Waiters of the local Java Bistro and the owner of Col’Cacchio in Stellenbosch have started separate crowdfunding initiatives to assist waiters and kitchen staff in sustaining themselves financially during the lockdown.
According to Shanique Bleeker, a Java waitress, 12 waiters will be benefiting from Java’s staff-organised initiative, Raising money for the waiters of Java.
Java Bistro has assisted their staff as much as possible, said Bleeker.
“The restaurant is doing as much as they can at the moment, but everyone is in a difficult position, so people are just donating to help as much as they can,” she said.
The owner of Col’Cacchio in Stellenbosch, Anne-Lize de Beer, started a campaign, Food for Families, on the crowdfunding website, Back a Buddy, for 35 of her staff members.
Col’Cacchio – The popular restaurant in Stellenbosch is now empty due to lockdown rules. PHOTO: Anne-Lize de Beer
According to De Beer, she is struggling to get the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to pay out and kitchen staff have asked her for help with food parcels.
“I don’t have enough money to help all of them and the easiest way, I thought, was to try and get some money through crowdfunding,” De Beer said.
So far, the money raised in De Beer’s Food for Families initiative has been used to purchase food vouchers for her staff, which they can use at Checkers, USave or Shoprite.
Col’Cacchio is a popular spot for Stellenbosch diners. This picture was taken before the national lockdown came into effect. PHOTO: Anne-Lize de Beer
One supporter of Java’s crowdfunding initiative, Olwyn McGill, is excited to see the amount of money raised to support the waiters.
“I was thrilled that they took the initiative to raise funds for the full-time waiters,” said McGill.
At the time of publication, Java bistro’s waitstaff have raised just over R9 000 on the Go Get Funding platform and Col’Cacchio has raised R3 1024,78 on the Back a Buddy platform.