Information and Advice for the Lancaster District’s Third Sector – 30 June 2022
We are working with the local voluntary and community sector and Lancashire and District-wide partners to support VCFSE organisations and people living in our communities. We encourage you to share this page with others.
An archive of previous editions can be found here.
Click headings below to expand each section.
Digital Directory of Services – Repeat Briefing
As many will have already heard, we are working with colleagues across the statutory and voluntary sector to publish an online directory of services for North Lancashire.
We are making great progress in implementing the software which will provide the Directory website and will be able to share more information soon.
While we prepare, we are also busy engaging with any community group or organisation that may be interested in becoming involved by listing their services and activities.
If you haven’t yet received our voluntary sector briefing relating to the Directory, please drop us a line at [email protected] – we will send an invitation to the next online briefing session, which will be held on Monday 11 July at 3pm.
All organisations, providing any kind of service or activity in the community, are welcome to join us via Teams to find out more.
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My Community
All the latest tools, tips and ideas to make your community an even better place to live
My Community is a website for people and organisations who are passionate about their communities. Whether setting up a foodbank or planning finances, we all need a little help at times. My Community is the go-to place for this support.
Importantly, these are resources you can trust. All the content on My Community has been curated, written, designed or hand-picked by leading voluntary sector organisations who truly understand what communities need to survive and thrive – including Lancaster District CVS!
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Eric Wright Charitable Trust
The next round of EWCT funding is now open.
See the funding section for further details
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Lancaster District Community Wellbeing Fund
The fund remains open for projects eligible for consideration in rounds 2, 3 and 4.
See the funding section for further details
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Lublin Refugee Appeal
The Lancaster district has close ties with the Polish city of Lublin, having been twinned since 1994. Lublin is situated just 70 miles from the Ukraine border and is one of the first places refugees travel to on arrival in Poland. As a result, Lublin has seen an enormous influx of refugees, and the Mayor of Lublin has reached out to the city’s friends for help as it struggles to support so many vulnerable people.
A result of calls from our community for a practical method of collective help to be organised, a fundraising page has been set up by Lancaster District CVS, which will see all donations sent to Lublin to help our twin city and the refugees that they are supporting.
To find out how to donate, visit our dedicated fundraising page.
The Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust
The Trustees would welcome more grant applications from charities within Lancaster and District.
By way of background, Eleanor, Countess Peel inherited her considerable wealth from her father, Lord Ashton who made his fortune in the manufacture of linoleum and was responsible for several municipal buildings in the City. Under the terms of her will this Charitable Trust was founded in 1951 with the primary aim of supporting UK registered charities involved in the fields of medicine including medical research, the elderly and those “who have fallen on evil days through no fault of their own” – the latter of which is interpreted widely.
The Trust Deed specifically prohibits the Trustees from making grants to charities primarily devoted to those under 18 and those under the control of Central or Local Government
Further information and application form can be found at www.peeltrust.com
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Global Youth Mobilization Funding
Between $500 and $5,000 or the equivalent in local currency is available to young people between the ages of 14 and 30 who have an idea for a solution to a challenge created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The core requirement is for a truly innovative and impactful idea that has the potential to impact the individual or community around them.
Applications will be reviewed on a three month rolling cycle. There is no deadline to apply.
Brew Me Sunshine
Barista Volunteer
The role involves making barista coffees, prepping hot and cold food, using a till, and keeping the kitchen and coffee shop to high standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
Find out more on the LDCVS volunteering website.
Cafe Helper
The role involves serving customers, wiping down tables, and guiding people who may need that extra helping hand.
Find out more on the LDCVS volunteering website.
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The Hinge of Fate: Living through uncertainty in 1942
This project aims to increase understanding and engagement with the story of the King’s Own Royal Regiment and Lancaster in this pivotal year of the Second World War.
The project is looking for some volunteers to help support it, including:
Digital Creator
This role will contribute to the project by researching and gathering stories, images and other evidence of how ordinary people adapted to life in difficult conditions. They will use this to create social media posts, videos or blogs that help people to connect with the King’s Own Royal Regiment, and to learn about how Lancaster adapted during the Second World War.
Researcher
This role will contribute to the project by researching and recording the places in Lancaster where people trained, adapted and contributed to the war effort, gathering stories, images and other evidence. They will photograph these places, helping to create a digital trail to be shared with the public.
They will also research what life was like in Lancaster and for King’s Own Royal Regiment soldiers serving overseas, creating fact files to inspire artists, filmmakers and performers who will be interpreting this period using light art, film, music and dance.
Explainer
Explainers are friendly and enthusiastic people who will share this history with the public, welcoming them to the museum and events and sharing stories and objects with them.
These roles will primarily be based in Lancaster City Museum, though there is the possibility of researchers volunteering from home if preferred. There will be opportunities for Volunteer Researchers to photograph locations around Lancaster, and for explainers to support event days taking place outside the museum in Market Square.
If you would like to express interest in any of these roles please contact Mark at Lancaster District CVS – [email protected]
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Galloways
Galloways are currently advertising several opportunities via volunteering.lancastercvs.org.uk
Beer & Banger Festival
The festival takes place on 5 – 7 August and raises vital funds for the charity. Volunteers can get involved in setting up, working behind the bar, as stewards, cooking and selling food, or selling programmes and tokens at the entrance.
Find out more on the LDCVS volunteering website.
Home Tech Help Volunteer
Often when a service user takes home technical equipment there may be some teething issues with setting it up right in their own environment, and whilst a phone call might be enough to rectify the issue, sometimes a quick home visit is required. Galloway’s are looking for someone who is comfortable using computers and helpful with solving simple problems.
The role will consist of making one or two home visits a week to people with a visual impairment in the Lancaster and Morecambe area to help with basic tech problems with normal domestic and assisitive technologies such as Amazon Echos, Apple Iphones and modern Smart Devices.
Find out more on the LDCVS volunteering website.
Minibus Driver
Accessible outdoor and indoor activities are really important to people with a visual impairment but getting to and from them can be a real obstacle. Galloways are looking for someone with a full clean driving license which includes category D1.
Find out more on the LDCVS volunteering website.
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Promote Your Volunteer Roles at In-Person Events
Mark from the Volunteer Centre will be at Lancaster & Morecambe College for their community day on Saturday 2nd July, and the Health Festival in Dalton Square on Saturday 9th July.
He’ll be promoting volunteering, all of its benefits, and any and all roles that we can get information about before then. So, if you haven’t yet registered your roles on our website do so now here.
If you have any leaflets or flyers that you would like Mark to take with him to these events, get them to our office at The Cornerstone on Sulyard Street, Lancaster, before Saturday 18th June.
If you only have electronic flyers, email them to Mark at [email protected] (but bear in mind we can’t currently print them off, so the plan is to create a slideshow for display on a laptop that we will take on the days).
If you have online application pages, send the links to Mark and he can support people to register in person during the events.
If you have any questions, contact Mark.
KeepConnected
KeepConnected can help with your community projects!
If you are part of a organisation/group and need further information for projects, this Lancaster City Council initiative can help you gather that information, by making use of:
- Forums
- Surveys
- Quick Polls
- Questions
- Ideas
- Map Pin Pointing
- Forums
- Promote projects/events
To find out more visit the KeepConnected website.
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A Good Thing – Equipment Donations
This new CIC work to link charities to businesses which have surplus items or equipment available for donation.
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Charity Banking Briefings
The Civil Society Group received over 1,200 responses to their recent charity banking survey, and the results are now being reported in a series of briefings.
NCVO and others, including Charity Finance Group (CFG), Action for Rural Communities in England (ACRE), NAVCA, and WCVA are using the results of the survey to work with the banks, UK Finance, and the Charity Commission to find solutions to the issues raised.
View the first briefing in the series here.
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Charity So Straight / Queer Trustees LGBTQIA+ Voluntary Sector Slack network – sign up
If you’re a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and a voluntary sector employee or volunteer, Charity So Straight and Queer Trustees have created a new Slack workspace.
This is a safe space for all LGBTQIA+ people working or volunteering in the voluntary sector where you can share your experiences of challenges we face in the sector, including homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. It’s a place where you can learn from and support others as well as share good news stories about great places to work/volunteer and inclusive practices.
Click here for more information and to sign up.
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Third Sector Trends Survey 2022
This long-term study on voluntary and community organisations, social enterprises, cooperatives, societies and clubs started in 2010 and the last study we conducted across Lancaster District was in 2019. A great deal has happened in the sector since we last did the survey and so it’s time to find out what has changed in the last three years.
This survey is open to everyone working across the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector. Whether your organisation or group is big or small, flourishing, struggling or going on as normal, we need to hear from you.
The survey is interesting, easy to do, and only takes about 10 minutes. You can do it on your phone, tablet, laptop or PC.
Lancaster District CVS is happy to be working with Professor Tony Chapman and Durham University in this valuable study of the sector, highlighting key areas around employment, volunteering, income & economic benefit to the district, funding needs & patterns and more.
Once the survey is completed, we will build a picture of how organisations and groups work and what they achieve. This information will also help funding organisations decide how to invest in organisations like yours.
The findings will be produced and shared with you and we will be organising an event to feed back key findings specifically to the Lancaster District, which we hope will provide an insightful overview. We promise to be in touch in the coming months with a date. In the meantime, we invite you to take part in this study.
If you’re ready to start the survey, click this link.
All answers are securely stored completely anonymously.
Should you want to know more about the study, please contact Professor Tony Chapman, St Chad’s College, Durham University, 18 North Bailey, Durham DH1 3RH, [email protected] or contact LDCVS and we will be happy to answer any questions.
Therapeutic Family Support Group
St Thomas’s Family Life Centre are launching a new support group at the Family Life Centre specifically for therapeutic parents, this may be adopters, foster carers, kinship carers or other parents whose children may have experienced trauma and they want to parent therapeutically.
The group will be semi structured with a brief topical talk and then space for the group to develop support amongst each other, chat and be listened too. There will be guest speakers ranging from a child psychologist and an adopter who will share about their experiences.
The first session is the 18th July, 7.30pm at the Centre@ St Thomas’s Church.
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Ride Lancaster
Cyclists of all ages are invited to ‘Ride Lancaster’ on Sunday July 10 as part of the Bay Health Festivals led by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust Chaplaincy team.
The centre-piece of this year’s event will be a ‘cycling village’ in Lancaster’s Dalton Square, with chance to meet cycling experts and try fun cycling activities.
A section of Lancaster’s one-way system will be reduced to one lane on the morning of the Sunday to allow visitors to enjoy traffic-free riding from the Lune cycletrack to Dalton Square.
For more information on Ride Lancaster and the Bay Health Festivals, visit www.thebayhealthfestivals.org.uk
Children and Family Wellbeing Service
The 2022 Summer Holidays what’s on guide from Lancashire County Council’s Children and Family Wellbeing Service is available here.
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Healthy Happy Holidays
Children and young people receiving free school meals are being invited to sign up now to enjoy free activities during the summer break with Lancaster City Council’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF).
The sessions include a variety of fun activities alongside a nutritious meal each day.
The programme includes specific provisions available for children with SEND or additional needs, at no cost to you.
Visit the HAF website to find out more.
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Bay Medical Group Young Persons Social Prescribers
Young Persons Social Prescribers can accept referrals for people aged 11 and up to and including people aged 19 who are registered with Bay Medical Group.
Social prescribing can help support people to make lifestyle changes, connect with groups and activities in the community and includes supportive person-centred conversations to help improve health and wellbeing. The prescribers will make contact with the young person and arrange to meet them at an agreed community venue or provide telephone support. They aim to work with young people to understand what matters to them and provide support to empower young people to reach their goals.
BMG are unable to accept referrals for people who:
- Are experiencing suicidal ideation
- Have significant forensic history particularly including violent and sexual offenses (NB this criterion will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis)
- Have care-coordination already in place from mental health services
- Are receiving current support or have met the criteria for and are awaiting an appointment from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health service
Please note this is not a mental health or emergency service and whilst we aim to make initial contact within 10 working days this may vary depending on case load.
Download the referral form here.
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Global Youth Mobilization Funding
See the Funding section for more information.
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CYPMAF – Next Meeting
The next Children & Young People Multi Agency Forum meeting will be held on Wednesday 6 July, 9.30am – 11.30am.
This will be the final CYPMAF meeting prior to the summer, which is generally full of really useful updates regarding availability of support and activities over the holidays.
To join the meeting, and the CYPMAF mailing list, contact Sharon Phillips at [email protected]
Women and Numbers
This 4-session lunch time learning programme offered by The Growing Club is a pilot open to all women, to test out some workshops that will get you feeling comfortable with numbers, to enable you to fully participate in decision making for your own life.
Tuesdays from 12 June to 2 August, 12 noon to 1pm, online.
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COVIDNOW at The Storey
This event, taking place on 27 and 28 July is intended to open up conversations about people’s experiences during the pandemic through arts, crafts, poetry and music.
The organisers are interested to hear from potential artist/maker exhibitors and those who may wish to help out on the day.
To find out more, contact Maya Abeysuriya at [email protected]
COVIDNOW has been funded with support from the Community Health Champions Fund.
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Roots UK Exchanges
Do you dream of living in a more connected society?
Roots arrange 6-week online exchanges of life experience between adults that lead very different lives in the UK today. A commitment of up to one hour a week in your own time, our programme is small in scale but big in individual impact, designed to smash assumptions, ease fears around ‘other’ and help us overcome our British awkwardness when it comes to being curious about our differences.
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Applied Community and Social Care BA (Hons) at UCLAN
Increasing social inequalities in our communities mean understanding the causes of social problems and how we attempt to solve them is needed more than ever. The Applied Community and Social Care BA (Hons) degree course equips students to do this and make changes to policy and practice in community and social care organisations in order to improve opportunities for all.
Find out more on the UCLAN website.
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Powering Up: Support for Community Businesses
The Powering Up programme offers training, mentoring, and financial support for community businesses (businesses that are locally rooted, accountable to the community, trade for local benefit, and have broad community impact).
The next round focuses on community businesses looking to address the climate crisis and/or improve their use of digital.
The next round opens on 4 July, with webinars for those who want to find out more.
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Voluntary Sector Studies Network Conference – Politics, Partnerships, and Power: Raising Questions for Civil Society
As we begin to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, civil society organisations (including those in the voluntary, community, social enterprise, and faith sectors) are contemplating the longer term implications of the triple threats they have faced in resources, operations, and demand. Demand for charities’ support in the aftermath, is likely to be higher than ever. While some volunteers are feeling burnt out, others are considering their return to activities that were put on pause. The sector is increasingly subject to political interference, reliant on building new partnerships, and investigating its own power structures.
Sheffield Hallam University, 15/16 September 2022
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The Green Agenda
This free training from Spring North explores:
- What does Net Zero mean for the charity sector?
- Conducting Environmental Audits on your organisation and activities
- Sources of funding
4 July, 10am – 12 noon, online
To register, email [email protected]
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Gaia: Festival of the Earth at Lancaster Priory
Gaia is landing. Lancaster Priory is hosting one of the world’s most awe-inspiring artworks by Luke Jerram, from June 24 to July 17.
Mon-Sat 10am-5pm (general viewing)
Sun 1pm-5pm
Evening events from 7pm
Network Coordinator at Let’s BeFriends
Let’s BeFriends are are looking for a Network Coordinator to to help recruit and grow the team of befrienders, to coordinate and implement a recruitment plan to attract new volunteers and to lead on planning and organising recruitment campaigns. The post holder will be expected to network, build and maintain relationships with various organisations to aid the sustainability of recruitment.
Rate: £12 per hour
Contract: 6 – 8 hours per week for 12 months
Location: Lancaster
Closing date: 27 July 2022
To find out more and apply, download the details here.
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Communications & Marketing Officer at Shared Future CIC
This role is the voice of Shared Future, shaping and managing their digital communications. Shared Future want you to help them shout about what they do, and show them how to do it better.
Salary: £25,500 per annum pro rata
Contract: 0.4 FTE, temporary
Location: flexible
Closing date: 18 July 2022
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Operations Co-ordinator and Communications Co-ordinator at Morecambe Bay Foodbank
Operations Co-ordinator
The postholder will be responsible for managing the stock and logistics operations of the Foodbank, including warehousing, stock control, facilities, buildings and vehicle management.
Salary: £23,000 per annum pro rata
Contract: 18 hours per week
Closing date: 15 July 2022
Communications Co-ordinator
The postholder will be responsible for communications across the organisation, both internal and external.
Salary: £23,000 per annum pro rata
Contract: 18 hours per week
Closing date: 15 July 2022
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Finance Administrator at the Gregson Centre
This is your chance as an experienced accountancy person to join a vibrant staff team and contribute to the further development of Lancaster’s much-loved Gregson Centre.
Salary: £31,200 per annum pro rata
Contract: 16 hours per week
Location: The Gregson Centre and home working
Closing date: 6 July 2022, 10am
Interviews: 8 July 2022
Please email Company Secretary Katherine Bevington at [email protected] for an application pack. Informal conversations with the Treasurer can also be made available, prior to applying.
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Volunteer Coordinator at CancerCare
The Volunteer Coordinator’s main role is to coordinate CancerCare’s volunteers, including the selection and placement of volunteers, induction and ongoing support and personal development of volunteers.
Salary: £19,500 – £19,890 depending on experience
Contract: Full time
Location: Lancaster
Closing date: 8 July 2022
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Artistic Director & Development Director at Ludus Dance
Artistic Director
The postholder will have specific responsibility for the artistic work of the company, furthering Ludus’ reputation for excellence in dance practice, particularly with young people. They will manage the company’s relationship with its key stakeholders including Arts Council England, lead on the company’s safeguarding policy and collaborate with the Development Director on strategic development, management of the Ludus team, on fundraising policy and bid writing.
Salary: £34,000 to £38,000 per annum pro rata
Contract: 30 hours per week
Location: Lancaster
Closing date: 13 July 2022
Development Director
With specific responsibility for overseeing fundraising, marketing, finance and stakeholder management, the postholder will provide dynamic leadership to develop and deliver Ludus Dance’s vision and strategy, in partnership with the Artistic Director.
Salary: £34,000 to £38,000 per annum pro rata
Contract: 22.5 hours per week
Location: Lancaster
Closing date: 13 July 2022
If your organisation needs support whether it be working with volunteers, completing accounts and payroll, finding funding, solving governance issues, or just want a listening ear, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team:
Funding and governance support, contact [email protected]
Volunteering and upskilling your workforce, contact [email protected]
Payroll, bookkeeping and independent examinations, contact [email protected]
Membership queries: [email protected]
Partnerships, networks and strategic development, contact [email protected]
Alternatively, call us on 01524 555900
To promote your events, training, jobs, and sector news, email [email protected]
