Voluntary Action Camden e-Bulletin - 17th June 2022

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VAC Weekly Newsletter
17th June 2022

VAC Membership

Become a VAC member and help us connect and amplify the many voices of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Camden.
Membership is free, including our practical help, which can be accessed here.

Click on the link box above, join us today and add your voice to ours.

Highlights

This week we firstly remember the victims of Grenfell Tower on the 5th anniversary of the tragedy.

We spotlight our training resources and we have a range of events and opportunities available around the Camden area, including an exciting paid internship available at VAC.

VAC Training Resources

VAC deliver regular training for Camden voluntary and community groups. We also run seminars on topical policy issues and themes, and host regular events aimed at the specific needs of the local community.

To view our on-demand resources, please click here

Grenfell Tower Tragedy remembered.
Tuesday 14th was the 5th anniversary of the Grenfell Tower Tragedy.VAC stands in solidarity with all those impacted by the tragedy and those who continue to seek justice. We remember all those that were lost and their family and friends.

Making Every Contact Count – Supporting residents with the cost of living crisis
21st June and more!

Making Every Contact Count (MECC) is about assisting front line workers to support residents by using opportunities in conversations we’re already having to signpost further support.

Making Every Contact Count have added a new short online course, covering the basics of MECC, the impacts of the cost of living crisis and information on how best to support residents who are struggling financially.

Courses are free to staff working in Camden and Islington, to book a place, please click here

Camden Council has a partnership with LabTech to provide pop-up market stall space.
July – August 2022

These market stalls will be situated on Buck Street and Camden Market between July and August 2022, in the heart of Camden and London.
The offer includes a market stall, a funding contribution to purchase initial stall equipment and access to enterprise support training.

To arrange a call to find out more, please email economicdevelopment@camden.gov.uk
or visit the website here

A Space for us looking for Volunteers:
A Space for us need volunteers to help at exciting open air events
Saturday 25th June: any 3 hours between 10-5pm
Sunday 26th June: any hours between 10- 3pm

The London Festival of Architecture has Somers Town as its focus and we want to put on a party!
We are looking for helpers who are good with the public or painting!
Other tasks will include supervising the public around an outdoor mural, setting out food for an outdoor ”cultural lunch”, setting up and managing screen printing on the Sunday 11-1pm and taking permissions and signed consent for photos and filming

A Space for us also specifically need an Actor
Sunday 26th June at 2pm -3pm, Phoenix Road.
Small fee available, including reasonable travel expenses and lunch

The People’s Museum Somers Town is holding a “mock auction” and need an “auctioneer”.
We are looking for someone who is articulate, funny and loud!
This is on a outdoor stage with other events all day.
There is a serious purpose as we have lost working class heritage which ends up at auction houses.
People will be encouraged to bid on ‘artwork’.
We will need to meet beforehand to discuss the script

For more information or to apply for any of these roles, please contact: Diana or Mercedes at info@aspaceforus.club

Christmas Challenge 2022 applications are now open! Apply for funding from the Childhood Trust.
Closing date: Friday 1st July

The Childhood Trust is London’s child poverty charity, dedicated to alleviating the impact of poverty on children living in the capital and offers financial support to children’s charities in London through matched-funding campaigns. We are looking for charities that have an existing supporter base and an appetite to engage with us and with the public.

Charities who participate in our campaigns receive workshops on how to run a successful fundraising campaign, one-to-one support on any aspect of the campaign, connections with other charities working with children and young people across London, raised profile and visibility through broader campaigns and events and other activities to raise awareness of the issues around child poverty.

To learn more, please click here
Or email campaigns@childhoodtrust.org.uk

‘Sculpture in the air’ at Coals Drop Yard

Recently unveiled at Coals Drop Yard, the Woven Wonders installation by artist Sheila Hicks, who is known for distinctive colours and natural materials, will be viewable until October

VAC paid Internship: Communications (15 hours per week)

VAC is seeking a Communications Intern to assist the VAC team for a 4 month period. This position will work with the Communications Lead and IT manager on our communications channels, including the weekly newsletter and social media presence, to promote VAC opportunities and our overall profile.

The role would suit someone looking to gain experience in work-based communications and an interest in developing a career in communications based roles.
To apply, please send a CV and cover letter to info@vac.org.uk

PENHA looking for new Trustees
Deadline: 31 July 2022

The Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa is a registered charity and non-profit company.
PENHA seeks to foster sustainable livelihoods among the region’s nomads and pastoralists.
We seek three trustees with legal and risk management experience; fundraising and social media knowledge; or previous charity experience.
We hold six meetings annually.

To apply, please send your CV and cover letter to PENHA UK Programme Manager, Mr Kubara Zamani, e-mail: info@penhanetwork.org
To learn more about PENHA, please visit our website here

Newsletter Submissions
Please send any information that you would like included in our weekly newsletter to social@vac.org.uk

UCLH Council of Governors Elections 2022
Nominations close Tuesday 24 June: 5pmUniversity College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are seeking nine Trust members to join the Council of Governors, who are keen to represent the interests of our public and patient communities. Elections will be held in the following seats and members aged 18 and over can nominate themselves to stand:
•   1 public governor
•   4 London-based patient governors
•   1 out of London based patient
•   3 staff members (1 other Clinical and 2 non-Clinical)

Self-nomination can be completed online from Monday 6 June here
.
If you would like any more details, please contact uclh.governors@nhs.net or call 020 3447 9290.

* You must be a member of UCLH to stand for governor. Find out more about becoming a member and apply for membership on the website here

State of London Debate
28th June: 7.30 – 9pm
At indigo at The O2, Peninsula Square

Ask the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and Deputy Mayors about issues that matter – from cycling to jobs, the environment to housing and more – at the annual State of London Debate 2022.

To find out more please click here

Local Newsletters:

SHAK
Latin American House
Creative Lives
Healthwatch Camden
Young Camden Foundation
AWN
West Euston Project (WEP)
London S port (sign up)
Forum+
Charity Tax Group
Dragon Hall Newsletter

Updated VAC administered Google Grants
VAC has been funded by Google to help small organisations get back into the “real world” training / meeting environment and the requirements to access the grant have recently been updatedThe income threshold for applicant groups has been increased to allow a wider variety of VCS groups to apply, the use of space now includes Hot Desking and VAC support to get you going is stronger than ever!

VAC is administering the scheme. Our intention is to keep the process as simple as possible to minimise any administrative burden on the groups, VAC and of course the organisations providing space.
Not all venues are part of the scheme so please do check out our room hire directory here
For more information and to see if your group is eligible visit our website here or contact Ricky at rsingh@vac.org.uk

Deadline Extension for Rosa’s Stand with Us Fund
4pm on Friday 24th June 2022

The Stand With Us fund has been set up to support the many organisations run by and for women who stand up and take action to address violence against women and girls (VAWG).

For more details, please click here

The Weavers’ Company Fund
Deadline 14 July

Small registered charities can apply for grants of up to £15,000 for projects working with young offenders; prisoners and ex-prisoners as well as young disadvantaged people at risk of criminal involvement.

Priority will be given to smaller organisations which offer direct services with an income of not more than about £250,000. Funding is available for those helping disadvantaged young people, those from 5 to 30 years of age and groups supporting offenders and ex-offenders, particularly those under 30 years of age

To learn more, please click here

Launch of Government’s VCSE Health and Wellbeing Fund 2022-25
Application Deadline 5 August 2022: 9am

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI), the system partners, are seeking applications from VCSE sector organisations for the next round of the Health and Wellbeing Fund.
The system partners value the significant contribution that the VCSE sector makes towards improving health and care. The VCSE sector is a key partner in delivering strategic priorities and improving health and wellbeing across England.

To support this, the system partners are jointly releasing the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Fund 2022 to 2025 to support projects and programmes led by VCSE organisations.
The theme of the 2022 to 2025 fund is women’s reproductive wellbeing in the workplace.

For more details, please click here

Trust for London Local Action Poverty Fund
“Trust for London has once again teamed up with Crowdfunder to launch the Local Action Poverty Fund.
Using the power of the crowd, we’ll be helping projects to find the funding and support they need to turn their ideas into a reality.”

Learn more here

UK Government Announces ‘Homes for Ukrainian’ Refugees Scheme with ‘Thank You’ Payment to Sponsors
A small monthly payment will be available for UK host families who volunteer to house Ukrainians fleeing their homeland due to the Russian invasion.
For more details please click here

Other available funders include:

Pride Month Events: June 2022
In celebration of Pride Month 2022, Forum+, an independent charity working to promote equality for LGBTQ+ people in Camden and Islington, have a wide range of exciting events planned.Learn more here

Scholarships for the Black community – Imperial College London
As part of Imperial College London’s investment in their drive to increase Black inclusivity amongst their student body and promote the uptake of STEM subjects in the Black community, including 50 scholarships available over the next 5 years, Imperial are hosting a number of exciting upcoming opportunities for Black students.

Black Graduate Careers Conference – on the 23rd June they are hosting a Black Graduate Careers Conference where students will get the opportunity to meet and network with employers and other students and hear from F1 PETRONAS Trackside Fuel Engineer Stephanie Travers on how studying a postgraduate degree propelled her career. This is a free event and free lunch and networking drinks will be provided. The event is open to all Black undergraduate students or Black graduates considering studying a postgraduate degree.
Register to get your free ticket here

Revolutions in Engineering (RiE) – Revolutions in Engineering is a two week project-based experience at Imperial College London for Black undergraduate engineering students that runs between the 11th-22nd July.
Researchers of African heritage or Afro-Caribbean heritage are under-represented in the UK engineering-research community. Imperial wants to help change this and are inviting all Black students with African-related heritage who are in year 2 or 3 of an engineering or computing degree to apply. The programme is being provided at a full scholarship worth £1,500, though you will need have accommodation in London and pay for your own travel.
Apply for the programme here

A date for your diary: The Camden Mela
A celebration of our culturally diverse community together again.
The Camden Mela is coming up on 17th July at Coram’s Fields from 12pm – 6pm

If you would like to apply for a stall, please email nasim.ali@kcbna.org.uk

Free Mental Health First Aid Training

Rethink Mental Illness are funded by the council to deliver Mental Health First Aid Training sessions to anyone based (live/work/study/volunteer) in Camden or Islington.
The sessions are delivered online, or in person, and if the delegate attends all sessions and completes the online work, they will receive a Mental Health First Aid qualification

Upcoming courses include:
Mental Health Awareness (Online) – 28th June – 3.5 hours
Mental Health First Aid (In Person) – 20th and 21st July – Location TBC in Camden or Islington – 2 days
Mental Health First Aid (Online) – 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th July – 4 x 2.5 hour sessions

For other courses and to book, please click here

Free Community Festival at the Castlehaven Community Centre – “Zen in Mind”
Thursday June 23rd, 12pm-5.30pm

The Zen Project and Mind in Camden bring to you the third of a series of monthly festivals to celebrate mental health and support the local Camden community.
Open to all and all activities are free, including free food, massage, mindfulness sessions and more. Climb on board our big yellow American school bus and take part in one of our activities to help create some calm and ease anxiety.
We have something for everyone. No need to book – just turn up.

For more information, please click here

Latin American House vacancy: Early Years Practitioner
Latin American House is looking for an Early Years Practitioner, to join the team at Menchú Bilingual Nursery.
The post holder must possess CACHE or NVQ Level 2 or above qualification in Childcare Education. It will not be necessary to speak Spanish, although it is desirable.

To apply or get more information, please click here

Maiden Lane Community Centre volunteer opportunity
Maiden Lane Community Centre are looking for someone to join our play/youth team working with young people aged 5-9 years 10-13 years and 13-19 years old. Training will be provided. This is a great opportunity for someone who would like to work with young people.

For further details, please click here

Umoja Health Forum looking to recruit Volunteer Organisers
Umoja Health Forum is a voluntary organisation which leads thirteen small African organisations from Sub – Saharan Africa, providing health and social care, addressing both physical and mental health.
We are looking to recruit Volunteer Organisers for different projects, which involve planning a variety of weekly activities for local residents.
These include promoting and delivering projects, recruiting local residents, general managing, monitoring and reporting on project work.
All volunteer travel and expenses paid.
Interested candidates should email Umoja at: umojahealthforum54@gmail.com or call Chikwaba Oduka on 07970418893, to express their interest or find out more.

VCS Ukraine Support Survey
In conjunction with Camden Council, Voluntary Action Camden are in the process of collecting as much information as possible on the capacity of local independent services that can support Ukrainian nationals settling in Camden.
This includes support for urgent and immediate needs, such as links to language communities or counselling support.
If you and your organisation is in a position to support this work, please fill in this short online survey.VAC Community Directories
VAC is pleased to announce the launch of our new Community Directory services for Camden groups.
Our online directories provide a space for voluntary and community groups in Camden to promote their services and activities. Searching the directory then allows residents and other stakeholders in Camden to easily connect with groups and access services and valuable support.
You can search our Directories to find and connect with groups, find community space to rent or hire and find healthy activities and social opportunities in Camden’s green spaces and parks.

Civic Futures 2022: Open for applications and nominations
Deadline: Monday 4 July 2022

Civic Futures 2022 is open for nominations and applications and welcome you to apply or nominate someone you think would make a great addition to this year’s programme.
Civic Futures is a Fellowship Programme facilitated by Koreo, Dark Matter Labs and The Young Foundation, in partnership with the Greater London Authority (GLA)

If you want to take part in Civic Futures then you can express your interest here
Or to nominate someone else, please do so here

Past Voluntary Action Forums: Resources

You can find presentations, recordings and resources from past forums here.

Got an item for the e-bulletin?

Send your item to social@vac.org.uk by noon on Thursday for publication in the following day’s edition. The e-bulletin comes out every Friday. Submissions should be 50 – 75 words. Please send plain text or a format that can be copied (ie not embedded in an image). Send links to documents rather than attachments. Make sure to include contact details.