Hope

B@titude emerged from a number of conversations between a group of friends, over several cups of coffee. They were trying to find practical ways to support and serve their local community. Established in 2005, the shop sells and donates babies and children's clothes. It also operates a small and intimate cafe area, where you can have hot and cold drinks and a small selection of snacks at very reasonable prices. At the back of the shop is a play area for young children to enjoy while parents relax with friends.

Hope is:

One of the important aspects of what has happened in and around the B@titude shop community has been the interest and involvement of people in overseas projects and sponsorship.

The first project we were able to sponsor was to buy a goat for a village in Kenya. We called it "Brian", after one of the customers (with his permission). We were then able to follow this up by having a well dug in a village in Eastern Uganda. With the initiative and help from a 14year old local teenager, we were able to raise enough sponsorship money for two children for three years. The little girl comes from Mexico and the little boy from Ethiopia. This money covers their education, clothing and help with the families’ food. We have also been able to support a youth community project in Romania, for which some of the B@titude mums took the initiative by helping to raise funds.

More recently in 2008 we were able to take a small group of mothers and daughters from Leatherhead to a village in Zambia. Here they helped invest a week of their time and energy into helping the village.

How to help:

You can help 'Hope' in a number of ways. Because this journey is shaped by the involvement of the community, your ideas about any new sponsorship opportunities are very important and always welcome.

Your ideas and suggestions can be sent from this website or by contacting the B@titude shop.

B@titude Team, 28/08/2008