BillyChip® Launches in London with Change PleaseCoffee
Two social enterprises to join forces bringing homeless currency to the capital
BillyChip®, the social enterprise scheme supporting rough sleepers, is launching in London at Change Please Coffee in Elephant Park on Monday 10thOctober. Jon Hope, Co-Founder of BillyChip and CemalEzel, Founder of Change Please Coffee, will be joining the Change Please team at their Elephant Park Café and Training Centre.
The launch coincides with this year's World Homeless Day which aims to drawattention to the needs of the homeless community and create an opportunity and a call to action for people to help the homeless and vulnerable. Nearly half of all people sleeping rough in the UK are in London and the South East, highlighting the importance of the launch of the BillyChip scheme in the capital.
Change Please Coffee will act as an outlet for BillyChip, enabling members of the public to buy a BillyChip alongside their own coffee purchase. They can then gift the BillyChip to a rough sleeper, who will be able to exchange it at any Change Please Coffee location. Change Please use their coffee outlets as Training Centres to provide barista training in real-life, offering paid training to people who have experienced homelessness. The person using the BillyChip is also given the opportunity to learn more about the Change Please Coffee Barista programme and understand that there can be a route forward out of rough sleeping.
Jon Hope, Co-Founder at BillyChip, shared: "We are so excited to be working with Change Please Coffee and bringing the BillyChip to London. We've seen our scheme work so well in the South West, after originally launching in Bristol, and our aim to is ensure the BillyChip is on every high street in the UK. Our shared ethos with Change Please Coffee is tokeep giving back and offer practical help and support to those experiencing homelessness. It's wonderful to see the first step of this partnership now beginning in London."
Cemal Ezel, CEO, Change Please Coffee added: "We are thrilled to be partnering with BillyChip. Being able to offer the BillyChip at our locations gives the public the opportunity to help rough sleepers and the homeless in an engaging way. Many people don't like to give cash to those living on the streets, and BillyChip takes away that issue and helps people to give back and support the homeless and vulnerable. We couldn't be prouder to be launching this in London."
Change Please Coffee will be carrying the BillyChip in three locations initially, before rolling out across its whole estate.
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For information, photography or interviews please contact:
Emma Cooper
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About BillyChip®
BillyChip is a new social enterprise platform which aims to empower rough sleepers. The platform allows people to purchase a BillyChip token from participating food and drink outlets which can then be given to rough sleepers and homeless people as an alternative to cash. They can then redeem the BillyChip for food, drink and other products.
BillyChip was set up in 2018 to continue the legacy of Billy Abernethy-Hope, a twenty year old ambulance driver from Bristol. After helping support the homeless, Billy felt disheartened at how little the general public gave to local homeless people. Although many make regular charitable donations, Billy was surprised at the small percentage of donations given directly to people living rough for fear of the money being used for drugs or alcohol. The BillyChip offers a solution, delivering kindness, compassion and food and drink to homeless people in the UK.
The BillyChip Foundation was established as a registered charity by Meg Abernethy-Hope, Billy's sister, and Jon Hope, Billy's father. In 2021, Meg was awarded the Diana Award for her charitable work.
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About Change Please Coffee
Change Please is where social enterprise and coffee expertise blend.
Change Please was founded in 2015 by Cemal Ezel to address the growing issue of homelessness in the UK and its catastrophic and draining effects on individuals and on society, in the UK and around the world.
Change Please is an award-winning, unique social enterprise whose mission is to end homelessness through selling great tasting coffee.
100% of Change Please profits goes into giving people experiencing homelessness a fresh shot at a life. Change Please trains people to become speciality coffee baristas and supports them with everything that they need to turn their lives around - a living wage job, housing, therapy, bank account and onward employment opportunities.
Some of the awards that Change Please has won include the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2019, the Consumer Facing Social Enterprise of the Year 2021 and a Great Taste Award 2022 (their 8thGreat Taste Award).