We have created an exciting new full-time role for a Head of Charity Operations. The successful candidate, who should be available as soon as possible, will be involved in all aspects of our work, responsible for our charitable objectives and will be a key and active member of our team.

The post holder will report to the Board of Trustees and be accountable for both leadership and operational duties.

RESPONSIBILITIES/JOB DESCRIPTION:

• Based in Chorleywood, you will work with the Training Manager and Café Manager to provide excellent 'supported internship' training to our interns and ensure that our café remains a popular and successful hub at the heart of the community.
• If you have a passion for helping others and the ability to lead, inspire and problem-solve as part of a team, this is a dynamic and varied job for you.
• You need to have a degree or NVQ equivalent, experience in hospitality, strong business acumen and ideally experience of working with people with a learning disability. You will also need an enhanced DBS.
• This unique role comes with a competitive remuneration package and brings with it the privilege of knowing that you are making a real difference

For a full job description and an application form, please contact the Chair of MEA Katharine Weston via email on: katharine.weston@missionemployable.co.uk

It was a real pleasure to have Cheryl stop by our Café on The Common this week and show her support for our charity. Our intern George was delighted to demonstrate his customer service skills and received some lovely feedback.

Thank you Cheryl for popping in - it was great to meet you!

'You may remember our last blog introducing ourselves - a new Hertfordshire based charity who run year-long supported internships for adults with an EHCP aged 18 - 25, living in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex and beyond.

We are pleased to announce that our training cafe in Chorleywood is now up and running, and is proving to be a big success both with our interns, and our customers!'

Read More

The car park in front of the Café on the Common can be busy even when the Café is not busy!

To check if the Café has tables free:
Pop in to check, visit our Café page, or use our availability app mentioned here.

Note that the Café is close to several other car parks:
Overflow car park 2 min.
Chorleywood House 2 min.
In front of Christ Church Primary School 5 min.

A group of students from Northwood College is raising money for Chorleywood-based charity MEA by taking part in the Hatch End Junior Triathlon Under 9s on May 21, for which they will swim 250m, cycle 2km and run 1.2km.

The 10 girls were inspired after sisters Keira and Shailee visited MEA’s training café on Chorleywood Common with their parents and brother Kush, who has Downs Syndrome.

The sisters’ mother Nisha said:

‘Your mission is just wonderful and will be so valuable to us and many others.

We are keen to support you because what you are doing helps raise awareness of all that can be achieved by people with learning disabilities.’

Erica Bendall, a trustee of MEA, said:

‘The Soni sisters and their schoolfriends are just the latest Northwood people to be so generous.

We hope more Northwood people will visit our lovely café and that young adults with learning disabilities from the Northwood area will apply for one of our internships this September.’

Applications are open for MEA supported internships starting in September.

Applicants must be 18 – 25 years old and be working at entry level 2 in functional English and Maths.

For details of internships:

Internships

To donate to Keira, Shailee and their classmates’ Triathlon in aid of MEA:

Donate

"In April we welcomed our first group of student interns from MEA to globalbridge. This talented group of young people will be using their globalbridge profiles to showcase the amazing skills they are developing on their internships, which includes running their community café!"

- globalbridge

We are delighted that two local heroes are supporting us this spring.

• Chorleywood resident Brent Mullane, who raised £14,000 for us by completing four marathons in 2021/22, is once again putting on his running shoes
• Loudwater resident Lisa Marheineke also has itchy feet

On Wednesday, April 26, Brent begins the four-day Thames Ring, a circular 250-mile race along the Oxford Canal and the Thames, which also takes in stretches of the Grand Union Canal at Watford, Ricky and Hemel - so do try to catch him and cheer him on!

Sponsor Brent

On Sunday, April 23, Lisa will run the London Marathon. Lisa's fund will be split equally between MEA, the Epilepsy Society and UK Infantile Spasms Trust.

Sponsor Lisa

If you feel inspired by Brent or Lisa to do something active (or otherwise) to raise money for us, please email: erica@missionemployable.co.uk.

We would love to hear from you.

A Family Day Out & Afternoon Teas

"The seas of bluebells were quite magical, especially when the sun broke through the pale green of the tree canopy." - Rachel Hatfield

Location:
Crosslane Wood, Burtons Lane, Chalfont St. Giles
Dates:
Sunday 30th April, 12pm-4pm
Monday 1st May, 10am-3pm
Tickets:
£28 Family Ticket
£10 Adult Ticket
£6 Concessionary ticket for over 60’s
Children under 10 FREE

Tickets: Sunday
Tickets: Monday
Donate Now

Even though the Café on The Common is up and running we have decided, after many requests to reopen the woodlands and pop up café, for the May Day Bank holiday, Sunday and Monday. Open for people of all ages to explore these magnificent ancient bluebell woodlands.

MEA has been given access to the ancient Crosslane Wood (on Burtons Lane), so that families, individuals, children and grandparents can admire its stunning bluebells.

The Bluebell Walk makes a lovely outing for the whole family, including the dog.

Visitors will be able to wander along a marked path in the woods and buy teas, homemade cakes and soft drinks from a pop-up woodland café.

All proceeds from the day go to MEA to continue with their charitable work fulfilling lives young adults with learning disabilities.

Free parking and disabled access will both be signposted (If you require disabled access which has a different point of entry into the woods, please contact erica@missionemployable.co.uk once you have made your booking).

Dogs must be kept on a lead.

Ricky’s Famous Cinnamon Buns Available From Chorleywood Café

Fans of Rickmansworth’s Cinnamon Square Bakery delicious cinnamon buns will be delighted to know that the signature buns can still be enjoyed in Chorleywood.

Now that the Cinnamon Café is run as a bakery, rather than as a café, owners Paul and Tricia Barker wanted their much sought after buns (a sort of Danish pastry with creamy icing) to be available elsewhere and chose Chorleywood’s Café on the Common as the venue.

The couple were so impressed by the new café, which is run by the charity MEA, that they approached café manager Tom Neath to ask if he would consider a partnership.

The buns are already proving enormously popular, with more than 150 sold in the first week.

‘We’ve watched the building [Café on the Common] going up and as we always enjoyed meeting customers in our own café, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to get our buns to new customers and to be part of the incredible MEA story,’ said Paul and Tricia.

Tom Neath said: ‘It is a real feather in our cap to be given the chance to be the exclusive sellers of these buns, which really put Ricky on the map - and now us.

‘People can’t get enough of them.’

Great News! We are selling Cinnamon Square Buns!

We couldn’t be more delighted when Paul popped in last week to support us here at MEA with his historic and much loved Cinnamon iced bun - perfect when warmed.