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Drink Coffee, Eat Cake & Support Training For Those In Need

Hopes, Dreams & Coffee Beans is an initiative that rolls off the tongue and is providing refugee, asylum seekers and disadvantaged Australians a chance to create a new life.

Despite the increasingly agitated federal political environment on asylum seeker policy, when it comes to the community there are some wonderful initiatives occurring which are truly inspirational. Hopes, Dreams & Coffee Beans is such an initiative, hosted by the team from Hope’s Café at the Clayton Wesley Uniting Church in Beulah Park. This is the very team who earlier this year drew national press for their ‘pay what you can afford’ eatery initiative, but this one-off event is set to ramp their notion of charity up even further.

On Saturday, November 19 the public can book a spot to head along and enjoy a delicious mixture of coffee, Persian tea and delectable sweets and pastries from around the world to enjoy. The funds raised will support the barista training program at Hope’s Café which provides nationally accredited barista training, work experience and pathways to employment for asylum seekers, refugees and disadvantaged Australians.

Established in 2014, Hope’s Café is the only ‘pay what you can afford’ café in the state, whose doors are open to anyone in the community. Each year, Hope’s Café serves over 25,000 cups of coffee, 10,000 meals, and hosts over 7,000 visits by asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, and Australians in financial hardship.

Photo courtesy of Hope's Cafe Fans Facebook

Photo courtesy of Hope’s Cafe Fans Facebook

Most Asylum seekers are not able to work for their first two years in Australia and are only able to receive 89% of Centrelink allowances and are paying full price for TAFE and other courses, making obtaining qualifications very difficult for them. Every little bit helps. This makes Hope café an integral part of the community and a cause we can get behind!

Spire Community Manager, David Winderlich says “Hope’s Café provides friendship, a pleasant stimulating environment for which money is not a prerequisite and the opportunity to be part of a community. These things are vital for a dignified and fulfilled life but they out of reach for many Australians on low incomes and take years for new migrants and refugees to build on their own.”

Hope Café works in collaboration with HG Coffee School to provide training and accreditation to minorities and the disadvantaged. ‘Learning to make the perfect cup gives not only great satisfaction but a skill in demand that leads to employment which is vital for migrants, refugees and disadvantaged Australians who need to find work to support their families’ says Winderlich.

The Hopes, Dreams & Coffee Beans event will feature a delicious variety of cultural desserts including traditional Indian and Korean treats. Persian community members will also be serving traditional Persian Chai, a tea infused with rose petals, sweet desserts, and explaining their cultural significance.

Two sittings are available between 10am – 12:30pm and 12:30pm and 3pm. General admission tickets are $20 and concession $15 per person.

To book your place at the Hopes, Dreams and Coffee Beans event phone the Spire Community on (08) 8331 0356 or register online here.

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