Cheshire, Halton & Warrington Race & Equality Centre

17/06/2026

🎶 Celebrating Refugee Week through the power of music! 🎶

This week, our weekly music therapy session looked a little bigger and brighter. To mark Refugee Week, our wonderful community of students, volunteers, and group members came together to share in the joy of singing and dancing.

Music has a unique way of crossing borders and languages, bringing us all together under one roof. We laughed, we danced, and we reminded each other of the power of a welcoming community. 💛

Thank you to everyone who joined us, brought their energy, and made this session so incredibly special.

15/06/2026

Today marks the start of Refugee Week, a week where we celebrate the contributions, the creativity and the COURAGE of refugees. At the moment it is especially important for us to show solidarity and that refugees are welcome in the UK, they certainly are at the Unity the Unity Centre. We provide a range of support for refugees and sanctuary seekers, if anyone needs help contact us on 01244 400730.

12/06/2026

It saddens us to have to write this, but after the riots in Belfast many people we work with will be feeling very anxious and worried about their safety and the safety of their families. We know that racial tensions are running high and that there is a real risk to individuals and also to our staff, volunteers and service users.

The Unity Centre will always be a safe space for anyone who is concerned. We continue to offer all our services, but will continue to be vigilant and assess risks. We do have CCTV both within and outside the building for security purposes.

03/06/2026

🌟 Happy Volunteers' Week! 🌟

This week, we are celebrating the incredible volunteers who make everything we do possible at CHAWREC.

Inside our building, our amazing team supports asylum seekers and refugees at our Asylum Hub, offering a welcoming space, guidance, and solidarity. 🤝✨

Our volunteers also step outside to clean the streets surrounding our building, ensuring a bright, tidy, and welcoming environment for our entire neighbourhood. 🧹🏡

Whether welcoming a new face or caring for our local streets, our volunteers embody community spirit every single day.

To everyone who gives their time to support our work: THANK YOU. 💚

03/06/2026

🌿 We had a brilliant volunteering session at the Chester Zoo Nature Reserve today!

As part of our wonderful partnership with Chester Zoo, our group headed out into nature with a very specific mission: to locate, pull up, and crush the invasive Himalayan balsam plant.

The students absolutely smashed it, locating and pulling up vast quantities of the plant like total pros! The teachers were equally enthusiastic—once they successfully mastered identifying the plant, they got very excited to join in and pull up as much as they could. As a lovely bonus, the students even presented the teachers with beautiful "bouquets" of balsam to celebrate the team effort! 💐

🐛 English words of the day:

"Slug" (we made some friends along the way!)

"Pink roots"

The weather was incredibly kind to us, and Chester Zoo looked after us perfectly with a delicious lunch. It truly was a fun, relaxing, and uplifting experience for our whole community.

We are already looking forward to our continuing zoo sessions at the Unity Centre over the coming weeks! 🙌

💚 A huge thank you to Alex and the amazing Chester Zoo team for making today so special for everyone at CHAWREC.

02/06/2026

Thanks to everyone who attended our Bollywood Night last Thursday, we have raised a grand total of £2546.18 for CHAWREC!! This money will help to fund our work with asylum seekers and refugees during the coming year, so BIG thanks!

01/06/2026

🌟 Happy Volunteers Week! 🌟

This week, we are celebrating the incredible heroes who make our community shine—our volunteers!

We want to give a special shout-out to the amazing team at our ESOL community class. 📚❤️ Every week, these dedicated individuals bring energy, patience, and so much joy to the classroom, helping students from all corners of the globe master English.

As you can see, there's always laughter and a warm sense of belonging in our sessions. Learning is so much easier when you're doing it with friends!

To our ESOL volunteers and all volunteers everywhere: THANK YOU for your time, your passion, and your commitment to building bridges and supporting your neighbours. You make our world a better, brighter place.

01/06/2026

29/05/2026

What a fabulous night was had at Eaton Park - our Bollywood themed fundraiser was an absolute BALL!! We haven't yet done all the calculations as to the final total raised, but just from the raffle and auction alone we raised £980!! This money will support the work we carry out with refugees and asylum seekers and is VERY much needed!

If you would like to make a donation, large or small please have a look at our justgiving page - https://www.justgiving.com/charity/chawrec

And to be kept informed of future events like this - join our newsletter by e-mailing our office on [email protected]

14/05/2026

It is Mental Health Awareness Week (11-17 May 2026), and at CHAWREC, we want to share 10 simple actions you can take right now to help lift your mood and improve your ability to cope with life.

Try one of these Quick Wins today:
🪟 Open the window: Letting fresh air in can lift your mood.
🪑 Try chair yoga: A few gentle movements from your seat can help release tension.
🌳 Head outside: Spending time in nature is known to boost your mood and lessen stress.
🧘 Try a minute of mindfulness: Being fully aware in the present moment can positively change how you feel.
💧 Drink water: Staying hydrated is a simple way to support your overall health.
📞 Phone a friend: Enjoy some fun conversation and emotional support.
🌬️ Try a breathing exercise: Focused breathing is an effective way to manage stress in the moment.
🌙 Create a relaxing bedtime routine: Quality sleep helps your brain work better and lifts your mood.
✨ Practice gratitude: Noticing the good things can help improve your outlook on life.
💙 Be kind to yourself: Remember to treat yourself with the same understanding you would show a friend.

At CHAWREC, we believe everyone deserves good mental health. We are proud to support our community across Cheshire, Halton, and Warrington in finding balance every day. 🤝
For more information, visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/