A GOREY café has raised almost £5,000 from the sale of its fish finger sandwiches and cake and has donated the sum to an ocean therapy charity.
Each year Rhona’s at the Beach chooses a local charity to benefit from the proceeds and this year it is Healing Waves.
Rhona Hewit, who runs the café, explained that she started the initiative over five years ago after she lost a nephew to suicide.
‘I started the idea for a really personal reason,’ she said. ‘I wanted to raise awareness around suicide and so the first year we donated money to the Jersey Recovery College. We originally did a different theme each month, with each one raising money for the charity.
‘However, when Covid started we decided that we would pick one or two things from our menu and all the money raised from selling them each year would go to a different organisation,’ she said.
‘I chose Healing Waves because I think Covid and lockdown highlighted the importance of being out in nature, and so I thought it was fitting to give the money to a charity which helps the disabled enjoy the ocean,’ she added.
Mrs Hewit said that the café sold thousands of fish finger sandwiches in 2022, raising £4,871.50 for Healing Waves.
The Grace Trust Jersey has now been named as the café’s chosen charity for 2023.
Mrs Hewit said: ‘I try to pick a charity which fits with what is going on at the time and I just thought with the cost-of-living crisis and a lot of people struggling to put food on their tables, the Grace Trust would be a fitting option for 2023.’
She added: ‘Our fish finger sandwiches are really popular. We have a standing order with Waitrose each week to purchase a lot of gourmet fish fingers. We also currently have a girl making cakes for us each week.’
You can buy a fish finger sandwich from Rhona’s on the Gorey Coast Road for £5.25. The price of a slice of cake starts at £2.
