During the summer holidays, and for a sixth straight year, Brooke Garland held a cake sale in aid of Children With Cancer.   

Brooke started this in 2018 when she was just seven years old, after watching a TV programme about the charity and telling her mum Karen she wanted to help them.

The Grayshott schoolgirl has held a cake sale every year since, even complying with Covid restrictions during the pandemic.

This year Brooke’s cake sale was held at the end of July. The weather turned out to be great, although there was a heavy downpour just before people arrived, when the roof of the covering gazebo had to be lifted to shed the rain.   

For some, this has become a routine date for their diaries and they even know which of the ‘regular’ cakes they hope will be there, bringing their own containers to fill. Some arrive to get their cakes and then leave, others stay to enjoy a cup of tea, cake and a natter with friends, family or neighbours.

Brooke has gone from her initial idea when her mum made the cakes, to baking most of them herself (without any help from mum).

She also plans the afternoon, makes the posters and flyers, and helps with the set up on the day.

This year she made a rainbow of different-coloured cupcakes, and anyone who found one of the two cupcakes that were themselves rainbow coloured won a prize.

Brooke was very grateful to her brother, Rory, for making various cookies, and to her nannie and grandad, Annie and Chris Garland, for allowing everyone to enjoy their garden on the day.

Before this year’s event Brooke had said she didn’t think she’d top last year’s £600. With the sale being based solely on donations she felt she’d probably reached the limit of what two or three hours in one afternoon might raise. But she was thrilled to be proved wrong! Donations reached an amazing £700 bringing her total in six years to £2,954.

Around 4,200 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK. That’s around 10 children and young people diagnosed with cancer every day in the UK.

Children With Cancer has been working tirelessly since 1988, to fund research and initiatives that support children and their families through their cancer journey. Find out more here.