This week, Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland will be having its first ever Rotary Good News Week. Over the next five days, we’ll be celebrating five special stories from Rotary clubs and members from across Great Britain and Ireland.
To follow Rotary Good News Week, keep your eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages and use the hashtag #RotaryGoodNewsWeek to share your stories. Today we’ll be kicking the week off with the Rotary Club of Melksham, who stepped in to rejuvenate a local café which faced financial instability and the threat of closure.
With the support and backing of the previous owners, the inspired members of the club jumped at the opportunity to revitalise the Art House Café into a thriving community hub. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the hard work began.
The café has been open to the public since July 2012, and has continued to be run and managed by a team of Rotary members, volunteers and paid cooks. The club’s intervention has given the café a new lease of life, and is serving the community in more ways than ever before.
The transformation has allowed the café to raise in excess of £65,000, which has been distributed back into the community in the form of grants for worthwhile projects, initiatives and charities including a local foodbank and hosting an Alzheimer’s support group to prevent social isolation.
Sarah Hiscocks, President of the club says, “Members of the public come to the café as they know in doing so they are helping their local area and at the same time can enjoy the community feel. It is a project which is very important to the club and over the last four years, we’ve really enjoyed strengthening our ties with the community and giving the café’s profits back to some excellent causes.”
Each month the café also showcases the work of local artists and hosts as well as being the venue for numerous Rotary youth competitions.
To find out more about the Art House Café, visit the Rotary Club of Melksham website.
This article was published as part of Rotary Good News Week. To follow Rotary Good News Week, find us on Facebook and Twitter and share your stories using the hashtag #RotaryGoodNewsWeek.
Read our other Good News Stories from this week below:
- Teddies let loose by Rotary Club of Hitchin Tilehouse
- The Gift of Water provided by the Rotary Club of Westbourne
- Interactors receive Diana Award
Published: Monday 11th April 2016
