There's something special about homemade baking. Perhaps it's the reminder of special times with mum growing up - remember how amazing it was getting to lick the spoon?
Or perhaps it's just the knowledge someone has put their own effort, ingredients and skill into making something delicious for you to enjoy as a treat.
This year, to spread some Christmas Kindness, New World is partnering with Good Bitches Baking (GBB) to provide a moment of joy in the form of baking to brighten someone's day. Good Bitches Baking is a kindness network that shares sweetness with people having a tough time in our communities.
"We are a group of bakers who volunteer our time and ingredients to bake for worthy recipients. We do that by going through different agencies in the community," says Alice Read, Head Bitch of the network's Ōamaru chapter.
"So for instance the Cancer Society, when they are out visiting people in their homes who have cancer, they'll take them some of our home baking. Some of the other organisations are working with families going through tough times - not necessarily financially tough times, it's often emotionally. The family might have had a death or something traumatic happen in their lives, so the organisation will take a box of our baking when they visit that family."
GBB has 28 chapters throughout Aotearoa that collectively bake and deliver more than 1300 sweet treats to about 285 recipient organisations every month. In total, there are around 3000 Good Bitches from Whangarei to Invercargill, but that number keeps growing.
From now until Sunday 12 December, the New World in-store bakers are working with GBB to fill cake boxes with delicious baked goods and a personal note to help brighten a recipient's day.
New World Waitaki is one of the stores taking part, providing boxes of baking that GBB volunteers will deliver to Family Works, Community Perinatal Support and Age Concern North Otago.
"Christmas is a time for sharing fun, it's a time for kindness and for New World Waitaki it's about showing support for our community. Things are tough for more people this year, so it's even more important than usual," says owner operator Tineke Powell.
"We are a bit of a hub in our community and we want to provide support to as many people as we can. We're all in it together so it's nice to be able to give something back."
Christmas Kindness is an example of how New World is #HereforNZ and is part of their promise to support local communities to thrive. The recipients of GBB treats will very much be getting a taste of festive cheer and feeling some extra support in the lead up to Christmas.
"We're doing a Christmas-themed bake in December so everything from fudge to shortbread, Christmas cake of course, and mince pies. The bakers present them beautifully in the boxes, it's just fabulous," says Read.
"It's such a cool thing to be part of, especially this time of year," adds Powell.
"This partnership is the first time I ever heard of GBB and I just thought 'how cool'. I went down to chat to Dana in our bakery about it and it turns out she is one of the volunteer bakers for it. So that made it even more special and she knew what to do. She's really proud to be a part of it."
"I signed up to bake for GBB as I liked the idea of doing something nice for people and families who may be having a hard time or may just need a little bit of kindness. It's also a bonus that I love and enjoy baking," says Dana Kennedy, New World Waitaki's Bakery 2IC Manager.
"The Oamaru chapter of GBB have a small group of generous bakers and the two great ladies that run it here go above and beyond both baking and driving to pick up baking and distributing to all the deserving charities. It's great to be part of and volunteer for."
They're making a wonderful difference by spreading sweetness to a wide range of Kiwis.
"Sometimes it'll be a mum at home with a sick baby and she's got other kids she has to get off to school, or toddlers to look after. She could put the baking in the kids' lunches, or she could just sit down herself, eat something sweet and feel the love," says Read.
"We get nice photos of the recipients with our baking sometimes. We've had them from Aged Concern where they're sitting around eating it for their morning tea."
New World is not only supplying baked goods to GBB to get to people in need, the campaign is also helping to spread the word, introducing more people to the Good Bitches and their ultimate goal: To make Aotearoa the kindest place on Earth.
"The New World partnership means we're able to supply more than our usual amount to our recipient organisations at a time of year when it's really quite necessary. It's getting stressful for families now, especially as we're still going through COVID, people have got issues with their jobs, there's all sorts of things," says Read.
Getting any sort of help when you're in need is great, but there's something extra special about getting hand-crafted, personalised baking, especially delivered with a lovely little note. People tell GBB that knowing someone cared enough to make them a treat has helped them through the toughest of days.
"Wouldn't you be just so touched and heartened that there are people out there who are so generous," says Read. "And the baking is made with love. There's no doubt it's got that extra factor of love baked into it!"
New World is also donating $30,000 to GBB in support of their ongoing work. Customers who want to help out can make a donation through the GBB website, buy something from their online shop, or even by volunteering to become a Good Bitch themselves.
The GBB partnership is one of multiple ways New World is spreading Christmas Kindness. Every New World store is also giving away gift cards to deserving customers this holiday season.
This article was created for New World.
