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This update has news and information for community organisations on coronavirus
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A message to all our members from CCVS
All the staff and trustees at CCVS send our very best wishes to all our members and contacts in these very difficult and stressful times.
CCVS staff are now working from home BUT we are available to give advice and to talk through any issues or problems you may be facing and to answer your questions.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you are a trustee, member of staff or a volunteer.
Our main office line is open: 01223 464696.
However, the best way to get in touch is by email and if you would like to talk to us please leave a phone number and we will ring you.
You can get in touch with us as follows:
Alan: alan@cambridgecvs.org.uk
Chris: christine@cambridgecvs.org.uk
Frances: enquiries@cambridgecvs.org.uk
Mark: mark@cambridgecvs.org.uk
We will update our website with new information and resources and will be sending out regular bulletins.
Please let us know if you have any information you would like us to share with others.
A reminder that you can sign up to receive our regular bulletins and updates on our website here
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Information for groups working in Fenland
Fenland District Council is mapping what support is being made available by town and parish councils, community and voluntary sector organisations and new groups to help support people over 70 during the next 3 months.
Once we know what is already available or being mobilised we will endeavour to identify gaps in support across the district with a view to offer relevant support to vulnerable residents.
It is likely we will be contacting all known households with a person of 70 years and older to ask if they need help. We intend to clearly signpost to known schemes when contact is made to the Council.
The aim is to reduce the risk to residents through a collective effort across public and voluntary sector of someone who needs help missing out, and to prevent duplication of efforts where possible.
Please complete the below survey to confirm what is already on offer by 5pm today Friday 20 March 2020:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/G8QZWZ2
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us:
Ash Godfrey
Senior Community Support Officer
01354 62 (2384) | 07903 651657
AGodfrey@fenland.gov.uk
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Updates from charities and community organisations
FACT Community Transport
Fenland Association for Community Transport is keeping abreast of the Coronavirus situation through the Government and NHS guidelines.
Our services will continue whilst this is ongoing until such a time we are advised otherwise.
If anyone vulnerable is worried about going out themselves, we are providing a shopping service.
We are working closely with all our local stores and supermarkets allowing us to shop for many people at a time.
If you have any concerns or need us for anything our offices are open weekdays from 7.30am please ring on 01354 661234 and we will help in any way we can.
Disability Cambridgeshire
Like many other organisations Disability Cambridgeshire has taken the unprecedented step to close our office in Orwell House until the 4th of May when we will review the situation again.
We want to reassure you that our caseworkers will be working from home and will continue to support their clients. Just like the CAB we will not be able offer appointments or home visits, but we will communicate by phone and email. These are our working arrangements:
• Our information line will be staffed by our volunteers at home. You can leave a message and we will return your call. 01223 755610 or 01480
• If you need help filling forms, please email us at admin@disability-cambridgeshire.org.uk first, to let us know you need help.
o We will advise you to start filling in your form, get your medical records from your doctor and keep a diary of your day to day activities for a couple of weeks. You then need to send everything to us, and we will call you to go through it. Once it is done, we will post it back to you, so you can send it off to the DWP.
• If you are appealing your benefit decisions, our caseworkers will work as normal and will submit their documents as usual to the DWP. Our senior caseworker is Peter Wetherell, he will be managing their workload. His email is peter@disability-cambridgeshire.org.uk .
Papworth Trust
Given the rising number of cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) across the country, Papworth Trust is putting in a number of measures to safeguard the wellbeing of our tenants, customers, staff and volunteers.
In our Work Services we have asked our staff to begin working from home with immediate effect. They will be carrying out telephone appointments with customers. For more information on how it is affecting all of our services, please click here
We will be reviewing our position on a regular basis. We ask that you please keep checking our website for further announcements.
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Cambridge City Foodbank during coronavirus
Due the Coronavirus crisis we are making some changes to our foodbank operation. Please read this message as it affects you and your clients.
We are KEEPING OPEN four of our centres:
- St Paul’s Church, Hills Road (Monday & Friday)
- Church of the Good Shepherd Arbury (Thursday)
- Cambourne Old Blue School (Thursday)
- C3 Centre, Coldham’s Lane (Friday)
We are CLOSING four centres:
- Chesterton Methodist Church (CLOSED)
- OLEM Catholic Church (CLOSED)
- Alpha Terrace, Trumpington (CLOSED)
- Waterbeach Baptist (CLOSED)
This will be in effect from MONDAY 23 MARCH.
Please ensure that clients know about this when issuing vouchers as the address of all centres may be printed on the back of the voucher.
We expect additional demand during the coming months. We will continue to provide food for those in financial hardship but if people have enough money and are self-isolating we cannot provide food. Our resources will not stretch that far.
Our procedures at the centres will be changed to minimise personal contact. This means we will be unable to offer the usual hospitality (tea, coffee etc.). Please explain this to clients and that the changes are intended to enable us to provide our service throughout the coming weeks and months. There is no need to come at the beginning of the sessions or to worry about us running out.
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Help for Cambridgeshire community organisations from CCF
The Cambridgeshire Coronavirus Community Fund is open to constituted community organisations throughout Cambridgeshire, who are supporting isolated older and vulnerable people at this time.
Grants between £1,000 and £5,000 will be considered (larger grants may be available for groups working in partnership). We aim for the process to take between 5 and 10 days.
The focus of the fund will be to offer community organisations emergency funding to deal with emerging issues in the community, affecting older people (aged 60 and over) and other vulnerable people (high risk, pre-existing medical conditions), as a result of the continuing threat of Covid-19, and the need for self-isolation, and potential for hunger, lack of shelter, further exacerbation of health issues, loneliness and isolation of these people.
To be eligible to apply your project must support older people or other vulnerable people and help to:
- Reduce isolation and vulnerability during any isolation period that may arise as a result of the threat of Covid-19,
- Supporting ongoing needs of older people, to ensure that their well being is maintained,
- Any initiative that will help ensure people remain, safely connected with the outside world during this time.
Applications may be submitted at any time and will be considered when received.
The fund will remain open on a rolling call basis. We do, however, expect a high level of interest in this fund. Depending on current funding available, and any future funds raised, we therefore may decide to close for applications within a relatively short space of time, if we do not have enough funds to meet the demand for support.
For further information about eligibility criteria and all other details on how to apply go to the CCF website.
To support this fund
We welcome any support you can give at this time. Online donations can be made on the CCF JustGiving page.
If you wish to arrange a BACS transfer, please contact info@cambscf.org.uk for details.
Thank you for your support.
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£1m available to fund urgent small-charity coronavirus poverty relief
Martin Lewis from Money Saving Expert is making funds available for small charities during the coronavirus crisis.
We face an unprecedented challenge to our health, economy, businesses, personal finance and way of life. And many of those who normally help society – our charities – are going to face similar pressures right now too.
To try and help I'm going to release £1,000,000 from my personal charity fund to provide grants of £5,000 to £20,000 to small registered charities, or local arms of bigger charities, across the UK – to help with specific UK coronavirus-related poverty relief projects.
Examples could include foodbanks, charities engaged in community aid, financial advice help and more. My hope is to get the money distributed within the next couple of weeks, and I'm looking for projects that are up and running or are in the process of being set up – as we want to deliver help at speed.
To make this happen – as I'm tied up with TV and MSE work providing direct coronavirus help information – I have recruited Archna, a trusted former senior member of the MSE team, and Jonathan, a charity specialist, to review and approve the applications and ensure help is spread across the UK as best as possible.
How to apply
If you are an appropriate official of a registered charity then we've arranged a simple
coronavirus poverty relief grant application form.
As this is all about speedy delivery.
APPLICATIONS CLOSE AT 11.59pm ON WED 25 MARCH 2020
I'll extend it in the unlikely event we don't get enough applications. If you've questions about the charity grant applications, contact Archna/Jonathan, but please keep them short and sweet – we want to keep this a nimble process.
Two important quick points...
Please don't use these contacts for anything else, it won't go to me or the MSE team, they are purely for the grant applications.
Please ONLY apply for funds for specific coronavirus projects; there's no point chancing your arm for other charity projects, no matter how good, it will just slow us down in making grants where needed.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance for the charity sector from the Charity Commission
In this guidance the Commission has responded to the most commonly asked questions from charities covering issues such as holding AGMs and other meetings and reporting to the Commission.
This page will be updated regularly with responses to further questions.
The Commission want to reassure charities ‘that our approach to regulation during this uncertain period will be as flexible and pragmatic as possible in the public interest, whilst helping trustees to be aware of and think about the wider or longer impact of their decisions on their charity.’
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Acas has updated its guidance on coronavirus and on home working
You can find the guidance on the Acas website here
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Your organisation and coronavirus
This information from NCVO contains:
- updates on sick leave and reducing social contact in line with the government’s current recommendations
- updates on holding events, board meetings and AGMs
- additions to contingency planning and how insurance will be impacted
- a new section on what to expect from funders
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