Budapest, Hungary
The Nem Adjuk Fel (Never Give Up) is not only the name of an organization but it also means an attitude of mind, a new approach in the social field that permeates our team.
Our aim is to make the disadvantaged members of the society (people with disabilities, people with learning difficulties, socially disadvantaged young people, the elderly people, etc.) believe in their own talents needed to be successful and to add value to their work if they are persistent and don’t give up.
The Never Give Up Social Cooperative was established in 2015 with the aim of running social enterprises both providing business opportunity and helping the disabled and other disadvantaged members of the society to live a fully fledged life from every aspect.
The Cooperative cooperates closely with the Never Give Up Foundation, they create a lot of programmes together, where the Cooperative provides the business background and the Foundation the social one.
The two organizations employ a total of more than 250 colleagues day by day, of whom 90% are disabled and disadvantaged people. We would like to help Them to actively contribute to our programmes and even be the creators of them by experiencing and using their own power and talent. Thus, they make these programmes their own and consider them as their own achievements. We believe that the moral values hidden in Their struggle can improve and elevate our society.
I. Never Give Up Ensemble
The Never Give Up Ensemble is an integrated ensemble, consisting of musicians, singers and performers with and without disabilities. The group was formed by young people with disabilities in a residential home more than 15 years ago. In the beginning they played music on the street and at organizational events, but later they wanted to continue their work as a business activity and it has been realized within the framework of the Never Give Up Social Cooperative. Today, they already give nearly 200 concerts every year, and have performed with the most famous musical personalities of the country several times on the biggest stage in Budapest in front of ten thousands of people, and they have released 3 records.
II. Never Give Up Trainings
The Cooperative runs its training programme within the framework of a cooperation whereby the experts with disabilities provide training services for companies, organizations, schools and nursery schools. The team has about 30 members with various disabilities, they are the so-called experienced experts. They give team building and awareness-raising trainings and offer special programmes for events, festivals.
III. Nem Adom Fel Cafe and Restaurant
The Nem Adom Fel Cafe and Restaurant, established as a result of a joint project between the Foundation and the Cooperative, being the first restaurant in Budapest, started and run by people with disabilities, was opened in 2016. This place is not only a restaurant, where you can have delicious lunch, dinner or a good coffee, but it is also a real, integrated community space providing a venue for several community programmes and initiatives, such as concerts, exhibitions, round-table discussions, movie clubs, quiz and karaoke nights etc.
The staff is made up of about 25 members, about 20 of whom live with various disabilities. The team members work at the counter, as waiters or waitresses, in the kitchen, but they also work as members of the cleaning, management or programme organizer teams.
Besides the regular guests the Nem Adom Fel Cafe and Restaurant also welcomes the companies, organizations or institutions, who would like to hold their events at this cosy and accessible place having a nearly 80-person capacity. Besides that, the team undertakes the catering services for events involving similar numbers of people as well.