Wetherby councillor’s donation gives charity café boost

A Wetherby councillor’s donation will help to sustain a much-needed charity café supporting people through the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Wetherby in Support of the Elderly (WiSE) launched its ‘Welcome Café’ last winter to provide a warm, welcoming space for people of all ages to meet and eat.

Now Wetherby Ward councillor Alan Lamb has backed the initiative by making a donation, with charity bosses highlighting the importance of fundraising to maintaining and extending the reach of its core services.

Wetherby Cllr Alan Lamb, said: “I’m delighted to be able to support the Welcome Café with a grant. WiSE do an amazing job in our community in so many ways and this initiative is a great opportunity for a warm space, food and drink and great company for anyone and everyone. These kinds of projects are crucial in preventing social isolation, which can be a significant issue in areas such as ours. This grant will help to ensure the Welcome Café is sustainable for a long time to come.”

Mark said: “I’d like to say a big thank you to Cllr Lamb for his very generous donation. The Welcome Café continues to play a really important role in our community- particularly as we don’t know how long other funding sources will be in place for.

“We’re grateful for any donation- big or small- as we seek to extend the reach of our services and help even more people in Wetherby and its surrounding villages. Our fundraising focus this year is for dementia services, but we’re also happy for individual donations to be nominated for specific causes and services- like the Welcome Café.”

WiSE is a registered charity organisation part funded by Leeds City Council. Its aim is to improve quality of life for the over 60s by providing community based activities, information, help and support.

For more information about WiSE, or to donate, visit www.w-ise.org.uk