Voluntary Action Camden e-bulletin 5th June 2020

Carer’s Week

Next week is Carers’ Week – a great opportunity to support all the carers in Camden.  Camden Carers have a full programme of events.  Follow #carersweek

GLA Mutual Aid Groups Survey

The GLA is surveying Mutual Aid Groups to learn more about them.  Take part.

Reporting serious incidents to the Charity Commission

The Charity Commission has updated its guidance on reporting serious incidents. The requirement to  report a sudden reduction in income doesn’t apply if its coronavirus related, but charities will still have to report if they have suspended operations.  The full guidance, with examples, is here.

Activities and Services in your community

Camden Disability Action
West Euston Partnership (WEP)
All Ways Network

Covid-19 Resources

VAC has gathered relevant resources on a range of topics.
Notable recent additions include:

• anti-racism resources: Shake, Anti Racism Resources & It’s Nice That
• Government FAQ on what you can and can’t do now.
• Test and trace flow chart.

Best Articles

Coronavirus volunteers aren’t just a source of free labour – don’t take advantage of them
Austerity is the Killer – Michael Marmot
Experts decry easing of coronavirus lockdown for England’s shielders

Rosa COVID-19 Response Fund for women’s organisations

£1-£10K. The funding is for specialist “by, for and with” women’s organisations  across the UK and is intended to help them meet short-term funding needs and respond to the coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis.
For more information and to apply please visit the Rosa website

Grant Charities in South Camden

Three local grant-awarding charities offering assistance to people in financial hardship would like to let you know about their offers/schemes.
You can find links to each of the charities at the end of this newsletter, along with further information about their area of benefit, and how to apply.

Coronavirus Community Support Fund

A new £200m fimd aimed at small to medium organisations:
~ To increase community support to vulnerable people affected by the COVID-19 crisis, through the work of civil society organisations.
~ To reduce temporary closures of essential charities and social enterprises, ensuring services for vulnerable people impacted by COVID-19 have the financial resources to operate, and so reduce the burden on public services.
Full details on the National Lottery Community Fund website.

Grant Charities in South Camden

Three local grant-awarding charities offering assistance to people in financial hardship would like to let you know about their offers/schemes.
You can find links to each of the charities at the end of this newsletter, along with further information about their area of benefit, and how to apply.

Three New Funds from Camden Giving

Round 2 Now Open King’s Cross (KX) Fund – closing 15th June
Future Changemakers Fund – Year 2 – closing 8th June

YCF Partners with Google to Launch the Digital Youth Work Fund

Young Camden Foundation (YCF) has launched the Digital Youth Work Fund sponsored by Google. This fund is designed to support Camden’s children and young people sector by creating or enhancing a digital youth work offer.
YCF will award members grants of up to £5,000
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis with the following deadlines: 29 May, 19 June and 3 July 2020.  Details at YCF website. Questions to grants@youngcamdenfoundation.org.uk.

Food Grant Update

The Food Charity Grant Scheme requires charities to apply for at least £30,000. This is to target funding to those charities who have the capacity to reach the greatest number of people.
For those charities which would be interested in funding below £30,000, the National Lottery Funding is awarding grants from £300 to £10,000 and is prioritising organisations supporting people most likely to face increased demand and challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Government Support to Small Businesses

The Government support grants to businesses have been tied to those with premises and there are complicated rules making it hard for charities who may well be eligible to access the funds.  We have some detailed guidance. Local Authorities will be publishing their new guidance soon.

London Community Response

The second wave of London Community Response funding currently paused for Delivering Differently   Wave 3 will open in June.  Wave 4 will focus on recovery later in the year.
1. Crisis response – grants up to £10,000 to meet the immediate needs
2. Delivering differently – grants of £10,000 to £50,000 to change how you work

Lists of Emergency Funders

• Civil Society
• Ian McLintok’s LinkedIn blog
• NCVO’s funding central site is currently free for non-members.
• Charity Bank 
• Grants Online

Digital & Tech Support Online Q&A

Tuesdays 2 – 3.30pm
Many organisations are having to grapple with moving their office systems online so staff and volunteers can work remotely.We’ll look at:
~ What systems do you need?
~ How do you set them up?
~ What works and what doesn’t?
Q&A session with Gilbert Plant, our digital partner from CITA and WCIT.
Joining details here: https://vac.org.uk/events/
Email alexcharles@vac.org.uk

Camden Voluntary Action Forum

The forum is open to all Camden voluntary and community  groups and organisation, community activists, social entreprenuers, volunteers and anyone interested in local voluntary action.  It’s a chance to catch up with the latest situation in Camden and to share what you are doing. Each forum also looks at a specific topic.  Currently the forum is fortnightly and online.  Recent forums have looked at ‘Online and off line activities’, ‘financial impact survey results’ and ‘sector support needs’.  Joining details are sent a few days before each meeting.  Contact info@vac.org.uk to join the list.  Upcoming dates:
Wed 17 June 11am  Planning for the Future
Wed 1 July 11am Disporportionate Impact of Covid-19 on BAME Communities

These sessions will be hosted on zoom.  Ideally you will need a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone with camera or microphone but you can also join by telephone as well. Click on the link or use the meeting ID.  You will also need the password if one was set. Short guide to joining a zoom meeting.

Safeguarding Courses:

VAC is working with funders so that safeguarding courses can continue online.  Further details to come. There are some basic safeguarding videos on the home page and on the COVID19 Update page.
Tel: 020 7 284 6575 | Email: dogunyemi@vac.org.uk email (Mon – Wed)

More details on the VAC website: https://vac.org.uk/events/

Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership

4 new virtual training safeguarding training sessions for June/July 2020.
Due to the current social distancing restrictions in place in light of COVID-19, the CSCP has worked with our experienced trainers to ensure that safeguarding training can still be made available to multi-agency partners.
Understanding Early Help in Camden 11 June 2020 — 10.00-11.00am
Child Protection Level 2–3  19 June 2020 — 11.30am-12.30pm
Domestic Abuse  30 June 2020 — 2.00-3.00pm
Parental Mental Health and the Impact on Children 13 July 2020 — 10.00am-12.30pm
Full details and how to apply here.

Camden Early Help Friends Workshop (online)

This one-hour workshop is for those that work with or come across Camden children, young people and families. It will be delivered by the Camden Early Help Team and cover who family early help is for, what it does, how to get it, and the role we all play in helping families to get the help they need as early as possible. If you want to understand what family early help is and how Camden’s early help service works please book one of these sessions.
9th June 2020, 19:00 – 20:00 or 18th June 2020, 10:00 – 11:00
To book please email learning@camden.gov.uk.
This session will run on MS Teams or join via browser on Edge or Chrome.

Women+Health online group classes via Zoom

Aiming too help people feel calm, grounded, & centred during lockdown. We are currently running 4 online classes per week:
~ Tuesdays at 1pm, ‘Mindfulness for Women’ with Camilla (women only)
~ Wednesdays at 6:30pm, ‘Yoga Nidra’ with Lina (men & women welcome)
~ Thursdays 6:30pm, ‘Gentle Hatha Yoga’ with Diana (men & women welcome)
~ Fridays at 1pm, ‘Sound Healing’ with Catherine (men & women welcome)
All classes are donation classes – and all money we receive goes towards helping Women+Health survive while our doors are closed. The classes are FREE if people cannot donate.
All info to join classes and to donate can be found on our JustGiving page:

YPF COVID-19 Support Webinars are Available Online

Young People’s Foundation (YPF) has been hosting a webinar series to discuss topics related to COVID-19 support. In case you missed any of the presentations, the recordings are available online. Subjects include:
~ Cyber Service Offer for Children and Young People
~ Safeguarding and Cyber Working
~ Support from Funders
~ Education
~ Furlough/HR/Legal Changes
~ Mental Health Awareness
~ Street Safety and Detached Work – recording coming soon!
Webinar 8 – Wednesday 17 June – Employment
Webinar 9 – Wednesday 24 June – Summer Provision
The link to RSVP will be available soon on YCF’s website.

Superhighways

Superhighways helps small charities and community groups in London do more with digital and data.  See the full training programme here.

Online peer support sessions for voluntary sector Leaders

Sign up to an online peer support session, offered by The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR). Sign up here – dates available to end of June.
These 90 minute sessions, for up to 10 voluntary sector leaders at a time, will give you the opportunity to explore and discuss the challenges you are currently experiencing, precipitated by the COVID-19 outbreak. We understand that you may be facing huge stress and uncertainty, and hope that these sessions will offer a space to share experiences, dilemmas and worries.

FSI Fundraising Conference June 2020

The FSI’s popular Fundraising Conference is back.  Online on 18th June to hear from small charity experts sharing their knowledge and real-life experiences. In light of the challenges facingthe sector the Conference is free to attend for charities under £100k turnover

Rush In Ballet

Ballet is a good challenge that will lift your spirits. As well as all of the benefits that come with pursuing a craft and with exercise, it is good to see some friendly faces and experience the camaraderie that we all so badly need.
Don’t worry if you feel shy, everyone is welcome regardless of level or how you may be feeling at the moment. You can turn your own camera on or off, so you can either just follow along or get feedback from me if you want it.
You may even find Zoom classes less pressure than being in the studio, as you can disappear from the screen anytime you like to have a rest.
Saturday mornings, 10 AM.  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5836327600

Free training courses

Training Link has free online courses that people can do at home.  Improve your skills during the lockdown! The courses include Level 2
Food Safety & Hygiene, Customer Care, courses for care work and others. They can be done on a PC or laptop with internet access. For
more information, email Peter Lush on director@traininglink.org.uk

How to Volunteer and How to Recruit Volunteers in Camden

Volunteer in Camden at Time to Spare.
Volunteer for the NHS at GoodSAM.
Join a neighbourhood Mutual Aid group.
Organisations that are signed up to Time to Spare can now request volunteers through a brokerage team making it much easier to access the volunteers. The brokers can help match volunteers with voluntary and community organisations who have a need for verified/ vetted volunteers. The service will also help to verify or carry out new DBS check with volunteers.You can use the Brokerage service to request volunteers with specific skills or background for community activity.
Get support and resources from Volunteer Centre Camden
The council has a  page of resources to help community organisations

Elfrida Rathbone Community Champions Volunteers

The project supports residents and families on the Peckwater, Torriano and Oseney Estates as well as the wider Kentish Town area who have been affected by the corona virus.  For help with:
– food shopping and prescription pick up/drop off
– telephone befriending for anyone feeling anxious or isolated
– dog walking if you cannot leave the house
Volunteers from the local area who can provide support needed. All volunteers will be DBS checked and will receive an induction.
Contact Jill on 07939877745

London Plus seeks Social Prescribing Network Co-ordinator

To lead on promoting, supporting and developing social prescribing in the VCSE sector across London. You will develop and support the social prescribing network
Social Prescribing Network Coordinator Job Pack Newsletter.pdf
The closing date for applications is the 16th June 2020.
If you have any questions please email martin@londonplus.org (Martin Brookes, chief executive)

CDA seeks new Chair

Camden Disability Action (CDA) is looking for a new Chair to build and lead a skilled Trustee board.
We are looking for a local Disabled person who has the skills and enthusiasm to provide strategic leadership for the organisation and to support making Greenwood a centre for social change.

Henna seeks an Advice & Outreach Worker

£12.05 ph  2 day pw- 14 hours  Interim 3 months with possible further 6 mths
Must have a willingness and aptitude to conduct outreach and establish contact with agencies and individuals to build a base for Henna Asian Women’s Group.  You will need experience of working with vulnerable adult groups and knowledge of the barriers they may face in accessing services. Contact Rafat.

The Society for the Furtherance of Critical Philosophy

SFCP, a small independent charity concerned with education, ethics and philosophy and with strong international links, seeks someone to take minutes of Trustee meetings, usually held in Central London, and to liaise with the secretary and trustees. Interest in our values and activities would be an advantage.
Other administrative tasks/meetings by agreement. @ £35/hr.
To discuss this opportunity, please contact the chair Dr Julie-Marie ffrench Devitt Applications on one side of A4 at: galangal19@yahoo.co.uk  website www.sfcp.org.uk.

Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust is Recruiting

The Trust is seeking two new Non-Executive directors and will also be seeking Associate NEDs soon.
Further information and how to apply:
https://jobs.theguardian.com/job/7065257/non-executive-directors/
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/cap/view/1857606711/?pathWildcard=1857606711&trk=job_capjs

Paid work opportunities for people who have been laid off/ reduced income

Local Adult social care providers are still recruiting, and as they support the NHS to move vulnerable adults out of hospital to stay well at home, their need is growing. Contact Proud to Care.

Camden Social Prescribing and Care Navigation update

Social Prescribing and Care Navigation delivered by Age UK Camden, Voluntary Action Camden and Wish+ is operational, and adapted, as a point of access to services and support during the COVID 19 emergency.
Referral form can be found here. Minimum requirements are contact details and permission to contact the person needing support.
Freephone: 0800 193 6067 (please leave a message if no answer. Staff are using other phones to call back and keep this one free)
Secure NHS email (referrals only): camccg.socialprescribingreferral@nhs.net
Community Links email (enquiries and referrals): communitylinks@vac.org.uk

Covid Top 20 In-Kind Offers

A revised list of Business offers to support voluntary and community sector organisations.  To request an offer email  Covid.InKind@london.gov.uk

VAC COVID-19 Pages

Covid-19 Community Directory  (Update your entry here) [Map here]
Covid-19 Update page.
Covid-19 Resources page

Keep in touch and up-to-date via the e-bulletin and @onecamden twitter.  We have a comprehensive COVID-19 update page and a resources page.

Our mailing address is:
Charlie Ratchford Centre, Belmont Street, London, NW1 8HF

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