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

Mastering Social Media - 28th August

Not sure how to increase your fans on Facebook, create connections on Linkedin or tweet to the top? Or whether any of these social media platforms will help your good cause to raise its profile? Join us for an afternoon Mastering Social Media with Yellow Jigsaw who will provide you with tools, templates and tricks to understand which social media platforms are right for your cause, and how to get the best out of them using limited time and money. FREE for Affiliated Members of VCA...

Telling Your Social Story - 5th September

Delivered by the very talented and experienced Grace Dyke from Yellow Jigsaw CIC. "Telling your social story" developing your key messages to connect with your key audiences - from volunteers and clients to funders and supporters. Yellow Jigsaw will share with you tried and tested strategies for telling your story to get the maximum impact to your target audience. Free for Affiliated Members of VCA...

Crafty Corner

Are you looking for a space to hold an informal get together, do a craft session or hold a coffee morning? Why not consider using our NEW multi-purpose space at St Maries, which can seat 12 people.  You can view our crafty corner/multi purpose space and our other rooms and office space by clicking here...

Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Awards

Nominations for the first Culture and Creativity Awards in the Liverpool City Region have been opened by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram to stimulate, recognise and celebrate excellence and innovation in art, culture and creativity. The awards are part of the Metro Mayor’s 1% for Culture initiative, and will honour the value and contribution that the cultural and creative sector brings to the Liverpool City Region, making it one of the most vibrant and exciting places to live, work, study, visit or do business in. The red carpet ceremony will take place on 28th November 2019 at the Lady Lever Art Gallery hosted by the 2019 Liverpool City Region ‘Borough of Culture’, Wirral...

Volunteer Opportunities

Apex Charitable Trust are opening a community coffee shop in September/October 2019, in St Helens through which they will be offering free accredited training and volunteer opportunities. Anyone interested in applying must live in the Liverpool City region (excluding Wirral), be over the age of 18 and have a conviction (current or historic). This is a fantastic opportunity for people to engage in accredited training while enhancing their work experience through their volunteering role, helping to increase their skills, knowledge and employability; and is suitable for anyone thinking of going into hospitality or wanting a career change. In addition it could be a way of securing paid employment for those who have faced challenges when seeking paid employment due to their conviction...

Funding Bulletins from Halton Borough Council – August

Our colleagues from Halton Borough Council’s External Funding Team have prepared some Funding Bulletins containing valuable information for voluntary organisations looking for grants to get projects off the ground. The Monthly funding bulletins offering information on funding opportunities in the Arts, Community & Voluntary, Environment & Heritage, European, Faith, Health, Schools, Sports and Youth...

Community Spaces

Community Spaces work with charities and start-ups to offer rent free space on a short term basis, with no service charge or insurance contributions.  They can negotiate on your behalf longer term occupations if required for discounted rent and additional benefits. Whether you're looking to open a pop-up shop or something more permanent, they will find the perfect property for you.  They have retail units in varying sizes in the Hardshaw Shopping Centre, St Helens...  

Carers Workshop - 24th September

This event, which will be of interest to HR teams, Directors / Deputy Directors of nursing, carer support organisations and those with a responsibility for staff health and wellbeing and staff side colleagues, is jointly hosted by VSNW and Health & Care Partnership for Cheshire & Merseyside. They would particularly welcome representatives from carers organisations who are interested in contributing to this. Included on the agenda is the development of the Cheshire and Merseyside NHS Carers charter. VSNW will also be presenting research undertaken in partnership with Leeds Beckett University Centre for Health Promotion Research and Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) looking at the Informal Carer Workforce in Cheshire & Merseyside...

VS6 Update for Members of VCA - August 2019

The recent meeting of the VS6 partners was attended by VCFSE sector representatives from across the Liverpool City Region, including Sefton CVS, Liverpool CVS, Halton & St Helens VCA, Community Action Wirral and Merseyside Youth Association. The meeting included discussion of the Clore Leadership programme, which now has its first Liverpool City Region cohort of individuals. The programme, which is supported by VS6 and Capacity: The Public Services Lab, provides participants with leadership skills training and individual development plans. Also at the meeting, individual members of the partnership provided updates on meetings & work where they represent VS6, including meetings with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram; and work with the British Council around leadership and inclusive economy. Finally, Network for Europe shared information on current European funding available in the region, and possible future rounds to be aware of...

Fresh-Beginnings

‘Fresh Beginnings’ is a specialised professional hygiene training company with the additional option of delivering healthy cooking sessions all at affordable prices. Whilst online training sometimes can be more convenient, Face-to–Face training still has more success because of the bespoke and interactive style of learning. Are you searching for inspiring and effective learning that engages, achieves your business goals, improves your business performance and motivates your employees...
 

Introduction to Social Change and Campaigning - 18th September

The Introduction to Social Change and Campaigning workshops are designed for those interested in social change and change-making. It is for people new to campaigns or who have found themselves campaigning by accident and who want to know more. Participants will improve their understanding, skills and knowledge of change making, including understanding more about how change happens and be more effective at developing a campaign strategy. The workshop will also provide participants with the opportunity to meet other campaigners, develop their professional network and receive peer support...

Drop-In For Asylum Seekers & Refugees

Colleagues from Halton’s  faith, community and voluntary sector, supported by external partner organisations from across the Liverpool City Region are holding a Drop In Service for asylum seekers and refugees being delivered every Monday at Trinity Methodist URC Church, 138 Albert Rd, Widnes WA8 6LG 11 am to 1pm...

VCA Membership 

Halton and St Helens VCA are pleased to welcome our new and re-registered affiliated, non-affiliated and associate members.  We all look forward to working with you.

At the last VCA Board Meeting the following organisations had their Affiliated Membership Approved

If you'd like to find out about your membership status, click on the link below which will take you to our current list of Affiliated and Associate members, or call Lynne Daffern or Debbie Morris on 01928 592405 / 01744 457100  for more information. 

https://www.haltonsthelensvca.org.uk/vca-membership-list

Don't Forget...

Volunteer Recruitment Fairs 2019

Halton Volunteer Centre are holding two Volunteer Recruitment Fairs in Widnes later this year.  The fairs will be a market place style event for the most part. However, we would like to make the event as exciting and interactive as possible, so please feel free to be creative when considering how you might engage with the general public & students. We would request that your stand is manned for the whole time, so that the last visitor has a good experience as the first one. Also, we ask that fundraising tins etc are not put out on your stand as this is purely a recruitment fair. The first one will be held at Kingsway Campus on 1st October and the second one will be held at Cronton Sixth form college on 8th October...

VCSE Connect

Information about the voluntary, community, charitable sector still remains one of the key issues raised by professionals and clinicians when you ask the question “What could the voluntary sector do?” or “How can I refer this person to something more appropriate?”

As the gateway into the sector, Halton & St Helens VCA holds lots of information and data about local voluntary action.  We have produced that in great detail, in “Here to Help”, provided a search facility on our website, share information with key organisations and have many different ways of sharing what groups do, but still people say they don’t know what groups exist, what they do and how they get to them or refer to them.  So Halton & St Helens VCA has been working on an extension to our database which will display information about groups in an easy format, tell you what they do and when, allow clinicians and other key professionals to log-in directly and make a referral directly to the group (as long as they have agreed to receive referrals).  This means for the first time there will be a single place where referrals to the local voluntary and community sector can be made.

If you would like your organisation to be included in the VCSE Connect directory...

Saying Goodbye 

After almost 20 years of working with Halton and St Helens Voluntary and Community Action, it gives us great sadness to say goodbye to three of our long serving staff members. 

Linda Goodier

Linda joined Halton Voluntary Action in December 2000 and has supported a variety of projects in her 19 years. Linda was Chief Editor of the Halton Voluntary Action Newsletter, taking great pride in providing up to date, relevant content that kept the sector informed.  She delivered an IT training project, was instrumental in developing the Volunteering Strategy and Processes for Halton Borough Council and has seen the Volunteer Centre through all three Quality Accreditation Processes.   

Christine Tully

Christine joined St Helens CVS in 2002 when she was supporting a new Timebanking initiative across Newton-le-Willows and has since worked across many projects, including St Helens Community Empowerment Network, Supported Volunteering and more recently the Staying Home project.  Her dedication to volunteering has shone through over the years and the Volunteer Centre in St Helens will miss the knowledge and dedication she has shown it.

Alison Gleave

Alison joined Halton Voluntary Action in 2002 and has also been instrumental with a variety of projects over the years, supporting a wide variety of individuals to realise their dreams to support a need in their local community.  Her skills and knowledge in fundraising; strategy and development, event organizing and supporting Volunteer Coordinators has been a valuable asset to all.  Like her colleagues, Alison has worked across a number of projects, more recently working with Merseylink in supporting their Timebank initiative and the volunteers working alongside the bridge construction.

All three staff members will be sorely missed by all staff, colleagues, partners, sector wide organisations and volunteers.  Their ability to empower and thank volunteers throughout the two boroughs through Volunteers Week Events and Christmas celebrations will always be remembered. 
 
We all wish you every success in whatever road life takes you on.  Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication.

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