Sometimes even the most modest of funding can make the world of difference. This month, Becky’s Café, at the Immaculate Conception and St Joseph’s parish in Christchurch has been awarded a £845 grant from the Dorset Community Foundation (Grants for Groups – Dorset Community Foundation) to allow it to continue providing company, friendship, support and a warm and inviting community facility where people can meet, relax and enjoy fresh home-cooked food.

The Café, which is open every Thursday, has been running for two years and is well-established in the neighbourhood, offering home-made soup, sandwiches and cake with hot drinks, as well social activities and a chance to get together with others, in a warm space, to help combat loneliness and isolation.

The Café is named after Becky Jordan, a much-loved young parishioner, who always said that ‘things are always better with friends, tea and cake around us’.

The Café won a similar grant from the DCF the previous year and once again the money will be used to fund the supplies it needs, supplemented by the generosity of donations by volunteers and customers.

“We have built a wonderful team who make the food, serve and welcome everyone,” explains Rosie Proctor, who manages the café with her husband Brian and a group of around 20 volunteers.  “The fact we are open all year has been particularly welcomed by all our guests and is a wonderful foundation on which to build next winter’s provision.”

Around thirty people from many different backgrounds visit the Café each week; some come because they are hungry, others because they are lonely, some are carers needing some care and respite themselves. Several of the café’s regulars come with or to meet others they know through the Cafe.

“Younger families visit the church site to access help and advice at the Christchurch Food Bank, which is housed onsite in the old chapel and have told us how much it means to them, whether they come once or are regular patrons,” says Rosie.  “We work with the Food Bank and Christchurch Community Partnership as well as local schools and the medical centre to enrich the quality of life to all those we can reach.

She added: “We are very grateful to the Diocese Fundraising team for their work on our behalf to secure the grant and we are delighted with the outcome.”

If you would like to support the vital lifeline that the Café provides to the local community and help to ensure that Becky’s legacy continues to live on, please get in touch by contacting: fundraising@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

Rosie and Brian Proctor

(left to right) Volunteers Marion Jackson, Maureen Gage and Helen Dawson