On Monday 18 April, New Hall School was delighted to welcome founders of the For Jimmy charity, Barry Mizen MBE and Margaret Mizen MBE, to officially launch its Good Hope café.
During the afternoon, Barry and Margaret spoke to students, parents and distinguished guests about their charity and the work they have carried out since their son Jimmy was killed in 2008.
Margaret said: “The day Jimmy died I promised him two things: one, I would keep his name alive and two, I would dedicate my life to working for peace.”
For Jimmy set up its own Good Hope cafés in London to provide training and work for young people. Just last month, Good Hope, Hither Green, was relaunched under the new brand.
New Hall has been working closely with For Jimmy and it was a logical step to launch their own café under the Good Hope brand. The school will donate profits from the café to this good cause.
“New Hall School is the first school, nationally, to open a Good Hope café. We are delighted to hear that there is already interest from other schools to open their own Good Hope café,” commented Margaret.
On Monday, the school had a bake sale to raise funds for For Jimmy. Then, in the presence of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Chelmsford, along with invited guests and students from year 7, Principal Katherine Jeffrey presented the Mizen family with a cheque for £1,764.00 to assist them in their charitable work.
Katherine said: “Good Hope New Hall has been a wonderful addition to our community and charity provision; the café is a lively hub for social activity and hospitality, and everyone is delighted to be supporting the work of this excellent charity which helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and works to promote peace.”
Visitors were treated to afternoon tea and had the opportunity to visit the Good Hope café, where staff were on hand to serve a delicious menu of hot and cold beverages and snacks.
If other schools are interested in opening a Good Hope café, please contact Elizabeth Murphy at New Hall School, on 01245 467588 or e.murphy@newhallschool.co.uk, for further details.
