Voluntary Action Camden e-Bulletin 18th December 2015

Camden Community Festivals Fund; Decision made at Camden’s Cabinet; CIL Spending Ideas; COP21 Paris: what happened?; IKWRO seeks Partners; Trust for London News; Camden and Islington Recovery College; Homestart Camden AGM; Selfiecop; + jobs, volunteers, events, training, offers and resources.

Camden Council is supporting this grants programme in recognition of the contribution made by community festivals and events to strengthening Camden communities and in developing a rich culture and economy within the borough.
The fund is to sustain and develop Camden’s rich culture, its strong communities and dynamic partnerships by supporting quality, creative events, projects and activities. This year the fund is managed by Voluntary Action Camden (VAC).
Applications are welcome for grants of £200 to £5000 for:
~ Small-scale events with a capacity of under 500 people, the maximum amount that can be applied for is £500. A copy of the application form can be downloaded here
~ Larger-scale events with a capacity of 500 people or more the maximum that can be applied for is £5,000. Please note the average is £1,000. A copy of the application form can be downloaded here.
A copy of the detailed guideline can be downloaded here
The application process is open from Wednesday 9th December 2015
The deadline for completed applications is: 6pm on Monday 29th February 2016
Contact
If you would like more information and/or to be sent hard copies of the application forms and the guidelines please contact acharles@vac.org.uk Tel. 020 7284 6553. Fax. 020 7284 6551. VAC, 293-299 Kentish Town Road, London NW5 2TJ.
Please note your grant is only administered by VAC. For all other aspects of your event please contact Camden Council’s events team. events@camden.gov.uk Tel: 020 7974 5633.

Decision made at Camden’s Cabinet
The report ‘A New Strategic Relationship with the Voluntary Sector’ was approved at cabinet on Wednesday. The press release is on the Camden council website. The full report that went to cabinet is available here.

CIL Spending Ideas
The new system of Community Infrastructure Levy could raise £8-9 million a year in future. Suggestions for spending next year’s CIL are required by 8th January 2016. You can view details and the estimated CIL spending by ward here. You can submit ideas to your local councillor or directly to CIL@camden.gov.uk

COP21 Paris: what happened?
More than 190 nations gathered at the 21stConference of Parties (COP21) in Paris earlier this month to agree global measures to reduce emissions and mitigate dangerous and irreversible climate change which scientists warn would be associated with an increase in temperatures of over 2°C on pre-industrial levels. Continued use of fossil fuels means that we are already halfway there with warming already at 1°C above pre-industrial levels. Read the Camden Climate Change Alliance assessment.

VAC Payroll Service
Did you know that we offer a payroll service? Find out what we offer on the VAC website and call the Finance Team to find out more Tel: 020 7284 6561/6582 Email: financeteam@vac.org.uk

IKWRO seeks Partners
We are currently looking into collaborating with relevant organisations in Camden to extend our work and support victims as well as professionals. IKWRO is a registered charity which provides advice and support to Middle Eastern and Afghan women and girls living in the UK who are facing Forced Marriage, Child Marriage, “Honour” Based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Domestic Violence. We offer advice in Farsi, Dari, Kurdish, Arabic, Turkish, Pashto and English and run a free counselling service in Farsi, Kurdish, Arabic and English. IKWRO also provide training for women and girls to help them understand their rights in the UK. In partnership with other organisations we assist survivors of violence with accessing English language classes and education, training and employment opportunities, so that they can become financially independent. We also campaign to raise awareness about issues including “Honour” Based Violence, Forced Marriage, Child Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and discrimination by Sharia courts and to push for better laws and policies to protect women’s and girl’s rights.
Contact Elaha Walizadeh on 0207 920 6460 for more information.
Email: Elaha.Walizadeh@ikwro.org.uk web: http://ikwro.org.uk/

Trust for London Newsletter
The latest newsletter is out and includes lots of research on poverty, low pay, pollution and many other factors affecting Londoners and the voluntary sector.

Camden and Islington Recovery College
The Spring 2016 prospectus is now ready and is available online at http://www.candi.nhs.uk/our-services/education-and-employment/recovery-college.
Don’t forget the Open Day on Monday 21st December at 4 St Pancras Way. The Recovery College will then be closed until the start of term on 4 January.

Homestart Camden Annual General Meeting
Thursday, 21st January 2016 11am – 2pm.
We would like to welcome families, volunteers, funders and colleagues to our 20th AGM at:
Kentish Town Community Centre, 17 Busby Place, London, NW5 2SP.
RSVP Via email: info@homestartcamden.org or ring 020 7424 1603.

Camden Community Connectors
Tackling social isolation among older people
Camden Community Connectors is a new six year project working across Camden to tackle social isolation and loneliness among older people. Our team of five local Area Coordinators is working with volunteers to identify and support people aged 60+ and help them reconnect to local activities and meet new people. We’re also building up an accessible ‘asset map’ of all services that support older people in Camden. We’d love to hear from you if you want to work with us, refer an older person, volunteer or if you just want to know more.
We’re part of the Ageing Better in Camden programme funded by Big Lottery. To find out more, check out our website or call us free on 0800 161 5716 .

Office to Let in Kentish Town- Good Price, Great Location
VAC has a medium size office to let that would suit a small organisation needing space for approximately 4 or 5 desks. Conveniently located in Kentish Town with all usual mod cons. Contact Kevin at VAC knunan@vac.org.uk

Selfiecop
The Community Safety Partnership heard from the Police about a new app to protect children and young people re sexting, nude selfies and cyber-bullying.
https://www.selfiecop.com/ Currently android only but other version in development.

Free training, outings and events for unpaid carers in Camden
For a full list of events of carers in Camden please visit the Camden Carers website.

Healthwatch Camden
Latest Information DIgest is on the Healthwatch Camden website.
Catch up with the latest Camden news and what’s happening on Our Blog

The Camden Capacity Building Bulletin is produced monthly, targeting the community and voluntary sector in Camden. It provides up to date/recently live information and news on funding and training. To access the latest information please follow the Link www.camden.gov.uk/cbbulletin

Voluntary Action Islington, British Somali Community, NICE, the Calthorpe Project, and Camden PA are recruiting. See Jobs and Volunteers section below.

Camden Shares. The website for exchanges in Camden. www.camdenshares.org.uk

You can join in on Facebook. Like us if you like us.

Follow all the Camden Voluntary Sector news on OneCamden on Twitter.

You can read more about all of these stories on our news page at www.vac.org.uk/new

Volunteer Nation
Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane explores a hidden engine of the British economy – its volunteers. The UK has an unpaid army of workers which hides in plain sight. “This is a fantastic success story, which is largely missed. And it could be even more of a success story if people knew about it,” says Haldane, the country’s most senior economist. But their efforts are often unmeasured, unrecognized and sometimes used, it is argued, as a substitute for services and employment once provided by the state. Haldane explores the impact this volunteer army has on our economy and our communities and asks what more we could do to harness their efforts for the greater good of us all. Listen again on BBC iplayer.

Season on Goodwill?
The right wing press have launched an unprecedented series of attacks on the sector in the run up to Christmas (probably not much else going on the world…). The Telegraph kicked off with a major article from the True and Fair (sic) Foundation run by Ms Miller claiming that many charities spent less than half of the money they raised on ‘good work’. Of course the story is nonsense and both the Charity Commission and the Cabinet Office warned the Telegraph against publishing such a damning story based on faulty reasoning but they went ahead anyway. NCVO explained concisely why the report was flawed and described it a ‘complete rubbish’ and ‘the worst report I’ve seen in 20 years’ and described Ms Miller as ‘more interested in self-publicity…’ . Ms Miller is no stranger to publicity, being the second wife of multi-millionaire hedgefund boss Alan Miller. The final irony is that The True and Fair Foundation fail to mention in their report that their own 2013 ratio of charitable expenditure to total income was less than 50% and therefore by their own measurement they too are ‘bad’. Though at least they managed to submit their accounts on time that year, unlike previously. Surprisingly the Metro did a very good piece explaining why the Telegraph article was so wrong.
Later in the week the Times then had a major story about high pay in the charity sector. Never mind that this story was about a handful of charities, and many had good explanations for these payments. Such stories damage the whole sector even when they are totally irrelevant to the 99.995% of charities that underpay their staff.
Today the Times has a front page story ‘Charities cashing in on relatives of dead’
They claim charities are trawling through public records of wills so that they can chase bereaved relatives for gifts. According the NCVO the whole story is based on one letter sent by one charity.
Civil Society has a good analysis of why the right wing press are attacking charities and what the sector needs to do about it. Not doubt there will be more to come and it all leaves very little room to report on fracking, the migrant crisis, the middle east, EU and so on.

See the Funding pages on VAC’s website for all the latest information.

Reaching Communities Fund and Awards for All One to One Advice Sessions
28th January 2016. 10.30 – 4.30.
With Jane Sterland Regional Officer for the Big Lottery
Voluntary Action Camden, 293-299 Kentish Town Road, London NW5 2TJ
Reaching Communities and Awards for All are still amongst the best grants to go for. Jane will be offering you one to one advice on your application to the Reaching Communities Fund and Awards for All. You can book a one hour slot to discuss your draft application with someone who is very knowledgeable and experienced. People who attended the last advice day were very pleased with the support they received.
‘Yes invaluable. Would always come. Support was brilliant’.
‘Yes I would certainly recommend it. We were given a generous amount of time with someone who was extremely knowledgeable and a very clear communicator’.
To get the best out of the session you need to get a copy of your draft application to VAC by Friday 15th January. Your draft application will then be sent to Jane who can then read it and prepare comments ready for when you meet with her.
To book a place please contact acharles@vac.org.uk. Tel: 0207 284 6553.

Don’t forget to sign up to Funding Central for free email funding alerts. Go to www.fundingcentral.org.uk/

VAC’s Mental Health Training Programme for BMER groups
Are you a BMER group or do you work with BMER communities? If so, then our Mental Health Training Programme is for you! Our next courses are as follows:
• Introduction to Mental Health Awareness (one day workshop: 9th December)
• Mental Health First Aid (two-day course: 9th and 16th February 2016)
For more information about our any of our courses, please go to https://vac.org.uk/events/category/health-mental-health/. Click on the course you are interested in and follow the instructions to book your place and pay by card (if applicable). The charge for our Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid training courses is heavily subsidised at only £25 per person. All other mental health workshops are free.
Please note that VAC can only accept bookings from organisations working with BMER communities based in Camden, or which serve Camden BMER residents. Places are limited on each course to a maximum of two people per organisation. If you have any queries, please contact us on our team email address: mentalhealthteam@vac.org.uk

VAC has a full programme of courses coming up: Click here to find out more. All courses are £25 for members (unless otherwise stated).

Property Advice Clinic
The Ethical Property Foundation will be providing a free property advice clinic for charities and not for profits in Camden on 14th January. Two of the Foundation’s advisers will be on hand to provide 20 minute one to one discussions on property issues including renting, leasing or buying property, maintenance or property disposal.
Please contact Donna Turnbull at VAC to book your free 20 minute slot between 10am-1pm. dturnbull@vac.org.uk tel 020 7284 6567

‘End of Life Care’ Conference: Thursday 11 February 2016, 10.30am – 3pm
The Eighth Annual Joint Conference from Age UK London and the Social Care Workforce Research Unit & Making Research Count at King’s College London (CPD certified)
Venue: Henriette Raphael Function Room, Henriette Raphael House, King’s College London Guy’s Campus, SE1 9RT, near London Bridge Station
Please book your conference place via: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/end-of-life-care-tickets-20054605866

Camden Mental Health Forum
Tuesday 26 January from 6-8pm at The Hub, 8 Fairhazel Gardens, London, NW6 3SG
The forum is an opportunity for people living with mental ill health, their carers, families and friends as well as mental health professionals to come together and discuss mental health issues in the borough including considering the future shape of services.
The meeting will be chaired by Councillor Maeve McCormack, the Council’s Mental Health champion.
If there is something that you would like to talk about at the forum please contact me (see below).
Other dates for 2016:
· Tuesday 12 April 6-8pm (venue to be confirmed)
· Wednesday 13 July 6-8pm (venue to be confirmed)
· Wednesday 12 October 6-8pm (venue to be confirmed)
We look forward to seeing you at the forums.
Paul Kent, London Borough of Camden Tel: 0207 974 6921 Web: camden.gov.uk

Voluntary Action Camden in Partnership with the Mary Ward Centre
ILM Certificate in Team Leading
Need a course that is the ideal launch pad for your management career? Start with this nationally recognized qualification that is designed for new and aspiring team leaders – get an in-depth introduction to the role and its responsibilities. This is a classroom-based afternoon\evening course delivered by tutors who are current practitioners in the sector. One session per week over 23 weeks plus online materials starting in January 2016. If you are in receipt of JSA/ESA or are unemployed and receive another income related benefit this course is FREE. Full fee £597. Call Roz on 020 7269 6033 or email roz@marywardcentre.ac.uk for details.

Drop-In Mindfulness Meditation
Thursdays 2.30pm – 3.30pm at The Stress Project
Mindfulness is the practise of focusing your attention on being in the present, without judgement. It is clinically proven and ideal to help improve sleep, de-stress and reduce anxiety.
£2 – No need to book, just turn up
www.stressproject.org.uk 2 Shelburne Road N7 6DL tel: 020 7700 3938

Volunteer Coordinators’ Forum and AGM
Save the date: Wednesday 27th January
Time and Venue TBC
Do you have a low-cost (or free!) venue VCC could use?
If so, contact Sheila at Volunteer Centre Camden [sheila@volunteercentrecamden.org.uk]

Courses at Castlehaven
Castlehaven have two new courses starting in the new year for anyone aged 19yrs +, the courses are the outcome of a partnership between the Castlehaven Community Association and the WMC – The Camden College.
An accredited Level 1 Course in Working with Children. Every Tuesday 10am-3pm from Tues 12th Jan 2016 (A great course for parents/carers of school children, who are looking to getting back into work).
A Free Taster Course in Floristry on Fri 29th Jan 2016 (With the potential to start an 8wk course in starting a business in Floristry).
Contact Castlehaven Community Association, The Community Centre, 21 Castlehaven Road, NW1
t: 020 7485 3386 e: info@castlehaven.org.uk web www.castlehaven.org.uk

Winter Volunteering Fairs
VCC are hosting three volunteering fairs this Winter.
The fairs are a perfect way to meet people who want to volunteer in Camden. And they have a 46% recruitment rate.
Thursday 21st January 6-7.30pm at Swiss Cottage Library
Please make sure you have weekend and evening volunteering opportunities, as many people who attend evening fairs work during the day.
Thursday 28th January 12-2pm at St Pancras Community Association
Wednesday 24th February 12-2pm at Working Men’s College
And you can easily book your places via Eventbrite here.

Developing Partnerships in the Arts and Cultural Sectors
24th February 2016, 10 am- 4.15 pm, Cockpit Arts, London
Looking at the benefits of where, when and how to find the right partner, this course will offer a simple structure for developing and working in partnerships.
Full of practical techniques for working together with other organisations and individuals, the day will leave you equipped to successfully deliver youth arts projects and events through partnerships. The training will use an interactive approach to explore issues such as defining roles and setting realistic targets, along with troubleshooting for problem areas – including when and how to bow out gracefully if partnerships aren’t working!
Ideal if you are looking to work in partnership with other organisations to deliver youth arts projects
You will gain:
~ Tips for identifying and approaching suitable partners
~ Information on how to develop partnerships and partnership agreements
~ Techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of your partnerships
Cost: The fee for this course is £130, limited bursary places are available. 25% early bird discount for bookings made before the 24th December 2015.
Book your place at www.artswork.org.uk/event or contact Rachel Hall via rachelhall@artswork.org.uk / 02380 332491 for further advice and information.

London for All
London for All / LVSC have a full programme of courses available for the voluntary sector. Go to the London for All website for full details.

Camden Carers’ Service
Has a full range of events and activities for unpaid carers in Camden. Find out more on the Camden Carers’ Service website www.camdencs.org.uk/activities

Don’t forget that Camden TDS run a full programme of course which are subsidised or free for voluntary sector partner organisations. There is a link to a list of partner organisations on the home page.

Find more Training Opportunities at www.vac.org.uk

Chief Executive- Voluntary Action Islington
Salary: up to £56,000
Our new Chief Executive must have the skills and qualities to be a leader of the diverse voluntary and community sector in Islington. We are looking for a commercially astute manager, with a strong track record in leadership and successful partnership working, ideally across sectors.
Full details including job description and application form on our web site
Closing date 9am on 18th January 2016
Interviews will be held on 25th January 2016

Marketing and Communications Volunteer
British Somali Community is a women led charity based in Camden, London which has operated for 20 years. We are focused on improving Somali children’s educational achievements, improving access to health and social services and improving the overall well-being of the Somali community.
We are looking for a creative and tech-savvy volunteer to join the team and help drive our marketing and communication. The volunteer will help develop a marketing and communication strategy for the BSC and support the team in creating marketing materials for our services, assist in organizing events and some office administrative duties when required. Although this is a voluntary role, with lunch and travel expenses covered, there is a possibility of it becoming a funded role.
Please send your CV and a short covering letter explaining your interest in the position as soon as possible to: info@britishsomali.org

NICE is recruiting lay and community members
NICE committees and working groups are made up of health, social care and other professionals and practitioners, patients, service users, carers and members of the public, and technical experts.
NICE is looking for lay and community members in different areas to help us develop our guidance, and all of our lay and community members are paid a fee to attend meetings and we cover travel and other expenses. See the full range of opportunities at the NICE website.

The Calthorpe Project seeks new Chair of Trustees
The Calthorpe Project, a charity and social enterprise in the rapidly changing area of King’s Cross in London, is looking for a new Chair of Trustees. Please see weblink below for more details:
https://reachskills.org.uk/opp/chair-trustees-needed-unique-multi-purpose-inner-city-green-oasis
This is a voluntary role, but would be ideal for someone who wants to ‘make their mark’ on an organisation for the benefit of local people and the environment. Applicants will need a track record of managing change, leadership and governance, and negotiating multiple stakeholder interests.
The Calthorpe Project has a 30 year history and a future full of potential. With your help the Calthorpe Project will continue to play a vital role in the London Borough of Camden for many years to come.

Alexandra Road Park Seeks Volunteers
This new park seeks volunteers who can help with conservation and promotion of Alexandra Road Park. Contact Jenny Kurktchieva, Jenny.Kurktchieva@camden.gov.uk or call 020 7974 2367.

University College London’s GC Voluntary Sector Programme in 2015-16
Host a full-time team volunteer placement in June 2016
The UCL Volunteering Services Unit is looking for up to 25 community partners to participate in the Global Citizenship Voluntary Sector Programme 2016.
Each participating organisation will host a team of 4-8 UCL students who are passionate about the voluntary sector. That team will learn about working life in your organisation and complete a project of your choosing whose output will add value to your organisation.
The next programme takes place 31 May – 10 June 2016 and we are recruiting voluntary organisations to host placements now, at www.uclu.org/gcvoluntarysectororgs.

Are you looking to employ an assistant to help with your care needs? CamdenPAs can help you.
CamdenPAs.org.uk is a new service that makes it easy to find a personal assistant (PA) and puts you in control of your care and support.
If you have care needs, you can employ a PA to help you to live as independently as possible.
CamdenPAs features an online ‘marketplace’ for you to browse through a list of profiles of PAs in the borough. Profiles give details about the services they provide, their skills, experience and personal interests.
You can look through the list to find suitable matches and choose someone you like to help support you.
When you find a match you can contact the PA to arrange an interview and see how you get on. If you like them you can then work out contract details such as hours, duties and wages, and hire them.
If you do not find anyone suitable, you can set up your own a profile describing your requirements and interests, for PAs to look through and contact you.
You can employ a PA whether you receive a direct payment or fund your own care. If you receive direct payments you can get support with the employment from Personalised Support In Camden or AgeUK Camden.
Become a PA
If you’re a PA looking for work or are just starting out, CamdenPAs can help you. As well as helping you finding a job, the site features advice on looking for work, becoming a PA and where to get training.
Why not set up your profile today? Find out more, visit: camdenpas.org.uk or phone: 020 7278 4437

Socially Responsible Recruiting
A new, award-winning skills matching service that connects employers with skilled and experienced people to do one-off or part-time jobs has launched in Camden, with a strong social benefit ethic.
“There is a very large number of people in Camden who are fantastically skilled and work-ready but are off the radar to employers because they’re not looking for full-time work and aren’t constantly scouring the job ads,” says Jonathan Collie, founder of Trading Times.
These people are highly skilled over 50s, and family carers. Trading Times brings them to you. It’s free to candidates. It costs you only £35, and only when you are connected to the perfect candidates.
Paul Fordham of Abbey Community Centre in Camden said: “”We posted our occasional job opportunity on Trading Times because we at the Abbey Community Centre recognise the value of the flexibility that can come with age. Trading Times offers a tailored means to directly target opportunities at an older group that the vast majority of other job sites simply do not seem to tap.”
Register at https://tradingtimes.org.uk/ and let Trading Times match you with the right local people for your needs.

Find Jobs and Volunteering opportunities at https://www.vac.org.uk/

DocHouse Community Discount
5 B 4 5 – great documentaries, any daytime screening, Mon– Thurs, £5 before 5pm
DocHouse is the UK’s first cinema dedicated solely to screening documentaries, be they past classics or great new releases. We show thought provoking and entertaining films and have an extensive online learning annex exploring all things documentary so we are passionate about keeping all of the local community fully updated on the DocHouse programme and its affordability.
You can see the full programme and sign up for our newsletter at http://www.dochouse.org/ or find our brochure at Curzon Bloomsbury.

Camden and Islington Public Health will re-procure Direct Action Project
This is a community based mental health promotion service for young people (aged 12-24) and for parents/carers of young children in Islington.
Ahead of inviting bids, we are conducting a market engagement exercise which will run until 16th December (12 noon). This is not an invitation to tender, but will help inform the procurement and shape the service specification. The questionnaire is now live and available through the Council website.
There is no requirement for potential providers to be physically located in Islington, although they will require familiarity with Islington services and facilities.
If your organisation may be interested in bidding for this contract, we would be grateful if you could complete the questionnaire through the London Tenders Portal (details in the link above).

Further Consultation on Crossrail 2
A proposed new railway serving London and the wider South East, Crossrail 2 would run underground through London between Wimbledon and New Southgate/Tottenham Hale and link into the existing national rail network above ground for destinations in Surrey and Hertfordshire.
Crossrail 2 would link in with London Underground, London Overground, Crossrail 1, national and international rail services.
Further details about the proposals are available at www.crossrail2.co.uk, where you can access a range of factsheets and view an interactive map of the proposals.
To respond formally to this consultation, please visit www.crossrail2.co.uk to leave a comment or provide a response to the consultation questions contained in the feedback form. The consultation will run until 8 January 2016

Greenwood Place Update
Demolition will begin on the Greenwood Place site soon. Read the lastest update here.

Need some online Help?
Don’t forget VAC’s toolkits and resources pages at www.vac.org.uk/our-work/toolkits-and-resources
There are resources to help you in many areas of work. For instance our HR resources can be found here: https://vac.org.uk/our-work/toolkits-and-resources/employment-hr-resources/

Camden Consultations
You can find all Camden consultation on the Wearecamden consultation hub.

FREE VAC Membership for Unfunded Groups: Voluntary Action Camden Small organisations with no paid staff and a turnover of less than £1,500 can now join for FREE. To take advantage of this offer just fill in the membership on the online form here.