A community café has raised more than £1,000 for an advice charity through a new partnership.
Cassio Lounge in Watford teamed up with Citizens Advice Watford after learning more about its work during a Christmas lunch.
Jana Samasova, manager of Cassio Lounge, said: “I didn’t realise Citizens Advice was a charity until they held their Christmas lunch with us.”
“Once we learned more about what they do, it felt right to partner with them.”
Since the start of the partnership, the café has raised more than £1,000 through fundraising events and challenges.
These have included a raffle with Harry Potter Studio Tour tickets as the top prize, a charity quiz night, and a bake sale.
Homemade candles were also sold, and one member of staff, Charlie Balcomb, was named Lounge’s Charity Champion of the region for his efforts.
Citizens Advice staff and volunteers have supported the fundraising by donating clothing and books for resale and joining in with events.
The charity quiz night has become a monthly fixture due to its popularity.
Cassio Lounge is currently inviting customers to “buy a coffee for a volunteer”, with donations going towards treating Citizens Advice volunteers to a hot drink.
Last year, these volunteers contributed 12,000 hours to supporting people in Watford.
Cassio Lounge said in a statement: “At Cassio Lounge our community is always at the heart of everything we do, supporting amazing causes like Citizens Advice Watford is what drives us as a team. With all the hard work from the Cassio Team and our amazing guests we created so much magic, from our home-made cake sale, hand crafted candles and the Harry Potter raffle to name some of our many events we raised an amazing amount of money for a well-deserved charity. A massive thank you for everyone’s support during lounge aid 2025.”
Citizens Advice Watford is an independent charity offering free, confidential advice on housing, debt, employment and more.
In 2024/25, the service supported 5,592 people with nearly 16,000 separate issues.
More information and ways to donate can be found at cawatford.org.uk.
