We have taken a long lease on the small kiosk in Russell Park to transform it into a community café.
This project was initially led by partnership member Charmaine, who started with opening the space up to the community every Wednesday. As part of our lease, we have also taken on the custodianship of the Park’s public toilets which were fully renovated.
In April 2023, Russell’s hub opened with a team of freshly recruited kiosk officers, revitalising the way the community uses this pivotal green space in Noel Park.
Progressively, our offers grew to better cater the needs of the community. We started serving homemade cakes and hot food and adjusted our opening times to the use and attendance of the park.
The team came up with creative ways to offer an inclusive space whilst operating as a business.
We launched the suspended coffee scheme, which allows residents to pay forward for someone’s drink or snack. The board in the window informs customers of how many suspended drinks or snacks are available, inviting them to donate or redeem the items.
Alongside providing food, drinks and seating space, the cafe is a library and hub space, offering litter picking equipment, sport balls and toys.
Anyone can borrow litter picking equipment from the cafe or join our weekly litter picking group on Saturdays at 2pm. We are proudly part of Cleanupuk’s network of cleanup hubs, an initiative that supports community organisations by providing litter picking equipment and an online platform for locals to find their hub.
Our sports balls are supplied by Alive and Kicking, an UK based charity that uses the lifecycle of a sports balls to grow and strengthen communities around the world.
On each side of the cafe, you will find a community library and a children’s library built by our lovely volunteers. Everyone is welcome to borrow or bring a book to the libraries!
