The place that brings people together

The local community in Kiskemet has a new drive, because a few weeks ago a special café opened in the big city of Pax Kiskon County. And why should it interest us here in Szapolx? Because it works in the style of the Labor Café in Nyíregyháza. Let’s go back in time a bit: When Tabulapláza and Éva Fekete Foundation opened their doors in 2015 to their unique open community space and county seat donation café in 2015, the plan was already at the time to make the business café a social franchise. . There have been attempts to “communicate” before, but, as they say, almost nothing like.

– Last summer, I did an online training for those who want to run a place like ours. Interested parties from nine regions have applied to attend the previously announced online event, among which is the famous Rice Association of Kiskemet. This wasn’t the first thread connecting us to the city, because Tímea Révész, head of human resources at the Kecskemét branch of Int-Solution, a company based in Nyíregyháza, also noticed when they held their corporate event at our venue. So, when the citizens of Kecskemét applied, she brought them together – combined knowledge from the profit and non-profit sectors, and in just a year they opened the famous Cédrus Labor café – summed up Eva Fekete, admitting that she never dreamed that joint work.

They recruit with the power of steam

– This is the learning period now, when it becomes clear how the model can work at Kecskemét. It is a great help to have a place, Nyíregyháza, that they can refer to, that they can offer to those who are interested. Fortunately, the locals immediately sensed their place, and there are many programs and events at the Kecskemét Lab, and they are actively recruiting volunteers and long-term supporters. For now, the café functions as a pop-up, in a beautiful inner courtyard, on a comfortable, covered porch in front of the association’s office, but they hope they can soon move inside the door, added Eva Feketty, who was also present at the opening.

Surprisingly there were a lot of people, old and young, but since several people indicated that they could not attend due to time, we are organizing a second inaugural day, where we will once again show how the Donation Café as a community space operates. I really hope that our network will soon be expanded with new members, Veszprém and Kaposvár have already indicated that there is demand, while Újfehértó is taking a more serious interest in the county. In the coming years, I will work to make the work café a hub for local initiatives and community organizations.

Carry his team heart

Tímea Révész already at the first meeting felt that Eva was the one who could help fulfill an old desire.

I dreamed of a communal place where generations can meet, where we can step away from the virtual world, spend quality time with each other, and where there is a space for volunteering and mutual support. Even though we talked a lot about this and I received a lot of background material from it, I knew I couldn’t do it on my own in addition to my full time job and my business. That is why I was so happy when he called that there was an association in Kiskemet that was interested in the work. I met them and the chemistry worked right away, we live and think with the same values.

They started working together from scratch, so much so that a place had to be found for the budding community space, and even if everything wasn’t always going smoothly, the team was driven by their hearts until they were able to officially deliver Hírös Cédrus Labor Café to guests on June 17th.

– We already have a lot of requests for programs, we try to give priority to cultural programs, but we are open to everything. Labor is becoming more and more popular, locals – young and old – are happy to sit and chat over coffee and lemonade, if I can, I also work from here. I see that Kecskemét needed a place to bring people together.

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