Grace Newby is Training Programme Manager at the charity Luminary (aka Luminary Bakery). Here Grace tells us about the work of this charity, how it helps its beneficiaries and the support that the charity is in need of.

What does your charity do?
Luminary is an innovative response to a need we saw for women who have experienced multiple disadvantage, including gender-based violence. We are a Social Enterprise who use baking as a tool to take women on a journey to employability and independence,  equipping them with transferable skills for the working world.  We work holistically with women for two years, offering a safe space to train in professional baking skills, provide trauma-informed support, preparation for employment and guidance in building towards a positive future.

What are the challenges your service users face, and how does your organisation help users overcome them?
Due to our trainees past experience many of them lack confidence in themselves and their abilities. At Luminary we provide a safe and professional environment for women to grow holistically – encouraging ambition, restoration and second chances. ELBA supports our trainees journey by providing confidence building workshops supporting our women to see their full potential whilst pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and growing in key employment skills.

Do you have an inspirational story/moment about your work that you would like to share?
ELBA’s workshops are part of a bigger project that our women take part in every term in which we ask them to design and present a new and creative baking product to a panel of judges. Think dragon’s den, but much less scary. Each term we are inspired by the creativity and passion of our trainees as they share with us their amazing ideas!

What kind of support are you in need of right now and how might volunteering fit into that?
We are always looking for work experience placements for our trainees. Not all of our trainees want to become bakers or work in hospitality and are keen to explore other areas of work including admin, marketing, health care etc – if you may be able to host a work experience placement at your workplace please do get in touch!