New year, new pledge!
To kick start 2023 and to continue the trend of supporting people who would benefit the most from our support, our first pledge is to a local Café who supports the initiative that is ‘Warm Spaces’.
In the depths of a cost-of-living crisis and on the back of a pandemic where many people saw huge change in all aspects of their lives, some people are now facing tough decisions about heating or eating. Warm Spaces is an initiative that provides warm, welcoming and safe places for people to gather, with a variety of things on offer including company, a hot drink or simply somewhere warm and reassuring for those who need it.
In our local area we are lucky to have a variety of designated Warm Spaces, one of which is held at the Creech St. Michael Baptist Church’s Life Café. This Warm Space prides itself on being ‘a generous meeting place in the heart of the community’ and accessible to anyone who wishes to use it. The community focus in the café is a real centre point for what they are trying to achieve, as not only do they provide a Warm Space with free refreshments which is run primarily by volunteers, they also feed any profit they make from the café back into local causes that are important to their customers; such as Musgrove Leukaemic Group, Taunton Street Pastors, Mind in Somerset and Refugee Aid. Furthermore as an extension to this, the Life Café also hold a Community Feast every fortnight welcoming people to join them for a warming meal, which people can make a donation toward if they wish – another example of heartwarming community spirit.
As well as being community focused, it is also environmentally and ethically conscious, sourcing as much produce as possible via fair trade and local means. This is something that especially with the current climate crisis, is an important attribute for any organisation.
For the above reasons, we have decided that our January 2023 pledge should be to donate £120 to put towards the refreshments and meals they will provide to those who need it most over the coming weeks.
Ali Turner, Life Café Manager said ” We are really grateful to A C Mole for their support of our cafe, especially the warm space and community feast. These are new initiatives for the church and the cafe to try and support and encourage people in these challenging times. As a cafe, we want to reach out to the community and this donation will go a long way to provide free drinks and meals for all.”
If you would like to learn more about the Life Café, or would like information about other events they hold, please visit www.creechbc.co.uk/life-cafe.
Similarly if you would like to search for a Warm Space in Somerset, or someone you know who would benefit from using this service, please visit www.citizensadvicetaunton.org.uk.
