How often do your kids come to you with an idea, in our house it’s constant. From being tiny Alana has always been full of ideas, I have always tried to find ways to let her take them forward. Don’t get me wrong there have been many times I have taken a deep breath and thought I haven’t got a clue where to start with that one. Then I dust myself off and remember that letting young people run with their ideas can make a difference in so many ways.

If I hadn’t let Alana run with her ideas there would be no Alana’s Caring Cakes. Personally I think that would make our community a sadder place. She has brought smiles to over 200 people by delivering them a cake as a special thank-you or to cheer up really difficult times. The positives go much further than the people she delivers to. Personally it’s one of my favourite days of the month and it definitely makes a massive difference to Alana. She loves to feel she is making people happy. Don’t get me wrong it’s not all plain sailing, we have read heartbreaking stories that have made us both sob. I have had to discuss the sadder facts of life linked to terminal illness, fatal accidents and serious illness. They are definitely facts of life but I know with my older children I only discussed them if I really had to.

We have delivered to many locations but to see Alana Walk confidently into a care home and hospice was inspirational.

The constant thread in everything Alana has done since that first ever cake stall in 2014 has been her desire for people to be kind.

She loves everything about Alana’s Caring Cakes but she is constantly thinking about ways to do more. She has a list of ideas just waiting for the right moment or a cash windfall.

In one of our many conversations I could sense there was a new glimmer of an idea as we discussed simple acts of kindness. The idea continued to grow in her mind and after a few weeks of discussing she had a plan.

Mum – can we run a Kindness in the Community Week, people need to be kinder to each other and themselves. This was at a point in her life when she was experiencing a number of things that she knew weren’t kind and she didn’t understand why.

While I loved everything about the idea, internally I was in panic. You could argue it was selfish panic – did I have the time or energy to help her pull it off. If Alana has an idea she has already visualised every element of it and I become interpreter and it has to be a perfect translation into reality.

We decided to give it a go and I am not sure either of us really knew where it would end up. First on the list was to get some helpers, this was a tough one as Alana needed to trust them all and be able to be herself with them. She already knew it could increase her anxiety so anybody helping would need to understand Alana. She wrote a list of the people she really trusts and asked me to share her initial idea with them. Every one of that group were a massive part of ensuring we pulled it off. The list of things they did are endless but top of the list is they understand Alana and make her feel safe.

So we had an idea, a group of really kind people, a community we care about and a week in October. The perfect ingredient for Kiveton Park and Wales first Kindness in the Community Week.

Behind the scenes there were hours of planning and a few sleepless nights as I tried to ensure everything was in place. Alana did lots of planning and organising and definitely made what she wanted very clear to many of the people involved. She held numerous meetings with individuals and groups and while she was nervous before every one she absolutely smashed it. As she talked to more people it was clear that the Community were starting to get behind the idea. I was reminded of a YouTube video about leaders and followers. Alana was leading the way and she already had her early followers. It’s a really common pattern in change. There were also many people and groups noticeable by their silence. This really frustrated Alana as many of them were groups she had links to and the question she kept asking was:

Why haven’t they replied surely everybody wants to do kind things and this is really simple?

A really valid question and I don’t know the answer as I didn’t ask them. I have lots of potential answers but fundamentally they made choices. They clearly weren’t early followers.

The final weeks before launch day were hectic. I was busier than ever at work, normal life remained busy without the added dimension of Alana transitioning to a new school and a new Theatre group. My Fitbit could share a story of less sleep than I like and if you happened to nip and see me at home in that period housework definitely wasn’t a priority and there might have been a few more cheating meals than I like. Inside though I was staring to feel it was going to be a really special week.

Putting the big banner up on the bridge was momentous. As we stood back and looked at it Alana said ‘for the first time ever I feel proud of what I am doing’ I just wanted to cry. At last she realised what she was doing was special. Previously her response was always ‘it’s nothing, everybody should do nice things’. I agree totally but we all know that’s not the reality of the world we live in.

We started to deliver materials and a short video was sent to all the local primary schools, we were ready to go. The 7 October couldn’t come soon enough but afraid you will have to wait for my next blog to hear my perspective on the week.