January 2016

Monthly Archives

Fareshare Foodcloud – Access unsold local food for free

January 29, 2016by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Training Support and Resources, VCS Feature tagged

FareShareFareShare are launching a fantastic new scheme, in partnership with FoodCloud, a social enterprise from Ireland, and Tesco. FareShare FoodCloud helps charities and community groups to access the free, unsold, surplus food from a day’s sales at their local Tesco supermarket. Using a simple mobile technology (FoodCloud), the project has already helped over 50 UK charity groups to access over 20 tonnes of fresh, good quality, free food.

FareShare FoodCloud are looking to connect with local charities and not-for-profit organisations that provide food for vulnerable or disadvantaged people in the Birmingham and the West Midlands, in order to match them up with a Tesco store near-by to access the free food surplus.

Click here for more information.

Local charities and non-profits interested in this opportunity are encouraged to contact Mustafa Meyzin at Mustafa.meyzin@fareshare.org.uk.

Charity Commission issues warning on mandate fraud

January 29, 2016by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Training Support and Resources, VCS Feature tagged

Charity CommissionThe regulator urges charities to review their financial controls so they don’t fall prey to fraudsters who try to persuade them to change direct debits or standing orders to their benefit, writes Andy Ricketts at Third Sector.

The Charity Commission has urged charities to review their financial controls to avoid falling foul of mandate fraud, in which people or organisations are persuaded to change direct debits or standing orders to bank accounts controlled by fraudsters.

The regulator issued a notice today saying it had become aware of mandate fraud attempts in which the fraudster had been able to use the email address of a regular contact at a legitimate organisation to deceive charities into changing their bank details.

This type of fraud can also involve the fraudster impersonating an organisation by using direct mail, using headed paper and a company logo to lend credibility to the attempt.

The commission said it recommended that trustees and charity professionals familiarise themselves with the Metropolitan Police’s mandate fraud advice and ensure that the charity has sound authorisation and monitoring procedures in place for changing bank details and managing payments.

Read the full article here.

Reaping the benefits of age diversity in the workplace

January 29, 2016by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Did you know...?, Training Support and Resources, VCS Feature tagged

JobOpps3Age discrimination can affect people of all ages, but it is a particular problem for older people, despite the fact that there are many reasons why recruiting older people at work is beneficial, writes Sophie Butler at TPP Recruitment.

The department for work and pensions report that 27 percent of the current workforce is over 50. By 2020 it will be a third. The working population is getting older, the pension gap is getting bigger, and people are working longer.

There is no average employer, everyone has individual goals. However all staff at any age want to work for a fair employer, be trained and perform well at their job and have flexibility. This month we look at how and why you should be age diverse in your recruitment.

Many of the over retirement age simply don’t want to retire; made up of strong morals and work ethics, they feel they still have a lot to contribute. Baby boomers have had years of experience, achieving many of their career aspirations. They have typically paid off their mortgage and are seeking a role that can offer more job satisfaction and the opportunity to give something back.

Read the full article.

Nine out of ten people are unable to name two or more local charities

January 29, 2016by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Did you know...?, VCS Feature tagged

CharityOver a third of British people are unaware of local charities in their area with no knowledge of the work that they do, according to research by TSB Bank. The survey of 1,000 adults reveals that although half feel that local charities play an important role in their community, just one in 10 are able to name two or more local charities.

Although nearly three quarters – or 73 per cent – have donated to a national charity or international charity, 20 per cent of people said they only found out about local charities when family or friends needed their support.

The research was carried out as part of TSB’s Local Charity Partnerships drive, in which TSB branches and offices across the UK advertised locally for customers, partners and members of the public to nominate charities and social enterprises to benefit from regular fundraising activities.

Read the full article.

Are managers really necessary?

January 29, 2016by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, News and Events tagged

ManagersAre Managers really necessary or do they just get in the way of good performance and productivity, asks Chrissie Wright at the Directory of Social Change.  Ever complained about your manager? Do you know anyone who has not at some time, unless they are their own boss, complained about their manager?

Typically, protests will say that managers over-interfere, or at the other extreme are noticeable by their absence. They waste time coming up with irrelevant projects and do not understand the needs of their staff. They are overbearing and don’t understand the business anyway and spend too much time in meetings not doing very much and so on and so on.

In fact some organisations have taken these ideas so seriously that they have dispensed with managers altogether and gone for very flat structures, although, there must be at least one person and a board at the top.

It’s them, not us!
The interesting thing is that all iniquity seems to exist at the level above; in other words, all problems are generally with them and not us! One of the downsides of not having managers is that decision making depends very much on consensus and can be a slow difficult business. Also, natural leaders emerge and tend to dominate groups whilst quieter more reticent workers who have a lot to contribute can be over-looked and the pressures of ‘how to behave’ can be subtly applied by the dominant ‘in-crowd’ rather than openly discussed and implemented through a management structure.

Read the full article here.

Black Country Arts Volunteer Callout

January 29, 2016by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Vacancies tagged , ,

Creative Black CountryCreative Black Country supports all people to create, take part in and enjoy the arts, so that culture is accessible at the heart of our communities. Together with Black Country Touring they are looking for volunteers to help support events and activities all year round.

• Do you love live events and the arts?
• Do you want to build skills & experience?
• Do you want to support activities across the Black Country?

They Need your Help
Event Support
Marketing and Admin Support
Social Media and Bloggers

They Offer
• Great experiences
• Paid expenses (travel and lunch/dinner)
• No commitment – you can volunteer at one event or all of them!
• Perks for returning volunteers

REGISTER ONLINE!
Complete a quick online form to register your interest and Creative Black Country will be in touch when opportunities are available.

For more information contact Esther Lisk-Carew, Project Administrator, on 0121 525 1127 or email info@creativeblackcountry.co.uk

Visit the website for what’s going on across the Black Country. Subscribe to the newsletter to for the latest News, Projects, Events and Opportunities.

Sandwell Advocacy’s ‘Young Carers Advocacy Project’

January 29, 2016by Leona in Blog, VCS Feature tagged

Sandwell AdvocacyYoung Carers Awareness Day (28th January) is a national day of recognition for the 700,000 young carers in the UK who work around the clock providing care and support to family and friends.  With the general awareness and understanding of young carers increased, children and young people with caring responsibilities should then be more easily identified and helped, along with their families, to access the right support.

Sandwell Advocacy’s ‘Young Carers Advocacy Project’ supports children and young people (5-18 years of age) who provide regular or on-going care and emotional support. This could involve a family member or individual who may be affected by a physical impairment/learning difficulty, mental health condition, drug and alcohol addiction and any other long term illness or condition.

They offer support that works within a person centred, but family orientated approach, whilst facilitating access to our integrated package of support that includes crisis intervention and long term advocacy provision.

A Young Carers Advocate will provide one-to-one support and enable young carers to engage with the education and welfare system, social networks, short breaks and health and social care services.

They take referrals directly from the individual themselves, an agency or a third party these can be taken via: the telephone, Email, face to face or ECAF.  Please ensure when making a referral that there is an identifiable caring role and need for Advocacy.

If you would like more information, would like for us to come and talk about what we offer to you and/or your team or wish to discuss making a referral please contact us – Sandwell Advocacy, 28 Wood Street, Tipton, West Midlands, DY4 9BQ.  Telephone: 0121 520 8070 or e-mail: sandwelladvocacy@btconnect.com

 

Dignity and Respect Tea Day – 1 February 2016

January 28, 2016by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Did you know...?, Health & Wellbeing, News and Events tagged

Age UK Sandwell LogoAge UK Sandwell, together with Sandwell Safeguarding Adults Board and National Dignity Council, are hosting a Dignity and Respect Day on Monday 1 February 2016.

 The event will be from 10 am to 2 pm at The Wesley Community Centre, High Street, West Bromwich B70 8ND.

The Dignity and Respect Day is open to all providers of services, health and social care workers and anyone who use care services. The will be free tea and cake in the Vintage cafe.

Please contact Shirley or Sandra on 0121 500 1860 for further information.

Macmillan Cancer Support

January 28, 2016by Leona in Blog, Funding tagged

McMillanThe grants scheme aims to fund individuals and groups that support people affected by cancer or campaign to improve cancer care.

The grants available include:
• Start-up funds to support new self-help and support project for people affected by cancer
• Development funds to support the ongoing activities and development of self-help and support projects for people affected by cancer
• User Involvement Grants to encourage the involvement of people affected by cancer in the design and improvement of cancer services
• Individual Development Grants to enable people affected by cancer to develop their skills and use their cancer experience to help support others affected by cancer.

For projects that have been running for less than 12 months the maximum grant is £500 and a maximum grant of £3,000 is available for projects that have been running for more than 12 months. Applications will be accepted from individuals or groups of people affected by cancer and organisations and professionals working in partnership with people affected by cancer.

The next closing date for the Macmillan Cancer Support Grants scheme is the 26th February 2016.
For more information visit

Greggs Foundation

January 28, 2016by Leona in Blog, Funding tagged

GreggsThe Gregg Foundation has announced a new grants programme, funded by the 5p levy on carrier bag sales in Greggs shops, that aims to improve people’s lives by improving their environments.

The funding is available to small, locally based community led organisations with a turnover not in excess of £300,000. Schools are also able to apply and will receive the same level of preference as small organisations. The new programme is split into two grant programmes, small grants of up to £2,500 and large grants up to £10,000.

Under the small grants programme funding is available to:
• Purchase equipment
• Sessional salary costs
• Purchase of trees/plants
• Small capital projects
• Learning activities.

The large grants programme will fund larger more ambitious projects such as for example:
• A school that would like to create an orchard to provide fresh fruit for its pupils
• A community centre that wants to install a ground source heat pump
• A community group that would like to transform a patch of land into a community allotment.

There would also be an educational aspect to the grants to help people learn about their impact on the world around them and preference will be given to projects that support disadvantaged people. The Foundation are more likely to make grants to local organisations based near Greggs shops.   The closing date for both schemes is the 4th March 2016.

For more information visit: www.greggsfoundation.org.uk/environmental-grants

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