Coffee morning raises £1,800 for local charity

The coffee morning raised funds for Comfort C.A.F.E. - a faith based charity that works with local people who are homeless or are in need, offering hot food, drinks, snacks, emergency items and support.

Volunteers were joined by Sarah Shaw, manager at the Santander Bank branch in Cleveleys, who came along to help run the stalls. Santander Bank also kindly agreed to match fund the money raised at the coffee morning by up to £500.

Comfort C.A.F.E. and All Saints Church were also delighted to welcome the Mayor of Blackpool Cllr Peter Hunter and Mayoress Anne-Marie Hunter. They browsed the stalls and enjoyed refreshments throughout the morning. They also chatted with Comfort C.A.F.E. volunteers, church members and other local people who came.

The coffee morning raised over £1,300. With £500 match funding from Santander, the grand total reached over £1,800.

Gwen Cross, trustee and volunteer leader at Comfort C.A.F.E. said: “We are overwhelmed by the support from All Saints Church and by the generosity of everyone who came. It is just amazing!

“The support from Santander is fantastic! The match funding, along with the money raised at the coffee morning, will go a long way to help those in our community who are most in need.

“We were also pleased to welcome the Mayor and Mayoress and would like to thank them for their support. They visited one of our Tuesday sessions back in May, and have shown great enthusiasm for the charity ever since.

“Our tagline ‘Care. Advice. Food. Encouragement.’ describes our philosophy. We have waiter service to deliver a choice of hot meals and drinks to everyone who visits us.

“With the rising cost-of-living, many of our regulars are struggling to make ends meet, and we are seeing more people coming through the door.

“As they leave, clients can choose some food items to take away. This is not a food parcel, but should be enough for the next day when there are no soup kitchens open. We also have toiletries, underwear, socks and other emergency items available when people need them.”

Comfort C.A.F.E. is a registered charity that rose from the ashes of the soup kitchen at North Shore Methodist Church known as New Comfort Zone.

As well as hot food and drinks, a Wellbeing Counsellor from the charity Ashar visits each week offering mental health, wellbeing and spiritual support. A hairdresser regularly visits, offering haircuts to the clients.

Comfort C.A.F.E. sessions are Tuesdays from 11.00am to 12.30pm at St Thomas’ Church Parish Centre, Caunce Street, Blackpool. All over the age of 18 are welcome.

If you’re over 18 and interested in joining our friendly team of volunteers, get in touch by email: [email protected]