We are keen to get the cafe at The Bureau Centre for the Arts , Blackburn, up and running, and we need your help.

The Bureau is a vibrant Arts Centre in the heart of Blackburn. We are based in an old church (the image is some of the stunning windows in what will be our cafe area) which provides a versatile space for arts activities, theatre, music, cultural events and community participation. It is a not for profit organisation run by a board of volunteer directors, working hard to secure pockets of grant funding to enable us to put on events for the community. We are determined to become a more sustainable organisation, less reliant on grants and able to build a regular, diverse programme which will create more opportunities for our community to access arts and social activities.

Having a cafe would not only help us with our ambition to achieve sustainability, it would also be a key element in creating a community space within The Bureau. We want to create a hub where our local community can come together in a friendly, creative environment, where everyone is welcome, where people can connect with people from different communities, experience inspiring art, express themselves and learn new skills.

Our vision for the cafe is to provide simple, healthy and homemade vegetarian and vegan food at accessible prices, in a comfortable and relaxing environment.

Although we do have a kitchen space, we don’t have a working kitchen and are currently a pop up cafe selling cake and brews running only at certain events to try and help us raise some money.

We need your help, firstly to help us get the equipment we need to get up and running (approx. £700) and secondly to create the space we envisage (approx.£300) . Please donate whatever you can to help fund our community cafe. If each of our followers donated £1 we would sail past our target.

You can simply donate to support our cafe, but we have also created a few perks that you might enjoy. If you would like to take advantage of one of these perks, please state which perk and make sure you leave your contact details.

Perk 1: Donate £5, support the cafe and receive a voucher for a hot/cold drink

Perk 2: Donate £10, support the cafe and receive a voucher for a hot/cold drink and a piece of cake from the cafe

Perk 3: Donate £30, support the cafe, receive a voucher for a hot/cold drink and a piece of cake from the cafe, and a voucher to attend a 2 hour block printing workshop where you will print your own tea towel (5 available)

Donate £50, support the cafe, receive a voucher for a hot/cold drink and a piece of cake from the cafeand receive a beautiful hand painted cake plate decorated by artist Cath Ford (1 available)

If you are unable to financially support us at this time, you can also help support us by sharing our events and posts on social media. You can find us on facebook, instagram and twitter.

Thank you for your support.