Connecting With the Community
Holy Grounds is a vibrant community space & cafe located in Cathedral Square where people can connect and belong.
Born from conversations between Anglicare WA and St George's Anglican Cathedral, the initiative aims to address social isolation and loneliness in the Perth CBD.
The Mission
Holy Grounds evolved as an approach to combatting social isolation and loneliness in the Perth CBD. The goal of Holy Grounds was to offer a low-barrier, safe and inclusive place for friendships and community to be formed in the area.
With generous philanthropic support, we created a community engagement role to help establish and train the community volunteer team. After fitting out a space in Cathedral Square, Holy Grounds opened its doors in October 2024 and continues to grow. Several community activities such as a knitting group regularly meet in the café and a growing group of regular patrons frequent Holy Grounds to meet for coffee or to use the co-working space.
The Outcomes So Far
A small team of Cathedral staff support the cafe volunteers, who include older people wanting to connect with the local community as well as younger people keen to develop hospitality skills. Work continues at Holy Grounds to track and enhance community impact and ensure the viability of the project long-term.
- Café Fit-Out: Completed and opened for trading in October 2024.
- Community Engagement Coordinator: Successfully hired to strengthen community partnerships and engagement.
- Volunteer Team: Recruitment and training completed prior to opening, with ongoing additions of new volunteers and paid staff.
- Regular Activities: Community activities such as a knitting group meet in the café.
- Patron Growth: A growing number of regular patrons visit Holy Grounds for coffee or to use the co-working space.
- Financial Sustainability: Café sales are trending upwards, indicating positive progress towards financial sustainability.
Click below to learn more about Holy Grounds and keep up to date with all their upcoming events.
Ready to collaborate?
We're happy to share our Hopscotch model and learnings, assist with establishment and coaching, or partner in service delivery. Reach out to our team to explore how we can work together to support parents on their employability journey.
