Community Cafe

Project Leader: Barbara Spreiz Dhliwayo Number of Volunteers: 3

Project Description

Since we have increased in-person services in autumn 2021 and Covid restrictions were lifted, our Community Café once again became a safe space for clients waiting for their appointments or classes. Whilst the numbers of visitors are still low, hot drinks and snacks are offered alongside Wi-Fi access and leaflets with relevant information. We are hoping to re-build the community hub that the Café was pre-pandemic, re-introduce daily lunches and opportunities for volunteering later in 2022.

Project Successes

• We opened the doors again to clients • Bought and installed a new cooker, thanks to funding from Nottingham City Council • Executed a deep clean of the kitchen

Plans and hopes for the coming year

• Employ a staff member to manage the Café activities and make it an even more engaging and welcoming space • Organise more social activities, including regular lunches • Bring back and enhance volunteering opportunities in the Café and kitchen

Appreciation: we would like to thank…

Safety Officers from Elite Security who have made the Café a safe and welcoming space for clients, Nottingham City Council for funding towards new kitchen appliances, volunteers, both current and former, who are encouraging us to move forward with opening up and developing the café.

“After the start of the pandemic I lost my job, and I would love to come back to NNRF to volunteer – cooking, cleaning, anything! As soon as you re-open the Café, please don’t forget about me. Every day I think about those lovely days, volunteering every Monday alongside Sonal and Kunal – I miss them all!” “I never thought I’d say this but: one of the things I missed the most for the past two years is having rice and beans from the NNRF café for lunch! I can’t wait for the kitchen to get busy and the Café smelling of food again.” “