Mike Cobblestone, a big hearted Barbican ice cream vendor, has given £200 to Shekinah, Plymouth’s leading homeless charity. 

The donation from Cobbles Ices, which sells ice creams, ice lollies, candy floss and cold drinks from its designated pitch near the Mayflower Steps,  was inspired by the charity’s involvement in the recent Fastnet Challenge.  “I wasn’t aware of anyone from Plymouth competing in the race but got to know skipper Nigel Mashembo as he walked past the van every day to get his yacht ready,” says Mike who is a proud Plymouthian and spends a large part of his day greeting and chatting to passers-by with his partner Louise Creamer.  “We didn’t know much about sailing or Shekinah at the start but followed the excitement of the race and couldn’t help but be inspired by Nigel and the work that Shekinah does to help people with different issues get on their feet,” he adds.
 

“I’m thrilled that Cobbles Ices has boosted Shekinah’s fundraising drive.  It’s fantastic when local businesses support our work and rally round to help us address real, local issues and make a big difference to local people’s lives,” says John Hamblin, CEO of Shekinah who was one of ten crew members on board ‘Bare Knuckles’, which competed in the Fastnet Challenge, led by owner and skipper Nigel Mashembo.   “I asked Nigel to ring me an hour before they finished the race so that I could greet them back to shore for the celebrations, assuming it would be during the day. As the yacht finished in the early hours of the morning I was glad they let me sleep in before telling me they’d arrived!” says Mike, who recently met up with John Hamblin and Nigel Mashembo at a more sociable hour to officially hand over the cheque.

The money will be used by Shekinah to engage the disadvantaged, under skilled and marginalised through a multi-faceted provision of wrap around support, training, social enterprise, employment and volunteering opportunities designed to help them move on with their lives and enable them to become part of the local community rather than remain isolated from it.

“I love selling ice cream, especially the way people buy it.  It’s not like any other product - the impulse purchase is an uncomplicated, magical moment which transports us back to being a kid.  I try to embrace that emotion by serving it with lots of happiness and a smile and hope that a scoop of the profits can provide a fresh start to those at Shekinah,” says Mike of Cobbles Ices, who will soon be completing a full year in the trade on Sutton Harbour after venturing into self-employment for the first time. 
Cobbles Ices is open every day throughout the year from 10 am – 6pm.  To find out more about Shekinah, please visit www.shekinahmission.co.uk

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For further information please contact Viv Hurley or Geri Marsh at Marshbank PR & Marketing on 01752 863 666.