Walton Charity supports projects that reduce isolation and help people feel more connected to their community. Our Community Grant of £2,500 helped St Nicholas’ Church in Thames Ditton to set up their Talbot House Café - a new community café for anyone in the local area looking for support or a friendly ear. The café started with a grant to buy a coffee machine for the church, but the vision was always that it would become a community hub for Thames Ditton and that has certainly been achieved.

The Talbot House Café is open on Tuesday mornings and is a partnership between St Philip’s School (a local school for children with special educational needs), the East Elmbridge Foodbank, and St. Nicholas’ Church. The café is run by the students from the school and, with the help of volunteers from the church and the foodbank, Year 11 students are offered work experience*, learning new skills and building their confidence.

The Thames Ditton Foodbank (part of the East Elmbridge Foodbank) run a session at the café on Tuesday mornings, providing 3-days' worth of emergency food to local people who are struggling financially, and a warm, welcoming place to meet for a chat over a cup of coffee and a slice of home-made cake. Volunteers can also signpost people to receive more specific help, with a Citizens Advice debt adviser on hand to offer practical advice.

The thriving ‘knit and natter’ group also meet at the café on Tuesdays; and every fortnight, a volunteer runs a pre-loved clothing stall.

* Only 5.1% of adults with a learning disability known to their local authority in England are in paid work (NHS Digital, 2021).