A quick reminder of two community projects that help people in the local area
When we first started our Beautiful Bicester Facebook page, we were kindly welcomed in to cover two community groups.
The first was Café 103 based at Bicester Methodist Church. The second group was the Open Doors Café that also is based at Bicester Methodist Church.
These two community projects help people in the local area of Bicester. We don’t want to just forget about people who have helped us. So we want to remind our readers of these two brilliant projects, and we will start off firstly with Café 103.
Café 103
Café 103 is an outreach of Orchard Baptist Church. They run the café out of Bicester Methodist church twice a week specifically on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 4pm.
Café 103’s slogan is:
“A Space where it is ok not to be ok”
The café is a place that supports people with mental health challenges, those who are lonely or are grieving.
They are also a part of the warm space programme. The warm space programme is a scheme that gives people a space to get warm during the colder autumn and winter months. With the cost of energy not coming down, spaces like Café 103 are vital in helping people stay warm.
Whoever you maybe you are welcome to go to Café 103 on Tuesdays and Thursdays taking place throughout the year. They not only give you a free cuppa and slice of cake, but there are also support services available such as a Citizens Advice drop in where people can get advice on all sorts of matters. Here is more information about Café 103.
Open Doors Cafe
The Open Doors Café is based at Bicester Methodist Church. They provide a warm and comfortable space for people who can meet and make new friends. The cafe is open every Friday from 12pm to 1.30pm providing a free delicious meal throughout the year.
When you arrive at the Café there are tables ready to receive people. Here are a few photos.
Here are photos of food that is produced weekly by the Open Doors Café volunteers on the day.
The Open Doors Café are helping people on a number of fronts from tackling the energy crisis, isolation, loneliness and food poverty. People who need to give the heating a rest in their homes can come to the café and enjoy its warmth at no cost helping them reduce their energy bills.
The café is great for getting people out of their homes joining the café in a safe environment to have positive conversations with people. Nobody need be lonely.
The café is also helping people save money by providing them with a delicious free meal that can help reduce their food costs.
This is a fantastic social enterprise that is clearly helping people in Bicester. We witnessed over 50 people receiving food and enjoying company.
Would you like to volunteer?
The Open Doors Café are always on the lookout for volunteers. If you are someone who has free spare time on a Friday afternoon, you would be warmly welcomed as a volunteer to help out. Volunteering has known benefits. Volunteering helps people with their mental health, self-esteem and can give a person a sense of pride helping the community.
Whatever the reason you may want to visit the café we highly recommend you do. If you want to learn more about the café visit their website linked below.