CROWTHORNE Baptist Church has been holding coffee mornings for Ukrainian refugees, their families and their hosts.
The weekly sessions will be continuing throughout the summer, and will include craft activities for the children who come.
Sue Burrow, who runs the group, said:
“We set the group up because we are very aware that there is less going on in Crowthorne than in the larger towns.
“We wanted to provide a social group where people could chat over coffee, share information and support each other.
“It needed to take place locally, somewhere people could walk to.”
“Every Tuesday for the past couple of months we’ve had a core group of around ten to 15 people coming.”
The Co-op as part of their Community Support Scheme, and Two Sisters cafe have both provided coffee and cakes.
“Both of these businesses have been very helpful, and we’ve also had assistance from other churches,” Ms Burrow said.
The sessions begin with English language classes followed by a chance to practice chatting over coffee.
Sue Burrow and her team offer other assistance too.
“I help out at the Food Bank, so I’ve been able to provide families with vouchers for groceries,” continued Ms Burrow.
“And we try to signpost people to different agencies to access the help they need.
“Getting school places for the children can be tricky, especially for secondary school, and we have been able to help with the application forms.
“Even so, there are a couple of children who still don’t have a place yet.”
The group aims to support all the youngsters as they integrate and make friends.
12 of them have already been helped to join scouting and guiding groups.
“We recently had our facilities refurbished,”Ms Burrow added.
“The vision has always been to use the church buildings to serve the community, so we are very pleased to be able to provide in this way.
“It’s lovely to see this group is growing in confidence, and to know that we are fulfilling an important need.”
The Tuesday sessions take place at Crowthorne Baptist Church from 10am to noon.
The English Classes run from 10am to 11am.
Ukrainian families and their hosts are all welcome.
For more information email: [email protected]
