News & Developments

The East Midlands Charity Awards ceremony took place on Thursday 11 June 2020. The Winners and Highly Commended charities were announced online. All staff and Management Committee members at Deaf-initely Women are celebrating after they heard that they were finalists for two East Midlands Charity Awards: The Best Social and Digital Media award and Small Charity: Big Impact award.

www.deafinitelywomen.org.uk

They want to use this knowledge to advocate for groups and put in place support that will help help communities.

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/COVIDCommunities

One of the areas that we at High Peak CVS are particularly proud of is our work in supporting community groups and organisations across the whole district. This ranges from helping a new group set up, developing a constitution and committee through to accessing funding and promoting their success. It is vital that we are able to offer this level of support to our members as it empowers groups to offer essential services and support to local people and communities.

We are delighted to welcome Rob Baker to the team as our new Development Worker (Groups) and we did a short Q&A to get to know him better and introduce him to you all:

What was it about the role of Development Worker (Groups) that attracted you to the position?

I believe that the best way to support community groups is to equip them with the tools to help themselves. The desire, need and passion for a community group, event or project is out there in abundance but the knowledge of how to put that idea into practice is not so easy and that’s why organisations such as High Peak CVS are so vital in offering the expertise, advice and guidance required to support new groups to form and existing groups to grow and thrive. The opportunity to be a part of that and help to tackle serious issues that affect communities in the High Peak is tremendously exciting. I passionately believe in communities working to help themselves, to deliver the essential services and facilities that they need and to build a sense of pride and achievement in what can be done when people work together.

What are you looking forward to the most?

Working with any of the fantastic voluntary groups across the High Peak will be incredibly rewarding but I am particularly excited to work with the smaller, community based groups that grow out of a single good idea or need and blossom into an essential part of the communities they serve.

Tell us something about you?

I am involved with several small community groups, through which I developed my interest in community activism and volunteering. I am the Secretary of the Friends of Conduit Street Playing fields, one of the organisers of Tintwistle, Hadfield and Padfield Litter Action and the elected High Peak Borough Councillor representing Tintwistle ward. As part of the friends group, I have spent the last few years working on a project to redevelop a piece of public land in Tintwistle Village creating a new children’s playground and social meeting space. We have installed new play equipment and picnic benches and organise regular events for the community.​

Rob will be getting in touch with all our members over the coming weeks and months to introduce himself and understand more about your group and how we can support you. In the meantime, if you have any queries or feel you would benefit from some help and advice please do get in touch directly with Rob on: rob@highpeakcvs.org.uk

The Community Volunteer team has been on hand to help with tasks including shopping, prescription collections, transport to medical appointments, telephone companionship and pet walking, over the last three months. 

Dedicated volunteers have also collected personal protective equipment, kindly donated by local individuals and businesses, for the hospice’s nurses and healthcare assistants to continue providing palliative and end of life care safely. 

The Community Volunteer programme provides support and companionship to Blythe House patients, who are affected by life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and neurological conditions like motor neurone disease. 

Following the lockdown announcement in March, the team offered to help anyone across the local community, who needed extra support during the unprecedented circumstances. 

Volunteers helped to spread the word about the service by giving their time, in-line with Government exercise restrictions, to post over 5,000 Here to Help leaflets in more than 300 residential streets and 65 essential shops.   

Vicci Wild and Julie Forrest have taken the huge task of coordinating the volunteer efforts across the High Peak, including in Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Chinley, Combs, Dove Holes, Furness Vale, Hayfield, Longnor, New Mills, Quarnford, Tunstead Milton and Whaley Bridge. 

Read more about the hospice’s services during the coronavirus pandemic: blythehousehospice.org.uk/keeping-you-safe-information-on-coronavirus/  

Find out more about the Community Volunteer team, including how to volunteer: blythehousehospice.org.uk/community-volunteer-programme/

• The Best Social and Digital Media award
• Small Charity: Big Impact award

Deaf-initely Women is a local charity for all deaf females including BSL users, deafblind and hard of hearing women. The charity is run by deaf women and delivers services to their peers across Derby and Derbyshire through provision of accessible events, workshops and classes.

www.deafinitelywomen.org.uk

This programme will be open to anyone aged 18-30, not in education, employment or training, and looking to learn new skills in self-employment.

Programme:     22 & 23 June 2020 9.30am-4.30pm
Location:           Log in from smart phone, tablet device or computer.

If you have someone that might benefit from this FREE course, contact  0800 842 842, or the local team on 07919 221 443.

This qualification aims to develop learners understanding of autism and the principles of supporting individuals (adults and children) with autism - covering the person-centred approach and influence of positive communication methods, how to support positive behaviour, and how individuals with autism can be supported to live healthy and fulfilled lives.

It’s useful for learners who provide direct support and those working in sectors such as:

• healthcare
• social care
• leisure
• entertainment
• education and training
• nursing

The course may also be of interest to parents and carers of young people with autism.

When: Mondays 6:30 - 9pm every fortnight
Start date: 14 September 2020
Course length: 24 weeks
Cost: contact the centre for more information

This course may be FREE is you are employed and earn under £17,004.00 per year. Fee remissions are also available for people on certain benefits. Please contact the centre to discuss your circumstances.

Email New Mills Adult Education Centre newmills.ace@derbyshire.gov.uk

People across the High Peak and surrounding communities are invited to commemorate the memory of a loved one by helping to raise funds for Blythe House Hospicecare, hosting its Sunflower Memories appeal throughout this month, where supporters can dedicate a flower in memory of someone special, and make a donation to support care and services. 

Usually the special event every June sees the hospice garden in Chapel-en-le-Frith come alive in a blaze of bright yellow and orange sunflowers, but this year, due to the ongoing situation, donors will receive a personalised sunflower plaque, to plant in their own home or garden. 

There are plans to re-create the hospice’s field of sunflowers virtually; and people are invited to send a photo of their planted plaque, so that the Blythe House fundraising team can share tributes and reminiscences on social media. 

Katie Holt, Supporter Engagement Officer, explains: 'The Coronavirus pandemic is affecting all of us, but at Blythe House, our nurses and healthcare assistants are continuing to provide end of life care to patients in the comfort of their own homes. Our hospice team is also on hand to give telephone support, counselling and guidance, to patients, families and carers throughout the ongoing situation. 

'We are very proud to be supporting hundreds of members of our local community who are elderly, lonely or isolated; helping with shopping, medication deliveries, transport to hospital for chemotherapy or other treatments, and walking pets.' 

blythehousehospice.org.uk/support-us/sunflower-memories-appeal/

Charities and social enterprises are playing a vital role up and down the country, meeting the needs of vulnerable people affected by the current crisis. At the same time many have been experiencing significant challenges as they have had to close shops and other revenue-generating services, and cancel fundraising activities. 

To ensure that our charities and social enterprises can continue to step up to respond to the crisis, and keep their doors open to those most in need, the government has made available an unprecedented package of support, including £750m targeted specifically at these sectors. 

The £200m Coronavirus Community Support Fund forms a central part of this package, and is being administered through the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF). Charities and Social Enterprises in England can submit applications through the NLCF website (www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk). 

The Fund has two key objectives:
1. To increase community support to vulnerable people affected by the Covid-19 crisis, through the work of civil society organisations.​
2. To reduce temporary closures of essential charities and social enterprises, ensuring services for vulnerable people impacted by Covid-19 have the financial resources to operate, and so reduce the burden on public services. 

Grants will allow organisations to meet service costs, where they are experiencing increased demand and/or short term income disruption. Grants will also allow organisations to refocus services to address more immediate beneficiary needs in light of Covid-19.

Other Funding

The following funds are also currently open for organisations to apply to:
● The £3.45m  Covid-19 Food Charity Grant Scheme to provide  immediate support to keep food charities and front-line food aid charities open and supporting the vulnerable, due to the economic impacts of Covid-19, with a continual supply of food otherwise not accessed through usual routes.
● A £10m  Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Fund  COVID-19  emergency support fund to support domestic abuse safe accommodation services who provide beds and offer the critical help victims and their children need.
● The £6m  Covid-19 Impact Programme  to ensure that people from Armed Forces communities can keep accessing important services, where resources for these services have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
● The £5m  Loneliness Covid-19 Grant Fund National organisations  working to tackle loneliness and build social connections are invited to apply for a share of £5 million of funding, which the government is investing to help them to continue and adapt their critical work.
● The £6m  Covid-19 Homelessness Response Fund to provide  emergency funding to homelessness charities directly affected by the Coronavirus. 

The Government also matched the £35m raised by the BBC’s Big Night In, with the first £20m of this match funding going to the National Emergency Trust, to distribute through local community foundations, and the remainder to support the work of Children in Need and Comic Relief.  Details on how it is being distributed and how to apply can be found on each organisation’s website:
● www.ukcommunityfoundations.org/our-network
● www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/grants/apply/
● www.comicrelief.com/the-big-night-in-how-you-are-helping

High Peak Borough Councillors Kath and Shannon-Kate Thomson for Whaley Bridge and Furness Vale have announced that they will be using their Initiative Fund to support the work of High Peak CVS and in turn help those groups in the local area during these difficult times. 

Councillor Kath Thomson said: 

"From listening to people in the village and hearing stories In the news about voluntary workers and food banks having to beg for donations and government funding, we asked ourselves what we could do to help the community via the voluntary sector. We approached High Peak CVS for advice on how the community voluntary sector could be helped best in our ward and, after talking to James we concluded that the money was best going to the CVS as they have a more in depth understanding of the best ways to use the funding to maximise the help given.”

Councillor Shannon-Kate Thomson added: 

"Setting up these organisations can be difficult at the best of times, but in a crisis like this we need to help the voluntary sector more than ever as we rely on volunteers to help the community get through challenging times. 

High Peak CVS are key in working and supporting various groups such as Food Banks and those dealing with Mental Health issues which we are incredibly passionate about. We are fully aware that many people are negatively affected financially due to COVID-19 and more people are looking to food banks to feed their families. In addition, mental health support groups that people can go to if they're struggling to cope - both those with existing mental health issues and  those who have had their mental health detrimentally impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. There is no doubt the current pandemic has caused a lot of anxiety and distress among both of the above groups of people and if they can get support then we'd love to help”. 

Both Councillors have allocated £250 each to the work of High Peak CVS, who are based in Whaley Bridge, and this will be used to engage and support local groups over the coming weeks and months.  

James Bromley, CEO at High Peak CVS said: 

"The current COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges to the people, groups and organisations across the High Peak and the last few weeks have shown how the community has come together to support those that need it the most. High Peak CVS is established to support these groups but we face the same financial challenges and donations like this make a huge difference to enable us to continue supporting the groups that so many people rely on. On behalf of High Peak CVS I’d like to say a huge thank you to Councillors Shannon-Kate and Kath Thomson for this contribution and we will work hard to continue supporting groups in Whaley Bridge, Furness Vale and beyond”. 

The two local Councillors concluded by saying: 

"We feel helping these voluntary groups is a no brainer - especially during the COVID-19 crisis. We would like to thank all the voluntary sector and its staff. They have worked hard to aid our community in spite of funding cuts. Without voluntary workers, we'd struggle to run a lot of services that some families so desperately need”.

If you are part of a local group within Whaley Bridge or Furness Vale and you would like to talk to High Peak CVS about the work we do and how we can support you please do get in touch.

Councillor Kath Thomson and Councillor Shannon-Kate Thomson