De Paul House has been housing and supporting low-income families on the North Shore since 1986. According to Community Liaison and Volunteer Coordinator Lesley Farmer, De Paul House can have upwards of 153 children and 75 adults in their transitional accommodation at any one time. Their mission, as summarised by Lesley, “is to work alongside families to help them determine their own lives, supported by practical skills and resources to support them to transition into their own homes and feel part of the wider community”.

Good Bitches Baking North Auckland has been delivering baking to De Paul House every Monday for several years, something they regularly express appreciation for, particularly on social media (@depaulhousenz), with a recent post commenting that “every Monday we get excited to open each box to see all of the talented creations this team comes up with! It is always such a pleasure to gift these goodies to our families and volunteers. Thank you for being such a big part of what we do, by keeping smiles on our faces and excitement in our hearts”.

Jan Rutledge, General Manager of De Paul House, says the baking “is a great way to welcome families to our accommodation. It provides comfort and familiarity at a time when families are often very stressed and overwhelmed.” She says the children especially look forward to the treat of homemade cookies, muffins or cakes, with the social work team often sharing feedback about the joy on the children’s faces when they receive the baking. Moreover, with food scarcity a reality for these whānau, the weekly delivery from GBB is a way of ensuring that whānau have access to“quality, fresh home-baking.

Providing “a great start to the week with goodies for whānau and volunteers” at De Paul House is a great start to the week for our GBs too.