Voluntary Action Leeds (VAL) is keen to highlight the good news stories coming through from the Leeds Welcome Spaces Scheme. This winter over 200 Third and Faith Sector organisations have opened their doors to the public to offer a safe, warm and welcoming space.

We kick off our our 2025/26 blog series featuring Tech Talk and Toast at the Old Fire Station.

The Old Fire Station offers much-needed support to local people with digital literacy, but a sense of community comes too.

“Here at The Old Fire Station we have always opened our door in the winter months to support local people, but the Welcome Spaces Scheme gives us something bigger to be part of”  Fran Etherington, Development Manager, tells us

“We run our Tech Talk and Toast as part of our welcome spaces offer every Wednesday and Friday morning 10 – 12. Our Digital Inclusion team, Kelly and Chris, do a great job of supporting people and making them feel welcome” Fran explains.  The session is a perfect opportunity to enhance your digital skills, and it covers a wide variety of subjects, from scam awareness, how to use basic programmes or surfing the web.  “but it also brings people together, it’s a chance to connect with others” Fran adds.

“Being online and social media can often be seen as a negative, but if you are isolated and feeling low, it can also be a lifeline to friends, hobbies and information. Helping people get the technical skills they need, and the confidence to go online safely, can open a world of FaceTime with family, videos about your hobbies, music, etc as well as more practical support like filling out a pension credit application, running your finances online, or getting the latest bus arrival times”.

The Old Fire Station is based in the same building as two other groups running Welcome Spaces Slate Café and Space2 who is the local anchor lead for Gipton.

For Fran, those connections are vital to offering as much as possible to support local communities in the winter months.

“Working with local partner organisations such as Space2 helps The Old Fire Station to maximise the support we offer and gain from the skills and capacity of other groups. We work as part of the We Love Gipton group, ensuring the partnership work covers local groups and further builds our communication and strength, giving the community more opportunities to get involved and enhancing the reach of our projects”

Pictured: Attendees enjoying breakfast and learning

Here are a few comments from participants:

“The TTT sessions were the driving factor in helping me go for my dream of getting my own business”

“I was stuck using the internet for Facebook and snapchat – the course got me using it for so much more – I’m not scared of it anymore”

“Going to the group every Wednesday was so much fun. I got to use my new phone so much more. And got to make friends at the same time”

If you are interested in joining the sessions, you can find out more here – Free Breakfast + Tech Support = The Perfect Morning! – The Old Fire Station

 

Voluntary Action Leeds