This is where we’ll post third sector news and important updates that are useful for your organisation.
Basildon, Billericay & Wickford CVS are putting together a peer network for the third sector in their area.
They plan to have a private group initially consisting of the leaders across our borough’s non-profit organisations. Eventually they intend to expand this network to support a broader range of roles and discussions to suit you. If you want to be a part of this development and have your say, answer three questions and register your interest.
Mind in West Essex have collaborated with The Wellness Society to produce a free online course for managing anxiety during the coronavirus outbreak.
“In this course we explore what stress and anxiety are, as well as introducing you to several tools for dealing with anxiety and methods for preventing and reducing physical anxiety symptoms (i.e., autostress).”
Free webinar: Monday, June 8, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
An honest look at opportunities, challenges, tips and ideas for raising money for creative projects during the Covid-19 pandemic
The creative industries are facing a number of extraordinary challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This webinar will bring together some fundraising experts, to share honest knowledge, wisdom and tips for organisations and individuals needing to rethink their approach to public and private investment in creative projects.
This event is facilitated by always possible, in collaboration with Essex 2020, funded by Essex Partners.
Content from Public Health Matters blog
The response to coronavirus (COVID-19) has demonstrated the contribution that communities make to public health. Community life is essential for health and wellbeing, and we are all more aware of the value of social connections, neighbourliness, sense of belonging, control, and mutual trust.
This blog discusses the roles and activities of communities following the outbreak of COVID-19, and their resilience in the face of new challenges posed by this pandemic.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, communities have sprung into action. Neighbours are connecting and looking out for each other more than usual, informal support groups in local areas have organised to support people in need, and now there are over 2000 groups listed on the mutual aid website established during the pandemic.
Solidarity is felt in communities across the world towards those who are helping us all. Many people have stepped forward as formal volunteers; in the NHS, community hubs and local charities.
ONS weekly research into social impacts of COVID-19 has seen a steady increase in community spirit over recent weeks;
Communities have shown and built their resilience over recent weeks, but extra support is needed to support the seldom heard, isolated and excluded individuals and communities. Not everyone can contribute to or benefit equally from neighbourhood action, and those that are already disadvantaged may find it challenging to maintain resilience and participate in social networks in the face of the outbreak. Volunteer and community organisations play a valuable role here.
The VCS has always been a key player in the public health system, and this is even more evident in the current situation. They are often closer to and better at connecting with marginalised groups than other sectors and are ideally placed to implement more community-centred approaches. Their role in reducing health inequalities is essential. National charities and larger VCS organisations support the vital work of local organisations by helping to co-ordinate efforts across the sector.
Having a strong community infrastructure and supportive social networks are factors that help communities withstand and adapt to shocks. The importance of community resilience during emergencies is recognised nationally and internationally. The UK Community Resilience Development Framework sets out actions for Local Resilience Forums to ensure communities are central to response and recovery. These include identifying local community networks and assessing differing needs, supporting community-led social action and working alongside VCS partners.
International guidelines from the Global Inter-Agency Standing Committee offer further recommendations on the role of organisations in facilitating the conditions for community mobilisation, self-help and social support.
Many factors impact on a community’s ability to be resilient and thrive. The World Health Organisation recommends measuring community resilience by considering the different social, human, cultural, environmental and economic capacities.
Understanding community needs and strengths and building local action are part of the public health response and can help build resilience.
We know from our research that it is essential to facilitate the conditions for communities to thrive. This includes:
The pandemic has not only highlighted the importance of communities but also investing in a community-centred public health system. In order not to lose these gains as we recover from the pandemic it is vital to maintain the centrality of communities and continue to strengthen community resilience through our ongoing efforts to improve the nation’s health and wellbeing.
PHE will be continuing its Healthy Communities work to support localities in taking a whole system approach to community-centred public health. We have a growing library of practice examples and welcome additions related to community-centred work during COVID-19. Communities everywhere are showing care, compassion and co-operation to get us through these difficult times. During this public health crisis, the voluntary and community sector and organisations who have responded so expertly and our thanks and recognition must go to them.
Thrive in Trying Times free online learning programme for community mobilisation and wellbeing during COVID-19 from FutureLearn.
Community Mapping Tool from Tempo Time Credits
Online Engagement: A guide to creating and running virtual meetings and events – Guide from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement.
Owning the Future report: After COVID-19, a new era of community wealth building, from CLES.
Downloadable poster courtesy of Eden Project Communities and partners working together to support communities during COVID-19
Do you want to make a difference to health and care in Essex?
Healthwatch Essex is seeking a new CEO and up to three new Trustees to join its Board. Have you got what it takes to ensure that we are a thriving ‘independent voice for the people of Essex, helping to shape and improve local health and social care services’?
Click here for the role profiles and details of the application processes.
Content from The Guardian
Ten million UK adults have been volunteering in their community during the coronavirus crisis, and most say they will carry on after the lockdown ends, according to new research.
The study also found that Britons have been extending a financial helping hand to local businesses. More than £1bn was spent on services and goods that people knew they would never be able to use during the pandemic, including payments to home cleaners and gardeners.
Since the crisis took hold, millions of Britons have been serving as an informal “volunteering army”, whether it is helping with grocery shopping for others, picking up prescriptions, ringing up people living alone, or helping out at a local food bank.
According to the research from insurer Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research, one in five UK adults (19%) has volunteered their time for community activities since the start of the lockdown on 23 March.
With each individual contributing, on average, about three hours of their time, the work this volunteer army is doing is estimated to have an equivalent economic value of more than £350m a week.
The researchers said “Britain’s community spirit has doubled down in lockdown” and that these volunteers were a key part of the “national infrastructure” during the crisis.
Nigel Wilson, Legal & General’s chief executive, said: “We have become a nation of volunteers during the Covid-19 crisis. And – judging by the millions who plan to continue after the lockdown – it is a change that is here to stay.”
Two-thirds of those who have volunteered (67%) have been doing grocery shopping for neighbours, friends and others, while a quarter (26%) have collected and delivered medicines or prescriptions. Meanwhile, 16% of those donating their time have volunteered to phone people who may be struggling with loneliness or other issues. This is all on top of the help being provided via the NHS volunteer programme launched on 24 March.
The research found that millennials – typically defined as those born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s or the start of the 2000s – were the least likely age group to volunteer, but that when they did, they gave up the most time: an average of 3.5 hours a week on grocery shopping, and 4.4 hours if volunteering in other ways.
Meanwhile, across all those surveyed, more than three-quarters (78%) said they planned to continue helping those in need after the lockdown.
The researchers also found that many households had tried to help those who help them, and were continuing to pay cleaners, gardeners and other workers for services they knew they would never be able to use under lockdown. An estimated £637m was spent on unused goods and services between the start of the lockdown and the end of April – a figure that has now risen to more than £1bn.
Content from ECVYS
Dear ECVYS supporter, a couple of weeks ago we forwarded information about the Youth Endowment funds covid-19 round https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/grants-2/covid-19-round/
“The Youth Endowment Fund’s COVID-19 grant round will fund and evaluate work which supports vulnerable young people (predominantly aged 10 to 14) at risk of youth violence, and can be delivered whilst adhering to UK government social distancing and stay-at-home guidelines.”
As ECVYS, we don’t directly deliver youth work, but do try our hardest to support and enable the voluntary sector to be the best providers of youth work that they can be. The YEF has recently enabled lots of conversations about what the immediate future might look like in regards to youth work and how we can work together to provide a great offer of detached youth work across Essex, Southend and Thurrock.
Local youth organisations are key to communities and it would be amazing to work together to achieve the same outcomes through our detached work.
The PFCC and Active Essex have put some matched funding towards a bid for the voluntary sector if we can pull it together!….BUT we don’t have long at all!
We are looking for organisations who would like to work with us on a bid to the YEF to fund detached youth work in each district of Essex (inc Southend and Thurrock) for one year. We would particularly like to hear from local groups who know their communities well and have some experience in detached youth work, with a capacity to offer the work already, AND who are in a position to commit to this imminently as the funding bid needs to be in by the 3rd June! (I know!)
A suggested outcome for this project would be-
To protect and support vulnerable young people in Essex aged 10-14 through detached youth work provision, delivered by locally based voluntary youth organisations.
Outputs-
If this is something that you know your organisation can confidently deliver then you can pop me an email to arrange a chat, but I would really like you to fill in the questions below as an expression of your interest and get them back to me by Monday 1st June at 12pm
Please let me know-
(Please note that this project is not designed to increase the size of your organisation, it would be ideally used by voluntary youth organisations who are looking to reassign centre based youth workers that can no longer work in their centres due to Covid-19. We do hope that strong links can also be formed with local schools so that when the bad weather hits you can transfer safely some detached work into school buildings or your youth centres. )
Our Trustees are really committed to make this happen and would love to see the YEF fund utilised by our local voluntary groups. I hope you think this is a good idea too, and hopefully will give us the chance to show off the fact that the voluntary sector in Essex is amazing and can achieve some great work together. Our Trustees will discuss on Wednesday afternoon any expressions of interest from organisations (who will have emailed me the answers to the questions above. I will then let you know on Tuesday 2nd June who we feel can best meet the criteria and work with us in the YEF bid…From there I will apply to the fund and wait to hear from the YEF with baited breath!
This is a great opportunity to pull groups together and support young people across Essex who may be feeling slightly lost and alone at this time, and I hope you will be as excited as we are to take this forward.
Thank you so much for your time,
Rachel Brett
CEO: Essex Council for Voluntary Youth Services (ECVYS)
[email protected]
Elaine McCorriston has sent an email explaining that she will be leaving Social Enterprise East of England (SEEE) at the end of May 2020:
After 8 years at SEEE I am moving on at the end of this month. I have enjoyed seeing the social enteprise sector grow, flourish and diversify during this time. SEEE has really demonstrated it staying power and determination to maintain a focal point for the sector in the East.
I would like to say a huge thank you for your support during this time as well as a big thank you to SEEE’s board for their passion and ongoing encouragement and kindness.
Jane Thompson has been appointed to take SEEE forward with the support of SEEE’s board and she will be taking over the [email protected] mailbox. Jane’s background is in marketing and this expertise will be a real asset as she produces SEEE Express, maintains the website and social media channels as well as organise and promote SEEE’s webinars.
Nicky Stevenson [email protected] will be leading on the consultancy service that SEEE offers and Andy Brady [email protected] will be leading on much of the strategic elements of SEEE as Chair. SEEE’s newest board member Magda Partac [email protected] will be looking after SEEE’s finances.
It has been a pleasure and I wish you and your organisation every success for the future.
Best wishes.
Elaine McCorriston
Social Enterprise East of England
@SEeastofengland
Content from Rainbow Services
St Clare Hospice have launched a new online community for bereaved young people in West Essex and East Hertfordshire: the Youth Bereavement Café (YBC). The ‘YBC’ is currently being run within a Facebook group, to offer a virtual space for young people (aged 18-30) to meet and connect with others who may share similar experiences – but will open as a face-to-face service when it is safe to do so.
Content from BBWCVS
A third of people who have supported a charity during lockdown have donated more money than usual while 15% are volunteering more of their time, according to a report from Opinium.
The report, How do charities adapt to the impact of Covid-19, looks at how consumers are supporting charities at this time, and includes a number of positive stories from the public as to what is making them increase their support now, and what would make them show support in the future, including: