Weekly Newsletter from Community Action: MK

Weekly Newsletter for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Milton Keynes

Welcome to our weekly newsletter

Thank you to everyone that joined us at our networking event last week - it was great to connect in person and share information about our work, and explore opportunities for collaboration - with a focus on supporting communities with health and wellbeing, and in general. You can see a few photos from the event here. We have also updated the information about the VCSE reps on our website - see here (look out for future opportunities to get involved and share your feedback).

Our next networking event will be in early summer where we hope to bring the sector together to discuss how Suport to our Refugee Communities in the City could be coordinated. More details to follow!

Voices of Women MK and the MK Doughnut Economics group had a great turnout and at their drop-in yesterday at MK:U, organised as part of the International Women’s Day - look out for updates and stories they heard from the attendees yesterday, which they will be sharing soon.

We’ve got a couple of outreach activities and other events coming up:

The Mental Health Alliance monthly meeting (online via Ms Teams) - this afternoon Thursday 9th March at 4pm. Email networks@communityactionmk.org if you would like to attend on behalf of your group/ community.
Community pop up outside the Lilly Cafe in Whitehouse - Thursday 23rd March 12-1.30pm at Dorset Way off, Whitehouse, Brahaman Way, MK8 1EQ. Come chat to us about volunteering, to share your feedback and find out about what else is happening in the local community.
The Glebe Farm Spring Day - Saturday March 25th 11.00 – 2.30pm at Glebe Farm School, MK17 8XY. If you’re interested in a stall, register your interest support@communityactionmk.org.
Weekly Online Support Sessions for groups and volunteers (online) - book here.

Click on the links below to get more updates across the different areas - some exciting news from Ukraine Appeal CIO in the Refugee Support section below!

Our News & Updates

The latest vacancies, information about our projects and events, and other updates from Community Action: MK.

Strengthening Communities

News from and for communities across MK, and updates from our community development work.

Strengthening Groups

Information about governance and training opportunities, and other news and updates related to running of voluntary groups and organisations.

Strengthening the Sector

Updates about the local and national policy making and information related to networks and partnerships in MK.

Events

Information about local and regional (and national) events from and for the local voluntary sector.

Volunteering

Opportunities for volunteer managers, latest volunteering opportunities and other volunteer-related updates.

Funding

Funding directory, including funding opportunities by area of work. Updated on a weekly basis!

Mental Health Alliance

Information and resources from and for groups involved in the Mental Health Alliance network.

Can you help? Survey - Autism and the workplace (paid and voluntary)

One of the projects funded as part of the Mental Health Alliance, which focuses on tackling health inequalities within the neurodiverse community is about organising a conference on Autism for employers in Milton Keynes. Talent Unlimited and Talkback UK, who are leading on this project, have got a short pre-event questionnaire about Autism and the workplace (paid and voluntary). They would love as many people as possible to complete it. Please click here to complete. Please share as widely as possible - link to share: bit.ly/AutismAtWorkplace.

Have you got news and updates to share? Click here to submit!

Searching for Volunteers?

Do you need volunteers? We can support you to sign up to our free volunteering platform or we can advertise your roles free of charge through our newsletter!

Email us at support@communityactionmk.org and chat to one of our team members!

You can also join our Facebook Group:
facebook.com/groups/volunteermk

Share your insights

Share the insights from your work and what you have been hearing from the people you are supporting to feed in to the local policy and decision making in MK and help give our local VCSE a stronger voice about the needs of local people based on their lived experience.
Share on: mkcommunitydata.co.uk

Cost of Living Support

Access useful resources and signposting information related to the Cost of Living Crisis. If your group or organisation is offering any specific support or introducing new activities (such as starting a new Warm Place), please let us know, so we can help to promote it.
Visit our interactive map of the warms spaces:
bit.ly/MKWarmPlaces

Refugee Support

Access useful resources related to the Refugee support here.

We have started a new project supporting groups that provide direct support to Ukrainian communities in MK. if you are interested in getting involved or getting support for any activities that you currently run or are part of, email us at support@communityactionmk.org.

Exciting news from Ukraine Appeal CIO
We are really excited to share the news from our friends at the Ukraine Appeal CIO, who are running A Ukrainian Art Exhibition at the Central Milton Keynes Library between the 11th March -11th April. You can find out more about it here. They’ve also started a new radio programme at Stony Radio and are looking for support with supplies (e.g. stationery) for the new supplementary school that is running on Saturdays at the Summerfield School - if you can support with donations or know/ are a local business that can, please contact them on info@ukraineappeal.org.uk.

Other Useful Links

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