We recognise that this past year has been hard for many, so with this in mind, we’d like to promote some other incredible initiatives working to create stronger, cleaner, and more sustainable communities. Each month we will be promoting a location that is home to one of our repair cafés, celebrating the many other inspirational, forward thinking organisations that strive to make Wales, and the world, a better place.

This month we are showcasing Newport, the City in south Wales turning mean streets into a metropolis of community care, love and support.

Duffryn Community Link
Duffryn Community Link has created a community hub where they work with numerous partners to provide an array of community services benefitting a wide range of people. Located at Duffryn Shopping Centre, Newport, the building accommodates Citizens Advice, Flying Start, Employment and Training Support, The Food Cooperative, a Food Bank, and a 3 year project in conjunction with The Centre for Sustainable Energy, aiming to build capacity for energy resilience. Alongside these services, they have gained funding for a number of community projects including Youth Link, The Big Learning Cafe, Woodland Routes to Wellbeing and Pride in Duffryn. Promoting positive opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds, Youth Link and The Big Learning Cafe supports young people to make useful contributions to their communities, and offers routes into education or training, whilst Pride in Duffryn supports volunteers to enhance their environment in Duffryn, through the Woodland Routes to Wellbeing project.

To find out more about Duffryn Community Link, and how you could get involved, visit the website here.

Sporting Chance Newport CIC
Founded to support marginalised and disadvantaged children across Newport, Sporting Chance, delivers an alternative education through the medium of sports and physical activity. Located at the Newport Indoor Football Centre, this incredible organisation focuses their energies on developing the self-esteem and confidence of young people that have struggled with mainstream education for any number of reasons. Schooling here, consists of building a sense of team spirit within these young people, and re-establishing their purpose, whilst guiding them away from external dangers like criminal or gang activity. The programmes on offer are designed predominantly for children aged 11-16, and support the reintegration of these young people into mainstream education, or back into their communities, taking with them the life skills learnt along the Sporting Chance journey, and encouraging them to use those skills to map out a more positive and progressive path for the years to come.

To find out more about Sporting Chance Newport, you can find their Facebook page here.

Feed Newport
All about feeding the people of Newport, this volunteer led organisation makes use of surplus supermarket food, redirecting what would become unnecessary waste, to those in need. Creating a Feed Newport Food Bank and Soup Kitchen, they provide meals for the homeless, refugees, people fleeing domestic violence, older people, and people at risk through poverty. If you have a need, they have the time to help you with it. Not only sustaining the people of Newport through food, support is also offered through their Community Hub, where they offer a cuppa and a chat, or just a friendly face, whilst free haircuts and a mentoring scheme is also mentioned as an offering on their website. Collection and donation events are a regular occurrence here, with the most recent Community Coat Giveaway, held at the end of January, and a scheme offering free sanitary products launched in December. The new Community Shop has also recently been launched, offering groceries, household items, stationary, toiletries, and children’s toys to those in receipt of means tested benefits. The shop is open Thursdays from 10am – 2pm, and you will find it at 192 Commercial Road.

To find out more about Feed Newport and any upcoming events or offerings, visit their website, found here.

Newport Veterans Hub
With their drop-in hub at Rodney Parade, Newport Veterans Hub have created an inclusive and friendly environment where veterans from all backgrounds, age groups and circumstances can come together as a community. Whether veterans need to reignite that connection to the family atmosphere so inherent to a career served in the forces, or whether access to further support is required, the drop-in hub is open from 12 noon to 6pm every Thursday, and has adapted to continue this fantastic work through COVID-19 restrictions. Newport Veterans Hub also provides access to sport for veterans, facilitating events like match day Veterans Hub, where rugby and football matches are attended, including a pre-match event in the marquee on the stadium grounds. Fitness and Wellness Sessions for veterans and their families are also held every Thursday from 4pm to 5.30pm, whilst support for amputee veterans and free meals for veterans in poor health are listed as other services on the website. Promoting an environment where members who may not be doing so well, can be inspired and empowered by the community around them, Newport Veterans Hub is a non-profit community interest company on a mission to make Newport one of the best places for supporting veterans and their families.

For more information on Newport Veterans Hub, and how to access their services, visit the website here.