A "café with a difference" that works to bring joy to the lives of people across the borough has been running for more than 10 years.

CreateBolton based at the Claremont Church on Bark Street is a Christian charity which supports often isolated and lonely people, connecting them with each other and enabling them to live more purposeful lives in their communities.

The charity has a mission to see people in "creationships" that make a lasting difference to provide a positive physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation to lives of people across the borough.

CreateBolton was established in its original form Cafe Create in 2012 and formally became a registered charity with the charity commission in 2013, changing status to become a charitable incorporated organisation in 2018.

The charity has seen a steady growth in size from starting as Cafe Create to now providing a vital range of services today.

There has been a growth in the number of volunteers and the number of people the charity serves each week reflects a vital need.

Previously speaking to The Bolton News about the creation of CreateBolton, Andrew Kilpatrick, lead officer at the charity said: “We established 10 years ago in July 2013 as a charitable trust and then zoom forward, in 2018 we changed the kind of charity we became so we could do more.

“When we started 10 years ago, we were just a tiny little café, and we were only open for two hours and then over the years it has gradually built up as more people have found us.

“We are a café with a difference in the sense that the till matters but only a little bit, as long as we make enough to pay our bills that’s what matters to us.

“The growth we have seen is about being able to serve more and more people, it isn’t about the money.

“Our strapline is ‘creationships that make a difference’.

“Our priority is to help those people who feel isolated, lonely, not that connected to their community, who have bad mental health, or they just need time away, they can spend time for themselves here to make friendships and have support.”

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