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RAF Scampton All Day Café opens following £10K charity grant

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RAF Scampton recently opened a new All Day Café at the station. The project cost £45,000 in total and was funded in part by a £10,000 grant from the RAF Benevolent Fund, the RAF's leading welfare charity.

The new All Day Café seats 50 people and offers greater dining choice on station, an informal work space, and a central social space for personnel to come together, improving the experience of those at RAF Scampton.

The station's previous dining facility at the station only served those working the traditional 8am-5pm shift pattern, however the majority of personnel at RAF Scampton work alternative shift patterns.

Wing Commander Neill Atkins, Station Commander at RAF Scampton, said: "We are extremely proud of the collaborative effort that has gone into delivering the All Day Café, which will much improve the social space available to our Whole Force personnel, and will allow them to relax and eat in modern facility at times that suit. None of this would have been possible without the generous grant from the RAF Benevolent Fund."

The RAF Benevolent Fund provides financial, emotional, and practical assistance to serving and retired RAF personnel and their families. This includes grants to help with financial difficulty, free memberships for Headspace, Airplay youth clubs, and more.

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot, Controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund, said: "I'm so pleased we've been able to help fund this new dining facility at RAF Scampton. The All Day Café will better meet the needs those who don't work traditional shift patterns whilst also providing a social space for personnel."

Over the course of 2020, the RAF Benevolent Fund has launched a range of welfare initiatives to support personnel and their families throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. It has introduced a 24-hour emotional support helpline and created an online mental wellbeing zone, as well as offering Headspace memberships to partners of serving personnel. The Fund has also offered a grant of £2,500 to each RAF station to provide an activity and wellbeing pack for RAF children and launched Airplay Connect, an online version of its youth support service.