Pathways Cafe has received the Ashby de la Zouch Town Council Special Civic Award.

It was first presented in 1979 and is awarded to recognise those "who have given service of great benefit to the community" - and is presented by the Town Council on behalf of the people of Ashby de la Zouch.

Nominations for the award are made by members of the public and a decision is made by the Town Council.

This could be through a combination of a number of factors involving the promotion of the town, enhancing its reputation, initiatives to improve quality of life for residents or a sustained contribution to a particular issue, which has wide-reaching benefits for Ashby de la Zouch.

Ashby Mayor, Cllr Liz Parle, presented this year's Special Award to Pathways Cafe at Holy Trinity Church, in Kilwardby Street, last month.

Cllr Parle said: "One of the really nice things about being Mayor this year, is having the opportunity to come to occasions like this one, to recognise and pay tribute to some very generous and hard-working people.

"And these are Gill Richardson and her volunteer team at Pathways Cafe.

"This cafe was borne out of the initial efforts of Andy Barson when, in 2018, his job was to alert people to the then-upcoming changes in Universal Credit. 

"The old job club became the Pathways Cafe and welcome to anyone who needed a bit of help and advice. Also an offer was friendship and a light breakfast.

"Gill and her team kept the cafe alive during the Covid lockdown by going online via Zoom. Since then they have gradually built up the number of attendees to a regular 20 to 30 people.

"Those who come here find a warm welcome, friendship and professional advice, along with help, from Andy from Leicestershire County Council, the Citizens' Advice Bureau, the local PCSO and Christians Against Poverty.

"All this success is down to the hard work of Gill and her team.

"It gives me great pleasure to highlight the wonderful effort that you have made for those who have needed help. You are a credit to Ashby. Please accept this award from Ashby Town Council in recognition of your generosity."