Picture – Community of Purpose

As we no longer issue single-use takeaway cups, we save the cost of a cup and lid (9.1p per takeaway hot drink) each time.
We’ve committed to donating this saving (and have rounded it up to a nice even 10p) to local community projects around our cafes that our teams have chosen.

This is who we support:

Bristol –

Community of Purpose
All our Bristol cafes support the amazing Community of Purpose. Our long-term aim is to work with them to help establish breakfast clubs at schools in need to help children get a meal before they start the day. Breakfast clubs are about more than healthy eating. They improve attendance and concentration, as well as social skills. We want to provide qualified instructors, coaches and playtime leaders who can help to organise and supervise activities. These activities would help to improve children’s agility, balance, coordination and concentration.

In the short term whilst we help establish these, we are working with Community of Purpose on their ‘Break Free’ programme this summer – it is a school holiday programme that provides high quality activities and free food for young people aged 8-12 years old from across areas of most need in South Bristol. These kids get free school meals in term time, but in the holidays go hungry, so we are supporting them to help get these kids along to take part in the activities and at the same time getting them something to eat.

Bath –

Genesis
Genesis support disadvantaged and vulnerable people in the Bath area, offering opportunities for them to make healthy choices and improve their lives and prospects. Providing a range of practical and empowering support services to the local community across 10 different projects, providing welfare support, personal encouragement, and training and work experience. Trained staff and volunteer teams mobilised from local churches and the wider community help deliver these services.

Alfred Street have been championing this charity for the past few months and will be working with them moving forward with the Kingsmead team too.
From collections of toiletries, fundraising Wolf Runs and weekly volunteering, this is a great partnership that the team have established and we hope we can take it further.

Exeter –

Chime
Chime regularly see thousands of patients each week and improve their quality of life through giving them access back to hearing again.They see the entire age spectrum from new-borns to centenarians.
Having a central Exeter presence means they now have space to offer a greater community hub to allow those with difficulties in social situations (because of background noise or lack of confidence) to visit and get advice as well as enjoy each other’s company.

Working with us gives them a fantastic opportunity to improve people’s confidence in attending tricky listening situations, like a café, as well as providing them with a recognisable friendly face when they do visit. Isolation (particularly in the winter) is one of the most devastating mental health factors that affect the elderly and they want to try and assist people in being more socially active and giving them a safe, friendly opportunity to get out of the house each month and enjoy other’s company as well as a good tea or coffee! At these mornings they’ll also have the opportunity for patients to get advice on their hearing aids as well as hearing aid servicing (something they provide for free for all our users).

Honiton -

The Project
The Project is a peer support network that has been set up to support young people age 13-24 with mental health issues, and their parents and carers. Based in Axminster and Chard, this is a free service open to young people and their parents and carers from across East Devon, South Somerset and West Dorset.

Plymouth -

Plymouth Beach Clean
Instead of having a few charities to choose from the general consensus amongst the BTP Plymouth team is that we all want to get behind the beach clean volunteers and help to get new equipment to enable them to carry on with the fantastic work they do.
This will also allow us to donate our time to help out with regular collections. The first staff beach clean is in June.
This partnership fits wonderfully with the cup ban/introduction of paper straws/removal of plastic water bottles and the team are so passionate about Making Things Better with them!

Barnstaple –

Plastic Free North Devon
Plastic Free North Devon (PFND), is a grassroots community organisation that aims to inspire North Devon residents, tourists and businesses to drastically reduce their consumption of single-use plastic, remove it from the environment and dispose of it properly. Seven North Devon towns are plastic free approved villages and towns, totalling over 60 businesses on a growing list. Barnstaple is the next large town well on its way to gaining the status. We’re working with them to reach their goal of ensuring every corner of North Devon really is working towards a more sustainable, single-use plastic free environment.

Ringwood –

The Sheiling School
The Sheiling Ringwood was suggested by our chef Robin, as some of his family work with the children and young people here.
It’s an independent special school and college, and registered charity, for up to 80 students aged 6-25 with severe, complex and moderate learning disabilities, including autism and communication difficulties. The Sheiling aims to provide a learning, caring environment where the educational, physical, social, and emotional needs of the individual student are valued and met.

Salisbury –

The Stars Appeal
A great local charity doing amazing work – The Stars Appeal is Salisbury District Hospital’s Charity, and they are aiming to raise at least £1million this year to enhance care across all wards and departments and to help thousands of local people get better faster, return home sooner and to have a more positive hospital experience.
Every ward and department has their own separate fund within the Stars Appeal, so we will be choosing a specific one to support that is close to the team’s heart.

Worcester –

St Barnabus
The team have been doing a great amount of work in their local area for a variety of causes.
Stew has been holding regular cookery classes for his local school (St Barnabus) where his two kids attend. The school stopped running cookery as part of their curriculum last year due to budget cuts, so Stew (our Kitchen Manager) took it upon themselves to run sessions for the kids across a few age groups. They did this in their own time to really help make an impact for the kids.
More are planned on an ongoing basis, along with event support and further fundraising efforts.

Harborne -

The Real Junk Food Project
The Real Junk Food Project is a West Midlands based CIC set up over 4 years ago to combat food waste locally.They collect food from businesses that would otherwise be wasted (due to sell by dates) that is then used in their cafes, at their events, or for people to take home. We follow FSA and EHO guidelines. They are run mainly by volunteers, including Harborne’s Commis Chef, Ewa. They run on a ‘Pay as you Feel’ system, meaning everyone can have food and is only asked to contribute what they can – time, cash or skills – either now or in the future .

Birmingham –

Teenage Cancer Trust
We are based around the corner from the children’s hospital in Birmingham and one of the charities we have been supporting are Teenage Cancer Trust. They’re the only UK charity providing support to young people with cancer.

Solihull –

Marie Curie Hospice
Our Solihull team are working with Marie Curie Solihull. Their outstanding-rated hospice provides short stay in-patient care and a range of day therapies for adults as well as supporting their families and carers. It costs £11,313 a day to run the hospice and they rely on the support of local people to volunteer, fundraise, or donate to keep the hospice going.

Cheltenham –

Maggies Charity
Maggies is there for anyone and everyone affected by cancer, offering a programme of support that has been shown to strengthen physical and emotional wellbeing.
We have been in contact with them for a while and will be looking to support their events, fundraising and to hold events in the café.

Edgbaston -

Let’s Feed Brum
Let’s Feed Brum is about feeding people who need it most – those without a safe place to sleep.
Their goal is to take people from a destructive lifestyle to independent living.
They deliver an outdoor soup kitchen six nights a week, and find people in rough sleeping ‘hot spots’ through walkabout teams four times a week. Their volunteers build genuine friendships that enable them to signpost existing services across the city and encourage people to get the help they need.

Stratford -

Karl (our General Manager) has been working with his local community in a variety of ways over the past couple of years, from hosting a weekly children’s story time to craft sessions with local designers. But the relationship that has had the most impact is with the local school, Bridgetown.
Over the past two years Karl has helped them to reinstate cookery classes to the curriculum. We now host regular sessions for the children in the cafes, plus support across all events, forging strong links with the PTA.

Chichester -

City Angels
City Angels is a project working in the night time economy of Chichester every Friday night and the first and last Saturdays of each month. Their purpose is to bring a calming presence to the City Centre, look after people who find themselves in vulnerable positions and to work in partnership with others to make our city a safer place to be during those times. They have done some incredible work within Chichester helping to support the homeless, people in abusive situations, but have also helped refugees across the globe.
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We will be working with these projects for the foreseeable future, but we are always on the lookout for other suggestions on who to support, so do get in touch.