In 2012 the Cicely Northcote Trust provided funding for Springfield's Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Project.
The funding was used to support several initiatives, including a Cooking Club to support isolated and marginalised women in the community, and a Skills Exchange Network to provide specialist advice regarding employment, volunteering, training and further education.
“I ran my own Beauty Salon in Somalia for six years, but since coming to the UK I have been working as a cleaner. Springfield helped me find an NVQ Level 2 course in Beauty Therapy and now I am training.”
Feedback from the Skills Exchange Network
“I have met a lot of new people from different countries and backgrounds and I have learnt to appreciate different cultures and dishes.”
Feedback from the Cooking Club
Both the Skills Exchange Project and the Cooking Club have been highly successful in facilitating integration, expanding social networks, developing practical/language skills and creating pathways to further education, training end employment.