The Great Bridge of Allan Bake Off

Elena Menchetti, Bake off Organiser

A charity bake off will be held in Bridge of Allan next week to raise money for Speur-Ghlan, a local charity dedicated to helping young children experiencing development delays.

The annual charity event hosted by cafe owner Elena Menechetti will take place on Sunday the 18^th of October at 12pm at the Hideaway Cafe in Bridge of Allan. The tickets for the bake off are £5 and can be bought on the day of the competition at the Cafe.

Participants can enter as a baker or a judge in the competition and all proceeds will go to Speur-Ghlan, to support young children with autism spectrum disorders.

Members of the public and the local shop owners in the Bridge of Allan area can raise money for the event by donating prizes, selling raffle tickets and the cakes after the bake off. 

Elena Menechetti, the organiser of the bake off states, “People aren’t aware that the charity is down the lane, as it started off small. It is such a good charity because it is for such a good cause. Its spread quite well now because it’s local and everyone loves a bit of local charity instead of donating to somewhere else.”

Speur-Ghlan is a local charity based in the heart of Bridge of Allan which provides therapy for children up to five years old with development delays including autism. The founder of the charity, Dr. Ruth Glynne-Owen uses verbal only approaches such as pivotal response therapy and one to one session’s to improve the language skills of children who find communication challenging. Recent research shows that 95% of children who experience pivotal response therapy before the age of three develop functional speech.

Dr. Ruth Glynne-Owen, the founder and CEO of Speur-Ghlan says, “The hideaway is an excellent supporter of the charity and as they are so close, by many of our families enjoy spending time there. They find the staff team to be so friendly and welcoming of their children no matter what their challenges might be. Elena first ran this event for us last year and as well as raising us much needed funds, the event helped raise our profile in the local area and make bridge of Allan residents more aware of what we do.”