A Warm Place for all in the heart of Bedwas

Aim

Warm Place provides a free, friendly place for anyone and everyone to drop in to socialise, work, or find some quite space.

Who are we?

Bethel has opened as a Warm Place because it is our vision to care for families and those in need, to bring light into dark situations, and to see Bedwas transformed this decade. Bethel is a local church who have been serving the people of Bedwas for almost 120 years. We are a community of friends and family who have experienced God’s kindness and want to share it with others. Our Warm Place is volunteer led and self-supporting.

Community impact

Warm Place is for anyone and everyone who might need a place to be. Already we have provided:

• help with support and housing
• friendship for the lonely
• point to partners who can offer financial support and advice
• a social space for games players
• a welcoming, free meeting point for parents and carers with babies/toddlers
• been a base for those who need free wi-fi and refreshments in a friendly environment.

We are thrilled to have partnered with the team at Bedwas Co-Op to help resource this community project. Warm Place team had a great time fundraising and singing Carols at the Co-Op in December and we look forward to extending that friendship.  

We would also love to be a base for external agencies to come and offer financial advice, emotional support, basic life skills courses and so on. Bethel is easy to reach, all on one level, has baby-changing and disabled facilities.

Warm Place is for EVERYONE and is exactly what you make it - people of any race, sex, age, ability, any faith or none are invited to come and benefit.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Heating costs have doubled. Fuel prices are high. Inflation means food and bills have risen. Many in our community are worried, isolated and wondering where to turn. Bethel is a registered charity and our income comes almost entirely from the generous donations of our church members. We do not receive any external or government funding. We believe that we have our wonderful resources in order to love our community, and we are committed to using what we have to help others. 

Setting up a Warm Place to help combat the impact of the current cost of living crisis means that our overheads have obviously increased. Additionally we would love to be able to buy some resources to keep making the Warm Place more and more welcoming.

How we’ll spend the money raised

Any money raised through crowdfunding will go towards

• round tables and decorations, 
• comfortable and easy to store/stack seating, 
• chromebooks/laptops, charging facilities and workspace for those who don’t have computer access (especially useful when so much information, forms and financial help is exclusively online). 
• Dependent on the amount raised, any remaining funds will also be used towards a room divider that will allow for more creative and practical use of space.

Even when the weather warms up, we recognise many will still benefit from an opportunity like this, so our goal is to use any money raised to invest for the long-term benefit of the community.

This project successfully funded on 14th March 2023