A POPULAR Beechmount bakery and café is hosting a series of kids Christmas markets and clothing appeals in the run-up to Christmas to raise funds for the children’s Breakfast Club in the area.
The owner of Patisserie G, Gráinne Carson, launched the free Breakfast Club more than 14 months ago to ensure that local kids in the community had something to eat before school. At present, the Breakfast Club does not receive any funding and it operates through customer donations or by Gráinne herself.
This summer saw Gráinne set up a range of initiatives for the kids in the area, and her café and bakery has grown to be a central hub for the community, with the kids at the heart of it.
The young entrepreneurs with their products
Gráinne created the young Entrepreneur’s Club which stemmed from the Breakfast Club which involved the kids setting up their own stalls and creating and selling different products. The club is now hosting a Christmas Market every Saturday until Christmas selling Christmas decorations, sweets and treats, jewellery, Christmas cards, bath bombs and much more.
“It’s took off rightly. They’re loving it and they’re having a ball,” said Gráinne.
“It’s a lot of the kids from the Breakfast Club who go to it and who have started it. We also have new kids who have joined us who are learning the ropes. The other ones who were here before are teaching the new ones about needing floats and writing down if you spend any money so you know how much you’ve actually made.
“They have learnt a lot from the summer one so they’re passing on their knowledge to the newer ones. It’s their confidence as well, they’re so good at selling.”
Bags of clothes ready to sell
Gráinne has also launched a clothing appeal to raise money for the Breakfast Club. For all the clothes that have been donated and sold money goes back into the Breakfast Club. Clothes donated are labelled by size and are available for purchase at the bakery.
“The Breakfast Club has grown after the last 14 months. There are still new ones coming in. A lot of the kids will sit in or come in a group and will get a sausage roll, nutella toast or a breakfast bar."
In September, the bakery was almost forced to close due to rising fuel costs. However, the CEO of a major company, the Amcomri Group, stepped in and offered to pay the bakery’s electricity bills in order to keep the business open. The CEO’s father was born in Amcomri Streets on the Falls Road.
“Since we reopened, it’s been getting that bit busier, and people have come around and said there’s other businesses doing breakfast clubs as well. It is absolutely fantastic, the more places that do a breakfast club the more kids that are getting helped.
One of the young entrepreneurs with owner Gráinne Carson
“What has got me the most is the community spirit in here in the mornings. You have all the kids in and you’ve all the morning banter, it’s a lot of fun.
“We also have a volunteer, a girl who has moved over from Afghanistan, who isn’t allowed to work as she’s an asylum seeker so she volunteers as part of the community and she can meet new people. She volunteers a couple of mornings in the week, and she has been an absolute great help and she’s fantastic with the kids and the community.”
