More than £700 raised for Northampton cafe by mother passionate about autism

A total of £740 has been donated to a Northampton cafe by a mother who is passionate about raising awareness of autism.

Cafe Track, in the Market Square, “could not believe” that amount of money had been raised in aid of them.

Dog walker Michelle Blackler put together a calendar of dog photos to raise money for the cafe, as a thank you for the ongoing support they have shown to her 25-year-old son Liam.

Without volunteering at the cafe and the team being so supportive of his autism, Liam would not have landed his first paid job – and Michelle wanted to show her appreciation.

Michelle sold 100 calendars in just three weeks and visited Cafe Track last Thursday (December 22) to share the good news.

She said: “They were so pleased. We know everyone is struggling financially, so it’s nice to see people supporting a cause that will improve the lives of those with autism.”

Although Michelle took the photos and put the calendar together, she admits this project would not have been as successful if she were to have done it alone.

Carly and Adam Green, the owners of G23 Engineering in Hannington Grange Farm, donated half of the printing costs Michelle had to pay and bought four calendars for their family.

“Their generosity certainly gave the profit a boost,” said Michelle. “I was blown away. It was an amazing gesture and every little helps – especially with expensive printing costs.”

Michelle does not yet know what Cafe Track will use the money for, but Sharon, who runs the cafe, was “overjoyed”.

The calendars were sold for £10 each and as the cost of living is continually rising, Michelle decided to order 100 rather than 150 as she feared she would not sell them all – but now regrets not opting for the higher figure as they sold “so quickly”.

Talking to Chronicle & Echo at the start of November when the idea was first launched, Michelle said: “My son’s confidence grew massively and he wouldn’t have known where to start without Cafe Track.

“Tom and Sharon who run the cafe are amazing people and achieve everything they do without funding and just through volunteering and donations.”

The calendars have been well-received by those who have purchased, especially five-year-old Ellysia-Rose who was gifted one. Ellysia was diagnosed with autism just last month and has a passion for dogs.

“I was so pleased with how overjoyed Ellysia-Rose was to receive the calendar,” said Michelle. “She took it into school to show her friends and teachers.”

The dog walker was blown away by the response from all of her customers, who praised how “beautiful, colourful and cheery” the photos in the calendar are – all of which were taken by Michelle on dog walks.

Michelle says she will definitely be creating a calendar next year, once again in aid of Cafe Track and the work they do to support those with autism.

She wants to continue expressing her gratitude through fundraising, as “Cafe Track is very close to her heart”.