The Black Achievers Awards, founded in 2011 by Councillor Merlita Bryan, are back after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic. You can read more about Cllr Bryan and why she started the awards here.

Once again NCVS is delighted to sponsor the Community Volunteer Award. You can nominate individuals for this award here. There are a number of other categories for which you can nominate individuals while you are on that page. Nominations close 31 August 2022 so please don’t miss the opportunity. We are really looking forward to receiving all of your fantastic nominations.

The Awards will take place 15 October 2022 at the East Midlands Conference Centre and will be hosted by Comedian Rudi Lickwood. Individual tickets can be purchased here. If you would like to book a table for 10 please contact the Black Achievers Awards directly theblackachieversaward@gmail.com

Applications for the UK's biggest match funding campaign, The Christmas Challenge, are now open. You have until Friday 15 July 2022 to apply

For seven days, the challenge offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to have their donations doubled. Founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Alec Reed CBE, the Christmas Challenge has raised millions of pounds for thousands of charity projects since it first launched on the Big Give in 2008.

Last week saw one of the best attended and lively online meetings of the Leaders of Volunteers Network. This network is for anyone who manages, supports and has an interest in volunteers.

We had a really good presentation from the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NACVA) about the Vision for Volunteering and a discussion about how this aligns with the Nottingham Volunteer Strategy.

We also had an excellent breakout session where members were invited to discuss and share their experiences as well as hints and tips around one of the hot topics for the sector – Leaders of Volunteers' workload and its effect on mental health and burnout. We had some great ideas – many of them from network members that are new to roles in volunteer leadership.

It’s not just us old hands that have all the answers!

The follow-up email for LoVN members with this summary and some additional information will be on its way to you in the next few days. If you’re not part of the network, you can sign up at Join Leaders of Volunteers Network mailing list | nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Bookings are now open to everyone for the next Leaders of Volunteers Network meeting on Wednesday 12 October 2022. It’s free to book your place 

Green social prescribing is a way of connecting people to nature-based activities and green groups, projects and schemes in their local community for support with health and wellbeing. Often this will be through a referral from a Link Worker based at a GP practice or another primary care professional.

Our scheme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called GreenSpace, is one of seven government Green Social Prescribing Test and Learn sites. It's all about improving people’s mental health. Green providers, social prescribers, voluntary organisations and community initiatives will help connect many more people with nature-based activities, helping everyone to feel better.

Is your child entitled to Free School Meals? If so, check out Ask Lion's FREE Fun and Food offer this Summer!

Please note:

Session places are limited and must be booked in advance using the contact details given by each session provider.
Not eligible for Free School Meals? Some places are available on a first come, first served basis. Please contact the session providers to ask about available places.

See Ask Lion for lots of different free activities

Do you provide services for people who need support? 

Nottingham City Council are inviting you to join them for a one-off event where they will update you on the findings of their draft joint Carers' Strategy Co-produced by Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG

As partner organisations they are now working together to review and re-commission services which support unpaid carers of all ages, across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

This includes:

• Raising awareness of unpaid carers and enabling them to access support earlier
• Providing information, advice, and guidance
• Providing individual and group support for carers (including young carers)
•  Providing breaks from the caring role

Tuesday 19 July 1.30pm-3pm

Online via Microsoft Teams

To inform and shape the new services that they will commission, they are seeking the views of partners across Health, Social Care, unpaid carers, carer support organisations and other community partners. .

You will have the opportunity to discuss and feedback on options for how the new
services should look together with carers, partners, and community organisations.

They hope to record the session for those who are unable to attend.
Please book a place by emailing your name to:SCandMD@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

This is a free shared learning webinar about Small Steps Big Changes (SSBC) experiences of involving community volunteers who have championed parent voices and approaches to literacy.

Please note this is separate event and not linked to the Community Champions Programme from Nottingham City Council mentioned previously here

Thursday 21 July 2022 10am Online Free Event

Are you an organisation who works with or would like to engage Community Champions?

Are you interested in getting more involved in your community supporting early literacy and young families?

If you answered YES then the latest SSBC Shared Learning Event might be of interest to you.

The 90-minute webinar will provide an opportunity to hear the learning from two approaches to positively working with communities and how this is enabled, whilst also reflecting some of the challenges.

The presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session where you will be invited to ask our Parent Champions and our Literacy Champions their pros and cons of working this way.

Wednesday 12 Oct 2022, 1pm to 3.15pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of roles and responsibilities in the safeguarding of adults and how to respond to concerns.

Cost: £25 per participant

Tuesday 26 July 2022, 10.30am to 12.45pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of roles and responsibilities in the safeguarding of children and young people and how to respond to concerns.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 3 August 2022, 10.30am to 12.45pm

An online course giving a basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the Designated Safeguarding Lead Person.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 24 August 2022, 10.30am to 11.45am

An interactive online session for Trustees (or members of Management Committees) of organisations whose activities put them in contact with vulnerable adults or children.

Cost: £15 per participant

Wednesday 7 September 2022, 6pm to 8pm

This two-hour online session covers the basic information for all trustees, whether you are new to the role or long-established.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 27 July 2022, 10am to 12.15am

A new interactive hands-on workshop for organisations and community groups who want to practice their skills and would welcome constructive feedback to further develop their skills in writing successful funding applications.
Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 11 October  2022, 10.30am to 12.30pm

Do you manage a space, office or building? This new two-hour online session will take your Fire Wardens and/or Fire Marshal through the basics. As a result, they will be better equipped to carry out these very important roles.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 13 September 2022, 11am to 1pm

This two-hour online session is intended for trustees who have completed our 'Being a Trustee' course, who want to further develop their involvement and awareness of trustee duties and improve their personal skill set.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 14 September 2022, 6pm to 8pm

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 11 October 2022, 6pm - 8pm

This new two-hour online session will explain the basics of health and safety, then take you through the process of carrying out a risk assessment in an organisational environment.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 21 September 2022, 10am to 11:15am

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.

Cost: £10 per participant

Thursday 13 October 2022, 6pm to 7pm

In this one-hour online session, we will identify some of the barriers that potential volunteers face to becoming involved in your organisation and share ideas to remove these barriers.

Cost: £10 per participant

Tuesday 15th November 2022, 10am to 11am

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 5 October 2022, 10am to 11am

This one-hour online session looks at methods that have proved to be effective in volunteer leadership, including the best ways to plan, involve, support and retain volunteers.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 8 February 2023, 10am to 12pm

For some time, we’ve been asked about training that goes beyond the basics of managing and supporting volunteers. In this new two-hour online session, we’ll explore some of the real-life issues that you are facing.

Cost: £20 per participant

Thursday 24 November 2022, 10am to 12pm

A two-hour online course for Leaders of Volunteers to start to develop an understanding of some of the legal requirements that relate to your volunteering programme.

Cost: £20 per participant

Thursday 26 January 2023, 6pm to 7pm

A one-hour online session to help your volunteer role descriptions stand out, ensuring you attract enthusiastic volunteers.

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 for more information by sending an email to enquiries@pdunottingham.org

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

All of our upcoming events are currently full. Keep watching this space for new events being announced.

E-Learning Resources

If you haven't had chance already, please check out our new e-learning resources exploring gender and culturally responsive practice when working with people experiencing multiple disadvantage.

The two modules join and complement a growing suite of digital based learning around multiple disadvantage, psychologically informed environments and trauma informed care.

The PDU's interactive e-learning modules are a helpful tool for staff and volunteers working both in the frontline and in more operational roles, whether in the voluntary or statutory sector. They can be used as an introduction to the topics or a useful refresher of knowledge you may have already developed through practice or in other settings.

Follow this link to access the modules in the PDU online hub

Suicide bereavement training designed to build knowledge, confidence and skill caring for those affected by suicide.

Online

Tuesday 13 September 2022 12.30pm-4.30pm

The trainers at Equation, have an extensive background in supporting survivors of domestic abuse in a range of specialist provisions, as well as supporting children Please note these courses are for Nottingham City only

Nottingham City Council are seeking a suitably experienced organisation to build/expand capacity in local providers, in order to grow local provision for community Short Breaks for children/young people with disabilities. The prospective Provider will need an understanding of support for children/young people with disabilities and their families. 

Nottingham City Council are seeking quotations for provision of this service. Quotations should be up to the value of £65,000 in total, for the duration of the contract (10 months). Quotations above this value will not be considered.

Closing date Thursday 28 July 2022 12 pm

Nottingham City Public Health is redesigning and recommissioning some of the services within the wider drug and alcohol treatment system.  This market engagement event for organisations interested in providing services will be an opportunity to share initial proposals and inform the recommissioning of services.

Date: Tuesday 26 July 2022

Time: 1:30pm – 4pm

Location: Nottingham City Centre