Select a region
Mill Street Community Café is the first recipient of ‘Dougie’s Grant’, a yearly charitable initiative which was launched to honour the life of late Guernsey entrepreneur Dougie Le Huquet.
The café will use its £10,000 award to build a new kitchen.
The money was granted to the community café yesterday coinciding with ‘Dougies’ birthday.
Mr Le Huquet - a grower, chip shop chain owner, and property developer - died last year just three days before his 100th birthday. He wished that £10,000 per year from his estate would go towards worthy local causes.
The café is open from Wednesday to Saturday each week from 10:00 until 14:00. Charitable donations cover the cost of hot meals, snacks and drinks for those who cannot afford to pay.
It works closely with Guernsey Welfare Service which provides food donated at supermarkets. The café cooks dinner for Service staff once a month in return.
The team also hopes to work closer with Action for Children and Home Start to teach basic cookery skills to those that need them.
Free lunch will also be provided on Sunday for anyone who will be alone on Christmas Day, representing the fifth time the café has done so.
Pictured: Dougie was a food fanatic. Credit: Dougie’s Grant.
Michelle Knowles, Mr Le Huquet’s daughter, said her father would have “thoroughly approved of this project. He loved cooking good, healthy food made with fresh ingredients and he cooked for himself at home right up until the end.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those charities who applied for Dougie’s Grant this year, all worthy causes but sadly only one Charity can receive the Grant each year. I look forward to receiving your applications next October for Dougie’s Grant 2023 and reading about your plans to improve the lives of the people of Guernsey.
“I would also like to thank Jon Marquis and the staff of the Collas Crill Trust for their support and for making this Gift possible.”
Applications for the 2023 Grant will be invited in October 2023 from registered charities who wish to fund a locally based project.
Further information about the grant is available HERE.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.