TWO local cafe owners have been making waves with their heartwarming initiatives to support the local community.

Rob Cooper and Rod Murrain are the dynamic duo behind Trerulefoot’s beloved roadside cafe – The Windy Ridge.

Over the past year, the pair have been on a journey to turn their bustling lunchtime crowd into a pillar of compassion within the local community.

Inspired by one busy lunchtime afternoon, Rob reflected on those unable to leave their homes, afford food or battle isolation and loneliness. A meeting was held between Rod, Rob and general manager Becky Herring who got together to see what the Windy Ridge could do to help tackle these issues within the community.

The group decided to start small with raffles and fundraising, and the Windy Ridge was proud to present a cheque of £1,200 to Children's Hospice South West (CHSW) just before Christmas last year.

From this a meeting has held with Sarah Stott of CHSW which helped to shape their next mission.

The team were able to recognise that the struggles of parents and siblings of terminally ill children is sometimes overlooked so they devised a plan to provide half price meal vouchers to family commuting to the hospice.

From this, their ambitions soared and they announced on social media that the cafe would be offering free unlimited tea and coffee to emergency service workers.

Overwhelmed with positive response, the group extended the offer to uniformed care works across various sectors.

Shortly after, they reached out to Age Concern UK’s Community Wellbeing Sector and at that point Christmas was fast approaching. Windy Ridge then hosted 13 of Age Concern UK’s clients and carers offering them a carvery, choice of pudding and Christmas cake to take home all free of charge – this marked the beginning of a bi-monthly traditional, offering free meals to seniors, fostering friendships and combatting loneliness.

Further collaboration with Amber from the Daisy Chain Charity in Saltash sparked plans to extend their support network, offering a safe environment for them to bring their clients.

Looking ahead, Rob and the team aim to meet with the deputy mayor to explore additional avenues for community assistance.

Rob explained: “All this would not be possible without the help, dedication and support of our staff at The Windy Ridge who jumped on board as soon as the idea was mentioned , creating special menus and making sure that everyone receives a warm welcome.

“And it doesn’t stop there. We have recently taken back control of the Quintrell Inn near Newquay which we have owned since 2014 and we are hoping to roll out the same charity blueprint there so we can double our efforts. 

“Our chosen charity for 2024 is the Cornwall Air Ambulance.”