Local cafe affiliates with national charity

Community café supports care experienced people.

Evolve cafe, a social enterprise based in Birmingham, has linked with national charity, the Rees Foundation, to offer a safe social space for care experienced people to access useful information and connect with support in the vibrant atmosphere of Evolve’s Digbeth café.

Established by Foster carer Jan Rees OBE in 2013, the Rees Foundation provides support and financial assistance to care experienced people of any age. The charity sees massive potential in the collaboration as they have been impressed with the Evolve’s dedication to meeting the needs of people in their local community.

Evolve is a part of the charity Aquarius and provides young people who have faced barriers into employment with training and job opportunities. The café invests in ethically sourced and socially conscious produce and their menus are focused on health and wellbeing.

The Rees Foundation already has affiliated community cafes in other locations across the country, but the collaboration with Evolve is the first of its kind in Birmingham.

The collaboration means the Evolve team are trained in issues impacting care experienced people and will also be trained in mental health first aid by the Rees Foundation. The café has a ‘Rees Champion’ who will be able to give information on all projects offered by the Foundation and the use of IT allows access to some of the great services offered by the Support Workers located at the Rees Foundation.

A Rees Guest Card is available to all care experienced people, which provides free hot drinks and discounts on food offered at the café. For more information, visit reesfoundation.org and evolvebirmingham.co.uk/. You can also follow @EvolveBrum @ReesFoundation. For support accessing your Rees Guest Card, call 0330 094 5645.