Other things you should know about:
VAC AGM and VAC 2026
You are cordially invited to our AGM on 4th July 2023, 6 – 8pm. This is a great opportunity to find out about our work, what we’ve achieved, and hear about our plans for the future. Look out for a ‘Save the date’ dropping in your inbox soon.
VAC 2026 is our new three-year strategy that we are launching at our AGM in July. We have worked with our members and partners to create a new vision for VAC. Together we want to develop and support a vibrant civil society that underpins a high quality of life in Camden.
We want Camden to be place where everyone can get involved in driving positive change. This means creating a fairer Camden, safeguarding the voluntary and community sector, and amplifying the voice of Camden’s voluntary, community sector.
Join us at our AGM to find out more and get your copy of our strategy.
Camden VCSE sector Community Resilience
Over the next few months, we will be conducting a review of learning from recent emergency responses. During the pandemic several valuable partnerships were formed which contributed to a robust response. However, at the beginning it was clear that there were insufficiencies in how information about community services including, emergency response was being stored and made available to residents and VCSE sector.
We also needed better communication and coordination between statutory services and VCSE sector in the early stages. Our review of learning will assess the impact of various initiatives that aim to improve the preparedness of the community for emergencies. This will help us to develop a response framework as a guide to how Camden VCSE sector and London Borough of Camden will work together to respond to all types of disasters and emergencies.
Look out for more information about how you can get involved in shaping the framework.
Camden Community Vaccine Champion Project
Last year, in partnership with C4 we launched a fund to help tackle vaccine hesitancy and contribute to addressing key wider health and wellbeing needs that have been impacted by COVID-19.
This year, we are pleased to have distributed 6 more grants to community groups and organisations bringing the total number of grant recipients to 13, and the total grant amount to £127,325. This year, we focused on engaging smaller, less know community groups and organisations through our Cultural Advocacy and Community Safety Partnership programmes.
Examples of projects funded include:
- Somers Town Community Association – Bespoke activities across Somers Town to identify the barriers that prevent local people taking up the vaccine and engaging with other health services such as, breast cancer screening and smear tests, female menopause, osteoporosis, testicular cancer, dementia, and mental health.
- Henna Asian Women’s Group – Targeted group discussions with BAME communities about the ingredients of the vaccine to show that they are not haram, or contravening any faith, and how and where to get vaccinated or become a vaccine ambassador.
- Kentish Town City Farm – Sharing expert knowledge about food production and agriculture to increase awareness and understanding of how viruses spread with specific reference to animals living in dense populations.
Camden Council VCS Grants Programme
(2024-2031) Survey
Camden Council would like to hear your views on their new 7 year funding programme. The results of the survey will be used to inform the design of this £4 million per year grants programme.
You can complete the survey here à Camden Future Grants Programme Survey by Thursday 20th April 2023. The survey is anonymous and takes 20 minutes to complete.
As you can see, we have a busy year ahead and are looking forward to seeing you throughout the Spring and at our upcoming events!
All the best from the VAC Team. |