All welcome at community café in Wick as PPP enters its 21st year
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A community-led social enterprise in Wick is hoping its revamped café facilities will help to tackle isolation and loneliness.
Pulteneytown People's Project (PPP) is entering its 21st year and development officer Jennifer Harvey says "positive changes" are taking place at its base, the Pulteney Centre in Huddart Street.
"What we've decided to do is change our general café downstairs so it's more of a community space," she explained.
"We've got people that come in throughout the week that are maybe lonely and have no family at home and we try to provide a meal for them on a Tuesday and a Thursday.
"Our cook Rosemary prepares all the food and we've got volunteers that come in and serve it up between 4pm and 6pm."
PPP was established in early 2003, with the aims of raising aspirations, creating new opportunities and making a positive difference in an area of Wick that had long been associated with deprivation. Initially it operated from an adapted council house in Murchison Street with one-and-a-half staff before moving to its current headquarters at the £3.8 million Pulteney Centre 11 years ago.
Jennifer said: "We're always looking for donations and have a share shop at the front of the building. There was support from a discretionary fund and we also have money from the Investing in Communities Fund over the next three years."
She added that all are welcome to go along to the PPP community café. "We supply tea and coffee and get pastries in from Lidl which are all free to have," Jennifer said. "Rose makes soup, a fresh pan every day, and if people want to leave a donation that's great.
"We have free WiFi so people come in with their computers on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday when we're open.
"Kids can come in after school and groups can come in. It helps with isolation and loneliness and brings the community together.
"We've also got all our sharing food at the front, which is free, and whatever we get donated to us from the Co-op, Tesco and Lidl is put out for people to use – some veg and fruit is used in the café for the community meal on a Tuesday or Thursday night."
There are two paid members of staff at the café along with volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering can drop in to the Pulteney Centre and ask for Jennifer or email her at jennifer.harvey@pppwick.org.uk or call her on 07501 494014.
Rose McGowan has been working as a cook at the community café since November last year.
She said: "The community is getting to know about it more, which is really, really good. They are using it more and benefiting from it.
"It even helps the ones who work here. It's a good atmosphere and there are a lot of older people using it which is really nice too."
The training for volunteers in the kitchen with food hygiene along with health and safety procedures can also help them learn skills for future employment.
Selina Munro started volunteering with the community café recently and has been involved with a variety of activities at PPP.
"I help out in the kitchen, in the hall, with events, filling up the Sharing Shed and other stuff," she said. "We did fundraising in the Easter holidays and had a bouncy castle up. We made chocolate muffins and decorated them like Easter eggs and sold them for 25p each."
Selina said she was quite shy and introverted before volunteering. "I want to give a little back to society now," she added.
Meg Bremner, who was having a meal at the café, said: "It's very nice and the meals are enjoyable. I'm not working at the moment so it's nice to get out and about and socialise.
"They've got WiFi up here so you can stay on your phone if you feel shy to start with. Then you get to know people you see here and socialise a bit more."
PPP was led from the beginning by Katrina MacNab. By the time she stepped down as chief executive officer in early 2021, it was operating a multi-generational range of services and had a workforce of more than 50. The current chief executive officer is Jane Davidson.
PPP is a registered Scottish charity.
