Wow - time really flies during a global pandemic! Who’d have thought it? When the Covid crisis kicked off, we were just gearing up for our first full Summer of trading and we honestly thought we were going to be toast before we even got started! However, we have come through the other side with a healthy business and a strong platform with which to fight our mental health mission in 2021. This is thanks to the support of our customers and people like Glen at Blue Collar and Katie & Colin at The Globe who believed in the potential of our social enterprise.
We know there are lots of businesses in the hospitality industry that have really suffered and have not been so lucky. We’d like to thank all our customers who have purchased “Invisible Chips” from us in the last couple of months. This initiative has raised nearly £600 for Hospitality Action who have been supporting those who have lost their jobs.
We will be continuing to provide meals for the homeless at New Beginnings in Reading and for Newbury Soup Kitchen. We have provided 4100 meals since March but as the economic crisis bites, we are sadly seeing demand for meals soar. Please check out their websites to see how you can support these amazing charities.
Loneliness, anxiety and worry fuelled by repeated lockdowns has created a mental health crisis in our country. Mental health charities such as Woking Mind are seeing a huge surge in their demand for support services. To support these charities, we pledged a portion of our profits to allow them to scale up their 1-2-1 counselling services. Since March, we have donated over £3250 to them. Ultimately, by choosing Fink for lunch, you have directly helped someone in their time of need. We seriously can’t thank you enough.
The end of the year is also time for reflecting on our own mental health. Despite the worry and uncertainty involved with starting a business during a pandemic, both Lewis and I agree that Fink has helped us improve our own mental health. We feel more fulfilled, ambitious and driven but are also learning that coping with stress and burnout is challenging. We don’t always get the balance right and know we need to consciously make an effort to not work ourselves into the ground in 2021. Building a brilliant team around us has certainly helped take the pressure off.
We’re really excited about the opportunities a Covid-free summer may bring us and can’t wait to spread our mental health message further and wider! Bring on 2021!