Support The Table Community Coffee Shop

Aim

We are a community coffee shop in Walsall town centre, set up to provide a safe, welcoming and warm space for our local community.

UPDATE:

We didn't reach our goal BUT...the good news is you can still get involved as our project has been extended so you now have until the 24th of April to give!

If you've already given, THANK YOU, we so appreciate you! You can support us even further by spreading the word! The best way to do that is by posting about us on social media including the link bit.ly/TheTableCrowdfunder.

Whatever you need to do to tell your friends, family, co-workers, kid's teachers, neighbours, people on the bus, everyone!!! It all helps.

To help things along we're going to be doing a giveaway where EVERYONE who supports the crowdfunder will be entered into a draw to win a luxury coffee goodie bag! Check out our social media for more info on that!

We're so so grateful to our community & co-op for the support we've received so far, let's do this!

*Please note as stated on our social media, the match funding from co-op has now all been allocated to all the various projects who applied to be match funded, so any donations from this point on will not be match funded. We will still receive the full amount listed on the project total.

Find out more about our crowdfunder below...

Who are we?

We are a friendly bunch of people who care about Walsall (lots!) We love this town and want to see it and its people thrive. We believe we can help achieve that goal by providing (in our humble opinion) an amazing coffee shop that serves great coffee, amazing baked goods and delicious food. Walsall doesn't have any other speciality coffee shops or brunch restaurants, so we're filling a gap there.

But, we're so much more than that. 

More importantly, we are providing a welcoming and friendly space for everyone and anyone who comes through our doors. Whether it's our staff and amazing volunteer team, who get to work in a really positive and friendly workplace, or people who attend our community activities like our book club, toddler group, jazz nights, craft clubs etc. We are reliably informed that we make a positive difference in people's lives just by the way we do things here!

Community impact

As mentioned above The Table is so much more than just a coffee shop, we are a community hub, trying to change lives one cup of coffee at a time. We just so happen to make the best coffee in Walsall because we believe Walsall is worth celebrating. Bringing something special to the town is helping regenerate and boost footfall in the town. Our vision to ‘change Walsall’ is a big one, but we believe we can do it one step at a time. We set up in 2020 to support people out of the pandemic and everything we do contributes towards that goal.

How we achieve our vision:

- We run & host a range of community activities, groups and clubs. Toddler Group, Mental Health Support Group, Jazz Nights, Craft & Chat Club, Musical Theatre Evenings, Creative Confidence Club, Book Club, Family Story & Craft Sessions plus many seasonal activities.

- We get to know our community; taking an interest in people's lives, caring for them and helping where we can. We encourage and build people up. We’re not a money-focused organisation that only cares about numbers, we care the most about people.

- We connect and signpost people to other local community work that takes place within our building. We’re connected to 5 other organisations including Big Happiness CIC, Walsall Money Advice, Black Country Food Bank, Walsall Community Church and The Message (youth organisation) purely by sharing a building and we have been able to refer and connect people with relevant and effective help where appropriate.

- We work alongside a range of volunteers and staff day to day to give them the opportunity to grow, learn and become more confident and able to thrive in life. One volunteer recently said to us: “I’ve always been told that because of my autism, I wouldn't be able to work a normal job. Since coming here I’ve discovered I can actually be useful and my confidence has increased so now I feel like I could apply for any job.” 

Why are we crowdfunding?

We wouldn't be here without our amazing community and we need your help again. The cost of living crisis is affecting us all and we're no different. We've seen almost all of our supplier's prices increase by significant amounts. For example, our milk is 25% more expensive. But more worryingly our energy bills have tripled! And we're faced with some pretty hefty backdated bills.

We're continuing to provide a warm space for the community but that comes at a considerable cost. We've not increased our pricing in-store since September 2021 and we're doing our best not to pass on the price increases to our customers, but we have to be realistic and this fundraising campaign is part of that.  

We cannot shy away from the fact that this current climate is incredibly difficult for hospitality businesses everywhere, and the reality is, like so many, without the financial support we may have to close.

But we have an amazing opportunity to run this crowdfunding campaign which The Co-Op will provide match funding for if we're successful. 

It's truly an honour, not a weakness, for us to be open with you all in asking for financial support. If you believe in what we're doing and are able to give anything towards this fund we'd massively appreciate it. Will you help support the long-term future of The Table?

How we’ll spend the money raised

The money raised will go directly towards our increased utility bills. It will help a lot but the truth is it won't cover the full amount needed. But we're grateful for every little bit of support we receive!

This project successfully funded on 23rd April 2023