It has been a challenging first year in business for Eat Italy’s owner Cherif El Bakkali, yet to mark its first birthday he is donating all the pizza sales to Nelson’s Women’s Centre.
On the evening of 28 April, the money from every pizza sold will be given to the centre which closed its drop-in service this year due to a lack of funding and only takes appointments now for counselling sessions.
“They were facing closure and it’s important to keep their counselling available. I felt I needed to help because we’re not just here as a business but are a family that wants to be supportive.”
Jan Henderson is on Nelson Women’s Centre’s governance board and she says the restaurant’s fundraiser had come “out of the blue”, which was hugely appreciated.
The centre is working on a strategic plan with the aim of seeking funding so that it can continue. Jan says it needs to be able to employ a paid manager again as it now relies on volunteers.
Counselling students from the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology provide counselling services by appointment which are offered at a minimal fee or what someone can afford.
The centre owns an old villa on Trafalgar St in Nelson which was purchased on a rent-to-own agreement and Jan says one of the possibilities is to rent out some of its rooms for income.
While it is a women’s centre now, Jan says it is contemplating the idea of opening up to anyone who needs support and becoming a “wellness” centre.
Cherif says his offer to donate an evening’s pizza sales stems from his belief that it is important to give back to the community in some way.
He also wants to make the restaurant available for fundraising evenings, where groups can organise a pizza evening and take all the pizza sales for their charity or group.
“We need to remember to be kind to humans – keep kindness alive,” he says.
“Business here is very tough, but I want to keep myself connected with the community.”
