Social Link’s Social Arts Café was open at Wycombe Arts Centre on Wednesdays and Fridays. Social Link is a local charity providing social clubs and day opportunities for adults with learning disabilities to meet, develop independence skills and enjoy weekly activities.
Social Link’s members have been learning the ins and outs of running a cafe, developing transferable skills in cooking and service.
The team has been working hard upcycling bespoke furniture, making tablecloths and aprons for the cafe and learning how to prepare sandwiches and other lunchtime meals.
Social Link’s members even worked together to develop the name: The Social Arts Café. It was a truly unique venue for the public to come and enjoy lunch made from home-grown ingredients, snacks or even just a cuppa.
The Social Arts Café was put on hold in early 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Social Link focusing instead on socially-distanced activities in our garden. They continue to learn transferable skills which are designed to help them to secure future employment or to simply provide them with greater independence in their everyday lives.
“At Social Link, we want to help create a world where people with learning disabilities are valued equally, listened to, empowered to contribute to and included within our society. What better way to achieve this than with the Social Arts Café, located within Wycombe Arts Centre?
Our members have a whole host of skills that, until now, have been unutilised. But time spent in the Social Arts Café has seen all of them apply their skills and boost their learning while at the same time becoming integrated within the local community.”
About Social Link
Social Link provides a varied service for adults with learning disabilities in Buckinghamshire. They aim to help all who, because of their disability, have limited opportunities for social contact and inclusion in their communities. Social Link prides itself on focusing on what individuals can achieve irrespective of ability.
Their members come from a diverse range of backgrounds with an equally broad range of abilities. The aim is to help members to grow as individuals while learning, making friends and trying new and stimulating experiences.
Additional Services
The Social Link day project is open weekdays from 10am until 4pm in High Wycombe, with informal drop-in sessions on weekday afternoons. They also host evening clubs in Wycombe and Aylesbury, both of which are growing in popularity due to their liveliness. They’ve recently opened their Aylesbury day project for two days a week at Rivets Sports Social Club.
Social Link
Social Link is an amazing local charity that provides social clubs and day opportunities for adults with a learning disability.
They run all sorts of groups where people can meet, develop independence skills and enjoy weekly activities.
They use the Cafe Space regularly and have been helping to bring the place alive, from their drop-in Social Link Cafe to their ongoing upcycling, which helps to breathe new life into old furniture.
The Gardens:
The Social Link team has also been instrumental in revitalising our gardens, something that all of our guests can enjoy in the summer months and during outdoor events.
As well as growing their own produce (including tasty tomatoes and a varied herb garden), they’ve built decorative Bug Hotels and festooned the gardens with painted rocks and other goodies.
Stop by and take a wander around during your next visit!
Wednesday Cafe:
Drop by on Wednesday mornings for tea, coffee and a great atmosphere as Social Link volunteers develop their practical skills in this cafe setting.
Great for individuals with their carers or social groups with disabilities, this welcoming environment is uniquely heart-warming on a Wednesday!
Check out the Social Link Facebook Page for more up to date notices.
