A place of welcome and community, and of help and hope for all coming to life on Manor Park, Thurnby.
Most of you will have seen something of what has been happening at Manor Park over the last few months, as work has begun on transforming the old derelict pavilion into a thriving Community Cafe.
Cafe Fifty Five is a project run by St Luke's Church in Thurnby. Our aim is to provide a community space - a place to meet, where everyone can feel welcome; and where there are opportunities for people to connect with one another, and find help and hope.
When the Cafe Opens in a few months time, it will provide somewhere to enjoy some good food throughout the day, not to mention great coffee and other delicious treats.
At the same time, we are looking forward to partnering with different people and organisations to provide a range of services, and the kind of help that people are looking for.
How is this all happening?
Lots of people have been asking questions about chew Cafe: when it will open, what it will offer, who can be involved etc. So we wanted to take the opportunity to update everyone with some of the answers to these questions...
Whose Cafe is this?
The Cafe is for everyone in our community, and beyond! But in terms of the details, the pavilion building belongs to Harborough District Council, and has been let to St Luke's Church, who will run the cafe as a business.
When will Cafe Fifty Five Open?
Depending on the timing of the building work, we are aiming to be open in January 2024.
What will be the opening hours?
Precise details will come later - but in short we plan to offer an interesting brunch and lunch menu with plenty of opportunities for barista coffee, specialist teas and delicious cakes or ice cream - throughout the whole week.
What will the building be like?
The main part of the building will be the Cafe itself. But there will also be a meeting room; and the main space can be divided to be used in different ways. For more detailed plans, do visit our website, Facebook page or Instagram.
Will the Cafe be available as a venue for hire?
No. In Thurnby and Bushby we are already blessed with several venues that can be hired for parties or meetings. Cafe Fifty Five is a commercial care - but a big part of our vision is to partner with local organisations and charities to offer some of the opportunities that local people need.
Who will be employed at the cafe?
There will be a range of roles advertised over the coming weeks and we hope that many people from our community will work and volunteer in the cafe. Look out for job opportunities advertised on our website and on social media.
Can we help?
At the time of writing, we are still fundraising, and are looking for a further £150,000 to enable the cafe to open on time.
St Luke's Church members have been incredible generous in raising £350,000 to help fund the cafe. In addition to this, we received a large single donation of £300,000 and have received grants from central and local government of £350,000 and various other small grants and monies from fundraising events.
During the six years of this project, we have not asked for financial help from the local community, although some people have generously asked how they could contribute. So as we move towards the final part of the project, we would welcome any contributions that you would like to make towards this important local resource.
The simplest way is to give online.
If you would like discuss making a donation in another way then please contact Ant Lount, St Luke's Church Operations Director on hello@thurnbychurch.com or by calling 07910843931.
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