Local people of all ages have taken part in a community cookery event organised by the Devon-wide health and well-being charity Westbank Community Health and Care
Residents from Exeter care home Cumberland Grange joined local families in the kitchen at Westbank’s community hub in Exminster, where they prepared a healthy two-course meal together.
The idea behind the Ready, Steady, Cook-style event was to bring together people of different ages and backgrounds to share a fun experience and learn (or refresh) their skills in the kitchen. The three generations of cooks prepared...
As UK Volunteers Week begins (1 - 7 June) , a local health and wellbeing charity is launching a campaign to swell the ranks of its existing army of award-winning helpers. Westbank Community Health and Care, based at Exminster near Exeter, relies on over 600 volunteers to help deliver a range of support services to individuals and communities across Devon.
Last year, Westbank’s Neighbourhood Friends volunteers received royal recognition for their service during the pandemic with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This year, the charity hopes to take on even more volunteers...
Generous shoppers in Devon are being encouraged to support a fundraising campaign for three leading health charities.
Last year Tesco's ‘Helping you to live healthier’ campaign raised more than £1million after customers rounded up their shop to the nearest £1 at self-service tills.
The money raised is helping Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK to continue their vital work to improve and save lives.
As the charities fight back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Devon shoppers are again being urged to round up their shopping to...
People in Topsham are celebrating after the completion of a scheme to connect around 120 homes and businesses in the town to Gigabit capable fibre broadband.
Local resident Andy Rook led a community effort for fibre connections to the Greatwood Terrace area of Topsham, which previously suffered from poor connectivity.
Andy admits his local community wouldn’t have been able to get better broadband without the support of the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme.
He said: “Around Christmas 2019 I was reading all sorts of erroneous comments on our local...
A church in Exeter has distributed over 1300 hampers packed full of food to people in need across the community.
Rediscover Church in Northernhay Street, Exeter, has run the hamper project every year for the last 7 years, but this is the most it has ever put together to rise to the need across Exeter but also wider Devon, with some going even to Kingsbridge, Axminster and South Molton.
The church worked with local charities and organisations to identify recipients, who, when they had the hamper delivered to their door were often overwhelmed, with some even crying at the...
On Wednesday 24th November, in one of the worst incidents since 2014, 27 migrants lost their lives trying to cross the Channel. The group, who were travelling from Calais to Dover, were crammed onto a small inflatable dinghy in their attempt to reach the UK.
To honour and remember all those who tragically lost their lives, Exeter STAR held a vigil at St. Petrock’s Church in Exeter the following Saturday evening (27th) which lasted 27 minutes; a minute for each person who died. Members of the Exeter community came together with Student Action for Refugees (STAR) for the event, with...
Following last year's success, Mecca Bingo Exeter is launching its second unique Everyone Deserves a Christmas appeal to help individuals and families in need this Christmas.
Mecca's renowned UK-wide Christmas appeal involves all 71 clubs across the country and aims to provide hampers to those most in need, allowing them to go through the Christmas season more comfortably. Last year, the original bingo brand partnered with 52 charities to raise an incredible total of £185,000 in cash and hamper donations, providing 3,800 hampers across the UK.
New Art School, for aspiring young artists, moves into the old Coffee Pot, 1st floor in the Guildhall Shopping Centre. Meraki Art School is a brand-new creative initiative that opened its doors on 18th September 2021 with the launch of its two Saturday classes for young people aged 5-16, Meraki Create and Meraki Inspire. After just 10 weeks of running classes at Exeter Community Centre, Meraki Art school has moved into Exeter Guildhall shopping Centre, holding the first of its classes there on 20th November. Due to the popularity of the classes, they have extended their provision to run an...
Charities, councils and community groups are being urged to help support families to heat their homes this winter by applying for grants of up to £10,000.
The £500,000 fund has been provided by local electricity distributor Western Power Distribution (WPD) in a bid to tackle fuel poverty in the community. Applications are now open at www.westernpower.co.uk/community-matters-fund .
Alison Sleightholm, WPD’s Resources and External Affairs Director said: “As we enter a challenging winter, our fund will directly support community organisations who are working at the...
