Support SEVA lunch club

Oblong Leeds is a busy thriving community centre in the heart of Woodhouse. Each month we host over a thousand members of the public, who come into the centre to volunteer, attend groups, learn English, and get involved in their local community.

SEVA Community Cafe feeds about 120 people a week. Run by volunteers, SEVA derives from the Hindi word meaning ‘acts of service’. The cafe’s purpose is to gel the community, giving locals from different walks of life the opportunity to interact and dine together comfortably over restaurant quality food.

Oblong have been running Woodhouse Community Centre since 2011, taking an old Methodist church building, and transitioning it into a thriving centre hub for the local community. The generosity of our volunteers is central to what we do here at the centre. Volunteers work on our reception, run the ESOL English class, and run groups.

We run the centre as a resource for the local area, and we couldn't do it without the skills and generosity of the community, including the brilliant volunteers who run SEVA. But we are facing the reality of needing to find money to provide ingredients, supplies, and to keep the lights on in the building. We also often need to repair or replace chairs, which due the popularity of the centre, often get worn or damaged.

Due to its innovative nature, SEVA Lunch Club increases in popularity each week. The funding we receive from the Household Support Fund and other places isn’t nearly enough to keep up with the demand for the delicious lunches.

Your donations, no matter the size, will assist us in continuing this wonderful cafe initiative for the foreseeable future, help us to provide a comfortable and safe dining experience for all of our visitors, and bringing a sense of community and enjoyment back to Woodhouse again.