Spirit of giving all the year round at Chesterfield pub which is a hub for the community

Senior citizens who can’t afford a coffee, parents who struggle to buy a teddy bear or books for their children and homeless people needing clothes to keep them warm are among those who have touched the hearts of the team at Sorbo Lounge.

Courtney Cripps, general manager, said: "It’s such a hard time when people are lonely and they need someone to talk to. I wanted to do something where we could have the heating on all the time and give free tea or coffee for anyone that needs it….the company (Loungers) said go for it so we did and it’s done amazingly well.

“Mainly it’s elderly people in their late seventies who are on their own with no friends or family around, who haven’t enough money to heat their house or who have lost people especially through Covid. They will come in during the coldest period, often in the evening at around 7pm until the last bus home. Some will come in twice a day.

"The first time they come in they are apprehensive because they don’t know anyone but by the third or fourth visit they are happy because they have got somewhere to go and have someone to talk to who remembers their name. The staff will always lend an ear.”

Hundreds of free teas and coffees have been served to such visitors over the past year. Courtney said: “We have a RAKS (random act of kindness) button on the till that zeros off the order. The staff are really caring and no-one judges anyone.

"There is no requirement for purchases to use the facilities at our site. If you’re a mum with a child you can bring them in to use the play area. Children’s books and teddy bears are free to take away, without having to make a donation.

"During the flood we had stranded people coming in because there was only one road out of Chesterfield so people were abandoning cars. A lot of the places were shut and we stayed open the entire time. My assistant manager Leanne Wagstaff stayed on site to provide a place for anyone who needed it."

A little Christmas tree at the entrance to Sorbo Lounge is decorated with labels that bear words such as blankets and hats. Courtney said: “People remove tags from the tree, go out and buy the things and then bring them back here and we will wrap them and give them to the homeless charity Pathways. It’s gone down really well. Some people don’t want to go out and ask homeless shelters what they need but if there’s a middle man who will facilitate it then it makes it a lot easier for them to do it.”

Anne Hopkinson and her friend Glennis Gill are among those inspired by the giving tree and have donated socks, hats and gloves. Glennis, 86, said: “It’s such a good idea."

Glennis, who lives in Chesterfield and was widowed in March, visits Sorbo Lounge twice a week. She said: “The girls here are delightful – they are so loving. I came in one Saturday with my son and they brought me a great big flower arrangement. They said ‘we love you, keep coming in, don’t sit at home.’

General manager Courtney, 29, said: “I want the Sorbo Lounge to be a home from home – a hub for the community, a place where people don’t have to pay to meet up.

"I live and breathe this place….it’s become my baby, my life, my second home. I went on maternity leave about a year ago and I didn’t stop working throughout, focusing on what we could do and what could be better. I’m now six months pregnant and only going to have three months’ maternity leave because you can’t rip me from this place.”

Courtney and her fiance Christopher Redgate, who is manager of Dominos in Chesterfield, have a son Eric and are expecting a girl who they have named Edie.