News & Developments

If the answer is yes then please get in touch as soon as possible, as Santa is drawing ever closer.  SDCVS have a variety of donated (new) gifts for children and teenagers as well as some presents for the parents.

To make a referral, please contact Eileen Banton, Project Manager - Tel: 01283 550163 or email: eileenb@sdcvs.org.uk 

You will need to provide details of the age and gender of the family members and someone to collect the gifts from the CVS offices, 46-48 Grove Street, Swadlincote DE11 9DD, when they have been put together.

Young people, youth workers and invited special guests celebrated "YouthInc" - a brand designed by and for young people to badge up all Derbyshire County Council  youth services.

A YouthInc website, launched in February this year, continually offers young people vital information about:

• Something to do 
• Something to learn 
• Somewhere to go 
• Someone to talk to 
• Something to say

YouthInc's branding was designed by Adrianne Nussey and Chloe Frew after they beat 27 other entrants in a countywide competition for 11 to 18-year-olds. 

The one-day alcohol awareness and brief interventions course covers:

• Facts about alcohol; myths, units and safe limits
• Short and long term information about the physical effects of alcohol
• Definitions; such as binge drinking, high risk drink and dependency
• Brief interventions such as the cycle of change, drink diaries, decisional balance sheets and working towards change
• Services available and how to refer

Dates available:

• 20th January
• 17th February
• 10th March

Registration at 9:15am for a 9:30am start – 4:00pm finish

Visit  www.daas.uk.com to book your place and for further information

Deaf and Hearing Support second drop in session will be held at the Anglers Rest, Bamford on Friday 12 December 10:30 am. They hope to make these sessions a regular monthly fixture, where everyone is welcome.

BREAK the SILENCE groups are for you, your partner, family members and friends: 

• If you are on your own at home
• If you have a hearing loss and are struggling with communication
• If you just fancy a friendly chat

Come and join them for coffee or tea and meet new friends. Beat Isolation which can happen when you acquire a hearing loss or live with deafness or hearing impairment. 

• Do you find it difficult to explain to friends and family why you are unable to follow or join in conversations?
• Do you miss the phone or doorbell? 
• Are you unable to follow the plot of TV shows and have to keep asking what has been said?

They will be setting up groups so that people can be in the company of others who understand and can share strategies to support themselves and family members. You can learn how to use assistive technology to support your hearing aids or just to have a friendly chat over a cuppa. 

If you know of a community café who would also make us welcome please get in touch with our helpful and friendly staff and volunteers at

Deaf and Hearing Support 
Phone 01246 555 934
Minicom Textphone: 01246 555933
Mobile for text: 07442536409

Download the Small Grant application form and guidelines.

If you are applying for the first time you will also need to complete the membership and database forms below.

Download the NDVA membership form.

Open the NDVA database form.

A recent article, which featured on the Apprentice Eye website, called on charities to recognise the ways in which an apprentice can help them. For example, an apprentice could be responsible for boosting a charity’s social media presence by managing a digital campaign and using a variety of social media platforms.

In addition, an apprentice could help improve and update a charity’s website and using Search Engine Optimisation techniques, learnt as part of their Apprenticeship training, help boost search rankings.

The Apprenticeship Team at the Chamber has helped a number of charities to recruit and train apprentices lately and is eager to hear from other charities looking to explore the Apprenticeship route to recruitment in more detail.

Please get in touch by calling 0844 443 2150 or by emailing apprenticeships@dnlcc.co.uk. 

If your organisation or group promotes health or has a project which promotes the health of your members or the local community, then do consider whether you would be eligible to apply to the Health Development Fund.   The criteria for the fund can be down loaded from  www.ddcvs.org.uk/Health_Fund_Information_2013-2014.doc 

Free courses for carers include: 

Carers Advice and Training for Confidence in Health - These short training sessions cover issues related to caring such as identifying stress and implementing coping mechanisms, and how to grow in confidence within your caring role. Various dates and venues around Derbyshire including Matlock (5 Dec), Chesterfield (16 Jan), Glossop (29 Jan) and Ripley (14 Feb). 

Also specialist sessions in Alzheimers & Domestic Abuse (26 Feb, Belper or 4 March, Ashbourne); End of Life Care (Bakewell 18 March). 

For further information, an informal chat or to reserve a place, please contact: Lyn McNair, Training Co-ordinator. Tel: 01246 222373 or email: lyn.mcnair@derbyshirecarers.co.uk  

The first surgery will take place at High Peak CVS, 105 Buxton Road, Whaley Bridge SK23 7HX on Tuesday 9 December. Surgeries run from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm and you can drop in to talk to our advisors any time between these times.  

The surgeries are free and offer local community groups the chance to find out about Facebook, Twitter and other free websites and online resources, often collectively called Social Media. The sessions offer groups the opportunity to learn how to use social media to promote their activities, share information and let members and supporters know what’s coming up. A team of willing volunteers, experienced in using social media, are ready and waiting to help people with their queries.

"Surgeries are open to charities, community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises across the High Peak and wider area”, says Claire Mitchell, organiser.  "If you are looking for help to make the most of social media, register today and join us for these informal, relaxed, one to one free sessions with no lectures and lots of tea, coffee and biscuits!” 

To register, for more information and a full list of surgery dates go to www.socialmediasurgery.com/surgeries/highpeak or contact Claire: 07527 980 050 or claire@highpeakcvs.org.uk 

Further monthly surgeries are planned from January 2015.

They would like to hear your views on the proposed integration care model for health and social care and to help achieve this, Price Waterhouse Cooper, have set up Care Design Groups to build a better understanding and to develop the way services might look and operate using an integrated care model.

The Care Design Groups will be broken down into 3 work streams:

• Preventative/Pro-active Care and Urgent Care
• Elective Care
• Women and Children

Price Waterhouse Cooper would welcome some patient input at the workshops, with the initial meeting dates being as early as next week:

Elective Care
Mon 1 Dec 5-8pm at New Century House, Denton, Meeting Room 2
Tue 16 Dec 5-8pm at Lecture theatre, Werneth House, THFT

Women & Children’s Care
Tue 2 Dec 5-8pm at Lecture theatre, Werneth House, THFT
Tue 16 Dec 5-8pm at Lecture theatre, Werneth House, THFT

Prevention/Pro-Active Care and Urgent Care
Thur 4 Dec 5-9pm at Lecture theatre, Werneth House, THFT
Wed 17 Dec  5-9pm at Lecture theatre, Werneth House, THFT
THFT - Tameside Hospital Foundation Trust