Last Wednesday, the Luminate team swapped keyboards for scrub brushes and paint scrapers for the day, heading out into the local Nottingham community to lend a hand ahead of the opening of No. 37 — a brand new social café from Himmah, due to open its doors in the coming months.

Rather than our usual day of building and shipping content for you, the team spent the afternoon working on the venue itself: scrubbing down and chipping away years of old, flaking paintwork from the gates at the café's entrance, getting them ready for a fresh coat and a proper welcome for the visitors who'll soon be walking through them.

Who are Himmah?

If you're not familiar with them, Himmah is a Nottingham-based charity doing some genuinely vital work in the city. They tackle food poverty, racism, and educational inequality, and run the largest independent food bank in Nottingham — providing hot meals every week, distributing school uniforms to families who need them, and campaigning on issues like disproportionality in stop and search. Their work was recognised nationally in 2024, when they picked up the King's Award for Voluntary Service.

No. 37 is their newest project: a social café that will give the local community a warm, welcoming space to gather, eat and connect — built on the same spirit of solidarity that underpins everything else Himmah does.

Days like this are a reminder that community isn't just something we build in software — it's something we can show up for in person too. We're proud to have played a small part in getting No. 37 ready to open.

Want to get involved or support Himmah's work directly? You can find out more at himmah.org.