Voluntary Action Camden Newsletter – 2nd June 2023

Membership is free, click on the link box above and join us today

We also have lots of information on a range of local events and opportunities from around the Camden area.

On the 8th June, from 8.45am – 10.15am, VAC is launching the CEO Network with the event ‘Good Leadership in difficult times’

This breakfast meeting will be held at the British Library and tickets are almost sold out.

If you are a CEO, or otherwise titled leader, of a Camden VCS organisation and you would like to be a part of this opening event, an event where you will be free to network with your peers, share ideas, issues and support, and listen to our excellent guest speakers… Please sign up now, registration closes on the 6th June

You can find more information about both this event, and the benefits of the CEO Network here

Volunteers’ Week 2023
Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering in their communities. This years events began yesterday and run until 7th June.

To learn more and get involved, please click here

UCL Community Research Network Boost Your Research + Evaluation! Mixer Event
The UCL Community Research Initiative are bringing together voluntary and community organisations at Kentish Town Community Centre on Thursday 6th July, 5.30pm – 7.30pm to:

Meet organisation leaders in the same position as you.
Connect with UCL researchers and academics.
Learn about our support network with training opportunities and tailored support.

To register, please click here
For any questions, please contact Molly from the UCL Community Research Initiative at molly.mccabe@ucl.ac.uk

UN CRPD call for evidence
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) has issued a call for evidence. They are conducting a follow-up review of their 2016 inquiry into the UK and the recommendations they made at the time.
Organisations can submit written evidence to inform this follow-up review by the 1st August or they can share evidence in-person as part of the oral briefing on the 28th August.

If you would like more information on this, please contact the Secretariat for the UN CRPD at Jorge.araya@un.org or ohchr-crpd@un.org
To read the original report please click here

Green City Projects Open Gardens Weekend
Green City Projects are delighted to invite you to visit 2 of our gardens:
Little Mix of a Garden, Kentish Town, 10th June 11.30am – 4pm.
This garden is the work of the Integrated Learning Disabilities gardening group.

St Paul’s Woodland Garden Project, Camden Square, 11th June 11.30am –
3.30pm
Here we work with a number of groups including people from St Pancras Hospital and the wider community.
Refreshments will be available to purchase on both days.
To learn more, please click here

Volunteer Managers’ Forum
Thursday 8th June, 2-3pm: online

Book Now For everything you wanted to know about “DBS for Volunteer Managers”, a workshop from Volunteer Centre Camden.
The event is free to attend.
Learn more and sign up here

Charity Job salary report 2023
In their latest report CharityJob highlights how charity salaries have changed since the pandemic. The data is based on over 60,000 paid roles that were posted on their website last year. The report analyses average salaries by job type, experience level and charity size and compares this to data from 2019.
To read the report, please click here

Stratford East Two for One ticket for Tambo and Bones
Join Tambo (Rhashan Stone) and Bones (Daniel Ward) on their journey from comedy double-act to hip-hop superstars, to activists in an America at the epicentre of the global Black Lives Matter movement.

The two for one (Band A and Band B) tickets are available for performances on the following dates: Fri 16th – Wed 21st June at 7.30pm.
To book please call the Box Office on 0208 534 0310 or click here, and use the promocode BONES241

British Library vacancy: Local Opportunities Programme Manager
Closing date: 16th June

This is an exciting new role with lots of scope for bringing your own ideas and flair to help The British Library further strengthen our relationships with local communities.
Based in our small but ambitious Community Engagement team, and working across the organisation, you will be responsible for the development and delivery of an exciting co-designed programme of tangible opportunities for local people.
To learn more and apply, please click here

Queens Crescent Fixing Factory looking for a volunteer admin assistant.
The Queens Crescent Fixing Factory is a community repair hub where people are able to get their electronic items fixed, learn repair skills and much more.
We are looking for admin volunteers to support us in our operations whilst gaining new skills and learning with us.
To read the job description please click here, and, if you’re interested email hello@fixingfactory.org

Newsletter Submissions
Please send any information (approximately 50-75 words long) that you would like included in our weekly newsletter to social@vac.org.uk

Camden Mela 2023: Celebrating the beauty of our culturally diverse community

The famous Camden Mela has been announced for 2023, promoting sustainability, community cohesion and better health.
It will be held on Sunday 2nd July: 12pm – 6pm on Coram’s Fields (93 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1DN)

Arts & crafts, food stalls, live music & dance and a funfair come together at this community festival celebrating the richness of British cultural diversity. A marquee will provide health information and advice and there will be plenty of free family activities to keep kids busy.

Entry is free and every year 4000-5000 people attend

To learn more, please click here
To book a stall or for more information, please contact Nasim Ali OBE on nasim.ali@kcbna.org.uk or call 07852 223 403

VAC Consultancy Service
Contact us today if you need advice or support to develop any aspect of your established or aspiring Camden voluntary and community sector organisation.
Learn more here

VAC administered Google Grants
The VAC administered Google Grants scheme is still ongoing.

VAC have been funded by Google to provide up to £300 per quarter for small organisations looking to book one-off spaces to work in or to hold community sessions and training, and up to £600 for the ongoing rent of office and hot desking space.

It is available to small voluntary or community sector organisation with income under £150,000 a year looking to book a venue in Camden.

To find out more, please click here
or get in contact with Ricky at Rsingh@vac.org.uk

Camden Youth Social Action Grants of up to £5,000 available
Closing date: Midnight on Friday 23rd June

Camden Youth Council (CYC) have an exciting opportunity for young people in Camden to make a real difference through social action – by offering grants of up to £5,000 to help tackle three areas of concern for local young people.
These areas are: Young people’s safety, The environment & Skills for life – CV writing, finding a job, managing finances and how to secure a home in the future.
These three grant areas are aimed at young people aged 12 to 19, or up to 25 with a special educational need or disability, who live, work or go to school in Camden.
All applications must be supported by a partner organisation such as your school or youth club.
Find out more and download an application form here

Hilden Charitable Fund Now Accepting UK Applications
Deadline: 4pm on Friday 7th July

The Hilden Charitable Fund is an endowed grant-making foundation and a registered charity. They fund smaller UK-based organisations delivering projects within the UK to support social justice and to tackle disadvantage in specific areas of focus – providing unrestricted, core or project funding. They also fund projects overseas in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.
For more details, please click here

Night Shelter Transformation Fund
Rolling deadline
The government has announced a £3.3m funding boost for night shelters across England.
Shelters will use the funding, which is part of the Night Shelter Transformation Fund, to provide more beds and support services to homeless people.
To learn more, please click here

The Philological Foundation grants
The Philological Foundation provides grants to students and schools in Camden and Westminster.
It helps schools enable children to take part in school journeys or to provide special benefits such as playground equipment, library books or musical instruments.
Grants are available for young people under the age of 26 whose families cannot provide them with financial support.
To learn more, please click here

Climate Action Fund – Energy and Climate
This funding aims to inspire and support communities across the UK to address the energy and climate crisis. We’re looking for projects that show how communities can address climate change while tackling the energy challenges through community-led climate action.
To learn more, please click here

National Lottery Awards for All
This is a quick way to apply for smaller amounts of funding between £300 and £10,000.
This programme is here to support communities with the things that are important to them, including mitigating the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and supporting them as they seek to recover, rebuild and grow following the Covid-19 pandemic.
To learn more, please click here

To re-discover funding removed from this list, please see our newsletter archive here

Other available funders include:

• Camden Giving
• Grants Online
• My Funding Central
• Idox Camden 4 Community
• VAC main funding page

To register, please click here or contact Ricky at rsingh@vac.org.uk for more information.

Art Club: Camden – A CSKX Studios and People’s Museum Somers Town project
Saturdays: 11am-1pm: Meet People’s Museum Somers Town – 52 Phoenix Road, NW1 1ES

Beginning in June CSKX Studios and People’s Museum Somers Town are running a free weekly and holiday art workshops for young people aged 11-18yrs.
Workshops will include: Drawing and Painting, Street Art, Photography, Printing, and Gallery & Museum visits.
When and where possible the workshops will be held outdoors.
Workshops are free and basic materials will be supplied

To register interest or for further information from CSKX Studios please click here, or email info@cskx.org, or call 020 8001 5357
Or contact People’s Museum at info@aspaceforus.club
Alternatively, information and sign up sheets can also be picked up directly from the People’s Museum.

Sainsbury Wellcome Centre annual Lecture
Sainsbury Wellcome Centre will be hosting our annual SWC Lecture on Tuesday 6th June from 12-1pm in the SWC Lecture Theatre.

This year’s speaker will be Professor Stephen Reicher who will talk to us on:
The wrong psychology? What Covid-19 taught us about behavioural science in society.

“The Covid-19 pandemic taught us about the integral role of behavioural science (alongside other sciences) in responding to major societal challenges. However, by the same token, it showed us the costs of making erroneous assumptions about the drivers of action and the limitations of the perspectives currently dominant in Government behavioural science.”

The talk is open to all and free to attend, but a ticket is required.
To register, please click here

Discover-Me Project from Laamiga
Staring: 12th June  6.30-8.30 pm

Are you a woman aged over 18 from a Black, Asian, minority ethnic, refugee and migrant background living in Camden and Islington?
Would you like to develop your self-confidence, communication and creativity skills?
Laamiga warmly invite you to join the Discover-Me Project.

There are monthly online webinars, starting on 12th June, 6.30-8.30pm, in storytelling, communication and creativity skills for women from minority ethnic, refugee, & migrant backgrounds aged over 18 in Camden and Islington.
For more information email info@laamiga.org with your name, email address and telephone number or call 0208 257 7317 and leave your contact details.

Camden Private Renters Forum
On Thursday 8th June at 5pm, Camden is hosting a new Camden Private Renters Forum.
Many renters are not aware of their rights.
This forum will provide expert advice on how to negotiate rent increases, manage any issues with damp/mould, signpost to further help on the rising cost of living and explain what the Council can do to help.
Private renting can be difficult so it’s important that renters across Camden know how to access support and advice.
The forum will be hosted on Zoom and is open to anyone renting privately in Camden.
Residents can find out more information and register here

Free Youth Work & Youth Justice Training
Wipers Youth CIC is an award-winning social enterprise which specialises in working with vulnerable and disadvantaged young people.
We offer exceptional youth work and youth justice training courses, and have a limited number of free spaces available on the courses below:

Tuesday 6th June (virtual)
• Trauma and Child Criminal Exploitation 10am – 1pm
• Cultural Competency 1:30pm – 4:30pm

Wednesday 7th June (at Voluntary Action Islington, Kings Cross, 200A Pentonville Road, N1 9JP)
• Coaching and Mentoring Young People from 10am – 1pm
• Delivering Effective Group Work from 1:30pm – 4:30pm

To enquire about booking a space please email training@wipers.org.uk
Or, for more information please click here

Third Sector Fundraising Summit
6th – 7th June
This event will be held at Events@No6, London (from £95) or online (free) and will hear from UK charities on how to get the most from your fundraising strategy.
It is designed to offer you key insights into remaining creative and authentic with your fundraising strategy through a series of case studies, fireside chats, roundtable sessions and expert panel discussions.
Tickets are available here, in-person space is limited

Wild Camden Festival
London Wildlife Trust will be hosting the ‘Wild Camden Festival’ on 4th June at Camley Street Natural Park (N1C 4PW) between 12 & 4pm.
We will be celebrating World Environment Day and showcasing ways that local residents can take action towards sustainable living and using local green spaces to promote wellbeing.
We still have spaces for local organisations to run a stall or an activity showcasing their work.
Please contact Fiona at fmcgain@wildlondon.org.uk for further details

Membership Development Officer
22.5 hours per week
Closing date: 14th June at 11.30pm
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced, passionate, and dynamic individual to join Voluntary Action Camden (VAC) as the Membership Development Officer.
VAC is a membership organisation and crucial to the success of the role will be the ability to support our members to achieve their objectives.

For the full job description and to apply, please click here

St Giles & St George Alms charity – Trustee Vacancy
Closing Date: Monday 12 June 2023
St Giles & St George Alms is an old parochial foundation based in the Bloomsbury and Covent Garden area. Our objective is to relieve poverty and we help local residents facing hardship in different ways:

– Almshouse accommodation for eight older women
– Grants for Individuals who need new/placement appliances and furniture
– Grants for Organisations supporting isolated older people or tackling homelessness.

We are particularly looking for someone who has prior experience of supporting older people and could become a champion for our Almshouse provision.
To learn more and apply, please click here

Social Prescribers Innovators Programme  
A new initiative is being delivered by the Camden Care Navigation and Social Prescribing Service, hosted by Age UK Camden (AUC) and Voluntary Action Camden.
The project aims to develop volunteering within the service as a way to help retain existing social prescribers and to support successful recruitment to new social prescriber roles.
Contact Mandira at mmanandhar@vac.org.uk if you are interested in volunteering on this new venture.

Vacancies at Latin American House
Latin American House is currently recruiting for the following three roles

Communities & Cultures Coordinator
To lead the implementation of its Communities & Cultures programme
Closing date – 8th June

Children & Young People Coordinator
To lead the implementation of its Children & Young People programme
Closing date – 7th June

Level 3 Early Years Practitioner
Level 3 Early Years practitioner to join the team at its bilingual nursery, Centro Infantil Menchu.
Closing date – 5th July

Full job descriptions and instructions on how to apply can be found here

Become a Trustee of SHAK
Closing date: 7th June
SHAK (South Hampstead and Kilburn Community Partnership) is a resident led charity based on the iconic Alexandra and Ainsworth estate in the Kilburn ward of Camden NW London, an area of high rates of deprivation and poverty but big potential. Our mission is to enable young people and adults to overcome barriers to economic and social inclusion.

We are seeking new trustees with skills in the areas of safeguarding, fundraising, strategy development etc. . We are particularly interested in increasing representation at board level from minority communities
To learn more and apply, please click here

Cancer Care Map Resources
Cancer Care Map provides a free to access, online directory of cancer care services in the UK. We list over 3,700 local and national support services and all information is checked and updated regularly

Find information on support for families, loved ones and carers as well as those living with cancer themselves
Find psychological and emotional support, health and wellbeing services, and practical help wherever you are in the UK

To access the directories, please click here
We are also available on Twitter and Instagram @CancerCareMap and find us on Facebook.com/CancerCareMap

Local VCS Newsletters:

SHAK
Young Camden Foundation (Funding Newsletter)
Young Camden Foundation (Events and Training Newsletter)
AWN (sign up)
London Sport (sign up)
Fitzrovia Community Centre
Coram’s Field Community Newsletter (sign up)
CAWH Newsletter
St Pancras Community Association (sign up)
Castlehaven in Bloom (sign up)
UCL Volunteering Service Newsletter (sign up)
Latin American House
London Irish Centre
A Space for us
North London Cares: Upcoming Clubs

If you would like your Camden VCS newsletter added to this list, please email social@vac.org.uk

Looking for a previous newsletter entry? Find it in our archive here

Find presentations, recordings and resources from past forums here

Our mailing address is:
Greenwood Centre, Greenwood Place, London, NW5 1LB

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