Making
It is a great sadness that the work of The Rural Coffee Caravan (RCC) remains so necessary throughout our wonderful county, but the fact is, it does.
I am proud to have been the charity’s patron since 2011 This has enabled me to see first-hand the delivery of our work to address the causes of rural isolation and loneliness as well as directly helping those people affected by it. The detrimental consequences of being, or feeling, isolated and lonely on communities and individuals must never be underestimated and the RCC works tirelessly to improve the situation.
It is a privilege to work with a Board of Trustees who have the competencies to provide support to a committed and professional team of employees and volunteers who have the training, skills, and enthusiasm to work with individuals to help them to lead happy, healthy and independent lives. We also encourage the communities in which they live to be inclusive and enthusiastic in the provision of a sustainable, caring and friendly place in which to live.
We could not function without the help of our enthusiastic, knowledgeable and committed volunteers. We are privileged to be supported in kind by CoffeeLink, who have kindly donated all our coffee for 18 years, Christies Care for all our IT needs, including our website, and AffinityPR for much valued assistance with marketing and communications, and I thank them all. We also work with the many essential support agencies throughout the county, who value us as a vital route for them to identify otherwise hidden rural need.
The provision of high calibre employees, delivery resources especially campervans and support to networks provides huge challenges with funding and we have a continual focus on finding grants and donations to ensure we operate sustainably. We are extremely grateful to all the charitable trusts and foundations that support us and to our Local Authorities, the Suffolk Community Foundation, and the National Lottery for their support over the years. It is a sad fact that the growing need to attract funds to worthwhile and needed charities creates an ever-increasing competitiveness for a scarce resource. We will remain focussed on this.
The RCC is a Suffolk based charity, helping people and communities in rural Suffolk who are facing or dealing with isolation and loneliness. We will continue to do this directly as well as engaging with Suffolk based businesses and organisations who can support and help with our work through our 2023 initiative “Loneliness is Everyone’s Business”.
It is fitting that we mark our 20th Anniversary with a fundraising event and a commemorative magazine as a way of thanking everybody for their help and support over the last two decades, without which it would be impossible to have done so much to help people. It also provides a reminder to everybody that without this continued support we will inevitably fail to be an effective deliverer of such a much needed service.
It is a privilege to be part of this organisation. I take this opportunity to thank everybody in the charity for their work; and urge all of our supporters and friends to help us in whatever way you can to keep-up our vital work.
Stephen Miles Patron of The Rural Coffee CaravanTwenty years since we first set out, and how we have grown!
No longer ‘A Project’, now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, recognised and known throughout Suffolk and in receipt of the late Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services.
Still there is a need, still there is loneliness, leading to so many mental and physical health problems. The good thing is that this is recognised as a problem so much more today, than it was when we first set out.
Twenty years ago, my work with the (FCN) Farming Community Network helpline made me wonder what we, in Suffolk, might do to help those who were lonely and felt themselves to be of no account. The idea of a Coffee Caravan was supported by my fellow FCN members, and so it began.
We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for all they did then, and I am so glad that two of that group remain alongside me as Trustees or Committee members and have been part of the amazing growth over the years. From one caravan and a part time manager to the wonderful team we have today, led so inspirationally by Ann Osborn.
Those few early visits have led us on to where we are today, with so many volunteers now supporting our staff, all offering so much. Not only coffee and cake - but friendship and help where needed. Over the years we have branched out with other ideas: MeetUpMondays, c-a-f-e and More Than a Shop, all supporting that vital human connection.
The core of it all remains - helping people to come together. Not feeling lonely any more but knowing that they are welcomed, remembered, and even what sort of cake they like! Friends meeting up to share conversation.
So I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who, from our early days, and as we have grown, have supported us in so many ways. Some financially with grants and donations, some in kind, some by volunteering with us, towing our caravan, or making cakes (very important) or by helping with the delivery of visits.
Thank you all for supporting our amazing team as we move into the next twenty years.
Canon Reverend Sally Fogden MBE Founder of The Rural Coffee CaravanSo, the journey through our first twenty years begins...
Sally was manning a helpline in Suffolk for the Farm Crisis Network, a national charity providing wide ranging support for the farming community in the UK, now called The Farming Community Network. Many conversations on the helpline led her to feel very strongly that there was a need to address the misery of rural isolation and loneliness.
Sally hit upon the idea of a mobile community café and information centre. With support from colleagues George and Muriel Frost, Jean Turnbull, Roy & Chris Colchester and Peter Havers, she made the idea a reality. They purchased a caravan, gathered together some relevant information, made some cakes and took the caravan into rural Suffolk. 2003
2003 - The Rural Coffee Caravan Information Project is constituted as a voluntary project and its first part time Project Officer, Julie Kersey, is employed
The first logo used by the RCCIP, 2003
Archive photo of an early Coffee Caravan visit to Mendham, circa 2003
The Rural Coffee Caravan Information Project in action on an early visit to Somersham, 2005
The Caravan started out visiting rural communities in Mid Suffolk from April ‘til October. Since then, it spread its wings across the whole of the county and started to grow.
Fast forward to 2023 – after becoming a full charity in 2008 and transitioning to ‘The Rural Coffee Caravan’ C.I.O (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) in 2020, the charity is affectionately known as the ‘Coffee Caravan.’ We now have four vehicles - three campervans joining the caravan. This enables us to operate all year round with RCC visits to rural villages that need a social space and to accept invitations from established social gatherings that wish to benefit from our information library
Addressing loneliness is the core of our project. Rural communities are changing and nearly a third of England’s population now live in rural districts. In particular, the elderly are often left isolated as children move away and the village has little left to offer them in terms of services and support. People working from home, young parents and other carers can also feel cut off from their communities and in need of support.
Many communities have very limited public transport; perhaps they have no pub or have lost their local shop or Post Office. This can be a real body blow to some because, not only does the
service disappear but also, and just as importantly, it removes the chance to meet other locals, to pass the time of day, and generally to interact with the local community as a part of everyday life. If there is no reason to go out, to buy milk for example, then many people get out of the habit of going out at all and regular human connection can be lost. 2004
Julie (the first RCCIP part time Project Officer) looks on as Fred (then Radio Suffolk’s Rural Correspondent) cuts the ribbon to officially launch the caravan. Sally fondly remembers Fred’s Radio programme, talking on the radio each Friday afternoon about village life, with his lovely Suffolk accent
The first flyer used to promote the RCCIP inviting people to a ‘sample morning’ at Red Gables in Stowmarket
The RCC provides a place for people to meet, connect, feel the sense of belonging and personal security that connection brings. If someone has just moved into the area, they might like to meet their neighbours. Even if they’ve lived there a while, there may be new people they haven’t had the chance to meet. In some villages, where there is nowhere to socialise, it can be hard to meet people, for example if one is retired or working at home.
Conversation is our social glue, it gives us the opportunity to exchange ideas, develop relationships, ask for or offer help, empathise and sympathise. Without it we become isolated. This, in turn, increases the instance of low mood, loss of confidence and loneliness. We can help by providing a warm, friendly, unintimidating meeting place
for folk to chat. We have watched many friendships form over the years, equally many ideas for community events have developed from a seed sown at our visits.
Alongside this is our ability to provide them with a route into services in Suffolk that exist to support health and independence. Over the years we have built strong relationships with other charities and organisations in the county. We are a useful vehicle both literally and figuratively, for these organisations to increase their reach. On many occasions we have representatives of these organisations meet with us at visits and chat to our visitors about the services they offer. This increases awareness and take up of services rural residents may not have known existed, had we not visited, so it’s a real win win exercise.
2005 2004
TV News Presenter Amelia Reynolds, cutting the ribbon at the launch of caravan number 2 (a replacement for the original caravan), Somersham, 2005
2004 - Ann Osborn is employed by the RCCIP as part time Project Manager
A sketch for an evolution of the RCC logo, created in 2004 by Gavin Hodge (then Suffolk Acre’s Good Neighbourhood Scheme co-ordinator), after a cuppa and conversation with Ann, is developed by local artist Tina Hannay in 2005 … after another cuppa with Ann!
“The coffee caravan provided vital links and leads with information to gather grants for the village hall build project. Thank you for your support.”
2006: Information collected from us in 2006 helps to instigate the planning and building of Bruisyard Village Hall in 2009 for the local community. A couple of years later RCC was also able to connect the community in Drinkstone to Mid Suffolk District Council to talk about their plans for a hall and how it could be funded. Drinkstone Village Hall was built in 2013.
2008
(Above) Village Visit, Redgrave 2008 (Right) Village Visit, Thorpeness, 2010
Ann , putting the ‘tea’ in team since 2004! Here, at a village visit in 2010
2008: Ann becomes full time Project Manager
2006
Bruisyard Village Hall
Tina, Treasurer, Bruisyard Village Hall
If the weather’s not on our side, there’s room inside!
Campervan ‘Felix’ 2010
And then there were two ‘Coffee Caravans’ - Kentford, pictured here in 2012
2010 2009
2009: RCC is awarded the SuffolkACRE Community Service Award
2010: RCC is awarded a Care Health & Independence contract (CHI); a second employee, Project Officer Garry Simmonds, is added to the team, and the first RCC campervan, ‘Felix’, is launched
2011: Stephen Miles, former High Sheriff of Suffolk, becomes RCC Patron
2011 - The RCC’s first Golden Age Fair (GAF) is held in Woolpit. GAFs are not just a one-stop information shop for those of a ‘Golden Age’, but a fun event with creative activities, a chance to showcase local clubs, and include a free, homemade afternoon tea. Over the next 8 years the RCC hosts a further 20 Golden Age 2011
(Above) the first Golden Age Fair hosted by the RCC is held at Woolpit Village Hall in 2011
Volunteer tow-er and Trustee for many years, Chris Hamilton (left) and volunteer Jane Cody, at Leiston Golden Age Fair, in 2012
Gipping Valley Model Boat Club, pictured here (above centre) at Needham Market GAF in 2016, have supported many of RCC’s Golden Age Fairs
Ann, Sally and Garry collect Rural Coffee Caravan’s Suffolk Coastal Community Awards - Partnership Award, 2013
2012
2012: Ann is invited to attend HM the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Garden Party at Sandringham
2012: Penny Martin joins the team as part time admin officer, retiring 5 years later
I don’t need any of this information yet, but I didn’t even know it existed. It’s like knowing there’s comfy armchair to sit in when I’m ready.
(Visitor at Woolpit Golden Age Fair, 2011)
This is amazing, I am learning so much with all this information. I have never seen advice about hoarding before and am worried that I may be slipping into it. It’s good to know that there is advice and help out there about it. I love what you do, you have so much help here.
(Village visitor, 2023)
In 2012 Garry walks one hundred miles to Felixstowe and back to raise money for the RCC
2013: RCC receives a Suffolk Coastal Community Partnership Award
2013: RCC Community Cream Teas are launched. Over the next 4 years RCC will host more than 27 Cream Teas and Tea Dances in rural Suffolk Communities
2013
Coffee Caravan visit - Finningham 2014
(Below) One of 15 Community Cream Tea events hosted by the RCC, to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016. The RCC will go on to host many other Cream Tea Events; Memory Lane Cream Teas, and Tea Dances.
Pictured here: Barton Mills Cream Tea , 2016
The RCC partners with the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra to host free community concerts. The series of concerts begins in 2017 in Freckenham and is continued in 2018 and 2022, bringing international standard musicians to villages in rural Suffolk. For some of the attendees this is their first live classical music experience and seeing the joyful reactions which the events provoke is heartwarming.
Pictured above: a concert at Hollesley Village Hall, 2022. Photo credit Cheryl Gray
2015: The RCC logo and ‘branding’ drops the words ‘Information Project’, adopting the name by which the charity has become fondly known
2015
2015: The RCC receives the Mid Suffolk Community Achievement Award
2016
2016: Big Lunch Extras became known as Eden Project Communities and the RCC is one of the first official outreach delivery partners
2017: In July the caravan is stolen. The RCC Trustees and team are overwhelmed by the speed and generosity with which support & donations pour forth to replace the caravan and keep the service running. Within a couple of months (September) ‘Bailey’, the new caravan, is launched and RCC is back on the road.
2017: Sally is voted number 20 on The Independent’s Happy List: the 50 most inspirational people whose kindness, courage & selflessness make the UK a better place to live
2017: Garry leaves and Megan Ablard joins the team as Community Engagement Officer for 10 months, but moves on to start a family
Ann, Sally and Garry offer their support to Kathy Bugden and the team of the Rural Kent Coffee and Information Service at their launch in 2017. Sadly, funding was not available to continue the project beyond 2022
2017: Sally receives the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award
2017: RCC inspires Kent to instigate their own version of the Coffee Caravan: ‘The Rural Kent Coffee and Information Service’
2017
Megan Ablard, Community Engagement Officer in 2017
2018: The National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF) combined with Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) awards the RCC their Building Connections grant to support and extend the service with another vehicle and member of staff. Diana and ‘Lottie’ the campervan join the team. RCC is the only
funding.
2018
2018: Tina Hannay joins the team as part time Admin Officer (soon becoming full time) after contributing in volunteer and freelance capacities to the RCC since 2005
With her ‘other hat’ on: Tina (pictured above in 2021) leads a paper making workshop as part of a partnership between RCC and Suffolk Artlink to deliver a series of free creative workshops to rural communities
2018: Ann is cited in the East Anglian Daily Times as one of ‘10 of The Best Female Instagram and Twitter Stars Making a Difference in Suffolk and Essex’, through her work at the RCC
“I am a huge fan of the pioneering Rural Coffee Caravan. It is a really creative way of connecting people in rural and often isolated communities. It’s success in part lies with the excellent partnership working with other agencies and this in turn has helped other counties established their own schemes. I would love to see more schemes like this across the country as we stride forward to tackle loneliness and isolation”.
Loneliness Commission and appoints the first Minister for Loneliness. RCC is cited in HM Government’s Strategy for Tackling Loneliness as an example of an organisation which activates ‘community spaces’.
GPs are empowered to direct patients to community activities/organisations such as RCC (social prescribing).
This publication is available for download at www.gov.uk/ government/collections/ governments-work-on-tacklingloneliness
Suffolk Charity to receive this
Tracey Crouch MP, 2018
(Above) Campervans ‘Maj’ and ‘Lottie’ in action together at Benhall Green. (Below) In 2018, Diana becomes a full time member of the team, after volunteering for the RCC in a variety of capacities, almost since the beginning of the project
Over the last twenty years the RCC has constantly looked for other ways to facilitate connection. It has hosted cream teas, information events (Golden Age Fairs), sloppy slipper exchanges, even tea dances! The RCC believes that ‘loneliness is everyone’s business’ and in 2018 we brought the idea of MeetUpMondays™ to Suffolk.
These are free coffee mornings in commercial hospitality venues, mostly pubs, with one or two cafes also taking part. This gives the venue the chance to sit right at the very heart of their community and actively address loneliness and isolation by removing any financial barrier.
These sessions have proved hugely beneficial for all involved. Many times they been called life changing, even on occasion, lifesaving! This is very humbling for all involved and its another win win situation, as, although this was not an expectation, all our hosts report an upturn in their business as a result of their MeetUpMondays™.
It makes you feel good about yourself on a Monday morning.
Dan
Sara Benstead, owner of The Weavers Tea Room, Peasenhall, was the first host to take up the call to action and offer MeetUpMondays in Suffolk in 2018; the meet up ’in session’ pictured above, 2019. Though no longer running a MeetUpMondays, Sara maintains contact with RCC and its resources and continues to support her local community
2018
since April 2018) has been an enthusiastic ambassador for the initiative since it began. He is always happy to chat to prospective hosts about why they should join the network
2018: MeetUpMondays is launched and grows to a network of around 30 Suffolk pubs and cafes during 2018, with interest beyond county lines and a handful of nationwide venues also on board. By the end of 2019, this total has reached nearly 100 venues across the UK; more than 60 of these are located in Suffolk.
(Above) MeetUpMondays-On-Thursdays at The Golf Hotel, Ipswich, 2018
A few words from hosts and visitors about the difference it makes...
“We wanted to give something back to the community that supports us. It has been great to see the real difference it has made and to see the friendships grow. In April 2023 it’s our 5th Anniversary of [hosting] MeetUpMondays and we will be celebrating with a tea party as well as planning our group summer outing. One visitor with mobility difficulties spoke of how she wasn't new to Lowestoft but new to the area where the pub was and coming to MeetUpMondays had enabled her to make friends. Another lady spoke of how MeetUpMondays had changed her life and given her something to look forward to each week. A lady was taken to hospital and it then also transpired she had dementia. When she comes out of hospital, the MUpM group are there as a friendly network to support her.“
“When I lost my husband 18 months ago I was looking for companionship and somewhere I could meet with others on a regular basis so decided to attend the MeetUpMondays meetings in the Golden Boar in Freckenham. At the first meeting I think that there were only 4 of us but it was a start. Gradually as the word was passed around more people joined the group. They were not only from the village, some came from Mildenhall and Red Lodge and other surrounding villages. After a year or so the numbers have grown and there are at least 20 or more who attend, some come occasionally depending on commitments, others attend weekly. The make up of the group varies in age from younger with toddlers to elderly, couples, all sexes. We now have a WhatsApp site where we can communicate and leave messages. It is an ideal place to make new friends, meet people, exchange information regarding contacts for gardening and other services, selling information etc and just chat and have a cuppa and biscuit. We are a friendly group and we have fun.” Ann W.
“We are proud to be part of MeetUpMondays and we wanted to give something back to the community. The group has changed over time and we now have a big group of elderly ladies join every week from sheltered housing. It is a real social space for them and they really look forward to coming along as it is the highlight of their week. As well as the ladies we get other regulars and up to 20 people attend the group each week.”
Gary & Ashley (landlords) White Horse, Sudbury. Hosting since 2018
“Just thought I would give you a quick story about the good that meet up Monday does. We had a lady called Bev who didn as usual yesterday so one of the gents went to check on her and she had a fall in her conservatory. He rang me and I dashed round as I’m first aid trained, anyway after a long wait for an ambulance it turns out she had broken her hip. Without MeetUpMondays she might have been laying on a very cold floor until today as her carer has Mondays off. That’s the good that MeetUpMondays does!!!”
Shaun (landlord) - The Norman Warrior, Lowestoft. Hosting since 2018
“Post covid we could see some of our customers were struggling and had lost loved ones, so we wanted to support them. Being part of MeetUpMondays has given them a welcoming space to meet and new friendships have been made and new people are joining regularly. The group are planning activities like theatre trips that they can now do together. Also... Just done our new photo board in the pub for our Meet Up group & made me think about how far we have come in just over a year: average 35 people every week, new faces every week, so many new friendship groups been made. We have lots of fun & laughter and that’s what it’s all about! So, thank you everyone.”
Gemma Chenery, (landlady)
The Bull, Brantham. Hosting since 2022
“The centre has benefitted from the [MeetUpMondays] group as some members are now volunteering for them. One group member is now helping out with the gardening and he lives alone and has no family and has said that coming along to the centre has ‘saved him’. “
The Pennoyer Centre, Pulham St Mary. Hosting since 2019
“The wellbeing it [MeetUpMondays] addresses is crucial, as it can reach places and people not currently covered in monthly opportunities already existing.”
Alastair McCraw, Cabinet Member for Customers, Digital Transformation and Improvement, Councillor for Brantham Ward, Babergh District Council, 2022
“
I must say that since my Dad passed away it has been a real lifeline for my Mum. Those are her words. It is something to look forward to and she enjoys meeting up with people in the same position as herself along with many others in differing situations who just want some company. It gives them all a chance to have a chat and catch up in an informal setting and is very well attended. She also enjoyed an organised outing to the Lifeboat in Aldeburgh. Mum attends the meetings held in the Golden Key. So a massive 'Well Done' and Thank You to you and all the volunteers and organisers. Keep up the good work."
Daughter of lady attending the MeetUpMondays at The Golden Key in Snape, which has been hosting since 2019
“Being part of the MeetUpMondays network has made us realise how such an easy & simple act of offering a free hot drink & cake & the chance to chat makes such a difference, not only to our guests but to us as well. it truly is amazing. Our guests have become friends with each other & us. For many it's their reason to get up and come out on a Monday it's made such a difference to an often former lonely life.
We in turn look forward to Mondays knowing we are going to see happy faces & enjoy a couple of (busy) hours at the beginning of the week.
We are very proud & happy to be part of the expanding network of MeetUpMondays venues & try to spread the word when visiting other areas of the country to encourage other cafes etc to join & gain the positive experience we have. Although every venue stands alone with how they run MeetUpMondays & what they offer, knowing that there is always someone available [at the RCC] for help & advice, not only for us, but if we need guidance to help a guest, is reassuring.
Debbie (volunteer organiser) - Fisher Theatre, Bungay. Hosting since 2019
“We’ve had great success launching MeetUpMondays at The White Horse, which offers free tea, coffee and cake on a Monday lunchtime, encouraging those in the local area who are ‘fed up with their own company’ to meet up and chat. Since the launch of MeetUpMondays it has simply changed lives. it is one of the best things we've done. One lady said: ‘it gives her a reason to come out’ as she lost her husband. She wasn’t really venturing out or socialising and now she comes every week. We’ve reached many people, but one testimonial resonates, touches my heart and inspires me: “I didn’t think I’d make it through another winter, now I will.” It practically brought me to tears and made everything we’re doing worthwhile."
Sharon Riches (Landlady) - The White Horse, Thelnetham. Hosting since 2022
“Local MeetUpMondays™ groups played an important role over the recent lock downs, arranging meetings via Zoom and also organising assistance for those residents who needed a helping hand. However their physical meetings are back and from my own experience needed more than ever. Not having something really focuses us all on what we have missed and what is important in our communities, and this social interaction really is the magic ingredient that creates a community.“
Cllr James Mallinder, Deben ward member and Cabinet member for the Environment, 2021
(Left) Debbie & volunteers, Fisher Theatre, Bungay
Sally receives the first ever Suffolk Medal, an award which aims to recognise, reward and champion the exceptional contributions of Suffolk people who have made a fundamental, measurable and lasting difference to the lives of people in Suffolk
(Above) RCC Village Visits also take place indoors. Here, at Brampton Village Hall, 2019
Roz Eminson (centre) High Sheriff of Suffolk 2019-20 joins Ann, Diana and the residents of Lidgate for a chat and a slice of cake at RCC’s Village Visit, May 2019
2019 - April: RCC Warm Homes project is launched - an initiative funded by Affordable Warmth Solutions via East Suffolk Council, offering free advice and support to people in rural Suffolk, and helping to address fuel poverty in rural areas of the county. RCC Community Engagement Officers are trained to offer guidance on ways to keep homes warmer and more energy efficient, and to connect struggling households to grants & funding. The RCC host a series of Energy Advice Events in community spaces across Suffolk between 2019-2021
2019: Ann is one of six women to receive Suffolk’s High Sheriff’s Inspiring Leader
2019 - Annette Dunning joins the team in the role of Rural Energy Officer, later becoming a Community
2019 : RCC Warm Homes project is launched
2019: Sally is awarded the first ever Suffolk Medal
2019: RCC Volunteers receive The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
(Above) Clare, Countess of Euston, presents The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to Sally, Ann, the RCC volunteers and team at a special ceremony at Felsham Hall, 2019
They are tea pourers, cake bakers, friendly conversation makers, caravan tow-ers and maintainers, washer-uppers,
knitters, sewers, noticeboard updaters, village co-ordinators, poster and flyer distributors, funding bid supporters, pro-bono contributors,
table and chair ‘luggers’, event setter-uppers, social media sharers, ‘word of mouth forwarders’… and we couldn’t do what we do without them! Below are just a few...
The Rural Coffee Caravan should be prescribed on the NHS. It’s spirit lifting, they bring so much joy wherever they go.
Jane RCC Volunteer, 2013
Just a quick email to thank you for a gentle induction into the extraordinary phenomenon that is the Rural Coffee Caravan this morning! It was a pleasure to meet you. I genuinely hadn’t realised the depth/extent of the offer - it really is quite incredible - I take my hat off to you!!
I am happy to help again as/when you feel I might be of use.
Caroline, new RCC Volunteer, May 2023
2019
2019 - November: RCC s More Than A Shop initiative is launched - celebrating and acknowledging the vital role which rural village shops play as being places of friendship and connection for Suffolk’s more isolated residents. The network will prove to be overwhelmed with nominations from the public over the following year, as Suffolk’s small, rural stores go above and beyond to support their communities during the coming Covid-19 pandemic and its lockdowns
"It is good to feel part of a wider network and to know there are people we can ask for support if it should be needed."
Jennie ManagerThe village of Somersham will go on to be the first village in Suffolk to engage with each of the RCC’s initiatives, having a monthly RCC Village Visit held there and its shop being a More Than A Shop network member whilst also hosting MeetUpMondays. Their local ‘bikes and engines’ enthusiast group, ‘Petrol Heads’, also joins the RCC’s c-a-f-e (coffee and friends events) network in 2023
Hutchinson, Somersham & District Community Shop (Above) Volunteers at Coddenham Community Shop receive their More Than A Shop award. (Below) Volunteers at Somersham and District Community Shop host RCC’s launch of the More Than A Shop initiative in November 2019 and the shop becomes its first awardeeIn 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic locks the country down for the first time and the RCC has to adapt its delivery of its services. Whilst it is unable to conduct Village Visits, the RCC helps with food bank deliveries and stewarding at vaccination centres. It creates shareable and interactive resources on its website such as a Virtual Leaflet Rack and Digital Noticeboard. It also transforms its visit calendar into a diary of collated online participatory events that people can choose to join in with to maintain good mental and physical health. To encourage people to stay socially connected whilst physically distancing, RCC shares ideas such as ‘Telephone Trees’, Zoom tutorials, printable ‘Cuppa Cards’ and ‘Backyard Buddies’. Because of RCC’s reputation as a trusted source of information it is diligent in making people aware of scams and false information being circulated at the time.
2020
2020: A global pandemic shifts everyone’s focus and the RCC adapts its plan of action
2020: The RCC changes its charitable status to a C.I.O (Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
2020: Elaine Begent, a volunteer with the RCC, joins the team as Part Time Admin Support
Between lockdowns the RCC team makes doorstep deliveries, (above) with ‘Hug in a Mug communities we usually visit, to uplift them and to distribute our contact details to anyone looking for support.
(Right) Sylvia of Thingoe Lodge, Fornham All Saints, receives a delivery of flowers from RCC team members Diana & Elaine, to offer a little cheer to isolating residents
(Left) Annette and campervan ‘Maj’ deliver essential supplies to residents isolating in Halesworth
2021: RCC Catch Up magazine. Suffolk Community Foundation Funding enabled us to continue the magazine for a further year
2021: RCC launches its ‘Cooking With Kindness‘ Appeal to raise money to provide vulnerable households across Suffolk with free slow cookers.
Slow cookers use minimal energy and are a cost effective way to provide healthy meals, to help those struggling with rising energy costs who may be forced to choose between ‘heating or eating’.
Funds raised enable the RCC team to distribute slow cookers to families and individuals, also working with food banks and frontline agencies to identify recipients in need.
RCC Trustee Richard Browne, Ann and Sally are presented with a Suffolk’s High Sheriff Award by High Sheriff Edward Creasy at Aldringham Village Visit
2021
2021: Campervan ‘Maj’ retires and ‘Vera’ and ‘Audrey’ join the fleet, both funded by the Covid Management Outbreak Fund
2021: Garry returns to the RCC family as Community Engagement Officer
2021: RCC launches its ‘Cooking With Kindness Appeal’ to fund slow cookers
2021: RCC produces a magazine, initially funded by COMF, to help reach non-digital members of the community with trusted information, support and cheer
2021: RCC is presented with a High Sheriff’s Award in recognition of their Outstanding Service to the Community in Suffolk during the Covid-19 Pandemic
(Above) 2021: Campervan ‘Vera’ joins the ‘fleet’ (pictured here at Sotterley Village Visit, 2022)
(Left) Slow cooker donations flood in
(coffee and friends events) is a Rural Coffee Caravan initiative helping to connect Suffolk coffee mornings and community groups with organisations which can offer free support, advice, training and information, to help groups and clubs flourish and become sustainable.
2022: When lockdowns were over and people finally started to feel more comfortable about meeting up again, RCC ‘s fledgling c-a-f-e network (initially intended for launch in 2020) begins to grow its membership and helps keep clubs connected to information, support and a wider ‘family.’
Our village church has no facilities, and, as a church warden, I felt frustrated that we could not use it for village activities because of this, and there is no shop, school or pub. Then I came across the Rural Coffee Caravan at the Suffolk Showground and my daughter and I had a cup of coffee in the van with the team. I could see that it would be a perfect way to be able to offer the possibility of people in the village meeting together.
The wonderful Rural Coffee Caravan has thankfully now been visiting for almost two years, and around 20 people regularly attend. During lockdown it was the question I was asked most regularly: ‘When is the Rural Coffee Caravan coming back?’
It has provided a warm hub for people to congregate around and it is so much appreciated. Diana and Elaine are brilliant hostesses and have flexibly moved the site of the pop-up coffee stop around from outside the church, to inside as the weather gets colder, to a neighbouring barnyard when that helped with social distancing. So popular has it been that our sibling village, Hintlesham, envious of our good fortune, now has its own visit each month.
We have arranged craft activities, including a Christmas wreath workshop, around the coffee and tea, and villagers have been helped with tax problems, drawing on the huge body of information on the van and at Diana’s fingertips.
“It’s been a great piece of collaboration and my thanks goes to Diana for supporting the work of the vaccination programme and making the team so welcome.“
Katrina Hawker, West Suffolk & North East Essex Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, 2022
2022: The Rural Coffee Caravan, which began with 1 caravan making 20 visits per year, this year delivers 404 visits across 67 different village/town locations in Suffolk, now from 4 vehicles. This includes Village Visits, Info Drops, talks and events
Flowers were delivered to all households in lockdown, and we grew sunflowers [gifted by RCC] to symbolise reaching towards the light after the dark months. People arrive on foot, by bike, and very often with their dogs. Lonely people have come for a chat. It has been priceless throughout the darkest of times.
Margaret Anderson, Chattisham
August 2022: in the midst of a heat wave, RCC puts a call out to Suffolk communities to ask if they would think ahead about offering (as Bungay’s ‘Warm Rooms’ had done the previous year) any ‘Warm Spaces’ during winter: community spaces, where the heating might already be fired up, which could be open to anyone concerned about the costs of heating their homes, due to huge increases in energy prices which came into force.
The RCC team collected details of over 300 locations that were prepared to offer a warm space. RCC added them to the interactive map on its website to ensure there was wide knowledge of where these bases were. RCC then provided the network with news of funding, grants and other supportive information. The RCC Community Engagement team, having Mental Health First Aid Training, were also able to drop in on some of the spaces to offer RCC support and distribute slow cookers from the RCC’s Winter Warmth Appeal. Feedback RCC was able to collect, will help inform future‘Warm Welcome’ and ‘Winter Warmth’ initiatives in the county. In the spring of 2023, the RCC sent over 200 Suffolk Says Thank You badges to the volunteers who made these spaces possible.
(Right) Suffolk Says Thank You pin badge
(Left) Woolverstone
Warm Space, January 2023
The Rural Coffee Caravan is always pleased to support Suffolk Community Foundation’s Surviving Winter Appeal
2022
2023: The RCC slow cooker appeal, which was originally launched in 2021, is reinvigorated in 2022 to include blankets. Since then the RCC has raised over £30,000 through these slow cooker/winter warmth appeals. The money raised has provided over 1000 slow cookers, along with recipe books and other winter warmth items such as wearable blankets, to Suffolk households finding rising energy costs and rising costs of living challenging, or those needing support to be able to independently provide themselves with healthy, nutritious meals. RCC was also asked by the Suffolk Community Foundation to manage and distribute Government hardship funding in Suffolk.
2021
(below left)
Ellie Saunders , Family Early Intervention Officer from East Suffolk Council is grateful to receive a slow cooker, recipe book and food voucher via Annette, to help out a resident in financial difficulty, 2022 and (below right) Chelmondiston Pop Up Shop receives slow cookers to support residents there, delivered by Garry, 2023
Melanie receives slow cookers to help residents of Hitcham
‘Lottie’ delivers slow cookers to the Basic Life pop up shop/food bank in Rendlesham
(Left) Diana delivers slow cookers to Angela at Lightwave Food Bank, Red Lodge,
(Below left) Two visitors to our stand at the Suffolk Show, 2018, enjoying a slice of Diana’s well loved chocolate Guinness cake
(Above) At Euston Rural Pastimes , 2021
(Above) All set up to celebrate the first Suffolk Day, 2018
(Right) The Festival of Suffolk relay torch makes its way through Wattisfield, just as Garry is setting up for his Village Visit there, May 2022
(Left)
Find us in ‘The Happy Hub’, Suffolk Dog Day, 2022
We came to Suffolk in 1974, from Herefordshire, as a result of my husband, Tim, being promoted in his work with Claas UK (then Mann’s of Saxham) which brought him back to their Head Office.
We found Suffolk to be a great County, very rural, with people who are friendly and welcoming to those who move here, and a place supportive of innovative ideas.
I initially trained as a physiotherapist, but felt called to serve and was part of the first group of women to be ordained in Bury St Edmunds Cathedral 1994
As part of the work I was doing as Agricultural Chaplain for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, I also worked
with the charity FCN, then Farm Crisis Network (now the Farming Communities Network). I took calls on their helpline, which reinforced the knowledge that many in isolated communities are very lonely and do not know where help may be sought or obtained. This across all ages and genders.
The idea came that we could maybe have a caravan and, if Parish Councils wanted us, we could visit isolated communities. Those without a pub, without a school and possibly without a village hall, and make a meeting point outside. Serving lovely coffee and very nice cake and helping people meet other people without them having to join anything... or even get through a door!
It is, of course, one thing to have an idea, quite another to bring it to fruition! To do so means other people need to help, to catch the vision and make the idea come to life. As a vicar I have often said the answer to prayer may mean you doing something - you may be part of the answer, and that seemed so in this case.
My fellow members of FCN in Suffolk agreed. “Good idea,” they said. “Let’s do it”. So, we did!
The RCC has evolved and grown over the years. I have no
doubt it will continue to do so, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were not needed? The work we are doing is now more important than ever and financial support is vital, as of course, the charity costs money to run.
But for as long as we can, we will keep working to reduce loneliness and isolation in as many communities across Suffolk as we are able.
As for cake - we have champion cake makers, bakers and cheese scone makers, and they surely are the best around!
The Rural Coffee Caravan had only been constituted for just over a year when I joined in 2004. I had had the privilege of being at home with my children for 20 years but my dim and distant working past was managing a restaurant in London. I was initially employed for 20 hours a week for a year. It was just me, a little caravan and the wonderful little team that founded the then ‘project.’ It was a pretty steep learning curve but I loved every minute. I still do!
I had first-hand experience of loneliness. We had moved out of our ‘towny’ world into a very rural village, shortly after the death of my Mum. Instead of houses across the street, it was just one huge field. My husband’s job meant he was working away from home, so I felt very isolated and it ate away at my confidence, luckily, the children starting school helped me overcome that and thankfully make lifelong friends. My father then developed dementia (he was living with us) so I had to cope with that too. The support just wasn’t there then and it was tough. These lived experiences have helped me understand and empathise with so many of the
people we meet on our visits.
Over the 19 years I have led the Rural Coffee Caravan, it has grown a bit, as the following pages will show! We are now a charity not just a project. We make over 350 visits a year, a slight jump from the 20 or so I did in my first year! We have a fabulous team of 8 staff and have 4 free mobile information cafes travelling the county, creating friendly welcoming social spaces in rural places. Each member of the team goes above and beyond, not only for the people we serve but for the team. We treat each other in the same way we treat the people we meet, with kindness. We are wonderfully supported by over 50 volunteers, either travelling with us or meeting us when we arrive in their village. We couldn’t do what we do without them.
We are embedded in and beloved by rural Suffolk, having strong working relationships with so many of the fantastic Suffolk organisations that are offering support, enabling people to say happy, healthy and independent.
I am so proud of the organisation we have become. I wish we weren’t needed but sadly we are, and we will continue to be, as loneliness seems to be affecting more and more people of all ages. I am passionate about the importance of connection and how a feeling of belonging leads to a sense of safety, and improved wellbeing. Kindness is key. It ensures a sense of worth in both the giver and the receiver. It makes us feel seen, listened to and valued. I am blessed to be in a job that revolves around this superpower!
Diana Patrick
I have had many different jobs over the years from school cook, school cleaner, publican, starting a free range egg business, emptying fruit machines in pubs, working for Age UK Suffolk and many others. But the cherry on the cake is the job I have now with The Rural Coffee Caravan.
I had known of the RCC for a long time before working with them. The RCC was a conduit for me at Age UK Suffolk to get out and meet the older person, directing them to services and support that they might need.
Annette Dunning
In 2011 the Coffee Caravan popped up on my Twitter timeline... at that time I was quite active, as was Ann and firm twitter friends were formed, a few hardy Suffolk advocates had each other’s support and we swapped news continually.
Over the years I would attend the odd RCC event and always signpost others to what I thought was the most amazing Suffolk Charity. I courted the idea of applying to work for them, but I was always tied up on other projects, until the beginning of March 2019. joined the organisation for a specific role funded by a grant to address fuel poverty and to help encourage support with rural energy issues throughout Suffolk. trained Rural Energy Officer alongside being the
I also volunteered for many years supporting visits, as our volunteers still do today, helping set up, making the teas and coffee and making the cakes (I love baking). The ethos of the RCC is something that I totally support and believe in. We are a warm friendly bunch. We have a very informal way of working on a visit, taking time to sit and chat. We have built a level of trust that if anyone has issues or problems, they know they can come and talk to us about them. We can signpost to other services or we do what we can to help them ourselves: from form filling to changing a ferrule on a walking stick. I like to make a difference.
I feel that I’m one of the luckiest people to have a job that I love. I don’t mind getting up in the morning and taking to the road. Part of the adventure is getting down some of Suffolk’s narrow country lanes with a camper van!
Community Engagement Officer for East Suffolk and the rest, as they say, is history
I am rather passionate about Suffolk, its identity and its residents and have volunteered extensively throughout the 25 years of living here, which to me just seemed the most obvious thing to do with three small children.. But what a wonderful way to get to know our County! All three children schooled from Infants, Primary, Middle, then High School and quite rightly flew off to Universities around the country, but their hearts and special friends will always be here in Suffolk.
The best thing about the charity and our jobs within it, is the opportunity to share. To share knowledge and information which ultimately could make another person’s journey more comfortable or bearable surely has to be the best gift ever… So gift giving every day, along with coffee, cake and kindness is the best place to be… how lucky am I?
Elaine Begent
I heard about the Rural Coffee Caravan through our team member Diana, who encouraged me to become a volunteer in the spring of 2019. I’m so glad I did as I was instantly hooked on being involved with such a wonderful charity which has such kindness at the very heart of it.
I came on board as team member in January 2020, initially working two days a week and that has since grown to full time. Working with such a fantastic team, it’s the best job ever!
Garry Simmonds
I’m a family man with young children and a love of discovering the history of rural Suffolk through my metal detecting hobby and through the stories of friendly country folk.
I first found out about the Rural Coffee Caravan over 10 years ago, when I spotted a job advert in a newspaper whilst breakfasting at a café - how novel in this digital age! It sounded like such a varied and exciting jobmoving around and meeting new people, with every day being different.
What I love best about us is the informal, friendly approach that builds a level of trust to such an extent that people open up to us about their problems and challenges, knowing that we will help them in so many ways.
My role is split between administration of our website and social media, and team support on village visits.
s the visits that I love the most.meeting people, sharing their stories, seeing the smiles on their faces and the real difference the visits make to them. Building up the trust and confidence of visitors, to be able to discuss their concerns, so that we can help to signpost them to available support is a privilege and rewarding responsibility.
Connecting people with others in their community, through our visits, which they may not have had the opportunity to meet up with otherwise, brings such joy.
By spending a small amount of time and care with one of our visitors we might be able to help them avoid a slip or fall (by refreshing their walking stick ferrule) or help them to gain a blue badge for easier shopping on their local high street, or help by advising relatives on dementia matters, or on ways to increase lower incomes. All of which they might not have been aware of, and albeit small individual acts, can snowball into a more increased quality of life for many people.
The challenges of the role can be as numerous as there are rural Suffolk villages!! Travelling through very narrow country roads, getting stuck on boggy village greens, driving through flooded fords, tyre blowouts, low hanging trees - it pays to get to know all the local farmers!
Something I would like to do more of is help address the huge problem of digital isolation among the older population in Suffolk. Helping people to embrace technology and not be scared of it. Being without a smartphone these days increases difficulty with things like banking, buying train/airline tickets, attending concerts, paying for car parks, talking to insurance or utility providers, and getting deals and discounts on shopping. I have noticed this is a growing problem for the rural residents we visit, and we have not forgotten them.
I first got to know about the Rural Coffee Caravan Information Project via connections with Ann when she first started working for the project. Having a background as an artist, I’d offered to have a play with the design of the logo and from there, went on to help out with producing some of the marketing materials such as posters and leaflets. I also joined a few visits bringing art and craft projects for people to take part in if they wanted to. I saw first-hand how uplifting the Coffee Caravan visits could be for rurally isolated folk –such a simple premise, with such positive impact. It ‘joined the dots’ so effectively, connecting people to each other, and to information, which empowered them. It was (and is) inspiring and I wanted to contribute in whatever practical ways I was able.
After completing a Fine Art degree as a mature student, I took on a part time role on the admin side of the charity in 2018 and became full time the following year. My role
Mike Osborn
In July 2014 I retired from my full-time career in programme management within both the private and public sectors, and settled down to a new life of decorating, gardening, baby sitting and televised sport. Ann, my wife, had worked for the Rural Coffee Caravan (RCC) for about 10 years and I was familiar with the results that the charity delivered, and the challenges faced by rurally isolated and lonely people and communities throughout Suffolk. Within three months of my retirement (just enough time to decorate four rooms, dig-over a few flower beds and watch several exciting finishes to T20 cricket matches) RCC was awarded a grant with a specific condition around having sustainability plans in place. My new life did not survive a request from RCC trustees to get involved in addressing this one-off, specific piece of work. Nine years later, I
is quite diverse - which means there’s never a dull moment! Anything from fielding enquiries to supporting the team with tech, systems and admin tasks; helping to coordinate our initiative networks; creating marketing materials and online content. I enjoy helping to find creative solutions to some of the tasks or challenges presented to us in our line of work. One such example being the creation of the magazine and other resources during the pandemic, to try to find effective ways of getting trusted information, lines of support and a little joy and connection inspiration out to people whose isolation had increased exponentially. Working for this wonderful organisation and with such a thoroughly kind, dynamic and supportive bunch of people has also helped improve my own mental health and personal growth. It challenges me in ways I never anticipated and will always be grateful for.
remain responsible for the financial and governance requirements of the charity and I am delighted to be part of an organisation that has such a big, beneficial impact on so many people in Suffolk. My work sits away from the front-line of visits, events, MeetupMondays, c-a-f-e and More than a Shop. Preparing budgets, paying invoices, providing details for funding applications, liaising with accountants, minuting trustees’ meetings and organising insurances isn’t exactly inspiring when set against the main work of the RCC. Compared to Community Engagement Officers travelling throughout the county, visiting villages, providing essential support and connection; and our great team managing our digital networks and website that enable folk to remain in contact…..my role is internal and supportive. It is so very sad that the RCC is needed at all; but it is so rewarding to be part of an organisation that combats the causes of rural isolation and loneliness and does so much for the people affected. However, internal and supportive my work is, it is great to be part of this team.
That said, I do miss my cricket on tv.
