Brushstrokes Community Project awarded £3,000 grant for community café
Brushstrokes Community Project has been awarded a £3,000 grant to help fund the training and development of volunteers for a community café.
The grant from Sandwell Council will help with developments at the Friday Community Café, run by a team of volunteers in Smethwick. As well as supporting the training and development of volunteers, some of the grant will go towards the cost of a volunteer co-ordinator and a monitoring officer.
David Newell, project manager at Brushstrokes, said: “We are very pleased to have received funding to help us to develop our services to the community. The community café provides a place of welcome, creating space for new and existing local residents to meet and eat together and develop connections across our diverse community.
“The funding will also enable us to hold three large events that promote community participation and get people from the local community working together to understand different cultures and values.”
Cllr Ann Jaron, Smethwick town chair, said: “This is support for a group that does excellent work in this area and it is important that some of the money will be used for volunteers to receive training on a food safety course.”
Brushstrokes is a partnership project set up in 1999 by the Catholic Parish of St Philip Neri, the Infant Jesus Sisters and Father Hudson’s Care.
It provides practical help to those in need and supports people to realise their full potential through befriending, listening and education.
Brushstrokes is based at St Philip’s Parish Centre, Watt Street, Smethwick B66 3DA.