Outreach Southwest receives generous DCC grant
Outreach Southwest CIC is a new organisation, set up to coordinate the activities of the Exeter International Cafe and Cafe to a local hotel, where volunteers currently support a group of people from several countries seeking asylum in the UK.
The aim of the CIC is giving a warm welcome to refugees, British Nationals from Overseas (BNO’s), people seeking asylum and other internationals new to Exeter, and help them overcome some of the challenges that come with starting life in a new country.
Through this outreach, the CIC works alongside many people from around the world and provides a warm community welcome. This helps meet a need for community bridge building and friendship, alongside cultural adaptation and English language development.
Our International Cafes are free and open to all. Since September 2022, approximately 350 internationals have attended a minimum of one of the weekly cafe sessions, with 20 different nationalities represented, 85% of whom come from a minority culture background.
So far in 2024, the weekly term-time cafe has seen a 30% increase in average attendance, from 50 people per week to 65.
In May 2024 Outreach Southwest CIC was awarded a £3000 grant from the Devon County Council Growing Communities Fund:
https://www.devon.gov.uk/communities/growing-communities-fund
This was to support the work of the International Cafes in Exeter, and the new CIC. Indeed, this website has been produced using some of these generous funds.
The Exeter Cafe is listed in the DCC Migration and Resettlement Services Directory:
It regularly hosts speakers from across the city on helpful topics, many of which have been requested by cafe participants themselves.
On behalf of Outreach Southwest, Director Scott Bradridge comments:
“We would like to thank the DCC Growing Communities Fund for their support, which enables us to engage and show a warm welcome to internationals new to Exeter from across the world. It’s also allowed us to fulfil a request from the hotel, to replace the broken football goals, so that residents can enjoy playing a game of football in the car park each evening.”