It's February! Which means it is LGBT+ History Month. One of the main aims of this month is to teach young people about the history of the gay rights movement and to promote an inclusive modern society. Lots of teaching resources are available from the LGBT+ History website and The Proud Trust.

In Salford, the Walk In My Shoes initiative has been capturing LGBT+ stories and experiences. Listen back to stories from Salford residents here. This year, you can be part of an exciting project to bring LGBT+ history to life in Salford. Just share your facts or stories about Salford’s LGBT+ history. The deadline to take part is 5 March 2021.

A new report from NCVO, ACEVO and Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales highlights ways in which larger and smaller voluntary organisations can support each other in the competitive commissioning environment and collaborate to achieve greater impact for the communities they serve. 

Rebalancing the Relationship is the result of an 18-month research project that collected evidence of good and bad collaborative practice from over 200 larger and smaller charities.  

To find out more about the report you can sign up to a webinar on 10 February.

The Road Ahead is an annual report by NCVO which looks at analysing the changing operating environment for anyone working in the voluntary sector. It identifies and explains forces and trends that are shaping the sector and are likely to have an impact on organisations in the future.

All of the issues highlighted in The Road Ahead present opportunities and challenges for voluntary organisations. Trustees and managers can benefit from using the analysis to explore the implications of these issues for their organisations when planning for the short and medium term.

We Stand Together are bringing anti-discrimination workshops to schools, colleges, youth and community groups alongside developing and supporting local #WeStandTogether Groups to undertake local cohesion work. The large-scale prevention project focusses on protecting people and communities most vulnerable to hate crime in Greater Manchester including minority ethnicities and religions, refugees, LGBT+, disabled and older people. The project intends to increase people’s confidence to report hate crime and support those who wish to stand together with minorities to challenge hatred.

This is an exciting creative project documenting people’s shared and contrasting experiences of lockdown to build ‘The Story of Lockdown’ digital story archive, and creating digital and live performances and events which help build intergenerational bridges to combat isolation and loneliness.

This week is Greater Manchester Hate Crime Awareness Week. Salford CVS, Salford City Council and GM Police have supported VCSE organisations, via a dedicated fund, to run activities during the week.

Funded projects include Salford Forum for Refugees and People Seeking Asylum who produced posters in community languages to raise awareness of reporting hate crime and Salford Signed who have created a series of bite-sized films in BSL. The first installment explores what is a hate crime. All of the projects are listed on our website.

Join Salford Social Enterprise City on 17 February 2021 for a Social Enterprise City Palaver.

Featuring special guests Kimberley Bond, Scott Darraugh and Grace Dyke, who alongside being involved in Salford Social Enterprise City work also sit on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Social Enterprise Advisory Group.

They’ll be exploring how to continue supporting existing social enterprises to scale, replicate and develop sustainable business models and encourage new social enterprises, new models of social business and new social entrepreneurs.

A new survey, by Public Health England, has revealed the impact of COVID-19 on adults’ mental wellbeing across the country. The research found that almost half felt that the pandemic has impacted negatively on their mental health and wellbeing.

In response, PHE has launched Better Health - Every Mind Matters, a campaign to support people to take action to look after their mental health and wellbeing and help support others such as family and friends. The campaign encourages people to get a free NHS-approved Mind Plan from the Every Mind Matters website.

The Prime Minister has now announced that 8 March is the earliest date on which school children could return to the classroom. This means that online learning continues to be the main way that teaching and studying is taking place.  Access to online learning, however, is dependent on having an appropriate device and a reliable connection. 

Schemes are in place to provide data and devices for disadvantaged young people, many of these must be applied for by schools. We have summarised the support available in our Digital Library and also produced a factsheet for using an Xbox, PlayStation or Firestick for online learning. Eccles and Broughton Library are also open, for essential computer use, including school work.

Next week is Student Volunteers Week and we will be marking the week by promoting opportunities for students to volunteer and help promote positive social change.

In addition to signposting students to local volunteer opportunities we are offering students at Salford University the opportunity to take part in our wellbeing conversation training. Navigating these current times can be challenging to our wellbeing and this training aims to equip participants with the skills to have wellbeing conversations and to support each other. 

If you are running any activities for Student Volunteering Week be sure to tag us in your posts so we can share!

The #NeverMoreNeeded campaign is holding an action day on 17 February 2021 called #RightNow. The aim is for VCSE organisations to post statements on their social media pages to demonstrate the vital work of our sector. For example:

• #RightNow, we’re checking in on some older people isolating in our community
• #RightNow, charities and their volunteers are restocking 1,500 food banks

We encourage you to join us and take part in the campaign. Social media graphics will be available shortly and we will share them with you in our next update.

This week is Children's Mental Health week, to mark the week Kooth have launched the #DontDoItAlone campaign, including a video featuring influencers to show that when it comes to dealing with your mental health, don't do it alone. Kooth have also created some amazing content that young people can access to aid their mental health by signing up here.

This #WorldCancerDay (4 February) take some time to watch this moving poem ‘Innit, love?’ from Tony Walsh. The work captures the voices of people affected by cancer in Greater Manchester including patients, staff and researchers.

February's 10GM Funding E-bulletin is our most comprehensive so far! Packed with over 60 pages of funding opportunities, it contains grants to support your organisation during the Covid pandemic.

Some of the grant application deadlines are in mid-February so be sure to take a look now and if you need help with putting together a funding bid together get in touch with our team.

The ESF Community Grant Programme have launched their Moving-On Round. This round seeks applications from a wide range of voluntary organisations who are ready to reach out by using approaches which tackle the new and emerging barriers arising from the impact of COVID 19, working both remotely and within social distancing requirements, once restrictions are eased. Join our session with WEA to find out more.

Awards of up to £10,000 are available for projects that can address local needs in coalfield communities.

Priority will be given to organisations that are delivering support services or have significantly adapted their services in order to respond to the current issues/challenges in their community and support vulnerable people. Check your area's eligibility here. Apply by Friday, 26 March, 2021.