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NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
A BEACON OF LIGHT
- This event has passed.
Café 16 Open for Changing Lives Warm Meals
20th December 2024 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Please note: Café 16 will open specially to support this event instead of its regular service. Anyone who would benefit from the meals provided by Changing Lives is warmly welcome to attend.
The Changing Lives Christmas Meal returns to Café 16 in the Cathedral refectory, with meals this year prepared and served by ‘Oswinners’, the dedicated team members from the café. Operated by the Oswin Project, a North East charity based at HMP Northumberland, Café 16 provides valuable training, mentorship, and support to individuals with criminal records who are ready to rebuild their lives.
Since opening in 2021, the café has offered meaningful opportunities for people to gain employment, learn new skills, and build a fresh start – especially important when prison leavers often face the risk of homelessness without the stability of employment. Prisoners who work for the charity inside HMP Northumberland can go on to work in the café on day release or once they have finished their sentence. This work aligns with the Cathedral’s Lantern Initiative, which seeks to walk and work alongside those facing dark and difficult circumstances in life.
Changing Lives began in the North East as a soup kitchen in 1970, and they are now a nationwide charity helping people facing the most challenging of circumstances make positive change – for good. Every year, Changing Lives support over 14,500 people to overcome the challenges they face and go on to live happy, independent, fulfilling lives. They support people who are experiencing homelessness, unemployment, in recovery or facing abuse or exploitation. Changing Lives know that given the right support, anyone can change their life for the better.
This year, Changing Lives needs your support more than ever to provide long-term, impactful assistance. You can help sustain this essential work by choosing to make a small monthly donation or a one-time gift, both of which directly contribute to changing lives for the better.
Instead of that festive coffee or Christmas card, consider donating £5 to make a real, lasting impact on lives this Christmas and beyond.
