Our Annual General Meeting will be on Thursday 19th November, on Zoom. The formal business will be brief, and we will then move into a general networking event, speakers yet to be confirmed but we will share information as soon as we can! It will be a good chance to meet our Trustees, if you haven’t done so before, and all staff, of course.

If your group is a Member of Derbyshire Dales CVS, you will receive your invitation in due course. If you are thinking about running your own AGM on Zoom, you may find this information from the Charity Commission useful. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus- ...

Just a reminder that our closing date for the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund is coming up – Thursday 12th November. Applications are welcome from voluntary and community groups with a turnover of less than 50,000 p.a. The fund can award up to £1,000 for revenue or running costs, we know that groups may not be running in the same way at present and therefore may not have the same expenses but an award could be used for something like a Zoom subscription or something that you might need to keep in touch with your members, or run your activities differently. It can also award up to £5,000 capital costs, so if you are a community venue or sports club in need of refurbishment, now might be a good time to apply for improvements you can work on over the winter / spring months. Please contact Jonatjhan or Sarah at the CVS for an applcaition form.

As you may know, the Community Directory Derbyshire is an online database of all the voluntary and community groups active in Derbyshire. We are part of a network organisations across the region that maintain the directory and we need your help to make sure that entries for voluntary and community groups active in the Derbyshire Dales are up to date.

Please visit https://www.communitydirectoryderbyshire ... to check if the information for your group is up to date. If your group is already listed on the directory you can register as a user and then manage your own data online. If it is not yet listed, you can register as a user and then can add your group.

If you need any help with Community Directory Derbyshire please send an email to enquiries@ddcvs.org.uk

We continue to work a mixture of remotely and in the office so the answerphone, post-box and email address are checked regularly. Please ring or email in advance if you need to arrange to come in to see us as the picture can change. Contact the team on 01629 812154 or email enquiries@ddcvs.org.uk

From November, Derbyshire Dales CVS will be hosting a new online social group called ‘Good Company Café’, which is aimed at anyone who might feel lonely and isolated during the Winter months, especially with this year sadly having less opportunities for people to meet and socialise with others.

You may know someone (maybe a person who usually attends your club or group) who would like to see a friendly face and make connections with local people in the Derbyshire Dales. Our popular DDCVS Online Coffee Mornings will still be happening regularly too, and Good Company Café is aimed more at the wider community, rather than those involved with the CVS or voluntary groups in the Derbyshire Dales.

It will be hosted by Debbie and Harriet from New Connections using Zoom, for more information, contact harriet@ddcvs.org.uk or get in touch on 07483 329 396.

Vulnerable people at risk of harm will receive unparalleled support to solve their problems and increase their safety thanks to a new fund which is the first of its kind in the county.

In an innovative move, Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa has developed a new Vulnerability Fund – worth £485k – as part of a dedicated effort to tackle the social problems known to increase the risk of crime or victimisation.

The scheme will unlock the door to funding worth up to £25,000 for community organisations, charities and non-profit groups who share the PCC’s vision to build safer and stronger communities and to reduce the risk of crime.

It is designed to empower communities to develop practical solutions to the problems occurring in their areas and take fresh approaches to old issues to protect individuals and families.

Micro-grants from £50 to £1,000 will be available from you local Council for Voluntary Service for projects such helping to improve security at the homes of vulnerable people,  including those who are isolated through age, frailty, poor mental health or mobility issues.

Larger grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 will be available for communities, charities, voluntary and non-profit organisations to make a real and lasting difference in their areas. This may include projects providing support for vulnerable people coming out of lockdown; services, advice or self-help groups offering emotional and practical support to prevent people from becoming victims or perpetrators of crime and those that help and encourage vulnerable people who have lost their jobs or income during the pandemic to get back into work or training to minimise their risk of becoming involved in crime.

Smaller grants can be applied for, via Derbyshire Dales CVS between 14 October and 1 March 2021.

For more information and to download an application form, visit the PCC’s website by following this link: www.derbyshire-pcc.gov.uk/VF

Sue Heyes, fund officer for the Severn Trent Community Fund, will take you through the Community Fund, the aims and criteria, what it will support and how to apply. The fund has been designed to support the wellbeing of communities in the Severn Trent region and it seeks to fund projects that link to three key elements of community wellbeing – People, Place and Environment – with favourability shown to projects that ideally lie within a ‘sweet spot’ that incorporates all three.

If you’re applying for over £75,000, please note that a combination of all three of these themes is necessary to be eligible.

We will be on Zoom and there will be chance to ask questions! Please contact enquiries@ddcvs.org.uk or 01629 812154 for the link.

A support programme for unemployed or economically inactive people aged 16+ (or 15 if not in employment, education, or training) that is designed to promote social inclusion and to remove barriers to employment.

The Building Better Opportunities programme is funded jointly by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund operating across D2N2 and has three strands:

1) Towards Work – For people who want to access training or employment but have barriers preventing them from moving forward. Examples of barriers could be mental health, disability, low skills, criminal record and childcare.

– Personalised 1:1 support to move closer to work, education or training for 12 months, including 3 months in-work support
– Support with the costs of travel, childcare, qualifications and other barriers if identified within their needs assessment.

Website: https://www.towardswork.org.uk/ Case Studies: https://www.towardswork.org.uk/casestudi ...

2) Opportunity and Change – For people who have multiple complex needs, which are preventing them from being socially included and preventing them from achieving stability to gain employment. Multiple and complex needs include homelessness, or being vulnerably housed, having mental health issues, substance misuse issues, offending or ex-offending past (need to have at least 2 complex needs to be eligible).

– Personalised 1:1 support with work for 12-18 months
– Support with the costs of travel, childcare etc. if identified within needs assessment at a barrier

Website: http://www.opportunityandchange.org/

3) Money Sorted – For people who require assistance with money management and financial inclusion support.

– Personalised 1:1 support with work for 6 months
– Support with the costs of travel, childcare etc. if identified within needs assessment at a barrier

Website: http://moneysortedind2n2.org/ Case Studies: https://moneysortedind2n2.org/case-studi ...

Please note that an individual can self-refer, or an organisation can refer on an individual’s behalf. If you would like to refer in to the strands, please find the details of each delivery partner local to you by going to the websites above. If you have any questions or would like to develop stronger pathways between BBO and another organisation, please contact Rosie Morton, Derbyshire Stakeholder Manager for the BBO programme: Rosie.Morton@derbyshire.gov.uk / 07850503171.

The Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership (Emergencies Partnership) recognises the crucial role that the voluntary sector plays, both nationally and locally, to support those in need. The Emergencies Partnership also sees the increasing demands made on the sector and are here as a safety net:

  •  to boost and enhance support from national to VCS organisations, and to help raise the profile of grassroots organisations

  •  to further strengthen coordination of national and local response efforts during emergencies

  •  to provide a single access point between government and the voluntary and community sector.

The Emergencies Partnership has four strands of work:

  •  A national platform to gather intelligence on unmet need at national, regional and local levels

  •  A request for support service for when the demand for support outstrips the supply available to meet it

  •  Five regional multi-agency cells, with representatives from national and local voluntary organisations across England, to facilitate a more collaborative and coordinated response across the voluntary and community sector

  •  One national volunteering cell which has national overview and provides a single point of contact for requests for large-scale volunteer support

Each regional multi-agency cell is built on a network of ‘Liaison Leads’ drawn from local infrastructure. Your local infrastructure organisation can connect to the Liaison Leads, who can then draw on the Emergencies Partnership network and resources to support need in the local area.

Your local contact is: Neil Moulden – neil@ddcvs.org.uk or telephone 01629 812154.

You can also request support directly by visiting vcsep.org.uk/request-support

Derbyshire Dales CVS is committed to working with the Emergencies Partnership to support the local VCS by: –

  •  Hearing where demand at a local level outstrips supply

  •  Feeding this in as a request for support to the Partnership

  •  Keeping you updated with this request and the support

  •  Sharing insights on emerging needs in our area.

Click here for an overview

  •  Are you under 18?

  •  Want to meet and share ideas with other young people?

  •  Have your say and get involved in the community?

Join in on Zoom and you might be the lucky winner of a £10 Amazon giftcard!

For more information or to book your space please contact – Mikey.Heald@derbyshire.gov.uk or Lynne.Allen@derbyshire.gov.uk

ACE has delivered a small number of Christmas Food Hampers containing fresh and frozen food to ACE families with disadvantaged vulnerable children in the run up to Christmas over the past 6 years. December food parcels will specifically include Christmas treats for the children and young people. As always ACE will assist those children and young people in need wherever possible. Please ask the Early Help Team to get in contact directly by completing the attached ACE Referral Form if there are any additional families requiring support over the coming months. Please return your completed referral form directly to: admin@aceyouth.org.uk

Ossie’s Kitchen continue to provide a hot meal collection service EVERY Tuesday and plan to continue this over the Christmas period on the 22nd and 29th of December. Please order meals by telephoning 07437 377345 between 9am-12am on Tuesday. There is no charge but suggested donations are £3 per adult and £1 per child.

Families can be referred to receive support from the Ashbourne Foodbank on a weekly basis for a month. For families who have already receiving support over the Christmas period, this will automatically continue. Contact by email, foodbank@ashbourneelim.church for more information.

To watch the service, go online to https://ruralactionderbyshire.org.uk/far ...