At Rowe’s, we think it’s important to help those in need, so where better to do it than right on our doorstep? We support two fantastic local charities and get to see exactly how we make a difference.

In 2010 we started a campaign to produce an official product we could sell to raise money for the CHSW – in particular their Precious Lives Appeal, which is aiming to fundraise £5million to open a new hospice in St. Austell. On southwest radio station Pirate FM we launched a competition for children under 16 to design a new-flavoured biscuit that we would bake and sell in our shops.

We received lots of entries and two winners were chosen (one for design and one for flavour), each receiving £250 in vouchers. The winning Strawberries & Cream biscuit – picked because of the yummy clotted cream made here in Cornwall – has been available to buy from our bakeries since May 1st 2010 and proceeds from the sale of these biscuits are going to the Precious Lives Appeal.

To find out about the great things that Children’s Hospice South West are doing, have a look on their website: www.chsw.org.uk

To raise money for CHSW, we held our first Baker’s Dozen Charity Cycle Ride, which took place on Sunday 2nd May 2010. It was a 13-mile journey which started and finished at Kernick Industrial Estate. It was a great success and we would like to thank all who took part and supported us!

The HANDSTAND Appeal raises money for Marshall Janson who fell ill with a severe case of meningitis when he was just one, resulting in the amputation of his hands and legs. He will need new prosthetic limbs every year until he is 18, which will cost around £950,000.

At Rowe’s, we want to support this brave little boy, but also try to raise awareness of the brutal disease which can turn people’s lives upside down. As a partner of the appeal, we like to get involved in as many of its fundraising events as we can; later this year we’ll take part in a charity boat row – given the name, how could we resist? Marshall even opened our new shop in St Austell which helped to make even more people aware of our great partnership.

To read more about HANDSTAND and Marshall’s story, visit www.handstand.org.uk