Gingerbread (charity) UK. The charity describes its vision as ‘a society in which single parent families are valued and treated equally and fairly.’ Helpline Gingerbread runs a Freephone helpline (0808 802 0925) offering advice and information for single parents. The helpline is staffed by advisers who are trained to give guidance on practical matters to do with money, benefits, employment issues and family law. Membership Single parents can become members of Gingerbread for free, most signing up via the Gingerbread website. Members can use the protected online forums, receive a monthly e-newsletter and get access to discounts and special offers. Local groups
Gingerbread been brought to Europe in 992 CE by the Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis (also called Gregory Makar and Grégoire de Nicopolis). He left Nicopolis (in modern-day western Greece) to live in Bondaroy (north-central France), near the town of Pithiviers. He stayed there for seven years and taught gingerbread baking to French Christians. He died in 999. In the 13th century, gingerbread was brought to Sweden by German immigrants. In 15th-century Germany, a gingerbread guild controlled production. Early references from the Vadstena Abbey show that the Swedish nuns baked gingerbread to ease indigestion in 1444. It was the custom to