A café established in the former building of Caerphilly town’s library, is launching a charitable trust so that it can give its profits back to the community.
Opened last year in the town’s Morgan Jones Park by residents Angela and Ed Crabtree, the Old Library coffee shop has proven to be a hit with locals and a variety of community groups who now use it as a base.
Angela, a mum-of-three, explained: “We are a social enterprise and we want to distribute our profits back into the community and we thought a charitable trust was the best way to do it.
“We are hoping to make our first deposit into the trust after the summer and in the meantime we are looking for people to volunteer as trustees.
“We are looking for people who have got an interest in and a strong feel for our community. The time commitment will be a few meetings throughout the year.”
Angela said she expects the first deposit to the trust to be around £500 with the intention of bigger and bigger donations as the café becomes more firmly established and profits grow.
She added: “Once the trust is open for applications, people can come to us with ideas about funding. We would always look to local projects, and it won’t have to be for huge amounts.
“We’d start with small amounts and try and give to as many people as possible.”
The Old Library opened its doors in September last year and is a popular destination for visitors to Morgan Jones Park.
Angela, 30, said: “It has gone way better than we expected and we’ve been really busy since the new year with a steady increase in custom.
“It has really, really grown with people coming back to us. We haven’t got natural footfall, so we have had to work on becoming a destination in our own right.”
• People interested in helping the Old Library with its charitable trust can email Angela on charitabletrust@theoldlibrarycaerphilly.co.uk.