Coffee4Craig & Play It Green
More exciting news today as we announce that the fantastic Manchester based homeless support charity, Coffee4Craig has joined the Play It Green community. Not only that, but the amazing cause is now available to choose as a giving partner for every Play It Green member.
As a Manchester-based charity, Play It Green is proud to support the founders Risha and Hendrix. Our collaboration will provide much-needed funds for them along with sustainability support and guidance for its team.
We caught up with their founder, Risha Lancaster to find out more about Coffee4Craig and what the future holds for this amazing cause.
If you want a dose of true inspiration, please do keep reading!
Please, tell us a little about Coffee4Craig
Hello, Play It Green folks!! We are so excited to be joining up with you and feel as a charity we have a huge part to play in how we create a positive impact for our team and also help support the environment. ‘doing charity’ shouldn’t come at a cost to the earth and we’d like to make the issue of homelessness a part of the solution to the reduction of our footprint, so we are excited to work with Play It Green. By supporting Coffee4Craig through your membership, it means we can concentrate on the crisis we are facing in Manchester.
Coffee4Craig was founded in 2013 after the sudden death of my brother, Craig White, while he was street homeless in Cardiff. We were determined to support people at the grassroots, on the streets in similar situations and do for others what we couldn’t do for him. We started small, by offering coffee to people on the streets, we chatted with the experts, asked questions and learnt…a lot!!
Within a matter of months, we were feeding up to 200 people a week and started doing some support/advocacy work with individuals, all the while knowing we needed to do much more. We had, by 2016, created a team of amazing volunteers to work alongside us, partnered with a big national charity and moved to an indoor service, still keeping our ethos and grassroots approach.
As the issues surrounding homelessness grew so did we. As the challenges became more time-consuming we dedicated more time to finding solutions. We are now a team of nine staff and over 40 volunteers all working tirelessly to support people who are street homeless. We provide the only 7-night-a-week drop-in centre that opens when everyone else closes.
Why is sustainability important to you?
Sustainability in our field of work is not a positive thing….We have no desire to sustain someone on the streets, but having a fully sustainable model of operation is vital to the solution to homelessness.
If we, as a charity and the entire sector do not take sustainability seriously we’ll have no way of supporting the people we work tirelessly for. As with nature, everything is connected. In the same way, a business must care for its employees so that the business prospers, we must each play our part in taking care of the planet, each person makes one conscious effort to do one small act per day and the whole world will be a better place for us and our future generations.
If we maintain the current climate of the throwaway society and live unconsciously we won’t have a planet at all. We have a duty to reduce our waste and to reduce the level of new items we purchase. Furthermore, we must ensure that the goods we receive as donations are either put to good use or passed on to other charities that will use them.
Not just throw away and use the ‘it’s someone else’s problem’ or ‘out of sight out of mind’ thought process. We each have a responsibility to be as environmentally positive with each action, each decision and each purchase we make.
Why did you decide to collaborate with Play It Green?
We met Richard and quite honestly, he just ignited our passion, he captivated us and his approach to speaking, listening and never preaching made the conversation flow. The ideas jump around and we are firm believers that the universe will provide the answers, the people and the opportunities at the right time. Even if the only shift we make into sustainability is partnering with Play It Green, then we have at least made this commitment. We intend to do so much more though and with Play It Green and we will achieve success, we’ve no doubt.
What does the future hold for Coffee4Craig?
We would like to see a future where Coffee4Craig is non-existent, a future where the human rights act includes The Right to Appropriate Accommodation for all.
For the immediate future, we would like to see an increase in financial income so that we can continue fighting for and supporting the most disenfranchised and marginalised individuals in the city.
Quotes
Hendrix Lancaster, Coffee4Craig
“Homelessness is not the problem, it is a symptom of the problem.”
Richard Dickson, Play It Green
“I was blown away when I met Risha and Hendrix from Coffee4Craig. Risha has taken an incredibly sad and moving time in her life and turned it into a force for good. The fact that Coffee4Craig is in Manchester, my home city is brilliant. Manchester has given us all so much and this is an opportunity to give back and help some of its most needy residents, people experiencing homelessness. I can only thank Risha, Hendrix and the team for the great work they do and for allowing us to support it.””
If you’re passionate about sustainability and want to take your efforts to the next level, we encourage you to join the Play It Green community.
For just £5 per month, you’ll have access to a supportive network of like-minded individuals and resources to help you make even more sustainable choices in your daily and working life.
As well as that you will plant 13 trees each month and regift to a charity of your choice. Together, we can create a brighter and more sustainable future for all.
