The HUB Lancaster District Community and Voluntary Solutions September 2010
a profile of
Fragments
www.lancastercvs.org.uk mail@lancastercvs.org.uk Trinity Community Centre Middle Street Lancaster LA1 1JZ 01524 555900
Lancaster District CVS exists to support local voluntary groups, to encourage them to work together, to provide a link between voluntary and statutory bodies and to find ways of meeting unmet needs by voluntary action.
CVS Staff Jon Rigby Chief Officer email: jonrigby@lancastercvs.org.uk
Ext. 20
Jane Attfield Ext. 27 Voluntary Sector Development Worker email: janeattfield@lancastercvs.org.uk
Bill Livesey Deputy Chief Officer email: billlivesey@lancastercvs.org.uk
Ext. 28
Hannah Bland Ext. 26 Voluntary Sector Development Worker email: hannahbland@lancastercvs.org.uk
Jane Dutton Ext. 20 Office Manager email: janedutton@lancastercvs.org.uk
Kevin Goodall Ext. 24 Information & Publications Officer email: kevingoodall@lancastercvs.org.uk
June Ellis Finance Officer email: juneellis@lancastercvs.org.uk
Penny Darby Ext. 32 Funding Officer email: pennydarby@lancastercvs.org.uk
Ext. 25
Organisations hosted by Lancaster District CVS Community Learning Network
Friendship Centre
Debra Hughes CLN Development Worker email: debrahughes@cln-lancaster.org.uk
Alys Jenkins Friendship Centre Development Worker email: alysjenkins@lancastercvs.org.uk
Charity Registration (England & Wales) Number 1127626 Company Registration (England & Wales) Number 6743623 Registered office as above
Contents Contacts
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Contents
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Equality Act
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Harsha Shukla AWA Awards
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John Barnes, Morecambe Bay Independent Councillor and the City Council's representative on the Lancaster District CVS Trustee Board, sadly died on Saturday 17th July 2010 following a short illness. John attended our Board meetings regularly, and contributed in a positive and cheerful way. He was also very supportive of other events that we organised.
Lancaster District LSP
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www.lancastercvs.org.uk
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Mudpack
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Fragments
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In addition to his role at Lancaster District CVS, John was a representative at the Citizens' Advice Bureaux and the West End Partnership.
Funding Opportunities / Fair
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Shopmobility
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Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Training & Events
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If you would like The Hub to feature a profile of an organisation or individual, include an article on a current project or have any other information that might be of interest to the members of Lancaster District CVS, call Kevin Goodall on (01524) 555900 extension 24 or email kevingoodall@lancastercvs.org.uk.
Deadline for articles to include in the December issue of the Hub: Monday 1st November 2010 Funded by
Members of
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The Equality Act will become law from 1st October 2010. It replaces previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act and the Disability Discrimination Act. The Government Equalities Office has published a series of “Equality Act 2010: What do I need to know?” guides to the key changes, including several specifically for voluntary and community organisations. The guide for employers will help the voluntary and community sector with employment issues.
internet-based services, and residential care homes and day care centres. It applies to all services, whether or not a charge is made for them.
The introduction of the act is intended to simplify the law, removing inconsistencies and making it easier for people to understand and comply with it. It aims to make it more consistent, clearer and easier to follow in order to make society fairer. The responsibilities of providers of goods, facilities or services in the voluntary and community sector remain largely the same, but there are some differences that providers need to be aware of.
The different kinds of conduct that are prohibited under the Act are direct discrimination, association and perception, indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, harassment – disability, gender reassignment, race or sex, harassment – religion or belief or sexual orientation and victimisation.
The Act protects the same groups of people that were covered by previous equality legislation. The characteristics covered are disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
Voluntary and community organisations that already have good equality procedures in place will not need to take much further The Act applies to all organisations that action, however, they are advised to: provide a service to the public, or a section of • inform the staff and management the public. It also applies to anyone who sells committee of the new provisions, goods or provides facilities such as • review equality policies ensuring they cover community centres, information and advice all relevant protected characteristics, and agencies, charity shops, sports clubs, consider whether staff need further training.
More information, including guides for the sector, is available from www.equalities.gov.uk 4
Lancaster and Morecambe Hindu Society President Nominated for National Award
Harsha Shukla, pictured second right, with the Social and Humanitarian Award nominees at the 2010 Asian Women of Achievement Awards held recently in London Lancaster and Morecambe Hindu Society President and Lancaster District CVS Trustee Harsha Shukla was recently nominated for the Social and Humanitarian Award at the 2010 Asian Women of Achievement (AWA) Awards.
A national award ceremony that has been running for over a decade, the AWA Awards champion the vibrant contributions Asian women are making to British life across the media, arts, business, science, medicine and the voluntary sector.
Though Harsha did not win the award, she said “I was honoured and extremely happy to be recognised for my work, and was inspired by the achievements of the other nominees�. As a result of Harsha’s nomination, she has been invited to Buckingham Palace. Harsha was shortlisted for working tirelessly to make sure the interests of ethnic minorities are considered and built into existing education systems within Lancashire. She is also a member of the Lancaster Faith Forum and a governor of Lancaster and Morecambe College.
The programme from the 2010 Asian Women of Achievements Awards 5
The new team for the Lancaster District Local Strategic Partnership James Sommerville, Harriet McNeela and Kay Bowen The Lancaster District Local Strategic Partnership (LDLSP) Team is now in place and looking forward to getting to work. Based at Palatine Hall in Dalton Square, the team of three will be supporting partners and other local organisations in delivering the Sustainable Community Strategy for the District.
organisations, especially those in the voluntary and community sectors, and to ensure that all of the partnership’s current projects are delivered as effectively as possible.
In 2011, the team will be looking to expand the partnership and to give more opportunities for local organisations to get James Sommerville, the new LDLSP Manager, involved. They will also be updating the has arrived from Worcester in the West Sustainable Community Strategy to give the Midlands where he managed their strategic district a clear vision and priorities for the partnership. He comments: “I’m really excited future, and working with the partnership to to come to such a beautiful area of the minimise the impact of any budget cuts. country, and one that is so full of potential. Partnership working between organisations “We want to ensure everyone who cares in all sectors is vital, especially in the current about Lancaster District has an opportunity economic climate where we must work to get involved in the strategic partnership” together if we are going to survive and say James. “We already have a great working deliver good things for local people.” relationship with the CVS team and through them are hoping to build links with other Working with James are two LSP organisations in the local area. We would be Coordinators - Kay Bowen and Harriet delighted to hear from anyone who has McNeela. Kay has a wealth of experience thoughts, ideas and suggestions - our door is working in a senior administrative role at always open and we’re very partial to tea University of Cumbria, and Harriet has plenty and cake so you’re sure to get a warm of partnership knowledge having previously welcome!” supported the local Community Safety Partnership. You can contact the team by e-mail on lancasterdistrictlsp@lancaster.gov.uk, by The team’s priorities are to establish excellent telephone on (01524) 582 588 or visit their working relationships with local website www.lancaster.gov.uk/lsp. 6
www.lancastercvs.org.uk
A screenshot of the new website and its navigation in action (above) and the website as it was (right) Lancaster District CVS is pleased to announce the launch of its redesigned website, part of the organisational redesign that began many months ago with our new logo. The simple and clean website has been designed in-house and includes new features, including the ability to use a built-in search form. With the new site, we hope to make navigating and finding relevant information much easier. The website’s home address remains the same as it was, but if you have bookmarks leading to specific pages within the old website, it is likely that these will have changed. To begin with such pages will remain active, though they will soon be redirected to the relevant location in the new site. The website has been successfully tested with the latest versions of many web browsers, but if you experience any difficulties - please contact kevingoodall@lancastercvs.org.uk. 7
The work of the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside has always been focussed on preserving and promoting our wildlife heritage, and a new project based at the new Middleton Nature Reserve sees an expansion of their work in North Lancashire.
Despite the varied history of this post industrial site, it is now starting to revert back to nature and is already proving to be an excellent place for wildlife. The Trust are currently managing some of the key habitats as well as starting to develop the site for the future and are keen to involve younger members of the local community in this exciting project.
The Mudpack project aims to provide volunteer opportunities for 16-25 year olds in practical conservation work as well as training in community and educational work. Participants have the chance to further their knowledge of this unusual site and it’s wildlife and help engage with the local community through the use of a variety of multimedia technologies and web based social networking sites.
There is more than one way of getting involved, including opportunities for those who want to get stuck in and get their hands dirty or helping with monitoring and recording the work and wildlife at the site. The great outdoors provides the opportunity to do hands on practical conservation work. If participants like to take things a little easier and would like to gain species identification skills, then monitoring will open up a whole new world. If they feel filming and producing a podcast is more of a challenge then these opportunities are also available.
This fantastic opportunity has been made possible through funding from the Lancashire Environmental Fund (LEF) and their ‘Dirtworks’ programme. 8
Helping with Mudpack events will encourage confidence and enable volunteers to gain valuable communication skills, which will then help to inspire those families that attend. As participants gain knowledge about the site, they can combine this with helping to produce an interpretation sign and a leaflet for the reserve.
For more information about the Mudpack workshops and volunteering opportunities email volunteer@lancswt.org.uk or call (01772) 324129
Dirtworks is a funding programme supported by Lancashire Environmental Fund aimed at encouraging young people (16-25 year olds) to volunteer on practical projects that will Workshops are available to show how events improve a greenspace for the benefit are organised, how interpretation material is themselves and others in the local community and the environment. composed and how using the skills gained, will give volunteers the satisfaction of For further information about Lancashire helping promote and conserve the reserve Environmental Fund contact Anne Kingston, for present and future generations. Communications Officer at LEF, by calling (01772) 317248, emailing The events Mudpack put on include: annekingston@lancsenvfund.org.uk • Guided walks or visiting www.lancsenvfund.org.uk.
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Bat evenings Mini beast hunts Grassland management volunteering days Workshops 9
Fragments
Thumbprint, a Lancaster-based organisation working to support people with learning difficulties to set up and run their own projects, was recently awarded £2,000 of funding from Community Grants. Community Grants is a small grant scheme designed to assist groups in the Lancaster District to undertake small projects that enable local people to take part in community activities.
learning how best to market the product as well as gaining the skills needed to produce a high quality end product. The project worker will work one day per week with the group over six months. By the end of this time, the aim is to have the systems in place for Fragments to start to trade and for the project members to have built the skills needed to create good quality signs to order.
The funding will be used to pay a project worker to carry out work on a project called ‘Fragments’ which uses broken tiles to create custom made house signs.
Once up and running, Fragments will be able to cover its costs – with sales of the items covering materials and other overheads. The aim is that it will generate a surplus which will generate an income for the people with The core aim of is to support the people with learning difficulties involved. learning difficulties involved in developing Fragments as a social enterprise. This means To commission a custom made mosaic generating the project’s systems and contact mail@thumb.org.uk. 10
Welfare Grants Lancaster City Council Lancaster City Council are now accepting applications for their Welfare Grants. The council makes contributions of up to ÂŁ500 to voluntary organisations which provide meals, outings and recreation for older people. The grant is paid into the organisation's bank account when they receive receipts for the activity that the grant was awarded for. You will be expected to submit your receipts in order to claim your grant. For further information or questions about welfare grants, the application process, or the criteria applied to the welfare grants scheme email welfaregrants@lancaster.gov.uk or telephone (01524) 582096.Application forms and further information are available from the Town Halls or can be downloaded from the council's website (see below). The closing date for applications is Tuesday 30th November 2010.
www.lancaster.gov.uk/welfaregrants
Miscellaneous Grants Morecambe Town Council Morecambe Town Council is offering grants of up to ÂŁ500 to projects or services based in Morecambe. The grant will be subject to the full amount being raised from other sources should the project costs be more than that awarded. Organisations or individuals whose activities are of direct benefit to the residents of Morecambe and who wish to be considered for a grant in the 2010/11 financial year should request an application form from Morecambe Town Council via telephone (01524) 422929 or email clerk@morecambe.gov.uk. The closing date for completed application forms is Friday 24th September 2010. 11
Lancaster District CVS Funding Fair
Thursday 14th October 2010, 10.00am-3.00pm Hornby Village Institute, Hornby, Lancaster, LA2 8JR The Lancaster District CVS Funding Fair will provide local voluntary and community groups with the opportunity to meet with local, regional and national funders to discuss your funding needs. There will be an invaluable opportunity to engage in pre-booked one-to-one discussions with local and national funders to discuss potential projects, including The Galbraith Trust, Francis C Scott Trust, Nat Merriman Fund, Small Sparks, Green Partnership Award, Groundwork, Foundation Climate Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Lancashire Young People’s Service, Grant Finder, Community Grants, Duchy of Lancaster, Charity Bank and Children in Need. Presentations will include Lancashire Environmental Fund, Co-op Community Fund and Awards for All. Cost: £5 per delegate (includes lunch) For bookings and further information, please email hannahbland@lancastercvs.org.uk or call (01524) 555900 extension 26. 12
London 2012 Games Makers Applications to volunteer at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games opened on Wednesday 15th September 2010. Being a volunteer at the Games does not necessarily mean having to go to London – there will be venues across the UK, the nearest being in Manchester. There will be two categories of volunteer: Generalists Generalists will make up the majority of Games Makers – you won't need specialist skills or qualifications, but you should bring passion and enthusiasm to the Games. Specialists Specialist Games Makers will need specialist skills or qualifications in order to fulfil their role, such as sport or medical training. These Games Makers will be made up of doctors, nurses, sports specialists, anti-doping officers and press operations staff. Applicants must be willing to volunteer for a minimum of 10 days at either the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games; or for a minimum of 20 days if you want to volunteer at both.
www.london2012.com/get-involved/volunteer 13
Shopmobility Service Resumes in the District
Council leader Stuart Langhorn, Jo Williams (Project Manager of One Voice), Steve Wright (Wrightcare Mobility), Julia Reay (Lonsdale Carers) and Natalie Jones (volunteer) celebrate the start of the new Lancaster and Morecambe Shopmobility service Lancaster City Council has teamed up with local organisation One Voice to bring back the popular Shopmobility service. The service will be operating from The Cornerstone in Dalton Square on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.30am to 4.00pm, and from the Cartmel Centre in Morecambe on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am to 4.00pm. To ensure that equipment can be guaranteed please call Lancaster and Morecambe Shopmobility to book on (01524) 382764. For more information on the service visit www.lmshopmob.org.uk. 14
Training & Events For information about the training and events organised by Lancaster District CVS, see the booklet that came with this issue of The Hub, which is also available from www.lancastercvs.org.uk/trainingandevents. NCBI Lancashire
Young Lancashire
To book onto either of the NCBI Lancashire workshops listed below, call (01524) 421488 or email lizn@ncbi.org.uk..
PQASSO Thursday October 14th 2010
Welcoming Diversity and Prejudice Reduction Workshop Friday 24th September 2010 This one-day workshop examines the issues that separate and divide people and starts the process of building bridges across difference. Practical tools are taught with the opportunity for practice, enabling participants to more easily identify and challenge unfair treatment, prejudice and discrimination. Cost: £10-£75 Conflict Resolution Workshop. Saturday 16th October 2010. This interactive half day workshop is useful for any level of conflict both personal and organisational. It examines the roots of conflict and identifies strategies for dealing with it. Using examples from the group, practical tools are taught, enabling participants to feel more empowered when faced with conflict. Cost: £7-£50
This free event will cover an explanation of what PQASSO is, how it works, and how Young Lancashire can support organisations who wish to work through the framework to achieve the self assessed quality standard. Participants will also receive a free handbook. For more information or to book, call (01772) 556127 or email supportservices@younglancashire.org.uk.
Workers' Educational Association Folk to Folk Thursdays from 23rd September 2010 (10 evening meetings) This course aims to teach acoustic ensemble playing, learning a varied repetoire of folk tunes and focus on playing for dance. The course covers arranging folk tunes and improvisation techniques. It is aimed at the intermediate level of any acoustic instrument. For more information about the course or to make a booking, call (0151) 243 5340. Cost: £0-£45 15
In addition to all of the free services Lancaster District CVS has traditionally offered, we have now launched an expanded range of services, for which there will be a charge, including: • • • • • •
Bookkeeping Payroll Preparation and Independent Examination of Accounts Project Management and Project Hosting Employment / Mentoring Annual Accounts
These services are provided by our own in house staff, so we understand the needs of small and medium sized voluntary and community organisations Discounted rates are available for members, and prices are tiered depending on the size of your organisation and requirements Contact us for a tailored quote via telephone (01524) 555900 or email mail@lancastercvs.org.uk For more information see the full publication at www.lancastercvs.org.uk/services.pdf