The Usual Place: Behind the Scenes of Our Community Impact

Friends of The Usual Place Gather for Annual Canape Evening

We were delighted to welcome so many supportive guests to our first ever Friends Canape Evening in May 2026, which is now an annual event in The Usual Place calendar.

Friends of The Usual Place is a recently launched way for our customers, supporters, families and donors to show how much the work of The Usual Place means to them and to create a Circle of Friendship to encourage young people in their journeys from school into work and meaningful citizenship.

Friends are our fan club and there’s nothing nicer than bringing friends together to say ‘thank you’. Many of our young trainees and Mentors took part in the event: making and serving delicious canapes, welcoming and speaking with guests and Ryan also spoke about his journey through The Usual Place with Mentors Kat (Lived Experience) and Fiona (Early Enablement)..

Our CEO, Craig McEwen also gave a speech both thanking the Friends and giving an update on the organisation’s development and current fundraising efforts which are providing much-needed stability in order to plan ahead and commit to enabling the futures of many more young people in the years ahead.

Friends of The Usual Place

Everyone is welcome to become a Friend of The Usual Place. You can give whatever feels right for you – from the equivalent of a cup of coffee to more regular monthly or annual giving – every friend makes a difference and the more Friends we have the more we are able to build our resources and provide ongoing support to young people who need additional support.

Become a Friend Today!

If you would like to join our growing circle of Friendship to support the work of The Usual Place, please sign up on our Friends page or ask about Friends next time you are in the cafe!

All our Friends receive an occasional newsletter created by our Interns Harry and Leah as well as an invitation to the annual canape evening. You can also pick up a Friends of The Usual Place pin badge next time you are in the cafe.