A six-year-old girl from Andover is hoping to raise lots of money for one of the town’s charity’s after organising her own bake sale next week.

Florence Rist is on a fundraising mission for Andover Mencap, and, with the help of mum Tori, is holding her bake sale next weekend at the Queen Charlotte to raise funds for a new respite centre.

Florence said that “everyone needs cake at the moment” and is “really excited” to raise money for the charity.

Andover Mencap supports individuals with learning disabilities and their families, enabling them to live independent lives as much as possible. One of its services is the Rainbow Corner, which provides respite care for children and young adults between three and 19 years old.

Florence, who herself uses Mencap’s services, is hoping to use her bake sale to raise money for Rainbow Corner.

Her mother, Tori, told the Advertiser that Florence had been “up all night” coming up with fundraising ideas.

“She started going to Mencap as she doesn’t go to school,” said Tori, “and she wanted to do some fundraising. She came up with the idea of a bake sale, which is just what you need at the moment.”

Tori put out an appeal online, and said that within minutes she had already received offers of cake from six bakers, and after contacting businesses such as The Travelling Cupcake, found they had “no hesitation” in getting involved.

She also got in touch with Victoria Harber, landlady of the Queen Charlotte and borough councillor, who agreed Florence and Tori could use the pub’s veranda after Florence became concerned about it raining.

“Vicki is used to my ideas,” said Tori. “She said yes straight away.”

Florence added: “Probably because she wants to eat cake!”

She may be only six, but Florence already has a keen eye for business, deciding to hold the bake sale before the next relaxation of lockdown rules to have a “captive audience” for the fundraiser.

She’s planning on making cupcakes for the event, with her favourite cake being carrot. She said “it’s a good feeling” to raise money for Mencap, and though she’s hoping for hundreds of cakes, she still thinks the sale will sell out.

“The more the merrier,” said Tori. “We’re hoping plenty of people will turn up and help raise some money.”

In an appeal to the people of Andover, Florence said: “Please can people bake some cakes and make sure you come and buy some, and let mummy know if you’re making one.”

If you’d like to get involved with Florence’s sale, there are a number of ways to do so. You can bake a cake and arrange to drop it off at the sale by emailing Tori at vics_y@hotmail.com, or you can head down to the Queen Charlotte Inn at 2pm on Sunday, March 28, to buy some cakes for yourself.

Covid measures will be in place to ensure the safety of everyone attending.