Community Money Advice - Launceston

15/10/2026

CMA Launceston’s Coffee Morning Sparks Vital Community Conversations for Challenge Poverty Week

Challenge Poverty Week is an annual campaign highlighting the injustice of poverty and promoting collective action for a fairer society. It is coordinated by the Poverty Alliance in Scotland and by Church Action on Poverty in England and Wales.

Community Money Advice, Launceston, hosted a successful community coffee morning this week, bringing contacts together to mark Challenge Poverty Week and break the stigma surrounding financial hardship.

Held on Tuesday the 13th of October, at their office at Sheers Barton Barns, Lawhitton, it focused on raising awareness and building connections with other organisations and local resources. Attendees shared coffee, homemade cake and conversations surrounding local poverty and the challenges that winter will bring.

Local attendees included Cornwall Councillor Damon Dennis, Launceston Town Council Launceston Mayor Cllr Nicola Gilbert, Social Prescriber Katie Haynes from The Health Hub - Launceston medical centre and Tamar Valley Health and Paul Chidley, Director of Kernow Financial Planning; All of whom were invited by Sarah Vinson, Centre Manager for CMA Launceston and her team of volunteers.

Sarah said “We see the challenges presented to local families, daily, as we support them whilst they battle debt and poverty. This is a global issue, but we are working with those in crisis at a local level. Work must continue, to ensure local services can best support families in need. This has been a brilliant morning for discussion and building more solid community relationships.”

Office Administrator, Gemma Massey expressed “This was a brilliant opportunity to bring together our volunteers, who give their time to our community, and those in a position of power, who can act as a voice on our behalf more regional and national levels. It was great to see some new faces at our offices today.”

For more information about Community Money Advice’s ongoing initiatives or to find local support resources, please visit www.launcestonmoney.co.uk or contact 01566 770407

Challenge Poverty Week England and Wales

14/10/2026

Challenge Poverty Week Coffee Morning 2026.

A big thank you to Councillor Damon Dennis, Launceston Town Council Cllr Gilbert, Kernow Financial Planning The Health Hub - Launceston medical centre and Tamar Valley Health and all of the trustees and volunteers who were able to attend and make the morning such a success!

Challenge Poverty Week England and Wales

08/10/2026

CMA Launceston Chosen for Coop Community Funding.

Following a successful application process, Community Money Advice Launceston are please to announce that we have been chosen to be part of the Coop Local Community Fund for 2026/2027.

The funding round will begin on Sunday the 18th of 2026 and runs for 12 months. During this time, Co-op Members can influence how and where we share our profits by choosing a local cause to support. Members can choose a local cause to support by signing into your online membership account now or download the Co-op App and select a cause under the 'Wallet' tab on your smartphone.
Centre Administrator, Gem Massey expressed “We were thrilled to have had our application supported by the local Coop Team. This funding is paid in two stages, with the first being sent to us in the spring. These vital funds will go a long way in ensuring our services can continue to be offered to families in need.”
Centre Manager, Sarah Vinson, has said “Fundraising is a key part of charity life, and the Coop Community fund allows our local supporters to really get involved. Members are encouraged to choose us as a cause to help build up our funding pot!”
Funding begins on Sunday 18th of October and continues for 12 months. More details can be found here-

https://www.coop.co.uk/local-causes

06/10/2026

We give our advice free of charge and we are mostly run by volunteers, so donations make a real difference to keeping the service running. If you have benefited from our help, or you simply want to support local debt advice, you can give through Give as You Live via the link on our website. Every contribution helps us reach more people.

01/10/2026

As we continue to see an increase in demand for our free support services, the need to fundraise continues to grow. With that in mind, our administrator, Gem, attended another Get Grants Virtual Networking event again last week, to continue to learn and build connections to support our work.

29/09/2026

Volunteer role spotlight: CMAL Friend. This is a wider supporting role that can include fundraising, helping recruit new advisers, or even giving lifts to clients who need to get to interviews or back into work. It is a flexible way to be involved, and every bit of help counts.

24/09/2026

News- CMA Visit September 2026.
Community Money Advice Launceston is a regulated charity. We are registered with the charity commission; we are full insured to give debt advice and are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. (FCA.) Alongside this, we are affiliated to CMA which supports 120 centres, like ours, nationally. They provide training, IT software, a helpline for our advisors and the mandated FCA overarching support and review.
During the last week, we were visited by our Regional Support Manager from CMA, Dawn, for our annual review visit. These visits are a regular part of how we work provide oversight to debt advice services which is guided by the FCA. They give us a chance to check in, share ideas, and make sure we are delivering the best possible support to our community.
What we did during the visit:
• Celebrated successes: We discussed the positive impact made by having a new part-time administrator the office and how this has allowed increased productivity and the Volunteers week celebrations back in the summer.
• Checked our standards: We reviewed our policies, procedures and case notes to keep everything safe and high-quality for everyone.
• Planned for the future: We discussed planning for Challenge Volunteer week and also the plans moving forward with volunteer recruitment, fundraising and grant applications.
We are proud of our volunteer’s team's hard work and dedication. Visits like this help us stay focused and on track, stay accountable, and keep moving forward together!

22/09/2026

Thank you to CornishStuff for Sharing the update on our Anniversary!

Two years ago this month, a small Launceston charity swapped a cramped, more exposed office for a converted barn tucked away outside town. For an organisation that survives on donations and volunteer time, it was something of a leap of faith. This month, Community Money Advice Launceston (CMAL) is m...

18/09/2026

Have you seen the latest edition of Launceston Life? We are proud to have our first editorial featured in the Autumn and edition and hope that the top tips help you prepare for the winter ahead.

17/09/2026

A busy week in the center this week with a visit from our Community Money Advice Operation Support Manager yesterday and today, our center administrator Gem is busy preparing resources for Challenge Poverty Week England and Wales - Its all go!