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Welcome to the latest edition of the Halton & St Helens Voluntary and Community Action E-Bulletin...

We're Moving.... Do You Need Any Office Furniture?

We will be moving out of our current office in St Helens (Tontine House) next month.  We have a lot of office furniture available for our member organisations for free / small donation!

Our St Helens office will be open Friday 3rd, 10th and 17th March, 10am to 3pm for you to visit and select any available furniture (you will have to arrange your own collection of any items).

Volunteering Opportunities For Groups Of Young Disabled People

Do you have volunteering opportunities for a group of young people to get involved? Can Do is a community based volunteering programme which supports young disabled people aged 16-35 in their local community to develop their skills, provide new experiences and promote their independence by participating in a variety of projects and by playing an active role in their community. Can Do is looking for organisations in the Greater Merseyside, that young people from Can Do can get involved with either as a one off activity or a short term project...

Victims' Voice Survey - Cheshire

Have you been a victim of crime in the last 12 months? Do you want to share your views on your experiences of victim services and the police? If so, the Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner David Keane, is urging you to join the conversation as part of Victims Voice 2017. David said: “It is vital that victims of crime have a strong voice on policing and crime. As Commissioner I am committed to representing victims and I am continuing to invest heavily into services to support victims across the county. However, in doing this I know that it is essential that I listen directly to those residents who have been victims of crime so I can understand what services work, which can be improved and where more support might be needed.”...

Business Start Up Conference

Are you working with any clients who are considering self-employment, or who could benefit from exploring this as an option? The Women’s Organisation are holding a FREE Business Start-up conference on Wednesday 22nd March for any man or women from the Liverpool City Region (Sefton, Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral and Halton) who would like to find out more about how to set up their own business...

Halton OPEN Isolation and Loneliness Survey 2017

Halton Older People’s Empowerment Network (Halton OPEN) was established in 2001 and has become the collective voice of people aged 50 plus who live and work in Halton. Their aim is to influence and encourage the development of services which can help to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of all older people in Halton. As loneliness and isolation is such a huge issue in Halton and is something that many of Halton Open members feel is something they are already experiencing or that they fear will happen to them as they become more immobile and less independent...

Dance in VEGAS & Disneyland California For A One Off Performance Opportunity With WTS

Would you like to Dance in a One Off Performance in Las Vegas & in Disneyland California? You could perform in Las Vegas on the vegas strip, and also in Disneyland in California for two, one off performance’s during school holidays in May 2018 to an International Audience. You would have one rehearsal a week after the try outs to prepare for your USA Performance Opportunities! You would learn a wide variety of dance styles, and be taught a series of routines to make up your very own Disney Showcase and perform in a Vegas Showcase...

Routes to Employment

Interested in Carnival, dance, music, costume making ? Looking to work in the cultural sector ? Receive training and support over a six month period. Be part of Brouhaha arts team, volunteer and assist in the planning and delivery of local, national and international arts events and festival celebrations...

CQC Inspection Of Warrington And Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England. CQC register, monitor and inspect services to make sure they provide safe, effective, compassionate, high quality care, and we encourage them to improve. CQC will shortly be inspecting services provided by Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, starting on the 6th of March 2017...

Save The Date: VCSE Conference - Changing Times in St Helens

For all St Helens organisations to hear from the Chief Executive of St Helens Council on the 2020 vision, and more about St Helens Cares work to develop an Accountable Care Management System for the Borough. The conference will be a great opportunity for the sector to understand more about local plans and how their organisation fits within them...

Mobilising Merseyside Conference Invitation - Merseyside Sports Partnership

'Mobilising Merseyside' - a free event to explore ways to work together to grow sport and physical activity. Merseyside Sports Partnership welcomes all organisations who would like to discuss adopting a collaborative approach to maximise funding opportunities to grow participation through sport and physical activity...

Don't Forget...

Volunteer Co-ordinators Forum Halton

The next Volunteer Managers/Co-ordinators Forum will be on Tuesday 28 March. The Forum meets six monthly to share information, discuss issues, monitoring and anything else to do with volunteering. The meetings are informal and enjoyable. We hope you will feel able to participate...

Cheshire Victim Services Directory

Halton & St Helens VCA, working with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire have compiled a directory and on-line resource for Victims Services in Cheshire in the voluntary and community sector. The directory is for anyone who has been affected by crime in Cheshire, the website will help to find the advice and support needed. This information is provided to anyone who may need support regardless of whether a crime has been reported or when it happened...

Thought For The Week...

The Goose Story – Teamwork

When you see geese flying along in “V” formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.     

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. 

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone — and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.  If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are. 

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south. 

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. 

What messages do we give when we honk from behind? 

Finally — and this is important — when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group. 

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that. 

Please feel free to forward this email onto any other organisations/individuals who you feel would be interested. Apologies if you receive this email more than once.

If you have any comments you would like to tell us about this e-bulletin, please send an email to ldaffern@haltonsthelensvca.org.uk or if you have any news/events you would like us to publicise, please complete our News/Events webform: https://www.haltonsthelensvca.org.uk/vca-newsevents-template

Halton and St Helens Voluntary and Community Action