Your next cup of coffee while Christmas shopping in London’s West End could help someone experiencing homelessness, thanks to a new partnership between The Connection and Old Spike Roastery.

Old Spike is the first social enterprise in the UK championing real social and environmental change through specialty coffee. They are on a mission to eradicate homelessness in the UK and protect the planet by launching London’s first carbon and plastic neutral café.

On 8th December, Old Spike is opening a new branch in Piccadilly Circus on Sherwood Street on the 8th December followed closely by three further central London sites across the next 6 months. Each new site will provide a London Living Wage job for an individual who’s experienced homelessness and support a local homeless charity with a donations to help move people who are sleeping rough towards a meaningful, fulfilling future.

The branch at 15-16 Sherwood St will see Old Spike partner with The Connection, where they will offer customers the opportunity to deliver real impact to people who are homeless through a loyalty based donation scheme. Each purchase of coffee will generate points via a custom-built app which will allow users to support people sleeping rough with donations. Working directly with The Connection, the rewards-based scheme will provide funds for the charity, whose services cover everything from laundry provision in their drop in centre for people sleeping on the streets, to one on one sessions with a mental health therapist.

Pam Orchard, CEO of The Connection said:
“The Connection is delighted to be partnering with Old Spike Roastery to support people in their journey from the streets to a meaningful future and home of their own. Central London, in particular, Westminster, where The Connection’s services are based, has the highest number of people sleeping rough in the country so this initiative is desperately needed. Customers of Old Spike can now enjoy a great cup of coffee, at the same time as helping some of the most vulnerable people in the community to move forward with their lives. ”

In addition to their work with people who are homeless, Old Spike will be continuing their partnership with Eden Reforestation Project and commit to planting a tree with every bag of coffee sold which, in the last 12 months, has already planted over 40,000 trees. This focus on the environment will extend in store with each site being both carbon and plastic neutral.

Old Spike Roastery founder, Richard Robinson comments, “These launches will see Old Spike branch out of our home in Peckham and make an impact in other parts of London, through further employment opportunities and donations to local homeless charities in each community where we open.”

For more information, visit oldspikeroastery.com or @oldspikeroast on Instagram and Twitter