The government has updated its guidance for volunteers and guidance for volunteer-involving organisations to enable safe and effective volunteering during the Covid pandemic. People can volunteer outside their home during this lockdown, if it is not reasonably possible for them to fulfil their role from home.

If you need help to review or adapt your organisation's volunteering activities you can contact our Volunteer Centre for support or head to our Covid VCSE guide. This decision tree from NAVCA may also help you consider your volunteering activities.

Tune into the Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN)'s Health Hour - COVID-19 Vaccine Panel on Saturday 16 January from 11am - 12:30pm.

The event will be hosted by CAHN's medical professionals. There will be a panel discussion about the Covid-19 vaccines featuring black GPs and senior consultants who have received the vaccine and are happy to share their experiences and their personal reasons for supporting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Register to attend via Eventbrite and please share with your contacts.

The closure of schools means that the majority of learning is now taking place online. Access to online learning, however, is dependent on having an appropriate device and a reliable connection.

Some schemes are now 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, which includes school work.

We've updated our resources page with more useful materials for those working with older people.

You will now find a 30 page guide that collates resources and opportunities for engaging older people with mental health problems and dementia. We've also added a resource from The Health Innovation Network which supports the provision of activities in older adult’s mental health inpatient settings and Care Homes during the pandemic. Many of the resources included are dementia-friendly.

People across Greater Manchester are to be asked to help tackle inequality in the 10 boroughs as the city-region’s Independent Inequalities Commission launches an influential survey.

The drive to make Greater Manchester a more equal society will be informed by the new online survey designed to capture the views and experiences of residents across the city-region. Results from the survey, which will run until the end of this month, will inform the important and innovative work of the Commission.

Emmaus Salford is pioneering a new approach to community health by hosting a weekly pop-up GP service at its Pendleton base. The Inclusion GP Service is provided by Salford Primary Care Together (SPCT) to give people supported by Emmaus Salford the chance to access health services more easily.

As well as companions – formerly homeless people supported by Emmaus Salford – the GP service is also open to people who are street homeless and accessing The People’s Pods. 

Three rapid COVID testing sites are now open in Salford offering free tests to frontline and key workers (those who cannot work from home). Here’s what this means…

1. If you have to leave home to go to work, you can book rapid COVID-19 tests at Eccles Old Town Hall, Beesley Green Community Centre or Wardley Community Centre. You are encouraged to have two rapid tests a week and, if you test positive, book a lab-based test to confirm your result

2.If you are observing lockdown rules and are only going out for exercise and shopping then you don’t need a rapid test (as you are not mixing with others)

3. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, please do not book a rapid COVID test. Go to the gov website instead or call 119

Anyone aged 75 and older and registered with a Salford GP can now follow this link to the online booking system to arrange an appointment for their COVID-19 vaccine, if they haven’t already been vaccinated.

If you are able, please support your members who are in the eligible cohort to book their vaccination appointment online. The booking system will not accept any attempts for people who are not eligible. Those who have received a text or letter to invite them for their vaccination will also be provided with a phone number to book, however the call centre is extremely busy and there are long waiting times.

Scorpio Community Development have created an Anti Bullying and Youth Support Group to provide support and awareness for young people and parents or carers dealing with the aftermath of bullying, self harm and issues that effect youth safety. The Facebook group is open to all, you can request to join via the link below.

Our #SalfordWinterWarmers campaign showcases our sector's achievements, which are all the more impressive against the backdrop of a global pandemic. This is just a glimpse of the incredible work going on across the city of Salford. Help us to capture and celebrate as many of these accomplishments as possible by sharing your highlights, activities and stories with us! Let us know via email, social media (we are on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) or give us a call on 0161 787 7795.

Thriving Communities is a new national support programme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups, supporting communities impacted by COVID-19 in England, working alongside social prescribing link workers. If you are part of a local VCFSE organisation providing support to communities impacted by COVID19 and health inequalities, Thriving Communities will help you to share your learning, gain new ideas, access funding and develop partnerships across sectors.

Apply now to be part of the Thriving Communities Learning Together Programme in the North West in 2021. Deadline 25 January 2021.

Cervical Cancer Prevention Week takes place 18-24 January 2021. To coincide with the week Answer Cancer are running several training sessions to highlight cervical cancer, awareness, prevention and screening. The training seeks to show women how they can protect themselves and share messages through their networks that may help family, friends and co-workers do the same. Jo's Trust are marking the week with their annual #SmearForSmear campaign. They also have information about every aspect of cervical cancer, cervical screening and HPV. You can download them here to share and display.

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is held on 27 January each year. The theme for this year's HMD is 'Be the light in the darkness'. It encourages everyone to reflect on the depths humanity can sink to, but also the ways individuals and communities resisted that darkness to ‘be the light’ before, during and after genocide. There are lots of resources on the HMD Trust website to help you to get involved.

Did you miss the first funding ebulletin of 2021 We sent it out a few days early, if you didn't catch it then you can still download a copy via the button below. This edition has over 50 pages of funding opportunities! If you would like any support with identifying appropriate funding for your organisation or need help with bid writing, get in touch with our team.

For this round of awards,
Forever Manchester
want to fund community groups in Greater Manchester whose activities have been disrupted by the pandemic and who haven’t been able to interact with and provide positive things for people in their community, as they normally would. Awards of up to £1,000 are available.

Community Fund grants of up to £500 are available for community groups, schools, charities or similar organisations delivering activities in a ForHousing neighbourhood. If you have an idea or a project that will benefit ForHousing residents and tenants apply by the next application deadline of 5 February 2021. 

The Live Well this Winter Fund is open to VCSE organisations to undertake Covid-response activities during the months of January to March 2021. Grants of up to £1,000 are available. Applicants must be existing members of Salford CVS The funding priorities are to support those most in need in Salford stay:

• Well nourished
• Well connected
• Warm and well