Educafe Spring 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to our Spring 2023 Newsletter

A huge thank you to our café visitors, programme and course participants, teachers, funders, chatters, volunteers, and partners for supporting us, each other and most importantly for creating the Educafe community.

This spring we look at the highlights of the last year in the reflections of those who made them happen. You can also find out about volunteer updates and opportunities along with key dates for your diary.

It’s hard to believe that it’s a year since we moved from the Globe to the library. What a crazy idea this seemed to be at the time. A space known for quiet reading and strict librarians welcoming hundreds of chattering, tea drinking, cake eaters along with crafters, knitters, game players, parents, babies and… buggies!

It has worked out so well and we can’t thank Ben, Jacquie and all their staff enough for their forward thinking and generous welcome. Newbury Library is hoping to achieve the status of Library of Sanctuary and we are delighted to be supporting Ben and Jacquie in their application.

Reflections and Highlights

The Cafe!

The heart of Educafe is the Carnegie room at the library on Wednesdays where Jules and her dream team, Mary and Dana, welcome us all and tempt us with homemade cakes and savouries. It really feels like you are stepping into a big family kitchen where everyone is welcome. For many of us, it is the highlight of our week!

Highlights – Julie Seal

Increasing guests and now serving 150+ cakes and drinks per session
Welcoming and supporting partnership members and visitors.
Input from customers for a potential recipe book.
Weekly raffle for raising funds – this is to help fund the refreshments at the cafe.

Parents’ Village

We need to thank Zara Preston and Colline Watts for their innovative vision for the Parents’ Village. Their vision of ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ and their dedication to creating spaces for young families to come together and support each other is outstanding. The Parents’ Village is thriving with 20-30 families attending the café each week and with 200+ families on a WhatsApp group. Zara and her team bring together a wonderful schedule of activities including breastfeeding advice, weening, clothes swapping and recipe sharing.

Highlights – Zara Preston

The introduction of the ‘Buy and Sell Parent Village Market’ every first Monday of the month and the ‘Foodie Fridays Recipe Day’ every last Friday of the month. Madi has compiled a Google doc with the recipes on for a book!
The Half Term Discount Card which raised around £125
Seeing the mums come to us after the Pilates class with fitter mother at the New Year Healthy Habits
Continuation of experts/specialists that make a difference.

Chatty Corner

We reflect on Margret Neville’s amazing Chatty Corner and army of incredible volunteers; it really is a unique space. There is nothing else like it that we have seen in Newbury, Reading or the rest of Berkshire. It’s often the first time that refugees and asylum seekers get any help with their English. Chatting informally away from the classroom can lead to visitors learning about their new community, culture and the organisations that can support them and their families to settle here. We must mention that Chatty Corner is supported by Great Western Railway, who has funded trips to Reading, Oxford, Swindon and Bristol with further trips planned to Bath and London Bristol.

Highlights – Margaret Neville

GWR Funded trips to Reading, Oxford, Swindon, Bristol & Bath
There are so many chatters and volunteers that we regularly run out of tables and have to use other areas of the library ☺
Returning chatters, many of whom are very nervous when they first arrive but leave looking very smiley and come back looking more relaxed the next week.
The dedication and hard work of the volunteers who never cease to amaze us with their adaptability and enthusiasm.
The involvement of some of the chatters; for example, one HKN translated a document for the library.

Knit and Natter

The Knit and Natter group is co-ordinated by Penny Locke. They have been incredibly busy over the last year and there is always a warm welcome at the table. The ladies love sharing their skills with complete beginners, so please pop along and say ‘hello’.

Highlights – Penny Locke

We have a regular core of approx. 8 crafters each week with a WhatsApp group providing more connection within the group.

Creation of gifts to raise money for Educafe
Creation of blankets for the homeless and Care for Calais
Comfort dolls for Ukraine
Baby booties for Zimbabwe
Sharing and teaching skills to vulnerable adults/non-native English speakers about how to knit and crochet
befriending & welcoming new people to the group

English Language Support

Highlights – Clare Middleton

Educafe continues to work in partnership with Berkshire School of English to design courses that encourage individuals to improve their English so that they can access community support, healthcare, Further Education, training, and employment opportunities. This year we launched our English for Business Comms course and Driving Theory Practice, and we continue to deliver our English for Work courses and Job Support Club.

We say a huge thank you to Dana Drokina who joined us last summer as our English Course Administration Manager. Dana is responsible for setting-up courses and recruiting learners.

We continue to deliver online line English Courses to our rural Ukrainian guests and two face-to-face courses on Fridays at the Town Hall along with resettlement English programmes supporting Afghans, Ukrainian, & Hong Kongers

New Year Healthy Habits

We must thank Janine Ford for all her work with last year’s Wellbeing Festival which took place in 2022 from April to June and promoted a variety of free activities including belly dancing, bird watching gong baths and baby-friendly spin and aerobics. – and this year’s Healthy Habits, which ran during Jan-Feb 2023 enjoying positive attendance and feedback, particularly from mums looking for baby-friendly activities.

Highlights – Janine Ford

New Year Healthy Habits offered baby friendly Pilates and My Wellbeing Club, dance and yoga tasters at Living Saucha (400+ sign ups and very positive attendance and feedback, particularly from mums looking for baby- friendly fitness).

As part of our wellbeing ‘outreach’ we also supported some gentle fitness classes at Eight Bells and DIY draught excluder workshops at Brown Paper Loves through Jan-Feb. Chair yoga every Wednesday from 2.15 – 2.45pm continues with Katt and Janine teaching alternate weeks.

Going forward, Educafe would like to support small local businesses and individuals who wish to fundraise and lead similar wellbeing, fitness and creativity for mindfulness programmes for us, please contact Janine for more information janine@educafeuk.co.uk

It is because of the above successes that we desperately need more funding.

Funding

Educafe is not-for-profit, project led with different funders supporting individual projects. Within the project funding is a contribution to our central costs which are made up of: Food and drink, packaging, marketing, website costs, insurance, venue hire costs, event costs (world food day, Christmas bazaar, Salsa night).

Cost to run Educafe.

Yearly £99,650 Weekly £2317

Volunteer Opportunities

Educafe is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and to help us with our work we rely on the help and support of our incredible volunteers. Volunteering can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. It’s good to know that you are doing good for others and the community, which provides a natural sense of accomplishment. Volunteering can also give you a sense of pride and identity and we are so proud of each and every one who has given and continues to give their time to us. We have a few volunteer opportunities, please let us know if you would like to get involved.

Welcome desk: set up, welcome visitors, signposting and pack up at the end
Parent Village – planning committee.
Fundraising Events – planning committee
Fundraising Applications – planning, research & writing
Sustainability – cost-effectiveness & environmental awareness
Social media and capturing/reporting impact
Volunteer management – coordinating & welcoming new volunteers (e.g., developing a welcome pack)

Key dates for your diary

Easter

Last Educafe on 29th March
We’re closed on Wednesday 5th & 12th April Open from Wednesday 19th April

Summer
Last Educafe on Wednesday July 26th
Closed throughout August.
Open from Wednesday September 6th Christmas

Winter

Last Educafe on Wednesday 6th December Closed on December 13th through to January 3rd Open on 10th January 2024

HELP NEEDED FOR THE FOLLOWING EVENTS

5th May Coronation weekend

5th July – Educafe’s 2nd birthday

14th October- World Food Day