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Your City, Your Voice |
| The March issue of Your City, Your Voice will be out this week.
If you have any comments or suggestions or would like to be added to the distribution list we would love to hear from you.
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| FREE Top Tips |
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Dragon Tree are offering FREE marketing and communication tips for voluntary and community groups via the Dragon Tree website.
Dragon Tree specialise in creating solutions and innovations for sustainablilty within organisations. |
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| FREE Computer Training - Book Now! |
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Our FREE computer training sessions are held every Tuesday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, at Community Action, 4 Charnwood Street, Derby.
The sessions are designed for people to come along and learn how
to navigate
around our website. Members of Community Action now have the facility to have their own page within our website to promote the work their group does and also list their news and events.
To book your place at one of the informal, friendly sessions please email Angie Baines or telephone 01332 227731. |
| Reaching Communities Fund |
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The Big Lottery Fund has announced a new funding programme that will allow voluntary organisations to apply for grants of up to £40,000 a year until 2015. The fund is a new strand of the Reaching Communities programme and is designed to support charities that want shorter-term, smaller-scale grants than those available through the existing Reaching Communities scheme.
For more information visit the Big Lottery website.
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| Working With Substance Users |
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Addaction are holding a training course, 'Working With Substance Users', on 16 March from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm at the
Addaction Midlands Training Centre,
Bateman Court in Derby.
The course is aimed at teachers; social workers; police officers; drug workers; and anyone who would like to understand more about how to work with substance users.
The course costs £45 per person including VAT, lunch and refreshments.
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| Mental Health Conference |
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Mental Health, Direct Payments and the first steps to Personalisation.
This FREE conference is for people in Derbyshire who use Mental Health Services, their families and supporters as well as staff and providers.
The conference takes place on Monday 15 March at the Postmill Centre, South Normanton from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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| Intergenerational Strategy |
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Derby City Council is looking to develop an Intergenerational Strategy for the city to promote ways of bringing young and older people together. They are trying to find out what intergenerational activities are already underway in our communities, for example history projects, coffee mornings, volunteering.
The information for the strategy will be collected via an online survey which should be completed by 26 March.
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Hello!
Welcome to this week's issue of Reach Out, packed with funding news, training opportunities and other snippets of information that we hope you find useful! We have grants and funding opportunities from Big Lottery and Heart Research UK, the Community Action Annual Survey and FREE marketing and communication tips from Dragon Tree.
If you have any news, information or events that you would like to share with the voluntary and community sector in Derby, please let us know. |
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 Healthy Heart Grants Voluntary and community groups can now apply to Heart Research UK for new SUBWAY® Healthy Heart Grants. The grants are as a result of the partnership between the two organisations and in-store regional fundraising by SUBWAY® stores.
How much is available?
Grants of up to £10,000.
Who can apply?
Currently only community groups in SUBWAY®'s Central region can apply for grants, this includes Mansfield, Derby, Lincoln and Nottingham.
How do I apply? Visit the Heart Research UK website or call 0113 234 7474 for details of how to apply and an application form.
When can I apply?
Applications for the grant will only be accepted between 1 April and 31 May 2010.
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 Community Action Annual Survey Today we have launched the annual Community Action survey. Feedback from the survey will tell us how we can improve the services we offer to the voluntary and community sector and help us plan for next year.
There are two versions of the survey; one for statutory partners and one for voluntary and community groups. To get as wide a response as possible please feel free to forward the survey link to individuals or groups in your networks.
The reponses from the survey will form the basis of a series of Focus Groups giving you further opportunity to contribute to the development of Community Action Derby and our continuing representation of voluntary and community organisations within the city.
The deadline for completing the survey is 1 April 2010.
To say thank you for taking the time to complete the survey we will automatically enter you into a prize draw with the chance to win £50 in Westfield Vouchers - don't miss out!
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 Reminder: BME Infrastructure Support SurveyDerby City Council is carrying out a survey on the availability and quality of BME infrastructure support in Derby.
The purpose of the survey is to gather your views about existing infrastructure organisations and their effectiveness and also find out your views about the level of support available to BME groups.
The deadline for completing the survey is 12 March 2010. The responses received will be used to develop a report and recommendations on how the Council support the BME voluntary sector in Derby.
You can complete the survey online or alternatively paper copies are available by contacting Vivene McCalla on 01332 258419, email Vivene McCalla, or by post: Room 234c, Derby City Council, Council House, Corporation Street, DE1 2YL.
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 UnLtd £15,000 Awards UnLtd have anounced the opening of their Level 2 awards for social entrepreneurs - but hurry as the the closing date for applications is 22 March.
Level 2 Awards are aimed at social entrepreneurs who have established a social business/project. They are looking for enterprises that are operational with an established track record of meeting a clearly evidenced need. The Award enables individuals to spend more time developing their enterprises, building infrastructure and increasing social impact and revenues. For more detailed information visit the UnLtd website where you can find the criteria, process and timetable for the next round of the competition.
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Reminder:  Your Sector, Your Say
A date for your diary!
The date for your diary is 24 March 2010. On this date we will be holding the first forum for all voluntary and community groups in Derby called Your Sector, Your Say.
The Your Sector, Your Say forum will be held on 24 March 2010 at the new YMCA building on London Road, Derby. The outcomes from the forum will then be refined into an action plan for the voluntary and community sector in Derby. To book your place at 'Your Sector, Your Say' please email Abigail Steanson or call 01332 346266.
We would like to thank those of you who took part in the recent survey to find out the needs and priorities of voluntary and community groups in the city and we look forward to seeing you all on 24 March.
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 Access to Finance Roadshow The Access to finance roadshow, taking place on 26 March at Dunston Innovation Centre in Chesterfield, is an event to explore the funding options for your business plans and innovative ideas. It brings together experts from banks, businesses and publicly funded initiatives that support organisations at all stages of development. The experts will lead surgeries to answer all your questions and explore the key issues around finance and individual initiatives.
The roadshow programme will include practical advice on accessing funding options for your business; informative presentations from a local, regional and national perspective; and networking opportunities with specialist advisers and other businesses.
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 Inspiring Derby Week 2010 Derby City Partnership are holding their 15th annual Derby City Partnership Week in 2010 from 28 June to 4 July. The theme is 'Inspiring Derby - showcasing the great things in our city'. The week gives local organisations, groups and communities a great opportunity to show off their activities, partnership projectsand initiatives by putting on events or tours. Last year 100 events were held and the goal this year is to beat that number.
For more information about putting on an event and to download a booking form visit the DCP website, email Lisa Stephenson or call 01332 255627. Please note that completed booking forms must be returned by 15 March.
Let's make 2010 the best DCP week yet! |
 Self Help Forum The next self-help forum is on Thursday 18 March at Community Action, 4 Charnwood Street Derby from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The forums are useful and informative sessions for voluntary and community groups as updates are given on current issues in the sector, including policy change and funding availability. If you would like to come along please email Liz Gumbley or call 01332 227738. We look forward to seeing you there. |
 Volunteer Coordinators Forum
A reminder that the next Volunteer Coordinators Forum will be held on the 17 March at Oddfellows on Charnwood Street in Derby from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm.
The subject of the next forum will be Volunteer Management via Digital Media.
For more information and to book a place email Justina Nurse or call 01332 227722. It is expected that demand for this forum will be high and places are limited. The session is FREE and includes a buffet lunch.
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County-wide Mental Health Forum
The Voluntary Sector Strategy Group (VSSG) has agreed a revised structure for engagement between Derbyshire County PCT commissioners and the mental health voluntary sector. This means that as well as the usual bi-monthly Forum meetings, there will also be a twice yearly County-wide Joint Forum Meeting with South Derbyshire Voluntary Sector Mental Health Forum and North Derbyshire Voluntary Action members and commissioners. You are invited to attend the first County-wide Joint Forum Meeting which will be held on Tuesday 30 March from 12:00 to 4:00 pm at the Coney Green Business Centre in Chesterfield. There will be a presentation on Suicide Awareness Training by Sharon Lovell and an opportunity to meet David Gardener, Derbyshire County PCT Lead Commissioner for Mental Health. Lunch will be provided. For more information or to book a place email Cheryl Mason or call 01773 599995. |
 Small Charities Coalition
The Small Charities Coalition is a free voluntary sector matchmaking service, enabling small charities to help each other to achieve their aims and objectives by exchanging the skills and resources they have, for those they don't. This model of support is self sustaining; small charities helping small charities but the coalition underpins this support with help of larger charities. One of its aims is to bridge the gap between large and small and it aims to do this by encouraging the largest charities to allow their key staff time off to support small charities under the guise of staff development.
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 Discrimination is Against the Law
Thanks to funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Chesterfield and Nottingham Law Centres are offering free legal advice and representation aimed at helping people to work and access goods and services without discrimination and harassment.
The service is for people who live in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire and have been discriminated against because of age; gender; race; disability; transgender issues; sexual orientation; faith; or religious or non religious beliefs.
A person or organisation may discriminate against someone for a variety of reasons, but no matter whether it is based on race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religious or non religious belief - it is unlawful and the specialist workers at the Law Centres can help.
For Employment Advice contact Nottingham Law Centre on 01159 787813, and for advice around access to goods and services contact Chesterfield Law Centre 01246 550674.
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We hope you enjoyed this week's bulletin.
We are always pleased to receive feedback or comments about Reach Out, so do let us know what you think.
If you have any news, events or information that you would like to see featured in Reach Out please contact us.
Thanks for reading!
Jayne Williams
Community Action Derby
Formerly Derby CVS |
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