Old Cottage Coffee Shop

Old Cottage Coffee Shop customers rally round for Christmas – and raise £1,000 for hospice

Darryl Chamberlain
Old Cottage Cafe
The cafe was unable to open for Christmas, but scores of people helped anyway

More than 120 customers of the Old Cottage Coffee Shop in Charlton Park rallied round to help 24 elderly people have a happy Christmas, writing cards and helping to deliver food.

The cafe usually invites older people round for Christmas dinner – but with that not possible this year, it asked customers – including readers of The Charlton Champion – to help with donations of gifts, food and money, and to help drive the parcels to the recipients’ homes.

As well as the gifts and food, 280 cards were written, and a total of £1,619 was raised – meaning £1,031 can be given to the Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice.

Help came from as far away as St Thomas a Becket primary school in Abbey Wood, whose pupils sent cards, while the Co-op in Charlton Village, Tesco in Woolwich and Hachi Sushi Grill, also in Woolwich, helped out too.

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Can you help the Old Cottage Coffee Shop’s 2020 Christmas appeal?

Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment
Old Cottage Cafe
Can you help the Old Cottage Coffee Shop this Christmas?

The Old Cottage Coffee Shop in Charlton Park is one of the area’s local gems. Earlier this year, its owners Michael and Mimi were delivering food to the vulnerable during the spring lockdown. And every Christmas Day, it has hosted festive dinners for the elderly.

Things are different this year – so they are making 24 boxes to deliver to older people on Christmas Day. And Michael and Mimi are asking for your help.

Can you write a Christmas card for each person? Michael and Mimi will send you a name and you can write a personal message.

Can you donate presents and snacks for nine men and 15 women?

Can you help deliver on Christmas Day between 11am and noon?

…or could you donate cash to help the project?

If you can help, drop in at the cafe (open Wed-Sun, 9am-4pm), text 07737 922 792 or email m.speak9[at]icloud.co.uk.

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Old Cottage Cafe fundraiser breaks through the £6,000 mark

Neil Clasper1 Comment
The Old Cottage Cafe in Charlton Park
The cafe has been closed since the break-in on Saturday night

Our thanks to SIMON SHORT for an update on the fundraiser set up to support Charlton Park’s Old Cottage Cafe after it was burgled and damaged on Saturday night:

I set up the Gofundme page on Sunday morning, and since then the total that has been donated is over £6,100.

Having spoken to Michael again at lunchtime today to get the money deposited into his account, he told me how amazing he thought the response had been and he was really touched by the comments that everyone has left on the site.

It doesn’t look like they’ll be able to open again this week, but hopefully this money will make sure that they are able to get back to being the much loved stop-off that everyone clearly loves so much.

I’d like to add how nice it has been from my point of view, seeing the comments coming in for them too. I should however have set the page up NOT to have sent me an email every time there was a donation or comment – my phone didn’t stop pinging all day on Sunday. A nice problem to have.”

The fundraising page is still open if you would like to contribute. Anyone with any information on the break-in should call 101 or use the Metropolitan Police website. We’ll bring you news on when the cafe will reopen as soon as we have it.

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