Community cafe receives charity funding boost

Belle’s Place, a drop-in café in Ilfracombe with a difference, is to receive £4,000 from local charity TLC. TLC has handed over the second of four donations of £1,000 to Belle’s Place, which offers advice, guidance and information, and hosts other organisations that can provide people with help.

Carol Parkin, Belle’s Place Director and Centre Manager, said “We’re a vital service to the community and we wouldn’t be able to offer that without the support of our community. We support everyone, there’s no bar to anyone being able to access us. But without donations, we just couldn’t continue offering those services to people who really need them at the moment.”

Soaring energy bills and rising food prices have led to greater demand for help as local families face the impact of inflation. Carol added: “Certainly, the cost of living crisis has increased the amount of people we’re seeing. Whether it’s our school uniform shop, our proms shop, which is a new venture, or people coming in for food parcels, or signposting to other services, it’s all definitely increased.”

Belle’s Place is only one of the local organisations to have been helped by TLC, which was founded in 1997 and has provided over £16,000 for local causes since last summer alone. Its donations include £6,000 for food vouchers for Ilfracombe’s infant and junior schools, £2,300 for the warm space, breakfast club and pantomime all organised at Ilfracombe library, £1,000 for the Encompass community support service, and £500 for the town’s Tornados Allstars cheerleading group.

All of the charity’s income is earned from sales in its Portland Street shop of clothes, kitchenware, furniture and books, given by local people. Lynne Wilson, TLC shop manager and trustee, said: “We like to support local causes in Ilfracombe and to give back to the community.”