This month, Africaniwa is honoured to present Selena Carty founder of BlackPoppyRose and a narrator who actually lived the story; ex WO1 Hammond, as they provide an insight into some of contributions and the sacrifices made by African Colonial Soldiers on the part of the British Empire during the world wars.
Urgent Action needed to stop the spread of coronavirus
Please view the following important message from Calderdale Council about controlling the spread of coronavirus.
It is important we all follow these instructions to prevent tougher restrictions being in place for longer.
- Avoid contact with people you don’t live with
- Wear a face covering in indoor public places
- Isolate if you or someone you live with has symptoms
For further information visit Calderdale Council at www.calderdale.gov.uk
Flu Vaccination messages for our communities in Central
Recent evidence has shown that flu vaccination uptake is not as high amongst members of our BAME community. BAME communities are more significantly impacted by COVID-19 and want to ensure levels of flu vaccination are as high as possible to protect the community from flu.
Community feedback from some of the initial communications around COVID were not as effective with local communities, so support with getting these messages right and to the right people is needed.
There is Calderdale data to show that Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian and other Asian groups (Ethnicity Group 3 in the table below) have the lowest uptake.
What would you recommend to ensure a better reach into the community, whether this be improved / different communication tools, a different delivery model or something more innovative? Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group would be really grateful to hear your ideas or for you to bring forward community suggestions or approaches.
Please email robertgibson@nhs.net with your suggestions.
Ethnicity groupings based on 2001 census;
Group 1
- British or mixed British
- Irish
- Other White or White unspecified
- Other White background
Group 2
- Mixed Black
- Other Mixed background
- White and Asian
- White and Asian
- White and Black African
Group 3
- Bangladeshi or British Bangladeshi
- Indian or British Indian
- Other Asian background
- Pakistani or British Pakistani
Group 4
- North African
- Caribbean
- Other Black background
Group 5
- Chinese
- Other
LAB Online course starting December 4th for people aged 19+ in Calderdale
LAB Online Confidence, Communication and Teamwork course starting on 4th of December, available to people aged 19+ in Calderdale.
Try something new with LAB Online and polish up those virtual communication, interview and team skills that will help you to thrive in today’s job market.
Calderdale Adult Learning and the national award – winning Proper Job Theatre Company have joined forces to offer this free short course to inspire people to develop new online skills during these distanced times. Make your time inside count by developing new tools useful for future training or employment – and by earning a qualification from the comfort of your own home.
The free fun online sessions use drama and media training techniques to develop your skills and confidence. Join the LAB Project and learn about other free local provision, including other free CAL qualification courses. Join our friendly team over a cuppa each morning, learn new skills and earn a new qualification in just two weeks.
Sessions are delivered over Zoom. Internet access needed but no previous experience required.
LAB Online is part of the LAB Project. This is currently aimed at supporting adults in Calderdale who would enjoy keeping connected and using creative learning techniques to boost wellbeing, confidence life planning and employment skills.
Enquiries – or to register for a place – contact Melissa
t: 07368291874
e: Melissa@properjob.org.uk
Find out about the range of Proper Job Covid 19 Support activities at www.properjob.org.uk
Join the Police and Crime Commissioner Youth Advisory Group
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is looking for young people aged 13-21 from across West Yorkshire to join his Youth Advisory Group (YAG).
The group gives young people the opportunity to express their views and opinions on local policing matters and gives them a more active say in how they are policed in West Yorkshire.
The group Provides opportunities to take part in new initiatives and improve and enhance relationships between young people, the PCC and the Police, and it looks great on your CV!
What does it include?
- Meeting 4 times per year – usually on a Saturday morning, via Skype currently, but usually across venues in West Yorkshire
- Sharing their personal knowledge, opinions and experience of community issues within the group
- Provide advice to us to help the PCC improve policing and make sure people are safer and feel safer
- Take part in workshops and learn about key policing topics included in the police and crime plan
View poster containing further information on YAG.
If you or anyone you know may be interested in joining the group, or would like more information, please contact consultation@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
Send a Santa-gram to an elderly person this Christmas
Given the loneliness many older people have experienced during the coronavirus pandemic, we are inviting local children to get involved in bringing them some Christmas cheer this year with our ‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ campaign.
A Santagram for Seniors
The concept of the ‘Santa-gram’ is simple – we are asking children at local schools and nurseries to create Christmas cards, drawings, bookmarks etc. or write a letter to an older person to open in the run up to Christmas to help bring a smile to someone’s day.
Our Santagrams will be placed in either A5 or A4 envelopes and delivered to elderly people during the week beginning 14 December.
We are accepting items to be included in the ‘Santa-grams’ from now until 9 December 2020.
For more information read here
To arrange collection, contact Julie Ingham from Home Instead Calderdale on
t: 01422 292424
e: julie.ingham@homeinstead.co.uk
w: http://www.homeinstead.co.uk/calderdale
a: 14-16 Southgate, Elland, HX5 0BW
Home Instead Senior Care Calderdale supports older people to stay independent in their own homes.
November to Remember: My BlackPoppyRose virtual Photo exibition November 27
The event takes place online on November 27th between 18:00-20:00pm.
Admission is free but you need to book to receive the information.
For more information:
Facebook: facebook.com/africaniwa
email: africaniwa@gmail.com
Africaniwa presents Selena Carty founder of BlackPoppyRose and a narrator who actually lived the story; ex WO1 Hammond.
Cash boost for Calderdale community groups
Calderdale’s voluntary groups are invited to apply for grants of up to £25,000, to help communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, tackle poverty and build strong neighbourhoods.
Calderdale Council has launched two new funds for community organisations as part of its main voluntary sector grants programme. The funding programme was approved at the Council’s Cabinet meeting on Monday 9 November.
Community groups are invited to apply for between £10,000 and £25,000 from the following two Council grants:
· Supporting stronger neighbourhoods. Developing powerful and resilient neighbourhoods is always a priority, but even more so during the pandemic. Community action will be essential in helping Calderdale to rebuild and thrive. Applications should emphasise volunteering, social action and partnership working, especially in areas or with groups where there are fewer opportunities to get involved with community activities.
· Advice and tackling poverty. Applications should focus on helping people to find and remain in jobs, protecting people’s rights and giving important advice to the most vulnerable residents in Calderdale, to help reduce hardship and poverty.
Cllr Scott Patient, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Resilience, said:
“We owe so many thanks to our local voluntary groups for helping to make Calderdale the kind and resilient place that it is. They have always provided valuable support to our communities, but this year’s floods, immediately followed by the pandemic, have seen them rise to the challenge more than ever before, despite the tough financial situation.
“We know how much the work of our community organisations means to local people, and we are proud to support them in any way we can. We hope our new grants help them to continue to play a key role in delivering the Vision2024 for Calderdale by reaching and empowering our diverse communities.”
The Council has a strong record of supporting and working in partnership with Calderdale’s voluntary and community sector. The Council recognises the big difference that voluntary and community groups make to people’s lives across the borough. The Council’s commitment to the sector has been emphasised during the COVID-19 pandemic, with additional grants from the government’s emergency funds helping groups to survive and support local people.
For example, volunteers have been delivering shopping to, and virtually befriending, residents most at risk from COVID-19, and they are playing a key role in the new #NeverHungryAgain campaign to end child food poverty in Calderdale. Council grants and support services help the groups to continue to deliver important services.
The Council’s two new grants for Calderdale voluntary and community organisations opened for applications on Monday 23 November. The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 21 December. Projects for these grants will run from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. The minimum grant will be £10,000 and the maximum will be £25,000.
For an application pack and other information, please visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/community-and-living/grants/grants-voluntary-organisations
Well Connected will help you get your motivation back!
The Well Connected project wants to re-energise you and your community by providing new opportunities and supporting access to leisure and recreational activities, nature based and creative sessions. You can either try these on your own, as a family or as a community group.
EU nationals – support to apply for settlement status in the UK
If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you and your family can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 20th June 2021.
If you need support to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, you can get help from Calderdale Council
We can scan your valid passport and help you to apply to the scheme.
You will need:
- A valid EU or EEA passport or an ID card (biometric) or UK-issued biometric residence card
- A mobile phone
- Email address (this can be set up at the session)
For further information call 07857601530 and speak to Janice or email EUSettlement@calderdale.gov.uk
If you would like to book an appointment, please go to the Calderdale Council website and search for EU Settlement Scheme
Appointments will be held at:
Unit 13, Hanson Lane Enterprise Centre, Hanson Lane, Halifax, HX1 5PG
Support with green social prescribing bid – Closing November 25th
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership would like your help us to understand the barriers people face in accessing greenspace and your potential interest in green social prescribing.
We have created a very short survey (closing this Wed 25th November). It is the first stage of a much more detailed engagement piece.
Green social prescribing links people to nature-based interventions and activities and includes both green and blue (rivers, lakes etc) environments. Activities are varied and may include green exercise, such as local Walking for Health schemes and dementia walks, active travel (such as walking or cycling), local Park Runs, care farming, community gardening and food growing projects, as well as conservation volunteering, green gyms, and arts and cultural activities which take place outdoors.
We would appreciate if you could complete this survey for us. We are especially keen on hearing from people living in the most deprived areas, people from BAME backgrounds, and people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities and autism.
VSI Alliance Update November 20, 2020
VSI Alliance News & Events
Newsflash from the Voluntary Sector Infrastructure (VSI) Alliance team
VSI Alliance News & Events
As part of #CalderdaleFireflies, we would like to know if any groups are doing Christmas cards this year, so we can share details or a link to how people can buy the cards and support the group. Please email info@vsialliance.org.uk with any information. Thank you.
Community Response Coordinator (COVID-19)
This post will be pivotal to the fight against Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Calderdale by engaging and working with local communities, the VCSE and wider partners. The post will work as part of the VSI Alliance and will be hosted by VAC.
In case you missed it:
Funding for Volunteer DBS Checks
Thanks to a grant from the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Health & Care Partnership through the Harnessing the Power of Communities fund, the VSI Alliance can now offer some limited financial support to voluntary and community groups in Calderdale who wish to undertake appropriate DBS checks for their volunteers who are supporting around Covid-related tasks.
News
Calderdale News & Information
An Important Message About COVID-19 In Calderdale
Via Councillor Tim Swift, Calderdale Council’s Leader and Deborah Harkins, Director of Public Health at Calderdale Council: the rate is the highest it has ever been in Calderdale. We have reached a critical point in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keeping Calderdale Cosy: Providing Affordable Warmth Solutions for Calderdale Families
Cold homes are bad for health. If you or your clients are struggling to pay heating bills and/or the home is cold and damp, in all probability health will suffer. This will increase the financial burden on the Public Health Service and the NHS.
verd de gris – The Art of Community
As verd de gris have been nominated for a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, they have created a booklet filled with testimonies of some of the volunteers who have been a part of the journey, aiming to impact on areas like community health and positive social change.
In case you missed it:
Fielden Acre Community Share Offer
Calder Valley Community Land Trust are inviting investment in the Calder Valley through the Fielden Acre Community Share Offer. The finance raised will be part of a fund to purchase two residential properties for use as affordable housing, a meeting room and land with potential for new community facilities.
Regional/National News & Information
Guide for Volunteer Opportunities During Lockdown
NAVCA have produced a handy guide to help people work out whether they should pursue a particular volunteer opportunity during the current lockdown.
In case you missed it:
Flu Vaccination: Who Should Have It This Winter and Why
Download a leaflet explaining the importance of the influenza (flu) vaccination this winter.
PCC Newsletter November 2020
The latest newsletter from Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner. This issue contains stories on work to tackle modern slavery, the award-winning Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), a competition for young people and much more.
Supporting Jobs in the Charity Sector During Coronavirus
Many infrastructure bodies and campaigners for the voluntary sector to have signed a letter calling on the Chancellor to create a job retention scheme that works for charities, covered in Third Sector.
The Impact of a Second Lockdown
NCVO chief executive Karl Wilding has written about the new rules and how they apply to charities and volunteering. He also highlights the importance of charities making our voices heard in Westminster as we push for a further package of financial support for the sector.
Events and Training
Thriving Communities Fund Webinar – 23rd November
To mark the launch of the Thriving Communities Fund application portal; National Academy for Social Prescribing, Arts Council England and NHS Charities Together will be holding a webinar on the Thriving Communities Fund and NHS Charities Together Community Partnership Grants.
Steps to Building Organisational Resilience: Key Things to Consider – 2nd December
In partnership with Zurich, NCVO will be delivering a webinar discussing key considerations for making your charity resilient. This free webinar will explore key considerations for making your charity resilient, including financial sustainability, reputation and governance.
Funding
HMRC Grant Funding – Deadline: 27th November
Grants will range from £20,000 to £750,000 per year with a maximum threshold set at 50% of the organisation’s turnover. The funding is for activities that cover one or more of the following: advice and support, digital inclusion and/or specialist support and referrals.
Good Things Foundation Looking for Partners to Apply for Funding to Support the Delivery of the 2021 Census – Deadline: 30th November
The Foundation is looking for organisations who can deliver support to people wishing to complete the census between March and May 2021.
The National Lottery Community Fund New Infrastructure Programme – Deadline: 1st December
The National Lottery Community Fund will give between 8 and 10 infrastructure organisations a package of funding, combined with on-site coaching and expertise provided by a Design Lab over 12 months.
UK Youth Fund – Covid Relief
The UK Youth Fund – Covid Relief has been created to support youth organisations who have not had access to the crisis funding they require to survive the Covid pandemic.
Vacancies
Sure Start Children’s Centres – Recruiting Now!
Many of these opportunities have become available due to staff progression internally within the organisation: Early Years Practitioner Plus x 3, Early Years Practitioner and Caretaker.
About VSI Alliance:
All staff at the VSI Alliance are available remotely to support you and your organisation at this time with various aspects of your work, along with providing key information and resources. For support/advice, please contact info@vsialliance.org.uk, or visit www.vsialliance.org.uk for more contact details.
