The charity which heads up England’s largest rural grouping of community support agencies, of which CCB is Berkshire’s, will be raising an awareness of measures that can be taken by halls to protect individuals from harm as part of Safeguarding Adults Week 2020 which begins Monday 16 November.
Paul Dixon, ACRE’s Rural Evidence Manager said: “We want volunteers managing village halls to understand they have an important part to play in creating safe spaces for members of their community, especially when it comes to protecting younger or more vulnerable rural people. Over the campaign week we will be highlighting the importance of having safeguarding policies and procedures in place, how everyone has a responsibility to look out for others, and where to find help”
Safeguarding Adults Week 2020 is a national campaign run by Ann Craft Trust. ACRE’s involvement in this national campaign is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and has the aim of sharing resources and best practice amongst community groups.
A recent national survey conducted by ACRE showed that village halls are a vital asset for many rural communities. 60% of halls provide the only meeting space in the local area, whilst 80% of respondents knew someone whose lives had changed for the better as a result of joining activities at their local hall.
Halls can continue to improve lives through adopting effective safeguarding practices and policies, to ensure that everyone is protected in rural areas.
Expert village hall advisers, employed by members of the ACRE Network will be on hand in every county to help management committees understand information about safeguarding and put in place policies and procedures suitable for use in their hall.
There are times when there is not enough local capacity to provide the support needed in an emergency. The Emergencies Partnership aims to fill that gap. The VCSEP is a partnership of local & national voluntary & community sector organisations, which include CCB.
They have launched a service to support local organisations & community groups to respond to emergencies, where needed, by matching needs with resources locally, regionally & nationally. If local councils for voluntary service, local resilience forums & local authority hubs cannot provide the support a local organisation needs, the VCSEP can step in to facilitate provision of that support.
In order to help children continue to remain ‘Fit and Active’, Get Berkshire Active has worked together with the County’s School Games Organisers to compile Remember, Remember your 60 minutes in November. 6 FREE opportunities that young people can use to complete 60 minutes of daily Physical Activity recommended by Chief Medical Officers. Details of the varied opportunities are on the link above. They can be utilised in school or children can be signposted to them and used to stay active at home.
In addition to Remember, Remember your 60 minutes in November, event 3 of the Berkshire Virtual School Games autumn series is underway (2nd – 20th November) with opportunities for Key Stage 1 Out of Space and Key Stage 2 and Year 7 Gaelic Football.
As Covid-19 rears its ugly head once again we want to remind you that Neighbourhood Watch are here for you. Keeping your loved ones safe The most valuable thing we can all do is keep ourselves and our loved safe – pyshically and emotionally. We have a page on our website which signposts where you can get accurate advice and support with your emotional wellbeing. Supporting your community There are a variety of ways in which you can support your community depending on your individual situation. A few ideas are: • set up a Calling Tree (click here to find out more) • sign up as a NHS Volunteer Responder • join forces with a COVID-19 Mutual Aid group • connect with your neighbours with this Calling Card • connect with your neighbours with this Kindness Card • If you are, or you know someone who is, facing loneliness have a look at Neighbourhood Watch’s Loneliness Toolkit. Beware of scams and crimes Criminals are using the Covid-19 pandemic to scam the public. To help you avoid becoming a victim, we have highlighted on our website the wide variety of Covid-19 scams and crimes which have arisen, key protection advice and guidance on how to report these scams. Community response stories For further inspiration on ways in which you can support your community, have a look at NW’s Community Response Stories. To read all of Neighbourhood Watch’s November newsletter please click here.
As always many thanks goes to Berkshire’s fantastic Council for Voluntary Services – Reading Voluntary Action, Slough CVS, Volunteer Centre West Berkshire, Wokingham & Bracknell InVOLve – for the information contained in this article.
Co-op Food Fund Grants are available for local charities and community organisations across the UK for local programmes that provide access to food and sustainable solutions to food poverty.
Canoe Foundation – Updated Information Grants are available for clubs, community groups and Local Authorities across the UK for projects that improve the accessibility of available waterways and canoeing facilities and protect the natural environment
Smallwood Trust – COVID-19 Frontline Women’s Fund Deadline: 16th November 2020 Grants are available for women’s organisations and services in England that are supporting women who are experiencing poverty and low income as a result of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
Sport England Return to Play – Community Asset Fund Deadline: N/A Capital grants to help local sports clubs and community groups adapt and open important places and spaces so that sport and physical activity can happen during the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
re available for women’s organisations and services in England that are supporting women who are experiencing poverty and low income as a result of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
Sport England Return to Play – Small Grants Programme Deadline: N/A Grants are available to not-for-profit community organisations for projects addressing the challenges coronavirus/COVID-19 has posed to people taking part in sport and physical activity in England.
Gamesys Foundation Variety Club – Youth Clubs Grant Deadline: N/A Grants for equipment is available to youth clubs in the UK that provide opportunities for improving social skills, team spirit and self esteem for young people aged from 8 to 18 years.
Beatrice Laing Trust Deadline: N/A Grants are available for UK registered charities undertaking projects for the relief of poverty and distress in the UK and overseas.
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation Deadline: N/A Grants are available to smaller charitable and not-for-profit organisations in the UK to fund community and family support projects in areas of extreme urban deprivation or deprived rural areas.
Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation Deadline: N/A Grants to support registered charities and good causes in local communities across the UK to alleviate poverty, improve health and save lives.
Isla Foundation – Tipping Point Grants Deadline: 12th November 2020 Grants are available for voluntary and community organisations, schools and PTAs, clubs and societies, and entrepreneurial individuals in the UK for small-scale, short-term projects that create a positive change in people’s lives and in their communities.
Homelessness, faith, community and voluntary sector organisations can now apply for transformation grants of £10,000 -£100,000 to provide single room and COVID-19 secure accommodation for people experiencing homelessness this winter • The deadline for panel 2 is 1pm, Wednesday 2 December 2020, for Grants Panel on 17 December.
The Yapp Foundation
The Yapp Foundation offers grants to registered charities with a total annual expenditure of less than £40,000. Grants of up to £3000 / year are available for running costs for charities working in one of the priority areas. These areas are:
Elderly people
Children and young people aged 5 – 25
People with physical impairments, learning difficulties or mental health challenges
Social welfare focusing on life-limiting problems of a social origin (e.g. addiction, relationship difficulties, abuse, offending)
Education and learning (especially the educationally disadvantaged, adults and children)
Support Adoption For Pets funds charities and not-for-profit organisations which have a direct impact on animal welfare and whose main activity is either: • the rescue and rehoming of UK pets or • the provision of temporary support to ensure pets can remain with their owners Grants of up to £10,000 are available. See https://www.supportadoptionforpets.co.uk/grant-programme/ apply any time
Tesco Bags of Help Community Grants – Rolling applications until end of December 2020 Bags of Help is Tesco’s local community grant scheme, which funds thousands of community projects every year. The projects must meet the criteria of bringing benefits to the community. During October, November and December 2020 the grant scheme will provide grants of £1,000 to support projects focused on local children and young people.
The Payne-Gallwey Charitable Trust PGCT distributes approximately £225,000 per year to charities in Berkshire. Their focus in particular is on charities with connections to: ‣ the deaf or blind ‣ care of terminally ill ‣ rural life & field sports ‣ horse racing ‣ travel for deprived young people ‣ medical research.
Englefield Charitable Trust Fund The Trust has supported a range of charities & good causes in & around Berkshire, which include those focusing on areas such as: ‣ education ‣ the arts ‣ social welfare ‣ health & wellbeing ‣ conservation ‣ the armed forces See englefieldestate.co.uk for details.
Thriving Communities Funding For Partnerships Grants of £25,000 to £50,000 will be made available through a new £1.4 million Thriving Communities Fund to develop local social prescribing activities across the country. The fund will support place-based partnerships, led by voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations to expand and improve the range and quality of social prescribing activities available to local communities. These will have a particular focus on support for people facing health inequalities, and those who are experiencing the greatest impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund will be open between the 23rd November and 8th January 2021. For more info your team cansign up to an intro webinar. Community leaders are also invited to sign up to a free regionalsupport initiative for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups by the 11th December.
Three New Return to Play Grants These 3 grants prioritise projects located in areas of high deprivation. Other priorities include organisations working with BAME communities, people on lower incomes, disabled people, people with long-term health conditions & people experiencing a greater burden of care because of coronavirus. Also prioritised are organisations without significant reserve funding available to utilise. For details see sportengland.org/our-funds Small Grants: This fund will make awards of between £300 & £10,000, from a total pot of £10m, to help sport & activity groups, clubs & organisations respond to the immediate challenges of returning to play in a coronavirus-safe way. This could include contributing to covering the costs incurred by having to deliver activity in smaller groups than normal or having the correct hygiene & safety equipment. Community Asset Fund: This fund will make awards of between £10,001 & £50,000 from a pot of £5m to help local sports clubs & organisations adapt & open important places & spaces to help their local community return to play safely. This could include contributing to covering the costs incurred by converting existing space to meet social distancing guidelines or improving a facility’s ventilation. Active Together: This is a crowdfunding initiative that can match fund, up to £10,000, successful Crowdfunder campaigns from a total pot of £1.5m. With expert advice & guidance to support you, this will help local clubs & organisations to run their own crowdfunding campaigns, fundraising for things such as a loss of income due to the crisis, or any other COVID-19 related needs.
Connecting Communities in Berkshire 