Bloom
One Sip for a Second Shot
What if your cup of coffee could change someone’s life?
Helping someone escape homelessness and into gainful employment are perhaps the two most important changes anyone can make to their own or, someone else’s life.
During the pandemic homelessness decreased due mainly to the provision of emergency and unfortunately, temporary accommodation. According to the influential Crisis Homelessness Monitor, however, post-lockdown, local authorities expect to see an increase in people made homeless after being evicted from the private rental sector and an increase in unemployed people made homeless by the pandemic. It is estimated that core homelessness today totals approximately 200,000 people.
Paul Barry-Walsh OBE, Founder and Chairman of Fredericks Foundation recently stated that
‘’ homelessness should not be a part of life in an advanced economy such as ours. Fredericks Foundation, the capital provider for Charities and Social Enterprises, would look sympathetically on any Social Enterprise or charity trying to help reduce these tragic numbers’’.
Fredericks has recently provided start-up capital to the Bloom Coffee Academy CIC, and their innovative solution to provide training and employment to the homeless.
Ed Walker, the founder of bloom and Derek Buckley, Head of Coffee, started Bloom so that disadvantaged people, such as the homeless and unemployed, could be trained to become skilled Baristas and at the end of the course receive a SCA qualification. They will then be helped to find employment on at least the London minimum wage. Ed’s goal is to give those people who are referred to Bloom, not only a new skill and qualification, but to build their self-confidence, dignity and to give them the opportunity to start a new chapter, to write a new story. Ed and Derek between them have over 40 years’ experience in the catering and coffee industries.
Ed Waller and Derek Buckley
To help them achieve their goals Bloom has partnered with three organisations; The Salvation Army who are not only referring candidates to the Academy but are also providing the training premises. Modern Standard Coffee who are providing the equipment but are also roasting Bloom’s unique coffee, which is sustainably sourced direct from the coffee farmers at fair prices. The third organisation is FIKA Catering Co Ltd, a sister company to Bloom who are not only providing financial sponsorship but are also providing employment for the future Bloom qualified baristas.
Ed says: ‘’ Working with Fredericks Foundation and the capital they provided has made it possible to make our dream a reality. But please remember this is not just our story, it is yours as well, your next cup of coffee may change someone’s life’’.
Derek Buckley