Rise shines for good cause
From casual conversations in local coffee shops, the idea of running a café as a social enterprise came to fruition in just a few short months.
Rise Espresso was established as a social enterprise, with all profits going to disability services provider, Kirinari Support Services, to improve the lives of people living with a disability. The trendy Lavington café is co-located with Kirinari at 1/115 Catherine Crescent.
“The profits from Rise go directly into providing activities and items like buildings, pool tables, furniture and beautiful landscaped gardens that make places like our Catherine Crescent day activity centre so much fun to attend,” says Diane Lynch, CEO, Kirinari.
Since opening last month, café owners Justin Haycraft and Ash Piera have been overwhelmed by the support of the local community.
“Word of mouth and social media have been great in getting the message out there. We’ve been seeing new faces every day.” Justin says
“We already have repeat customers and people are super supportive of the concept.”
Justin and Ash hope to get people with a disability involved in the café by interacting with the community.
“It is so important to get rid of the stigma associated with people who have a disability,” Ash said
On top of their financial contribution to Kirinari, Rise Espresso sources local suppliers whenever possible, including the use of Blessed Bean coffee, Riverina Fresh milk and locally baked treats.
In an effort to be as green and sustainable as possible, a ‘return a cup’ system has been implemented, coffee beans are delivered in tins and cup trays are made from the empty milk containers.
You can find out more about Rise Espresso and Kirinari on Instagram @rise.espresso and @kirinari_community_services.