What the NHS say about Chatters Cafe
When Lilian and her team were highly commended in the category of Community Hero at the Celebrating Excellence and Innovation in Health Care Awards, the NHS wrote this about Chatters Cafe.
"Lillian Burden, manager of Chatters café which is based in the George Street Centre, Ryde and her team provide an excellent service within the local community. The centre is open 6 days a week and provides hot drinks, snacks and lunches for a number of groups in the community who use the centre including mother and toddler, Friend to Friend for older people, bridge, and scrabble clubs and painting classes as well as mothers using the Sure Start centre located at the rear of the George Street Centre. It also caters for those working in the neighbourhood in Ryde, it is an oasis of calm from work pressures in the middle of the day. The food is freshly-prepared,
wholesome and attractively priced. A number of homeless people use the centre as it is so reasonably priced and sometimes those in desperate need are fed for free. Many of the users of the café are elderly and attend regularly making the café an important part of the community and of people’s social life. The centre is staffed by mostly volunteers from the community including a number with learning difficulties for whom the work is an important part of their involvement in society and gives them a real sense of purpose. All in all the café provides a very much needed service for the café users and staff and is worthy of this award."
Claire Willis, Station Director of Isle of Wight Radio and Isle of Wight LINk Community Care Hero Award Judge said:
“The team at Chatters Cafe are a true example of being at the heart of the community and the service they provide is welcomed by so many, from hot meals to warm conversation Lillian and her team really do Ryde proud.”
