Join us for a conversation with Sara Storey, Nottingham City Council's new Director of Adult Health and Social Care. An opportunity to hear her plans for engagement, and for you to feedback VCSE perspectives.

Sara has recently arrived in Nottingham and is keen to share her plans for engagement. She welcomes feedback from voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations working closely with people using the service she is leading. We encourage you take advantage of this opportunity to speak with her.

Please register to ensure you are sent instructions about how to join the meeting using Zoom.

Join us this Volunteers’ Week (1-7June 2021), for a free online workshop to discuss the topic of loneliness, explore how people in Nottingham have been affected during the pandemic and how volunteering has played an important role in helping to tackle this issue.

This one-off partnership session on Thursday 3 June, from 10am-12pm, is being delivered by our Volunteer Centre and Practice Development Unit (PDU).

We will also be publishing a series of videos during the week, which will feature representatives from across Nottingham's VCSE sector, talking about loneliness and how volunteering has made a big difference in supporting those affected.

Last week saw the launch of GreenSpace, the Green Social Prescribing Programme for Nottingham & Nottinghamshire.

Green social prescribing is where GPs and other primary care professionals refer people to local, non-clinical nature-based activities to improve their physical and mental health. A green prescription could include joining a wellness walk along the Nottingham and Beeston Canal, growing vegetables in a community garden or taking a moment to enjoy one of Nottingham’s parks. To find out more about what we mean by the term green social prescribing, watch this video.

The scheme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called GreenSpace, is being led by us (NCVS) on a day-to-day basis, working closely with Framework and the Canal & River Trust.

You can find out more about the programme by reading this article. You can also visit our new GreenSpace web page for information on how you can get involved as an organisation or individual.

The next joint meeting of our Children and Young People's Providers Network (CYPPN) and Vulnerable Adults' Providers Network (VAPN), will take place next Thursday (27 May), from 10am-12noon, on Zoom.

If you are a member of either network, don't forget to book your place to ensure you're sent instructions about how to join using Zoom. Registration will remain open until 4pm on Tuesday 25 May.

If you have any queries about this event, please contact ncvs@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Every year, local voluntary and community organisations can apply to become a Co-op Local Community Cause.

The Co-op Local Community Fund supports local groups by raising money for specific projects. Co-op staff members choose three groups in their area from those which apply. Every time a Co-op member buys Co-op branded goods, 1p in every £1 goes to the member’s chosen cause and an additional 1p in every £1 goes to Co-op’s National Community Fund.

The application deadline is midnight on Sunday 30 May 2021.

Grants of £1,000 will be awarded to 15 successful groups in the East Midlands through the Patient and Public Involvement Fund from East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN).

The funding is aimed at health, social care, voluntary and third-sector organisations and groups who involve patients and citizens in research and healthcare.

Applications will close at midnight on Sunday 27 June 2021.

In response to the ongoing impact of Covid-19, the Empowering Women Fund aims to fill a gap in support for organisations that are supporting women to recover from problems exacerbated by the pandemic.

The scheme will provide funding to support small women’s groups and organisations to develop innovative ways of empowering women in their local area and build their capacity. It is divided into two strands and grants can run for up to 12 months.

The deadline for round one applications is next Friday (28 May 2021).

Thursday 3 June 2021, 10am-12pm.

Join us this Volunteers’ Week (June 2021), for a free online workshop to discuss the topic of loneliness, explore how people in Nottingham have been affected during the pandemic and how volunteering has played an important role in helping to tackle this issue.

One of the feelings many of us have experienced during the pandemic is loneliness. Isolation and loneliness can affect anyone at any age but through our combined efforts to stay safe and save lives, this feeling has been exacerbated.

This one-off partnership session is being delivered by the NCVS Volunteer Centre and our Practice Development Unit (PDU).

Free to attend.

Tuesday 8 June 2021, 2pm-3pm

This one-hour online session aims to share some ideas about how best to deal with the inevitable disagreements, personality clashes and conflicts that arise from time to time among a team of volunteers.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 9 June 2021, 10.30am-12.30pm

What is the right structure for your organisation? This new two-hour online session will explain your options and provide you with some useful tips to help you through the process of registration and beyond.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 15 June 2021, 10.30am-12.30pm

Are you acting as secretary or note taker, or do you need to record meetings? Learn how to take effective minutes and make your task easier. This two-hour online session replaces our previous face-to-face three-hour course and will take you through the process of producing a 'minute'. 

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 22 June 2021, 6pm-7pm

The Board or Committee Secretary is one of the principal roles in a charity or community organisation, yet there are few courses on the subject. In this one-hour online session you will learn why it is so important and that it is definitely not just about taking minutes.

Cost: £10 per participant

The PDU aims to promote and facilitate collaborative learning and the sharing of good practice among professionals and volunteers from all sectors, in Nottingham and neighbouring areas, who work with people experiencing multiple disadvantage (understood as a combination of mental ill-health, substance misuse, homelessness, offending and domestic abuse, among other issues).

Contact our coordinator Filipa Santos for more information by sending an email to enquiries@pdunottingham.org or calling 0115 934 8428 or 07483 354 441.

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

The PDU offers a unique opportunity for voluntary and statutory sector workers who support people experiencing multiple disadvantage across Nottingham and neighbouring areas, to connect, learn collaboratively and share good practice and expertise.

By participating in our events, you will have the chance to develop your knowledge and skills and extend your professional network by making links with other local organisations.

Attendance to PDU events is free of charge, but advance booking is essential. Follow the relevant links below to register your place at our upcoming events.

Please note that it is PDU policy that people with lived experience are invited to participate in our events.

There are no upcoming events with open registrations. Check this space for new events being announced soon and sign up to the PDU email bulletins to be the first to hear about new events. Sign up at this link.

The recordings from our most recent online events are now available to watch on the PDU online hub. Please note: You will need to be a registered user to access these recordings. Please log in before clicking on the links below.

Cuckooing – developing effective multi-agency responses to property take over and exploitation, watch the session here.

What makes an effective multiple disadvantage worker? - Watch the session here.

Barnardo’s are working with Nottingham City Council to recruit Supported Lodgings providers from Nottingham and the surrounding area.

Supported Lodgings is an important accommodation option offering a home and family environment to young people leaving Local Authority care as they make the transition to more independent living.

Do you have a spare room that you could offer to a vulnerable young person aged 16-21 who is not yet ready for independent living? Would you be prepared to share the rest of your home and offer support to a young person as they move on from care?

Volunteer mentors are being sought by Nottinghamshire YMCA to take part in the Y's Girls programme. The programme has been developed to offer help and support to young women and girls at risk of developing mental health issues.

Working with social workers, schools and local organisations, Y’s Girls will connect vulnerable young women, aged 9 to 14, with mentors from a range of different backgrounds to offer support and positively influence their lives.

If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer Mentor, you can register for this opportunity directly through our website, by clicking here.

If you know of someone who could benefit from this programme and would like to refer a young woman (aged 9-14) to be involved, please contact Asma Iqbal, Y Girls Mentoring Project Coordinator, email asma.iqbal@nottsymca.org or call 07384 817 557.

National charity Leaders Unlocked is currently recruiting for a new group of UK Young Advisors to make a difference to young people and their long-term futures.

The UK Young Advisors will work closely with the Health Foundation and selected expert organisations to influence research and policy at a national level. 

This opportunity is open to 16-25-year-olds across the UK - including England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.