How a car meet for friends ended up raising tens of thousands for Liverpool charities

When classic car enthusiast Norman Shum decided to start a regular meet in Liverpool, he had no plans for it to be more than just a way for friends to chat about their shared passion.

He opened the car park of his family restaurant, the Chung Ku on the waterfront, on a Sunday morning for them to come and talk all things auto.

But 10 years on, Cars N Coffee has not only grown into a community with around 9,000 members, it’s raised tens of thousands of pounds for local charities.

He said:

“At first it was an excuse for 20 geeky guys to catch up over a drink, then 20 of their friends came along and it kept doubling,” he says. 

“Now we have around 1,000 people at each monthly event, owners and spectators, and we average 450 to 500 cars coming from Liverpool and all over the UK.

“It used to be car guys who came in the mornings and then they’d rush home at 12 but we encourage people to bring kids along, partners and dogs so it’s more of a family vibe. 

“Everyone talks to each other, we get all types of vehicles and we try to break down any barriers and park and Rolls next to a Mini so there’s never any snobbery.  Everyone loves cars, it doesn’t matter what you drive.”

Not only has the scale of Cars N Coffee changed over the decade, expanding to neighbouring business car parks, the fundraising side has become a huge part of what they do.

The idea of doing some charity work alongside the events was first suggested by one of Norman’s CNC co-founders, Charalene Lee. 

“While we were growing in the first year we met with some charity organisers and saw where the money was going and the impact it was having. 

“We started with big organisations which we randomly chose, but after a few years we asked people in the group to nominate local charities which they had personal connections to. 

“We nominate a charity every month and invite the organisers and team come to the event to bucket shake so whatever is collected goes directly to each charity. We raise awareness within our community for the charity too, and we build up a connection between us.”

Over the years, CNC has fundraised for various Liverpool Lord Mayors’ charities, working with different Lord Mayor’s to support their chosen causes.

Through that they were put in contact with foodbanks across the city, and that’s become another way of helping the local community.

“Every summer and in December we do a foodbank collection where people bring food donations to a special event,” says Norman. “Car enthusiasts tend to hibernate their most precious cars in winter so instead of not doing a December meet we thought we’d do a food gathering.

“That’s got bigger and bigger over the past few years and now we have local businesses involved as well. Last year, for instance, Costco donated enough for 36,000 cups of hot chocolate to be given to homeless, veterans, pensioners …

“People do still bring cars but that’s not the main reason for this event. After we get all the food together, we load it all up and take it in convoy to three foodbanks: Micah in the city centre, Marylebone and Speke. 

“Liverpool Scooter Club leads the convoy with about 30-50 scooters and we usually have around 15 vehicles full of food donations. We have vans, cars, trucks, anybody can join in – even a two-door convertible sports car can take a bag! 

“Last year Micah created 600 parcels for the community from the food we donated and it’s emotional to see first-hand what the generosity of our members and supporters can do.”

The last Coffee N Cars meet raised more than £600 for a Christmas Day Community Dinner for 200 people at the Black-E.

Scheduled for the last Sunday of each month, the next one will be on the morning of Sunday November 30, until 12 noon, with the food gathering on December 14. 

It’s free to attend, and everyone is welcome to go along even if they just want to look at the cars and maybe make a donation to that month’s chosen charity.

Norman says after a low-key start, Coffee N Cars has become far more than just a reason to talk about classic vehicles.

As well as the monthly meets and food raising, there are other events too, including charity dinners and a coffee What’s App group which meets daily.

That’s why they’ve decided to set up The Shum Foundation, to bring everything they do together going forward.

And, he says, it’s very much continuing the ethos of his grandparents, who opened their first family restaurant in Liverpool.

“My grandfather and the Chinese community established these places for people to eat, but it was also to bring people together, not just communities but families. 

“That’s what we do now with Cars N Coffee because although we love cars, it’s our hobby, really it’s a gathering of people. And if we can raise a lot of money then that’s even better.”

Find out more about Cars N Coffee Liverpool here.

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