An easy to use coffee machine has been donated to a community café in Kesgrave staffed by vulnerable people, to strengthen their self confidence and independence.
Cafe 66 is staffed by young people with learning difficulties and disabilities, who previously relied on managers to make hot drinks.
However, a grant from Kesgrave Councillor Stuart Lawson has bought the cafe a machine which makes hot drinks at the touch of a button.
£1,000 was donated from the Enabling Communities Budget in March and the machine is now up and running in the Kesgrave Scout Hall where the cafe runs Tuesday to Friday, from 10.30am to 1.30pm.
Sharon Terry, one of the managers at Cafe 66, said: “We are delighted to have purchase a new coffee machine courtesy of Cllr Stuart Lawson.
“This really is so much more than just a coffee machine – it is enabling our cafe staff to easily and safely make hot drinks without having to rely on someone else to help them, which gives them great pride and further strengthens their self-confidence and independence.”
East Suffolk Council’s Enabling Communities Budgets support activities delivered by community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations.
Councillor Lawson said: “This is a wonderful community cafe in Kesgrave, which is staffed by young people with learning difficulties and disabilities – giving them a unique opportunity to gain new skills in a supportive environment and to build self-confidence.
“Before the arrival of the new coffee machine, cafe staff were relying on a manager or volunteer to make the hot drinks, which they would then serve.
“However, thanks to the new machine, staff are now able to make their own hot drinks with the touch of one button, which only helps to install more pride and self-confidence in these fantastic young people.”
The cafe sells whole cakes on Tuesdays and a selection of pastries, cakes and sandwiches on the other days.
Previous projects which have benefitted from Enabling Community Budget funding include play areas, village hall refurbishments and equipment, community events, projects supporting people with disabilities and the purchase of defibrillators.
MORE: State of the art tennis courts opened up to the public in Kesgrave
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