{"id":471,"date":"2023-08-04T19:34:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T18:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/?page_id=471"},"modified":"2025-06-30T15:56:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T14:56:19","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/?page_id=471","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

About Us<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

how it all began...<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kindfulness Coffee Club was formally known as Tea and Empathy which was part of Compass Counselling based in Liverpool.<\/p>

The original founders were Neville Black <\/strong>(Compass Chair of Trustees) and Tony Medlicott<\/strong> (CEO of Compass)<\/p>

Tea and Empathy was situated adjacent to Compass Counselling Charity shop and served its first cup of tea Monday 2nd<\/sup> December 2013.<\/p>

The original idea was to support the local community\u2019s mental health needs around a cafe environment, offering a welcoming, warm friendly environment, a cuppa and a chat with additional access to groups and counselling services supplied by Compass.<\/p>

In June 2016 Compass and Tea and Empathy parted company but a few Trustees really believed in what Tea and Empathy was trying to deliver and set up \u2018Kindfulness Coffee Club\u2019 on 23rd<\/sup> June 2016.<\/p>

Neil Callan became the Chair of Trustees and set the original foundations of Kindfulness Coffee Club.<\/p>

In June 2019 the Trustees had to take the very hard decision to close the caf\u00e9 element of Kindfulness due to financial issues.<\/p>

Ironically once the caf\u00e9 element of Kindfulness ceased we were granted Charitable status.<\/p>

Thankfully with the support of the local community and local funders primarily L23 and John Moores foundation we survived and grew into what Kindfulness is today.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Mandy Lewtas - CEO<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u00a0<\/p>

I started at Kindfulness, formerly Tea and Empathy on 2nd<\/sup> December 2013.<\/strong><\/p>

My original role was in the caf\u00e9 supporting the then Manager Michael Medlicott in the kitchen.<\/strong><\/p>

I hadn\u2019t worked for 13 years due to health issues, and this was me tentatively testing my way back into employment.<\/strong><\/p>

As I carried on my journey at KCC I felt a closer connection with the customers and trying to support them with their daily issues. I started to develop the Wellbeing side of Tea and Empathy.<\/strong><\/p>

\u00a0I have been involved with most, if not all the Wellbeing activities over the years, developing new ways of engaging with the local community trying to offer support, a non-judgemental listening ear, with the purpose of creating an environment where everyone is welcome and accepted as they are.<\/strong><\/p>

Our vision is of a community connected by Kindness where there is acceptance, care and hope is the basis for all that we offer at Kindfulness.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Julie Bristow - Administrator<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

As the KCC Administrator I am responsible for managing office operations, providing administrative support, and ensuring efficient workflow within KCC. This involves keeping up to date with accounts, budgeting and tracking finances for evaluation. My job also includes recording things such as donations, volunteer and staff hours, having a financial overview of the functioning of Kindfulness Coffee Club.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

I also enjoy socialising with all the regulars and new comers of KCC! <\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Sarah - Mental health First Aider and Group Facilitator<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

As a Mental Health First Aider my role is to ensure I am\nthere as a point of contact for those who come into the Drop in at KCC and need\nsupport regarding their mental health and wellbeing.  You may want to come in for a chat and are\nlooking to connect with others or have a specific issue such as housing, debt, cost-of-living\nissues, which is having an impact on your mental health. I am here to listen\nand offer support in a non-judgemental and empathic way.  I will do my best to signpost you to the\nrelevant local organisations if necessary. <\/o:p><\/p>

We offer various groups at KCC which you may want to join,\nand I can support you in choosing those which best suit you.  I can also arrange to meet with you 1:1\noutside of the drop-in hours for a chat and a cuppa.<\/o:p><\/p>

I co-facilitate our Women\u2019s Group and Baby Hub with our\nvolunteers, ensuring that those who attend have Mental Health support if\nneeded. <\/o:p><\/p>

\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

I love working at KCC and being part of the community in and\naround KCC. The staff, volunteers and KCC family all contribute to making KCC a\nplace of welcome and acceptance for everyone.<\/o:p><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About Us how it all began… Kindfulness Coffee Club was formally known as Tea and Empathy which was part of Compass Counselling based in Liverpool. The original founders were Neville Black (Compass Chair of Trustees) and Tony Medlicott (CEO of Compass) Tea and Empathy was situated adjacent to Compass Counselling Charity shop and served its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-471","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"campaignId":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":61,"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1264,"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471\/revisions\/1264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kindfulnesscoffeeclub.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}