NCVS is inviting proposals from suitably qualified organisations or individuals to undertake an independent evaluation of the Practice Development Unit (PDU).

The PDU is a project run by NCVS in partnership with Opportunity Nottingham. The PDU was started in autumn 2017 with the goal to support Opportunity Nottingham’s system change aims; facilitating the sharing of good practice and promoting more collaborative work among services from the voluntary and statutory sectors who provide support to people facing multiple disadvantage.

We are seeking an experienced project officer with a passion for green activity, the environment, and the positive impact this has on wellbeing to join our small and friendly team.

The exciting new role of Green Social Prescribing Project Officer will assist our Programme Manager in delivering GreenSpace, the Green Social Prescribing Programme for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

The two-year programme looks to improve the mental health and wellbeing of communities hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, by connecting local people with nature-based activities and green community projects and initiatives in the city and county.

This position is fixed term until March 2023, with possible extension.

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week

Location: Currently home-based

Salary: £26,000 per annum

Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 21 June 2021

NHS Volunteer/Parent Carer Trevor Clower, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award in the NottinghamshireLive Heroes Awards.

The awards celebrate and honour the achievements of the remarkable people who make Nottinghamshire a better place.

Trevor won the award in recognition of his work in championing unpaid carers. His dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment have made a big difference to the health and wellbeing of unpaid carers across Nottinghamshire. 

The Garfield Weston Foundation is accepting applications for its Regular Grants Programme.

Regular grants of up to £100,000 can be used for:

• Capital costs - for tangible things, such as a building project, repairs, equipment etc.
  
  
• Revenue/unrestricted core costs - towards the general running costs of your organisation. The grants are typically unrestricted and can be used towards costs such as general salaries (but not a specific position or job), rent, programme costs etc.
  
  
• Project costs - for a very specific project or activity and would include all the costs involved in delivering the project, including staff costs and a reasonable percentage of overheads, if relevant.

Warburtons Community Grants provides small grants of up to £400 to support charitable organisations towards broader activities which improve Health, Place or Skills for families in their community.

Decisions are made on a quarterly basis. The deadline for the latest round of applications is 9 August 2021.

The UK Small Grants Programme from The True Colours Trust has been designed to provide grants, of up to £10,000, to UK registered charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) to support projects which work with:

• Disabled children and young people (up to the age of 25)
  
  
• Children and young people with life limited conditions
  
  
• And their families

They are particularly keen to support applications from organisations who work with children and families from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and those which operate in areas of high deprivation.

The programme is open all year round and they aim to respond to any applications within six weeks.

Wednesday 23 June 2021, 10am-11am

Have you wondered why few people are interested in the volunteer opportunities your organisation is recruiting to? Or why you aren't attracting people with the interests and skills you're really looking for?

The way that we describe our volunteer roles can be the difference between no volunteers and a team filled with enthusiastic people. This session will combine some tips from the worlds of journalism and advertising with a lifetime's experience from the NCVS Volunteer Centre.

This session is suitable for staff and volunteers working with teams of volunteers. It will be helpful for those who are new to working with volunteers or those with some experience who are looking to improve their understanding.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 23 June 2021, 1pm-2.15pm

For organisations and community groups who are new to applying for funding, or for those in need of a refresher. Relevant for groups applying for Covid-19 funding and recovery support as well as other general funding.

This session is suitable for staff, volunteers, community activists and management committee members/ Trustees/ Directors with responsibility for writing funding applications, who want to start something new in their community or who would like to develop these skills.

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.

We are currently working on our learning programme for the autumn period. We would love to hear from you if there are any topics or areas of practice you would be interested in learning more about. Get in touch via email to enquiries@pdunottingham.org

In the meantime, you might be interested in one of our Communities of Practice (CoP).

Our CoPs are informal forums for social learning, designed to facilitate discussion and sharing of experience and good practice between peers. The groups meet on a quarterly basis and welcome professionals, volunteers and people with lived experience of multiple disadvantage and using support services.

Follow the links below to find out more about our current CoPs that are open to new members:

Co-production Community of Practice (CoP)

Gender Responsive Services Community of Practice (CoP)

For 30 days, during the month of June (2021), The Wildlife Trusts (a movement made up of 46 independent charities with a shared mission) are encouraging you to do one ‘wild’ thing a day.

There are ideas for how to work from home and spend time in nature, simple things you can do to help wildlife at home, ideas for 30 Random Acts of Wildness, plus activities for The Big Wild Weekend (18-20 June). View the event listing on our website for more information.

If you are interested in finding out about more nature-based activities available in Nottingham, why not visit our GreenSpace web page. GreenSpace is the Green Social Prescribing Programme for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and is all about improving people's mental health and wellbeing by connecting them with nature.

This week it's Loneliness Awareness Week, running till Friday (18 June), hosted by Marmalade Trust. The campaign aims to raise awareness of loneliness and get people talking about it.

After a year of lockdowns, social distancing, and restrictions, more of us are experiencing loneliness than ever, which is having a big impact on our wellbeing. 

The Charityworks Kickstart Programme provides fantastic paid employment opportunities for young people looking to take their first steps into a career in the social change sector.

As part of the government’s Kickstart scheme, the roles are available to anybody aged 16-24 and in receipt of Universal Credit and young people can apply by visiting their local job centre and speaking to their Work Coach.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is offering free PPE (personal protective equipment) for use by voluntary sector organisations.

You can express your interest in this free PPE by providing them with a few details and then a representative of DHSC will contact you to arrange delivery. Please note that the details you provide will only be passed to DHSC and that the PPE and the delivery are both free of charge.

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) / Integrated Care System (ICS) are working with patients, carers, health and care professionals and wider stakeholders to review the Dementia pathway. The aim of this review is to help shape the future service provision for the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Dementia Well Pathway.

To support this review, a period of engagement is taking place until Friday 16 July (2021) to understand the experiences of those affected by Dementia.

The East Midlands Patient Safety Collaborative (PSC) is looking for people who have spent time receiving mental health inpatient services in the region, along with their carers and families, to share their experiences and help improve the quality of care for those using inpatient services.

Participants will be expected to attend a monthly online meeting. Groups will consist of NHS professionals, public volunteers and a dedicated Engagement Officer to provide support. A small participation payment and out-of-pocket expenses will be offered.

If you, or someone you know, would like to join the team working on improving local mental health inpatient services, please follow this link.

The closing date for applications is Sunday 4 July 2021.