Teens give cafe a makeover

A GROUP of Warrington youngsters have given their local community café a make-over to help it become a “hub” for social activity in the area.
The youngsters – aged 15-17 – at Longford carried out the work as part of the their National Citizenship Service (NCS) programme.
The project, delivered by Participation Through Sport, was funded by Golden Gates Housing Trust (GGHT) and 02 Think Big.
Research carried out by GGHT as part of its Longford Quality of Life project, earlier this year, showed that 20 per cent of people in the area did not feel part of their local community.
The youngsters, having met the staff who run the café, realised the potential it had to act as a hub for the local community – and got cracking.
In just two weeks they painted the exterior walls and fitted new signage. They bought toys and games for the garden to encourage more families to visit.
Then they set about marketing the scheme, designing and distributing their own promotional material and setting up a stand at Longford Community Fun Day.
Sam Owen, aged 16, said: “The NCS programme has been great for me personally. It has given me more confidence and has encouraged me to progress my dreams of becoming a free runner.”
Emma Woods, also 16, added: “I would really like to get into volunteering work and found the social action project in Longford to be very rewarding. I feel the project will really benefit the local community and I would encourage other young people to get involved in things that make a difference where they live.”
Roy Humphreys, chairman of the Longford Resident Association, said: “It’s been great to see the young people working so hard to improve the café and raise awareness amongst local residents. The café is already looking much brighter and we have started to see more new faces coming through the doors.”