giving children those memories.”

* How has it made a difference to your life?

Everybody involved with the project is so fantastic. It is like a family.

I feel much more confident and willing to talk to anybody and ask people for help.

It is amazing what people will give if you just ask.

* What do you do for a living and how does volunteering affect it?

I wouldn’t have got my current job at an environmental charity if it wasn’t for Free Cakes for Kids.

My boyfriend would say it has been hard since I don’t have much time to speak to him but I have enjoyed it. I do spend quite a bit of my time baking.

* Happiest moment of volunteering?

The best thing is that you can bake as much as you like but you don’t have to eat it. We run a number of baking sessions such as one in Barton Community Centre and the children were fantastic. I think they got a lot out of it and it was really nice to see.”

* Saddest moment of volunteering?

Leaving Oxford has been sad but I am still involved and I am helping people set up Free Cakes for Kids groups all around the UK.