Age Concern and Help the Aged are offering grants of up to £500 to clubs for older people. The scheme is open to all established voluntary and community groups for older people throughout the UK who have charitable objectives. 
 
Grants are available towards the cost of winter celebrations, outings or one-off events such as parties, theatre trips and dinners - they must be for specific items and not be a contribution to general funds.

 

For an application form and more information please click here or email. Please note that the deadline for receiving applications is Friday 11 December.

 

A team of churchgoers, called 'guardian angels' by police, have been honoured for their work helping late night revellers.

 

Derby's Street Pastors were named winners at the first Derbyshire Police Community Achievement Awards. The volunteers, who help people into taxis and clear away broken glass, were among 14 groups or individuals nominated by police in Derby for making a difference to their community.

 

The Street Pastor scheme has been running since February 2009 and sees volunteers patrol the city centre on Friday and Saturday between 10:00 pm and 4:00 am. They have come into contact with 10,000 people, giving first aid to 100.

 

Derby Street Pastors is a partnership of 25 local churches; Derbyshire Police; Derby City Council; Derby Diocese; and Derby Pub Watch, together with other organisations and is administered by Derby City Mission.

The annual Christmas Rose Memorial Service is organised by a number of charities supporting people in Derby who have experienced the death of a child, from early miscarriage to adulthood. This year the service will take place at 3:00 pm on Sunday 6 December at the United Reformed Church, Becketwell Lane in Derby.

 

For more information please call Kate on 01335 345217 or

email. 

Jasvinder Sanghera, who runs a charity that works to free people from forced marriages, was presented with the Pride of Britain Award at a gala ceremony last month. Jasvinder is a survivor of a violent attempt to push her into a forced marriage by her parents, who came to Britain from Punjab in the 1950s.

Jasvinder founded Karma Nirvana in Derby in 1993 to help victims of forced marriages and honour violence after her older sister Robina committed suicide in 1983 to escape a forced marriage. The charity, which today runs a network of shelters, deals with around 400 callers every month on its helpline.

 

For more information on Karma Nirvana please visit the website.

Come along to the Arboretum Winter Fun Day on Saturday 5 December  from 12:00 to 4:00 pm at the Pakistani Community Centre in Harrington Street, Derby.  

 
There will be lots of stalls and activities for the whole family. Find out about funding for local voluntary and community groups or learn how to set up your own group. There will be face painting, a climbing wall, a menthi (henna) artist and many more attractions for the whole family to enjoy.

 

For more information please call 01332 715267 or
email Imke Goalby.
 

Frontline third sector organisations are set to benefit from improved facilities thanks to £2m of capital investment from the Office of the Third Sector, delivered by Capacitybuilders. The new round of small awards is now open for applications. 

 
Capacitybuilders will award small capital grants of up to £30,000 to local resource centres enabling them to respond to the recession. The grants will make small scale improvements to premises and improve availability, quality or accessibility of the facilities used by local third sector organisations. Priority will be given to projects which have specific relevance to the challenges facing the sector during the recession.

The closing date for applications is 24 December 2009 and priority will be given to applications received by 14 December. For more information on how to apply please click here. 

Sport England are funding grants to tackle gaps in sporting participation. Their Active Women round of grants is open to women in disadvantaged communities and women caring for children under 16.

 
If you wish to apply for an Active Women grant you must ensure that your project has a strong focus on one or both of the two highlighted groups. 

 

For more information and details of how to apply please click here. 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has announced the recipients of its Strategic Funding Programme, awarding nearly £10 million to 61 community and voluntary sector organisations across England, Scotland and Wales.

The great news is that Derbyshire Friend has been successful in winning the largest of these grants!
 
The funding will be focussed in three areas: to support LGB&T groups and organisations including BAME, Trans and Youth in particular; provide advocacy and support; and develop and encourage services to be LGB&T aware and provide appropriate services based on need.
 
The success highlights the strength of the voluntary and community sector and how new resources and expertise can be achieved in partnership.  

Barnado's are holding an open day on Monday 7 December at Dunston House, 21 Dunston Road, Sheepbridge, Chesterfield from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  

 

Why not drop in and find out what services they offer to families and children aged 0 to 19? You can find out how your services complement Barnado's and learn more about how Barnado's engage with hard to reach families.

 

Refreshments will be provided. For more information please call 01773 825923 or email 

 

The Foyle Foundation was formed by the daughter of William Foyle whose family owned the famous bookshop Foyles, in London.

 

The Foyle Foundation Small Grants Scheme is designed to support smaller charities in the UK, especially those working at grass roots and local community level, in any field, across a wide range of activities. Applications are welcomed from charities that have an annual turnover of less than £100,000 per annum.

 

The Foyle Foundation awards grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to charities that can demonstrate that such a grant will make a significant difference to their work.

 

For more information and an application form please click here.