SEIN Presents... The Glendale Women's Café
The South East Integration Network shine a spotlight on The Glendale Women’s Café, a safe and welcoming space in Pollokshields in which women can come together to learn, create, enjoy and support each other.
This article was published as a paid-for advertorial in Issue 6. If you want your organisation to be featured in this way, get in touch via hello@greatergovanhill.com
by Ruth Cape
The Glendale Women’s Café began life in a small portacabin on MacCulloch Street. Local women were offered massage, facials, mehndi, workshops, cups of tea, and a chat. Parveen, who volunteered at the time and now works as manager, remembers doing all of this with no water or electricity – they would pop home across the road to wash cups for the next sessions. It became so popular they had to look for a bigger space – and found their current home at 423 Shields Road.
The aim of the café has always been to provide space to bring women together. Workshops and activities have included English lessons, cycling, banner-making and poetry. Everything is led by what local women ask for; this is a big part of what the café is about. The workshops often run in cycles, which gives women the opportunity to share skills that they have learnt in previous workshops. Godsal, the project coordinator says: “Much of what we do is around community engagement and networking. It’s great to connect with other organisations delivering activities or advice or training. This means that women at the café get to hear about what they can join or take part in, in their local community.”
Read more: SEIN Presents… YCSA
The pandemic has, naturally, affected how the café works. During the lockdowns, women connected on Zoom and did some outdoor activities such as woodland photography and local heritage walks. Being in the space together was hugely missed (along with Parveen’s hugs). Now, to keep people safe, the café no longer works as a drop-in, but women can sign up for sessions.
Looking back over a decade of working in the community, Godsal reflects: “Planning our 10 year celebration party is showing us how far we have come. We want to link to lots of the women who have joined us through this journey and celebrate with them. We want to reach out to other communities and women, and make everyone welcome.”
Looking ahead, they would love to be open for a second day in the week to bring more people to the café and are hopeful for a bigger, more flexible space; the dream is for somewhere with a range of rooms for different activities, prayer, cooking and more.
The café is open on Tuesdays, and all women are welcome. Visit glendalewomenscafe.org.uk for information, or get in touch via theglendalewomenscafe@gmail.com or 07871350149. If you can, please consider donating to the café via the website to help keep it sustainable.