One Colchester Strategic Partnership has announced the launch of its annual Winter Resilience Campaign.
Supporting the most vulnerable over the coming winter months, the campaign brings together a strategic partnership of public, community and voluntary sector groups who provide funding and community spirit to help residents stay safe, warm, well and connected,
The project provides advice and support through the One Colchester initiative delivering roadshows in the community and distributing winter packs to those affected by the cold weather, including families on low incomes, people living with long-term health conditions or at risk of social isolation.
The launch took place at The One Colchester Community Hub at a cost of living and winter resilience event organised by Community360. The event was supported by over 20 organisations offering information on health, social prescribing and cost of living support.
Tracy Rudling, Chief Executive Officer of Community360 and Chair of One Colchester Said:
“We are delighted to be working once again with key partners who provide much needed help and support when things get tough during the winter months. This also includes funding local projects and conducting outreach across the city. It is humbling every year to see just how many people in our community are benefiting from the Winter Resilience Campaign.”
She added: “Unfortunately, we are still facing a tough winter ahead of us. Households across the city are already feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis, with many low-income households being forced to go without essentials. The risk of homelessness is growing and with fuel prices still high we will see more people still having to choose whether to heat their homes or cook a hot meal. Winter can also increase isolation, loneliness and have a negative effect on our physical and mental wellbeing.
However, Colchester has a fantastic community spirit and an amazing voluntary sector. Along with our partners, we can listen to and support our residents and communities with practical advice, support, and outreach.”
Cllr Natalie Sommers, Colchester Council’s Portfolio Holder for Communities, said: “The Winter Resilience Campaign is a vital initiative that provides essential support to our most vulnerable residents during the challenging winter months.
“The campaign is a testament to the strength of our community and the dedication of our partners to helping those in need. It is truly inspiring to see the collaborative efforts of public, community, and voluntary groups coming together to ensure that no one is left behind.”
The Winter Packs, a crucial part of the campaign will this year include a guide to local support services, including signposting to social groups, and contain practical items, such as clothing, basic refreshments, a torch, blanket and flask and will be distributed to those identified as being in need by partnership members.
A dedicated supply of packs will be held at the One Colchester Hub and will also be held at Colchester Hospital for staff to distribute to patients who would benefit from the packs when they are discharged.
The Winter Resilience Steering Group, chaired by Community360, who co-delivers the project, brings together representatives from the public and voluntary sector to facilitate support over the winter months. The project has been funded by The North East Essex Alliance and supported by donations in kind.
The re-launch brings about new features and an improved user experience, meaning it has never been easier to find activities, groups and services in your area. The Essex Map is a real asset for organisations within the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector, as well as the statutory and local government. It provides the opportunity to put a voice out there for services and activities that support the needs of the local community and helps them to thrive. If you feel something is missing that supports the wider Essex community, please add it on to the Essex Map.
New features of the Essex Map include:
A Franchise Option – if your organisation covers multiple locations, you can now set up a ‘franchise’. This is an option for when you set up a new listing or edit an old one. Please contact us if you need help with this.
Set Up a List – within your account, you can now set up a list. Simply click on a listing you like, on the top right hand side there is a blue button that says “save to list”. You can choose if you’d like your list to be public or private.
Verified Tick – to receive a verified tick, you will need to claim your own listing. Please contact us if you need help with this.
Last Updated – you can now see when the listing you are viewing was ‘last updated’ at the bottom right hand side of the page.
‘New’ Badge – if the listing is new, it will have a ‘new’ button show up for a few days.
If you need support with any of these new features, or help navigating the new Essex Map, we will be hosting drop in sessions online with a member of the Map team who will be able to answer any questions and help you with your query.
Working with our local communities to sow the seeds of change.
We are committed to supporting the communities that we work and live in. That is why we created the Ford Britain Trust. Since April 1975 we have been able to help fund the education and advancement of our neighbours.
We pay special attention to projects focusing on education, environment, children, the disabled, youth activities and projects that provide clear benefits to the local communities close to our UK locations. The Ford Britain Trust particularly encourages applications supported by Ford employees, but is open to all, provided that the qualifying organisations meet our selection criteria.
There are two types of grants to apply for:
Small grants for amounts up to £250
We will be accepting applications for small grants from 1st August to 30th November 2023 for review in December 2023.
Large grants for amounts over £250 and up to a maximum of £3000
We will be accepting applications for large grants from 1st October to 31st January 2024 for consideration by our Board of Trustees in March 2024.
Please note applications received after these dates will not be accepted and will, instead, be put forward for inclusion in the next application cycles.
Join one Campaign for Learning’s fully funded workshops on how to help children with neurodiversity and additional learning and support needs learn about money.
This workshop offers a new approach to learning about money for families and children with diverse needs including autism spectrum disorders and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The training is funded by the Money and Pensions Service and builds on the Love Learning about Money Programme.
15 NovemberJoin us for this funded workshop on how to help children with neurodiversity and additional learning and support needs learn about money.Register now
21 NovemberJoin us for this funded workshop on how to help children with neurodiversity and additional learning and support needs learn about money.Register now
Two new grants are now available to support Ukrainian guests who are living in the district.
Up to £1,500 is available through the Integration and Support Fund to help individuals to live more independently and become more connected with their local communities.
The Community Grant Fund is to help pay for activities, events and projects.
Voluntary and charitable organisations in Uttlesford can now apply for funding to help with the costs of providing essential services to local communities.
The grant is for revenue expenditure only and cannot be used towards capital projects such as refurbishment of buildings.
Grants of up to £35,000 are available for community groups and parish/town councils to tackle climate change. Projects might include, for example, energy conservation or efficiency measures on community buildings or nature and biodiversity initiatives.
This scheme offers grants of between £250 up to a maximum of £2,500 (match funded) to Uttlesford businesses that want to develop or improve their digital assets.
This scheme offers grants of between £500 up to a maximum of £5,000 (match-funded) to Uttlesford businesses that want to reduce their carbon footprint. The grant is open to small or medium sized enterprises.
The second round of Expressions of Interest will open on Monday 6 November and close at 5pm on Friday 1 December. The Expressions of Interest application form can be found here.
The PHAB programme funds projects supporting the aims of the new Essex Wellbeing, Public Health and Communities Business Plan and aims to tackle health inequalities and improve the health of Essex residents. Grants must be used to create new services or expand on existing ones. They cannot be used as an alternative funding stream to continue to run services which are already being provided.
For more information on the criteria, and details of how to submit an Expression of Interest, visit www.essex.gov.uk/phab. You can also email the Project Team directly with questions at PHABApplications@activeessex.org.
The PHAB small grants scheme, which offers grants of up to £15,000 to organisations across Essex, remains open on a rolling basis. Please do consider if your organisation could benefit.
Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board is facilitating a conference on 15th November which celebrates the best of social prescribing across our integrated partnership. There will be some rich sharing of the activity being undertaken in local communities from partners representing our Alliances, The Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise Sector and Local Authorities. There will be a reflection on where we have been as a system, where we are now and what the future looks like continuing to work in ever closer partnership. We will hear of a amazing degree apprenticeship opportunity across sector and also the superb Frontline referrals system.
Social Prescribing, in it’s many forms, helps people to proactively stay out of needing acute support, being supported in communities more appropriately. We have some amazing speakers from across our system sharing from Primary Care, the Essex Wellbeing Service, Basildon and Brentwood Specialist Social Prescribing Unit, Community 360, Thurrock CVS, Southend Association of Voluntary Services, and Active Essex.
On arrival there will be tea, coffee and pastries, a buffet lunch and there will be a range of stands promoting the great work going on in our communities. Whether you are a social prescriber, practice manager, local authority colleague involved in social prescribing and communities, clinician wanting to understand more or from the voluntary sector this is a great opportunity to become involved in Social Prescribing and for us to share the great work going on.
Please note that if you have a dietary requirement please email simon.prestney@nhs.net so we can ensure you are appropriately catered for on the day.
It’s finally here! The Essex Map relaunch has landed. We’re hoping you have an improved user experience when searching for activities, groups and services in your area. If you see there is something missing which supports the wider community please add it on to the Essex Map.
This is an assist for organisations big and small within the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector, as well as statuary and local government who provide services and activities which supports their communities needs and helps them to thrive.
How to use the new Essex Map:
You will need to sign up for a new account (unfortunately due to the large amount of data on the Map we were unable to move over everyone’s accounts). Click on ‘login’ and scroll to the bottom of the pop up to ‘create an account’.
Once you’ve done this please find your listing and ‘claim it’. The Essex Map team will receive a notification to accept your claim. If you have a work email address please claim any listings through this email.
New features:
Franchise option – If your organisation covers multiple locations you can now set up a ‘franchise’. This is an option for when you set up a new listing or edit an old one. Click here for additional instructions on how to do it.
Set up a list – Within your account you can now set up a list. Simply click on a listing you like, on the top right hand side there is a blue button ‘save to list’. You can choose if you’d like your list to be public or private.
Verified tick – To receive a verified tick you will need to claim your own listing.
Last updated – You can see when the listing you are viewing was ‘last updated’ at the bottom right hand side of the page.
New badge – If the listing is new it was have a red ‘new’ button show up for a few days.
Compassionate Communities workshop ‘Demystifying End of Life Care & Faith’ will take place on Wednesday 15 November, from 10am – 12noon at the Greenstead Community Centre, Colchester.
‘Demystifying End of Life Care & Faith’ aims to help start a conversation and improve our knowledge and understanding about care and faith during the last phase of life.
The workshop is open to everyone and will include presentations + Q&A with guest speakers and provide opportunities to learn and share with peers and community representatives through open discussion.
Help make a difference to people’s lives at times of most need.
We hope that you can be a part of this special event, concerned with improving the lives of people confronted with serious or life limiting illness, ageing, caregiving and loss.
This survey is anonymous and should take 5-10 minutes to understand patterns of community engagement with green space within Essex – Green space is any area of vegetated land, urban or rural. This includes but is not exclusive to parks, playing fields, children’s play areas, woods and other natural areas such as grassed areas, allotments, green corridors, rivers and canals.