On a Saturday afternoon last month, Little Luxton Café in Gordon buzzed with laughter, friendly competition and plenty of head‑scratching, as around 90 locals gathered for a trivia night with a difference.
Scheduled for the early evening so that the whole family could attend, the event was held on the grounds of Gordon Community Centre (GCC). Younger children explored the sandpit and cubby house, older kids tackled questions written just for them, and adults tested their knowledge while enjoying grazing plates (or bringing their own) in the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere.
For social enterprise café owner Nate Swift, trivia nights are a perfect example of what the café is all about.
“The whole point of the café is to build community and create opportunities for people to get together,” he says. “Trivia nights are one of those cool things that exist in our culture where you get a range of different backgrounds hanging out together and interacting. This really hits a lot of what we’re aiming for in terms of being a place that brings people together.”
While some teams arrived with a full table of friends, others came solo or as couples and were placed in teams—bringing people together who might not otherwise meet.
“Facilitating that kind of connection in our neighbourhood is something I’m really passionate about,” says Nate.
Beyond the laughs and lively competition, the night also delivered real impact. Nearly $1800 raised on the day went directly to supporting the Gordon Community Centre, which provides vital services like a food pantry and a range of community connection activities—like a supported playgroup, community lunches, exercise classes, and craft and coffee-and-chat sessions.
Little Luxton operates as a social enterprise—a café that funds itself through trade while intentionally building relationships and giving back. The Gordon Community Centre—a partnership between Anglicare and the Lanyon Valley Anglican Church—by contrast, relies on volunteers, donations and creative fundraising to support its work.
“The centre is doing awesome stuff,” Nate explains. “Events like this create income for the centre while also bringing people together.”
The key focus of the café is creating opportunities for engagement with the broader community— beyond those who may already be accessing services.
Operating within an asset-based community development approach, which recognises the strengths and resources that already exist within a community, the café brings a broad range of locals to the centre for their daily coffee. Through this everyday connection, and events like trivia night, more people learn about the centre, the support it provides, and how they can get involved.
A big part of making the trivia event such a success was the generosity of local businesses. Prizes were donated by Flour and Frost (cupcakes), Vikings Group, Canberra Southern Cross and Ainslie Football and Social Club (dinner and club vouchers), Trek (bike accessories), as well as Little Luxton merch and café vouchers.
Those partnerships didn’t happen by accident. They grew from the everyday connections made over coffee.
“A lot of the people I serve coffee to every day are involved in other local businesses. We build relationships, and I’m able to draw on that social capital when I ask for support.”
Anglicare and the Gordon Community Centre are incredibly thankful for the ongoing collaboration with Little Luxton. The benefits to the centre of being co-located with a social enterprise go well beyond the financial.
With such a great turnout and atmosphere, there’s strong interest in doing it all again.
Learn more about Little Luxton’s social enterprise model or find out how to get involved at Gordon Community Centre.
