'So grateful' - Sea Change owner's appreciation as vital fundraiser reaches over £14,000

Sea Change, on Ocean Road in South Shields, is facing closure following a £20,000 backdated energy bill as well as monthly costs rising by around 400%.

The business was founded five years ago by Sarah Farrell-Forster as a way of offering jobs to people with autism and other additional needs.

Since breaking the news on social media, the café has received an outpouring of support and donations an in effort to keep the venue open.

Along with the donations, the café has reduced its menu and also announced that it will be closed on a Tuesday as a way of reducing the rising costs.

Sarah has told the Shields Gazette about how she felt when she first saw the backdated energy bill and explained the impact that closing for good could have on her staff.

She said: "We knew costs were going up and we hadn't had a meter reading for a while so we expected it to be a little bit more than usual but not as dramatic as it was.

"My first thoughts were that we are going to have to close and that we'll never be able to pay that amount back, especially with our monthly costs rising by around 400% - it was just a panic really.

"Everything has gone up and because people have less money, customers have gone down and now you just see small businesses closing all the time. "It's not easy for someone who is neurodiverse with additional needs and that is actually why we set up in the first place, to show that if they are supported in the right way what people can achieve.

"They are all worried and I didn't want to stress them out but I've had to be honest and let them know that we could close and that it is out of our control.

"If we were to close, it would have a massive negative impact on them."

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At the time of writing, Sea Change's Crowdfunder has raised £14,405, with support coming not from just the local community in South Tyneside, but from right across the UK.

Sarah added: "When I revealed how much the energy bill was, there was just a massive wave of support with people asking us to set up a Crowdfunder, so we did.

"The staff team are so happy and so grateful that the community is behind us and it isn't just the local community, we've had donations from down south and even from Aberdeen.

"There has been so many messages of support, I never dreamt that we would get the amount of reach that we have had.

"We're so appreciative for all of it."

You can view and donate to Sea Change's Crowdfunder by visiting: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-us-save-sea-change-cic.