The Willows café opened on 11 th July. The café is based in Willow Burn Hospice, Lanchester, Co Durham. The café has created a new opportunity for patients and the general public to come to Willow Burn to relax and enjoy the facilities. The launch was a success, raising over £600 and as a result of this it will be open every Monday 10.30am-2pm.
“We are excited to have opened The Willows, the aim of the venture is to raise public awareness of the hospice and to raise funds towards our new Inpatient Unit, all of our profits go towards this and benefit the future patients from the Derwentside area, which is great” said Judith Plews, Catering Assistant at Willow Burn Hospice.
The Willows came to be after volunteers at Willow Burn expressed their wish to be able to help more and so, the café itself is ran by the volunteers and staff at the hospice who give their time. The hospice could not have this facility without the volunteers and the time they choose to give to Willow Burn is invaluable.
Pumphreys Coffee kindly donated a coffee machine to The Willows and their coffee is available for customers to enjoy. They also donated raffle and tombola prizes for the opening, which were hugely appreciated by Willow Burn.
The money raised from The Willows will be going back into Willow Burn itself. There is a 3 stage building plan in place for the hospice. Stage 1 has been completed with their current building and they are now looking to expand the Inpatient unit. At the moment, this only holds 4 beds for the whole Derwentside area. Willow Burn receives only 33% of its funding from the Government and so relies purely on donations and fundraising.
The Willows Café will now be open to all every Monday, excluding Bank Holidays from 10.30am-2pm. If you would like to help at The Willows or Willow Burn Hospice, please feel free to contact fundraising@willowburnhospice.org.uk or call 01207 523900. The hospice values the support of our volunteers and the public and if you would like to visit our café, a warm welcome awaits.