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Bob's Blog: Feb 2009
28 February 2009
The introduction to my Blog page includes 'my thoughts since opening the café'. I have not always stuck to that and again I am not going to, for two reasons which are both to do with the finical aspect of this entire project.
From the very outset back in 2004, when I first put down on paper the idea of the Beef Kitchen, I had one motive in mind and that was to contribute to the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation's fundraising. As the Beef Kitchen came to life we saw the small but definite improvement in some of the resident's attitudes towards getting their lives back on track. These improvements lead to some men leaving our team to go on to full-time work. I believed that by providing work experience and team involvement we made a difference, and so perhaps if we could find a permanent establishment then perhaps our little enterprise could provide consistent 'therapy' as opposed to a few hours whenever there was a home game at Chelsea. That was the very argument I used to press for the chance to tender for the opportunity to operate a full time café at Pryors Bank. So, in effect, we would double the possible benefits to the Foundation by helping to offer full-time employment and training, along with any surplus profit going straight back to the Foundation in the form of a donation at the end of each trading cycle.
We are now eight months into our first year at the café; we have had two apprentices go through their NVQs - one sadly has had to pull out for personal reasons but in time will, we hope, be able to rejoin and complete his training. The second is on track to complete his training and gain his qualification this month...a 50% success rate in one element of this project, but then we have to look at what else this project has accomplished...
Our former Head Chef who was an ex-Serviceman and homeless in 2004. He has re-qualified in different areas required in today's modern catering industry and has been able to move on and rejoin not only his family but also the workforce. Presently we have another former homeless disabled ex-Serviceman voluntarily working with me on all our football matches and functions, re-gaining his confidence and skills. This man was living rough until he was provided with a home here at the Foundation; a former master chef in the British Army who has signed up to and is working with us to help himself get back on track.
Shortly we will see our new assistant manager, who is disabled and a former homeless ex-Serviceman, who has over the past four years put behind him the sadness of the past and due to this project's existence has now been recruited not only to work as an assistant manager but also to share his experience with our new apprentices in order to assist them and this project. I cannot say with hand on heart that it was due to the Beef Kitchen and the café alone that has helped these men, yet in each case they needed help and that help came from, or, via the Beef Kitchen and the Pryors Bank Café.
In eight months, we have quietly gone about our job, and we are seeing the results already. None of what we have done is cost free in fact; it has proved to be more expensive than we first planned. Yet we still believe that the role we are undertaking is the right one, for the right reasons and as shown, is producing the right results.
With so many large corporate enterprises cutting back on their charitable donations the need for the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation to secure funding is even harder this year. We would be kidding ourselves if we thought that in its first year the café project would be making a cash donation, so our first year's contribution will be the success of the project's motives.
As an employer we get to know far more about our employee prospect's lives than lets say main stream employers. People come to us who have issues that have in same cases wrecked lives; a large part of what we aim to do is help deal with issues from drug and alcohol dependency, long term unemployment and a general breakdown of what one may call 'normal' lifestyles. That takes very careful handling and cannot be counted on a balance sheet; this project was born to help but we can only help when called upon to do so...you cannot make people do anything they will not do. Our job is to show and demonstrate that lives can be rebuilt with help and care.
This year will, we all hope, see lots of sunshine and our highly valued patrons enjoying what we have planned for you as far as a café can. What you will not always see is the work that is ongoing in the background to help our former comrades who have fallen on tough times. Yet you can rest assured that you valued cash is being invested wisely by trusted professionals, not line the pockets of individuals, but to produce a lifeline that ex-Servicemen and women can follow to a brighter and more secure future.
Thanks for reading,
Bob