News & Developments

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Foundation courses aim to raise awareness and knowledge around eating disorders and disordered eating and the range of presenting factors which often effect people struggling with their conditions.

Additionally, these course’s demonstrate a range of support tools that can be adapted in various professional settings. It will not train you in a specific eating disorder instead the training will equip you with the information and skills to spot the signs and take an evidenced based approach to support someone at risk of eating difficulties and eating disorders.

Any professional working with children and young people in Derby and Derbyshire is offered this fully funded CPD accredited training programme which has been commissioned by NHS Derby Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

The programme offers five different modules, each of 90 minutes in duration and delivered online via Microsoft Teams (you do not need to have a Microsoft Teams account to join the training modules).

• Eating Disorders All Ages and Genders
• Compulsive Exercise, Sport and Steroid Abuse
• Eating Disorders in Boys and Men
• Body Image and Perception
• Food and Mood

firststepsed.co.uk

The service is for anyone who can’t visit a library and does not have anyone who can borrow and return items for them. This could be due to:

• disability
• limited mobility
• illness
• caring responsibilities

When you apply for the service, they will contact you to talk about your needs, and find out what you like to read and listen to. There is a waiting list due to the Covid pandemic.

Currently the frequency of visits will be once every 8 weeks by a home library assistant. They will no longer come into your home. 

www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/services/home-library-service/home-library-service.aspx

It’s shaping up to be a fantastic day of fundraising content, sharing and learning.

It’s completely free.

More info and to sign up:
charitydigital.org.uk/events/events/-bemoredigital-fundraising-day

If you're one of them, this may be of interest (but not if you just have basic BI cover):  www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/result-fca-business-interruption-test-case

A virtual week of employability events at the University of Derby from 15- 23 October. The week of activity will be entirely online and will include two fairs, webinars, alumni panels, social media takeovers, virtual employer insight visit, employer skills sessions and more!

Virtual Volunteering Fair 

Thursday 22 to Friday 23 October 2020 - online.

The Volunteering Fair will feature stands, social media takeovers and webinars and is for registered charities to promote your volunteering opportunities to our students and recent graduates. As this year's fair is all being held online, there is no requirement for you to be 'present' on the days of the fair meaning very little time commitment and zero travel commitments! You don't have to 'attend' to run your stand, you could simply provide the information for students to browse, or you may want to be available to answer questions in a live chat, run an Instagram takeover or deliver a webinar on your charity and the opportunities to volunteer. 

There are many different ways you can get involved. Book your virtual stand at unihub.derby.ac.uk/employers/Form.aspx?id=813760

Although a slightly different format this year, the annual Volunteering Fair is always an absolute highlight in our calendar and fantastic opportunity for charities to raise awareness amongst attendees as well as recruit volunteers. To see for yourself how successful the fair has been in previous years, search #DerbyVolFair on Twitter.  

Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, and follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date. If you are currently looking to recruit volunteers don't forget you can list your opportunities on our website unihub.derby.ac.uk/employers/

Following on from the success of the first phase of A Necklace of Stars, Arts Derbyshire are looking for older adults who are housebound (aged 65+) from across Derbyshire to join in a creative writing and embroidery project.

Arts Derbyshire is running a remote embroidery and creative writing project where participants receive weekly one to one phone calls with artists ‘arthur + martha’ (for approximately 4 weeks or until you are happy with the work you have created). The artists will guide people through the process of creating beautiful embroidered stars or creative writing themed around lullabies, for free.

The embroidered stars will be brought together to create a quilt which will be exhibited alongside the creative writing and lullaby soundtrack around Derbyshire’s cultural venues in 2022. 

A Necklace of Stars hopes to increase confidence and wellbeing, reduce loneliness, forge connections and re-ignite creativity.

If you are interested in taking part in this project (whether you have no experience or plenty), or know of someone who might enjoy getting involved, please contact Sally Roberts on 07395 904386 or email sallyartsderbyshire@gmail.com  

A Necklace of Stars is an Arts Council England supported collaboration between Arts Derbyshire, DCC Public Health, Derbyshire Library Services and arts organisation arthur+martha. 

The Buxton group is for adults who are suffering the effects of bereavement – who may benefit from some support from others in the same situation.

Our meetings are safe, friendly, welcoming and confidential. We offer a chance to share experiences and feelings, to swap useful information and, above all, to be there for each other.

Due to current restrictions we are having to limit the number of people that can attend our face to face meetings. We are asking people to book their places in advance by contacting Liz on the details below.

Please call us if you have suffered a recent bereavement and are struggling to find local support or if you were bereaved some time ago and still feel stuck.

Liz Fletcher, High Peak CVS: 01663 736426 / 07702 168187

Bereavement Support Group Buxton

Bereavement Support Group Chapel

Bereavement Support Group Glossop

Since lockdown, many of these projects which provide cooked food to those who are unable to purchase food for themselves, have relied on the use of school appliances to store ingredients and ready-made meals. 

Now that the new school year has started, these storage spaces are no longer available. 

As a result, 11 kitchens across Derbyshire are now searching for upright fridges and/or freezers to safely keep food before distribution. This includes an urgent call for a freezer in Cresswell (Bolsover district) and a fridge in Chesterfield. 

Through Rural Action Derbyshire’s Batch Cook-Deliver scheme, and using ingredients from local producers, community kitchens cook and package batches of ready meals using small, socially distanced groups of volunteers. These meals are then distributed by charities and community groups to those unable to access, afford or cook healthy food. 

In July and August, these batch cook projects provided 32,878 meals to vulnerable people in Derbyshire. 

With infection rates rising and another lockdown still a possibility, demand for these services could continue to grow over the coming months, making the work of these local food groups more important than ever. 

To try and make sure this demand can be met, RAD is asking local businesses to donate fridges and/or freezers to some of the 11 food projects most in need. Or to be able to offer some significant discounts to make them affordable.  It is also hoped that delivery could also be part of any generous offer.

Beverley Parker, CEO of RAD, says: "We really hope Derbyshire businesses can help us provide these vital items to ensure the food projects can continue to get healthy, freshly cooked meals out to people who find themselves struggling during these difficult times.”

For those able to help with this appeal, please contact Samantha Mumby-Harrison on 0785 7613004 or  office@ruralactionderbyshire.org.uk

Joint Presidents Sue Barber and Jo Holdway welcomed Jasmit Phull, Region President who gave a fascinating, informative, heart warming and very personal talk about her arranged marriage.  At the end of the talk Jasmit stressed that arranged marriages such as hers are  far removed from forced marriages, which Soroptimists worldwide are fighting against.

Some business was discussed. The Region Centenary Celebration 2021 Calender is in print. Proceeds will help girls in Nepal.  Buxton's lovely winter weather features in the month of February. 

RNIB will benefit from used  postage stamps, which are being gathered by members. If anyone would like to help, the stamps should have a small margin of paper around them, cut neatly. Members will be grateful to receive them to pass on.