And what a month it has been! We are preparing for the upcoming Meet the Funders spring event, we have welcomed a new team member, worked alongside other groups and created exciting new projects. And, as we come out of lockdown, we look forward to many more projects and collaborations to come.
So, what's in this month's newsletter? We have a look at updates from our Meet the Funders programme, new School Uniform Recycling Toolkit, other projects and much more. We hope you enjoy exploring our latest updates and find this newsletter informative and helpful.
Blessings,
The Transformation Cornwall Team
What do we do at Transformation Cornwall?
At Transformation Cornwall, we work to strengthen faith based social action by providing capacity building support. Our vision is to see faith in action at the heart of flourishing communities.
We work in three main ways:
Providing conferences and workshops giving networking, support and information through our 'Meet the Funders' programme.
Supporting individual groups and organisations through our 1:1 work to inspire, inform, and signpost.
Strengthening links between faith based and mainstream organisations.
Meet the Funders Online - Not long left to book!
As Meet the Funders Online gets closer and closer, we can really start to feel the anticipation growing. If you are interested in booking on, do so quickly, as spaces are filling up. And, if you are on social media, spread the excitement using #MtFOnline.
Already signed up? We'll see you there! Want more information, then read on.
Meet the Funders is an innovative year-long programme that strengthens community work in Cornwall. The programme is run as a partnership between Transformation Cornwall and the Diocese of Truro and runs throughout the year. It begins with a large Spring event and continues with a series of six smaller community workshops supporting people and projects that are working to address poverty, exclusion, isolation, and rurality.
This event is an opportunity for Cornish projects seeking funding to meet and network with a large number of local and national funders. The day will feature presentations, workshops, and ample time for Q&A.
The event will be held online and spread over two consecutive mornings (25th & 26th May 2021 from 10:00am-1:00pm).
Those who book on to this event by Friday 14 May will also receive a ‘Meet the Funders Toolbox’ - a pre-posted, hard copy, of key documents to accompany the event and make it more interactive.
The days will be hosted by the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, and Donna Birrell, Vice-Chair of Churches Together in Cornwall.
Confirmed funders include: Allchurches Trust Ltd; Cornwall Historic Churches Trust; Groundwork SW; The National Lottery Community Fund; The Joseph Rank Trust; Cornwall Community Foundation; and National Churches Trust.
Hidden Help is a small charity that works amongst the most vulnerable groups in Cornwall, many of whom are victims of domestic violence, ex offenders and the long-term unemployed. We assist by providing up-cycled household items and furniture when they re-home and practical assistance in setting up their homes. When appropriate, we also offer assistance in CV writing and thinking about getting back into employment.
We have sought help from Transformation Cornwall for planning the next year of capacity building since we have recently become a charity and are growing in response to an ever-increasing need. We are looking to them for advice and looking forward to forging an ongoing relationship with them.
“TC has been invaluable in giving us a sense that there is someone there to help and guide us into the unknown. There are attentive and encouraging and brilliant at assisting with envisioning for the future”. Ben Hudd, Trustee Hidden Help
Lucy joins the Transformation Cornwall Team!
We are absolutely delighted to be joined in our team by Lucy Sherburn as our Communications and Administration Assistant.
Lucy will be working to help us share our message and help us to develop exciting new projects on and offline. Alongside her work with us, Lucy will continue studying for her degree in English at Falmouth University.
Lucy is already getting stuck in with her work and will be joining us as part of the delivery team in person at St Petrocs for Meet the Funders over the two days to lead on social media and helping with general admin for the event.
Buying school uniforms is a financial challenge for many families in Cornwall. With children constantly growing or sometimes changing schools, the next big expense is always around the corner. Last month we teamed up with the Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum and Volunteer Cornwall to release a School Uniform Recycling toolkit.
The general idea is to centrally collect good condition school uniforms and associated items and re-distribute them. The short guide gives readers top tips for developing a scheme with their local school or strengthening an existing scheme that is currently running. In partnership with the Cornwall Community Foundation, we were also able to offer grants of up to £70 for new and existing projects to help with things like boxes, rails and clothes washing.
We are pleased to say that the toolkit and grant have been well received! Since release, the toolkit has been accessed 179 times by 145 different people/groups! We are really excited to come alongside some in these groups in the next few months to help strengthen their response to school uniform poverty.
The toolkit is available at the link below, and we would encourage you to share it with your networks:
In partnership with Churches Together in Cornwall, Clewer Initiative, New Street Church (Falmouth) and Falmouth and Penryn Churches Together, Transformation Cornwall helped to shape and deliver a 5 week Modern Slavery in Cornwall Training course.
The ecumenical training was delivered throughout February & March to a dedicated core team of over 20 people who are committed to sharing their learning across the county.
We will be sharing opportunities to get involved as we roll this out in newsletters and social media posts from all the partners involved in creating the course. We will also be sharing the Modern Slavery in Cornwall: Who to contact flyer, which the team has launched this month.
Faith and Mental Health Network
Transformation Cornwall are continuing to work to strengthen links between faith and mainstream communities around our core themes. One example of this is our involvement with the newly formed ‘Faith and Mental Health Network’.
The network stems from the Day on Faith and Mental Health in October 2019 that Transformation Cornwall helped to deliver. Mental Health is a huge and increasing issue for Cornish communities. The Faith and Mental Health Network meets about once every two months and welcomes pastoral visitors, clergy, chaplains, mental health practitioners, community volunteers... In fact, anyone who is supporting people who are struggling with mental health issues.
The network is a mutually supportive group of people and offers a safe space to explore issues and share information, resources and best practice. They also relate faith to mental health and offer insights to help us help those we are standing alongside.
If you are interested in joining the Faith & Mental Health Network please contact Reverend Andrew Yates on srotruro@btinternet.com
Transformation Cornwall support to the Cornish Foodbanks
We are continuing our work to support the Cornish Foodbanks, working with local and national partners to get examples of good practice, policies, procedures, community links and information in to them.
We are also working with some of the foodbanks on their bespoke funding and project development/planning, and our offer remains to assist them all in any way that we can.
In Mid-April, we moved our foodbank update from a weekly to a fortnightly resource, and it is our intention to move again to it being a monthly resource over the summer, if Covid restrictions allow.
One of the key issues with the Foodbanks' current way of working is their hugely reduced abilities to signpost to the ‘wrap around services’ that their customers need. To help with this, Transformation Cornwall applied to the Diocese of Truro Funds for Mission, and we have been awarded £800 to print and and post hard copies of our extremely popular telephone signposting information list. These will be send to the 19 Cornish Foodbanks and go out in foodparcels to the Foodbank customers.
The list was co-created with a number of the foodbanks and is a comprehensive list of services helping with mental health, housing, debt, dependency, advice, training, employment etc throughout Cornwall. The list is also downloadable from our website and is used by grassroot groups and organisations extensively: https://transformation-cornwall.org.uk/resources/telephone-signposting-information-sheet
We are also working with Cornwall Council, the Trussell Trust and the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) to develop a ‘Cash First Leaflet for Cornwall.’ Cash first looks to help people access existing financial entitlements through advice and support as an alternative to emergency food aid and/or advance payments & loads from welfare support.
Dr Kathy Lang
We are sad to share that Dr Kathy Lang Methodist Local Preacher, poet, author, hymn writer, choir member, one time harbour master and dedicated Transformation Cornwall Trustee recently died. Full of faith, full of love and an incredible woman who relished life, now with her Lord. Kathy will be hugely missed and we are all so grateful for all she has given us and sowed into our journey.
Instead of our usual prayer this month, we are signing off with Kathy's wonderful songs, ‘The Music of Heaven’, one of Kathy's favourites that she wrote to express what was for her ‘the joy of music, especially singing.’
Weekly Cornish Foodbank Update
Our fortnightly update on Cornish food banks (linked below) lists details for the 19 major Cornish food banks, including opening times and procedures for getting food. In the midst of the third national lockdown, dedicated Foodbank volunteers and staff across Cornwall are ensuring that those most affected by Covid-19 continue to have access to food.
Although Covid-19 restrictions may be easing, food banks are still very much being relied on. At this time, many food banks would still appreciate financial donations instead of or in addition to food donations. You can find details for making financial donations in the update linked below. For most food banks you can either make a single donation or donate regularly by Direct Debit or Standing Order.
If you or someone you know could benefit from this information please send them the link. Our Weekly Foodbank Update automatically updates to the latest version each week. This means that the web link will always click through to the most recent edition (uploaded each every other Friday at 6pm).
Weekly updated grants lists for groups and individuals in Cornwall
Every other week, Transformation Cornwall continue to compile and update two grants lists which detail the latest available grants currently open to applications. Our current lists detail well over 100 grants.
Our first grants list details possible funders that might support the work of Foodbanks, grass-root groups, and faith based social action projects in Cornwall.
Of particular note at the moment is the Sport England Return to Play: Small Grants. Grants range from £300- £10,000 and support clubs and community groups in responding to the challenges of returning to play in a coronavirus-safe way. Our second list details hardship grants for individuals in need. This has a huge range of grants for those who have worked in certain professions (including retail, construction, fishing, farming etc), support for disabled people, grants for education and retraining, young people, and so much more.
As with our foodbank update, the URL for the grants list stays the same. You can find the latest version at the same URL link every other Friday at around 6 pm.
Now, maybe more than ever, we know that people like to talk with organisations who offer advice and support.
We have recently released our updated Telephone Signposting Information List and a new A3 Poster. These resources are for people, Foodbanks, and grassroot organisations in Cornwall.
The list contains the telephone numbers for a range of support groups, locally and nationally, that will offer help to people in Cornwall. We have tried to make it as useful as possible and covered key topics that you and your customers might need help with.
Starlight fades as nature’s chorus
Heralds the dawn;
Music of Creation gives us
Sweet sounds of dawn.
Hills and valleys gladly ringing,
As the praise of God we’re singing,
Harmony and prayer are bringing
Joy in the Dawn.
In our lives we show the Kingdom,
Follow the way,
Hymns of hope and words of wisdom
Lighting our day.
Songs of faith inspire the weary,
Trumpets sound eternal victory,
Giving for our pilgrim journey
Fire through the day.
Music soothes our pain and sadness
By day and night,
Moves our hearts to tears of gladness
Through dark and light:
In our Saviour’s love-song sharing,
Burdens for his people bearing,
Finding grace within his caring
Peace through the night.
