Blog
Wellbeing – a series of blogs
1. Wellbeing in the workplace - Kate Gant, volunteer. The link between employment and wellbeing is well documented: work can provide an important way for people to find a sense of purpose, meaning and fulfilment in life as well as to achieve financial security....
Welcome to our new blog page
Here we will feature posts about the work of Malvern Welcomes, together with other relevant stories and experiences. Below is a message from our Chair, Dan Herbert. You will find a copy of this message in our December 2025 newsletter. Message from the Chair In a...
Well dressing receives a Silver rosette
We were delighted to receive a Silver rosette for our dressing of the Wyche Spring well. We had some lovely comments from visitors and our thanks again to everyone involved. Special thanks to Gabriel Pfeiffer (Woodend Toymakers) and Darren Nailer (artist), both based at ‘Out to Grass’ (Woodend Farm, Bromyard Road), and also to Mariana Ulukaya (Art & Chat Club, Welcome Hub) for her creative inspiration, and for her artistry in making our poster and supervising creative workshops at the Welcome Hub. ...
read moreMalvern Water and Well Dressing Festival 2-10 May 2026
Every year, communities in Malvern come together to dress up to 60 wells, springs and spouts from across the hills and town of Malvern. Over 800 people take part in this creative endeavour celebrating Malvern spring water. This year, the theme of the festival is ‘Birds’, and Malvern Welcomes has collaborated with the Welcome Hub to celebrate birds of the world representing the home countries of refugees who have resettled in the Malvern area, alongside bird species native to Britain. The birds have been made by volunteers and...
read moreUK Government Earned Settlement Open Consultation
The UK Home Office has launched an open consultation on ‘how the current settlement scheme should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented.’ There are details here. The Malvern Welcomes Management Team and Trustees have studied the proposals and completed and submitted the questionnaire. We all agreed that the consultation form was full of ambiguous questions making it impossible to select responses which reflected our views as we found the proposals unacceptable. After careful discussion we submitted our responses to the...
read moreWellbeing – a series of blogs
1. Wellbeing in the workplace – Kate Gant, volunteer. The link between employment and wellbeing is well documented: work can provide an important way for people to find a sense of purpose, meaning and fulfilment in life as well as to achieve financial security. Employment can thus play a role in helping refugees to rebuild their lives in the UK and to integrate into their local communities. Over the past six years, volunteers from Malvern Welcomes have supported a number of refugee families who have resettled in Malvern through the...
read moreA tribute to Rosemary Thorp – a remarkable and inspirational woman
We have all been greatly saddened to learn of the death of Rosemary Thorp at the age of 85. Many will remember her for her sense of humour and the keen interest she showed in everyone she met. Rosemary became involved with Malvern Welcomes two years after its inception. She quickly took a strong leadership role, starting by undertaking a thoughtful and thorough review of all our policies and procedures. With her formidable intellect, Rosemary challenged us with highly pertinent and incisive questions, guiding the ethos of our charity, Her...
read moreProposed reforms to resettlement system for refugees
Proposed government reforms to the UK’s resettlement system for refugees ‘ACTION’ Responses and objections needed before 12 February 2026 The Home Office has launched a public consultation on proposed reforms to the UK’s settlement system, following the 2025 Immigration White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System. The consultation outlines plans to replace automatic settlement after a fixed period with an “earned settlement” approach, requiring migrants to demonstrate sustained good conduct, contribution and...
read moreWelcome to our 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to our 2025 newsletter. You can read it here: Malvern Welcomes Newsletter December 2025 In this edition, we focus on the theme of wellbeing. We bring together examples of activities that volunteers and resettled family members have found beneficial to their own mental and physical wellbeing and to that of others. We look at the contribution of employment towards wellbeing for those employed and those who continue their search for employment. We also include updates on the work of Malvern Welcomes during 2025 – a busy year with...
read moreWelcome to our new blog page
Here we will feature posts about the work of Malvern Welcomes, together with other relevant stories and experiences. Below is a message from our Chair, Dan Herbert. You will find a copy of this message in our December 2025 newsletter. Message from the Chair In a year of ever-increasing hostility to people displaced around the world, it’s been easy to be demoralised. The language around illegality and the othering of people in need just seems to feed intolerance and places more barriers to integration and understanding. We know people do...
read moreChristmas market raises funds for Malvern Welcomes
This wonderfully atmospheric event was held on November 22nd, along with the Great Malvern Christmas lights switch-on. To our delight, Malvern Welcomes was one of the four charities nominated in a public poll to receive a share of the funds raised on the day. A sincere thank you to the people of Malvern for voting for us. As a result of our nomination, we were invited to have a stall at the event. Despite the inclement weather, our presence was a great success. Our tombola and book sale raised more than £300, on top of the funds we will...
read moreA big thank you to The Letterpress Project
If you were able to visit our stand at the Malvern Christmas Market, you would have seen numerous children’s books for sale. These were kindly donated by The Letterpress Project. This generous donation allowed us to sell the books at affordable prices to some very happy customers and at the same time raise funds for Malvern Welcomes. The Letterpress Project aims to give people of all ages, particularly children, the chance to relish real books with all the benefits that reading can bring. You can find out more about The Letterpress Project...
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