NVSC - Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium
November 16, 2004
Multi- Faith Action Plan to Address Social Challenges
On Tuesday November 30th NVSC will be hosting a multifaith conference at Stratford Town Hall, that will focus on the work carried out by the sector and will aim to develop a Faith Action Plan
...that will establish ways of
addressing some of the
social challenges facing
Newham today. The Action
Plan will then be submitted
to the Civic Partnership,
chaired by Mayor, Sir Robin
Wales who are responsible
for the allocation of £100m
of Neighbourhood Renewal
Fund over 5 years. The
conference will be one of the
largest multi-faith events
held in the borough and will
have a significant impact on
how the Faith Sector participates
in local democracy.
Rev Cannon Ann Easter and
Faith Sector Representative
on the Civic Partnership
said "People of faith have
much more in common than
they do differences. If we
focus on the similarities and
the strengths we have as
people of faith, we could
impact and change our
communities from within"
The day is conveniently
divided into two, giving
Delegates the opportunity
to either attend the afternoon
or evening session or
both, if time permits. The
afternoon session starts at
1 pm with a buffet lunch,
followed by4short addresses
by Christian, Muslim, Hindu
and Sikh representatives.
Delegates will then be invited
to participate in the workshops.
Feedback from each
of the workshops will be
given during a plenary that
will form the Faith Action
Plan.
MP for East Ham and
Financial Secretary to the
Treasury Stephen Timms will
be the keynote speaker
kicking off the evening
session at 6pm, with
registration for the evening
session starting from 5.15
pm. A similar format takes
place in the evening, with
workshops and a plenary in
which feedback from each of
the workshops will be given.
Concluding with an evening
meal, an eclectic mix of
musical entertainment by
some of the borough's faith
groups will provide an
enjoyable backdrop for
refreshments and networking
throughout the day.
You can download a booking
form.
Compact Update
The draft compact has now been signed off by the Mayor and his cabinet with a Statement of Intent now agreed. A series of publicity and consultation events starting in December are being planned to ensure everyone has a say on the document. The Compact sets out a process which should ensure respect for the sectors and that the recent debacle regarding funding cuts is not repeated.
Funding - Search for Grants on NVSC's Website
Unfortunately much grant support available in the UK goes unclaimed by organisations with eligible projects.
This is a frustrating fact for both the grant givers and potential applicants. A big reason for this reduced take up is because organisations do not have quick and easy access to information, usually because organisa- tions do not have enough time to dedicate to searching for grants. Well now you can search for potential funding sources via the NVSC website www.nvsc.org.uk. Simply scroll down the homepage where you will find the heading 'Search Grantsnet.co.uk', enter the type of grant you are looking for and click the button - 'Find Grants'. GrantsNet gives information about grants available to businesses and charities in the UK. It's a free service and easy to use. Here you will find comprehensive information that aims to reduce the effort and cost, in identifying and applying for grants. '
The Consultation Fund
The Consultation Fund gives children and young people the chance to have their say about policies and services which affect them.
Consultation activities are
intended to allow children to
contribute directly to
decision making at local,
regional, national and
international levels. The goal
is to give children and young
people a voice on issues and
the ability to 'make a
difference', with the benefit
of achieving better out
comes for decision making
at all levels. Applications are
now being sought. Awards
range from £50 - £10,000 .
The closing date for receipt
of applications is 31st March
2005.
Application Procedure:
The administration and
management of the
Consultation Fund will
shortly be transferred to
another organisation. In the
meantime applications
should be sent to the
Participation Team whose
details are: Emma James,
Children, Young People and
Families Directorate,
Participation Team,
Department for Education
and Skills, 2U Sanctuary
Buildings Great Smith Street,
SW1P 3BT, Tel : 020 7925
5822 or email
More detailed notes
on the fund can be found at
this page.
Noticeboard
Barclays Social Responsibility Programmes, Age Concern Small Grants to Clubs, Skills for life
Barclays Social Responsibility Programmes
The programmes offer funding from £1,000 to £25,000 to voluntary and community groups on a local or regional basis. They also offer the skills of thier employees through the employees volunteering scheme. Barclays community investment is directed into key areas: education, people with disabilities, social inclusion and the environment. For further information visit their site
Small Grants to Clubs
Age Concern will be giving small grants of up to £120 to older peoples clubs. Grants can fund new equipment such as tea urns, craft materials, games or bingo equipment. For info contact 020 8765 7738.
Skills for life
>The National Research and Development Centre has funds for small-scale research projects around skills for life, through the European Social Fund. 'Skills for Work and Life' funding in 2004/5, will fund six projects for nine months with grants of up to £10,000. Visit their site
Community / Learning Chest
Applications are now being accepted from medium to large sized organisation (groups with incomes over £50,000) Contact Ali on 020 8522 5354 or Deb on 020 8522 5353 for further details. Below are the details of successful applications for October.
Community Learning Chest
Renewal Programme Refugee
and Migrant Project £785.00
Alternative Crises Pregnancy Centre £3,582.58
East London Somali Family Assoc £900.00
East London Refugee Trust Ltd £1,040.00
Voice of Africa Radio £1,880.00
BTM Communications £1,000.00
Alternative Crises Pregnancy Centre £785.00
Community Chest
The Empower Black Women's Support Group £3,744.00
Deaf Roots £908.99
Newham Monitoring Project £3,500.00
Beckton Activities Centres £525.10
African Community Welfare Association £900.00
Newton Road TA £427.33
Bangladeshi Womens Development group £415.00
Newham Refugee Community Project £1,000.00
St Johns Community Centre 60+ Friendship £2,640.00
Central African Youth Support Group £1,000.00
Joes Community Sewing Club £2,700.00
Somali Bokol Province Relief Organisation £950.00
Newham Somali Homeworkers £980.00
The New Beginnnings £2,440.00
East 7 Film Project £4,405.00
Masano Sports and Cultural Association £897.00
bfm Communicaions £3,300.00
Arrow Consultants
Professionals with in-depth experience of working with small and medium sized organisations in the not-for-profit sector offer guidance in:
Bookkeeping, Financial & Management Accountancy Consultancy services. Trustee Training, Strategic Planning, Change Management, Organisational Development, , Interim/Project Management, Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Internal Controls Review/Implementation, Policies & Procedures, Mentoring & Coaching, Team Building, Leadership Skills, Advice & Guidance). Contact us for a free initial consultation and articles on topics such as Good Governance, Trustee Responsibilities, Auditor Independence, Charity Fraud, Internal Controls, Stress Management. Fees negotiable, there is a sliding scale. Tel. 079 0444 9080 or Email us
Community Chest Panel Members
Profiles of the Community Chest Panel Members
Peter Crane - Senior Monitoring Officer - LB Newham
I have worked for the London Borough of Newham since 1991, in the Culture and Community Department, where I have dealt with various aspects of the borough's support to voluntary organisations. The work has included the development of monitoring and administrative systems and assessing applications for funding. Being a volunteer myself, outside of work, I have enjoyed playing a part in supporting the provision of community services delivered through funded organisations and their volunteers.
Sarjoh Aziz Kamara - Community Development Officer - Conflict & Change
I work as a Community Development Officer supporting groups to work constructively with their differences and deal with conflict constructively. Some of the work I have done includes working with Refugees as well as working in Rehabilitation and Development in Sierra Leone. Outside of work I am a member of the Royal African Society U.K. I have a Masters in Violence, Conflict & Development.
Sahdia Warraich - Director - BME Community Care Forum
I have worked for the Black and Ethnic Minority Community Care Forum for the past 10years, with 13 years experience of working in the umbrella voluntary sector, focusing on the health and social care needs of black and ethnic minority communities. I also work to ensure BME communities are engaged in local health and social care planning with the aim of developing new and improved services for the community.
Dr Chi Chi Opara Mottch - Co-ordinator - AWKA
I have lived in Newham for 26 years and have seen the many changes that have taken place. I used to work as a pharmacist for years and am actually a retired scientist. Presently, I am the treasurer of the East London Sickle Cell Society, which is a support group for sufferers of sickle cell. I am also a member of the AWKA and the Tan Social Community and a Circuit Steward at the Newham Methodist Church and a school governor at Trinity Special School in Barking.
Valerie Brown - Director - Race Equality in Newham
My background until recently has been in local government and the knowledge, skills and experience gained play a vital role in my daily duties. My first experience of the voluntary sector came when I joined forces helping to prevent marginalized BME groups in the West Midlands. I share very strong views on matters of equality and social justice and as a practising Christian wish to bring 'light' to those in need.
Community Sector Working Groups
Join the Community Sector Working Groups To work towards implementing the ideas generated at the November Community Sector Meeting, the following Working Groups have been formed:
1. Strengthening the Community Sector
2. Representation of Community Groups at
the Civic Partnership
3. Funding for Community Groups
4. Office Space, Venues, Meeting Places
for Community Groups
If you wish to participate in any of the
above working groups, please contact
Renate Ruether-Greaves on 020 8522
5359, or email renate
Training for Advisors, Advocates and those working with Disabled People
The Disability Law Service is offering a programme of 5 half-day training sessions aiming to provide a clear and accessible guide to the law on the Disability DiscriminationAct1995 (DDA).
Venue - All training will take
place at the Disability Law
Service, 39-45 Cavell Street,
Whitechapel, London E1 2BP.
The premises are fully
accessible to disabled
people.
'Disability Discrimination and
Employment'
Monday 7th
February 2005 10am - 1pm.
Will provide an understanding
of the employment rights
contained in the DDA.
'The Disability
Discrimination Act 1995
(Provision of Goods and
Services/Facilities)'
Thursday 17th February 2005
2pm-5pm and will provide
guidance to Part 3 of the
DDA, which covers the
provision of goods, services
and facilities to disabled
people.
'Enforcement of Part 3 of
the DDA 1995 (Provision of
Goods, Services and
Facilities)'
Thursday 24th
February 2005 2pm-5pm.
Will give a clearer understanding
of how to assist
disabled people with whom
they work to obtain a remedy
under Part 3 of the DDA
1995.
Fees for Training: £50 inc
VAT per session. Book 3
sessions for one delegate
and get the third one free of
charge. If three or more
people from one
organisation wish to attend,
each third place will be free
of charge. These concessions
are to enable those from the
smaller voluntary organisations
and groups to take full
advantage of this training
For more information and a
booking form, or to request
information in alternative
formats, please contact
Christine Goodall, on 0207
791 9828 or email Christine
Pianist Needed
Age Concern Newham are appealing for a pianist that can read music to accompany them to a Pensioners Day Performance on 24th November. Please call 020 8503 1511 if you can help.
Information Governance
Information management practitioners may be interested to learn a new website has been launched which aims to provide guidance for both public and private sectors on a range of Information Governance issues including Data Protection and Freedom of Information. See www.naim.org.uk
Sector Updates: Voluntary
Approximately 30 organisations attended the last voluntary sector meeting held September 30th at Community Links in Canning Town.
With
a full agenda, unfortunately not everything can
be reported in this section. If you would to receive a full copy of the
minutes, please give me a call on 020 8522 5360.
Civic Partnership - Sarah Ruiz, NVSC Director informed the meeting
that she will be suggesting to Government Office for London (GOL)
that they intervene as there is little partnership working between the
Council and NVSC around the Civic Partnership. Forums are ailing,
with the exception of a few and out of the 10 forums, 5 are chaired by
elected members and not a community representative.
NVSC Update - The NVSC update gave information on the
Community/Learning Chest, Resource Centre, Newham Directory and
Community Information days. Further updates were given on the
Newham Compact and the Adult Protection Policy.
Presentations were given by Peter Ellis of Richard House Children's
Hospice concerning their future plans and Nicholas Dines from the
Rowntree Foundation on 'Public Spaces and Social Relations in East
London' which highlighted the positive effects open spaces have on
our physical and mental health. The meeting concluded with various
items raised from groups.
Sector Updates: Community
Since the last Newsletter, there have been 2 Community Sector Meetings, on 6th September at the Shalom Centre and on 1st November at Community Links.
Both meetings were very well
attended, 84 people in total.
Following on from the September meeting, where questions were
raised about the Civic Partnership, how decisions are made and how
the community sector can be more involved in the overall processes,
the November meeting undertook a workshop with Conflict and
Change. This focused on finding effective ways of getting our voices
heard in the Civic Partnership.
We explored the needs of community groups, both of the sector as a
whole and of individual groups, identifying the support that is
required for greater involvement and what help groups need to help
them work more effectively
To work towards implementing the ideas generated, the following
Working Groups have been formed:
1. Strengthening the Community Sector
2. Representation of Community Groups at the Civic Partnership
3. Funding for Community Groups
4. Office Space, Venues, Meeting Places for Community Groups
If you are interested to become involved in any of the above working
groups, please contact Renate Ruether-Greaves on 020 8522 5359,
or email renate
Newham Asian charity wins National Training Award
The Ekta Project established in 1997 to provide support, advice, social care and advocacy for Asian elders and their carers in Newham has won a National Training Award for their Elder Abuse Awareness Training Programme.
Competing against nearly
300 finalists from 23 industry
sectors from across the
UK, the Ekta Project is the
only black and ethnic minority
voluntary organisation
from Greater London to
reach the finals of this prestigious
award scheme run by
UK Skills on behalf of the
Department for Education
and Skills. With an estimated
half a million people being
subjected to elder abuse in
Britain, Newham and the
Asian Community is not
immune from this social
problem.
Ramesh Verma, Ekta's Chief
Executive says: ''Working
closely with older people,
Ekta came across 3 - 4
cases of elder abuse a year.
When older people do not
speak English, they are
unable to ask for help. Lack
of training for staff in
organisations meant older
people often suffered in
silence.'' The Ekta
programme provides quality
awareness training for local
health and social care professionals
in English and
community languages and
outreach sessions for older
people from many different
communities.
The training programme is a
key element of an overall
Elder Abuse and Prevention
project commissioned by the
Newham Primary Care Trust
and run in partnership with
the Newham Healthy Living
Network for Older People
and their Carers.
Community Information Day
Held on an autumnal October day the Community Information Day, saw nearly 40 Newham groups represented across the sectors.
Heated marquees filled with
stalls and exhibition stands
covered every spare inch of
external space at St Lukes in
Canning Town which
provided delegates with
excellent networking opportunities.
However,
disappointingly the day
failed in its main objective,
which was to inform local
residence of the E16 area
about the invaluable work
carried out by voluntary,
faith and community groups
in their area. This was
because, (and this is a
valuable lesson for every
one), the leaflet distribution
company failed to deliver the
leaflets.
However, a valuable lesson
has been learnt and the
planning has already started
for the next event that will
be held in April which will
cover the East Ham and
Beckton Forum areas.
Your Participation
So if you are a borough wide agency or work specifically in either the East Ham or Beckton area we would love you to participate in the next Community Information Event.For details contact Andrea Chott on 020 8522 5357.
Online Events Diary
The NVSC website has a new feature: the events diary. Details of a wide range of events, such as Funding Fairs & Funding Surgeries, Learning & Networking Events and Submission Deadlines for Newham Funders for Voluntary, Faith and Community Group in Newham can be viewed and printed. To access the diary, go to click on 'diary' in the menu bar at the top of this page. If you are interested in publishing your own events here, please get in touch with Renate Ruether- Greaves on 020 8522 5359, or email renate to obtain login details.
Communities Within Communities
THURSDAY 25TH NOVEMBER 2004
10.30 AM - 2.00PM
MAIN HALL, THE OLD TOWN HALL
29, THE BROADWAY, STRATFORD, E15
GUEST SPEAKERS
SIR ROBIN WALES, MAYOR OF NEWHAM
PROFESSOR LORD BHIKHU PAREKH, PRESET PATRON
RSVP
PRESET Newham
Unit 4 Essex House, 375 High Street, Stratford, London E15
Tel: 020 8534 2901 or 07870 212748
Email: Newham@preset.org
Free Communications Skills Event
Would you like to feel confident dealing with communication difficulties?
Conflict & Change is offering a free session on Communication skills for
voluntary & community groups: November 24th 1.00pm – 4.30pm at
Conflict & Change East Ham, please see leaflet enclosed. Contact Anna
0208 552 2050 to confirm a place.
Enabling excellent volunteer management
The Excellence in Volunteer Management Programme is a holistic programme of support for those who manage volunteers.
It aims to build their leadership, management and learning capacity; this in turn maximises the contribution volunteers make to their organisations. To find out more see: www.volunteering.org.uk
Posted by webmaster at