In the News

The campaign for a real Living Wage has ensured hundreds of thousands of workers are earning a wage they can live on, not just the government minimum.

But millions of low paid workers are also struggling to get the hours they need to make ends meet. That’s why the Living Wage Foundation has developed a new standard of what good looks like for those employers that can offer ‘Living Hours’ alongside a real Living Wage. 

The Tech and Tea VCSE Digital Equipment Scheme provides resources to develop digital capacity within VCSE organisations working with older people.

The scheme will provide, free of charge, laptops or tablets (up to a maximum of five pieces of equipment) to enable VCSE organisations to support digital inclusion for older people. The equipment can be loaned to older people or used by staff and volunteers.

HOYO is a new project in Salford that is being run by a small, friendly team of artists who are looking to gather stories and memories of hugs that people have given and received over the course of their lives. It is supported by Arts Council England.

HOYO is aimed at:

Do you live or work in Burnage, Longsight, Moss Side, Levenshulme, Salford, Bury, or Bolton?

Would you like to:

Standguide Group and partners are supporting Greater Manchester residents at risk of redundancy by delivering a wide range of courses to help improve employability through the devolved GMCA Adult Education Budget (AEB)

The principle purpose of the AEB is to engage adults and provide them with the skills needed for entering and sustaining work, an apprenticeship / traineeship, or other further learning.

Government has funding available for grassroots or national youth organisations affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The VCSE Mental Health Leadership Group is pleased to announce that, due to investment from the Health and Social Care Partnership, we will be launching a unique set of projects designed to ensure that Greater Manchester mental health VCSE can meet this current (and subsequent) surge in demand as a result of Covid-19.

International Women’s Day is fast approaching, and this year Answer Cancer is going to #ChooseToChallenge health inequalities and raise awareness of cancer screening programmes across Salford.

Salford City Council’s Skills and Work team have developed two surveys for young people (Aged 16-18, and Aged 18-24 versions) to learn about their current work status (in learning, employed, furloughed etc.) and to ask some questions about how they are managing/feeling during the coronavirus response.

Are you a user of Salford City Council’s Equipment Service?

Can you spare five minutes to give your views on the vital service? 

Salford City Council is working in collaboration with Healthwatch Salford and NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group to create a survey to capture the views of Salfordians, who have used the equipment service in the past six months to aid a better quality of life.  

The North South Divide and Covid-19

Join We Stand Together, the International Centre for Integration and Cohesion and partners invite you for another difficult dialogue discussion on Wednesday 3 March at 6pm.

Rosa and Smallwood Trust are thrilled to announce the launch of the Women Thrive Fund for women’s and girls’ organisations in the UK.

With £1.79 million of Tampon Tax money, this partnership fund will give grants of up to £40,000 to organisations supporting women and girls to improve their mental health and wellbeing and/or improve their financial resilience.

The online domestic abuse toolkit has been developed to support you in the identification and management of domestic abuse cases.

The tool kit has over 100 resources to help practitioners support domestic abuse cases.

The tool kit is broken down into three lead headings to help support domestic abuse work with:

• Victims
• Children
• Perpetrators

Each of these heading have three drop down sections:

Giving World are here to help charities access brand new life-essentials for free.

They redirect business end-of-line, surplus and discontinued stock to the most deprived communities in the UK.

There are a wide range of products available to support your beneficiaries, including clothing for adults and children, toiletries, baby products, toys, bedding, kitchen equipment and other household items, books, crafts and ambient foods.

A NEW initiative to encourage more members of the public to take up sign language as an extra language and skill, is now available to residents of Greater Manchester. 

The Signs4Life scheme is to help people to communicate and engage with children and adults who may have hearing impairments. 

Hana Riaz, Signs4Life partnerships officer, explains:

Last year shed light on the gap and lack of engagement of black and minoritised communities in the community business sector.

Despite this, best practice has emerged and this course will introduce you to the ways in which Black and Minoritised communities have been developing and growing in the community business sector. We’ll explore the work in the food sector, community hubs, and educational initiatives.

Join Olympias Music Foundation for a songwriting workshop celebrating International Women's Day 

Alice Mary Jelaska, will be leading two workshops, using your thoughts and ideas to create a brand new song to be released on International Women's Day. If you play an instrument, we’d be very excited to hear you collaborate with it but this is not a requirement. All musical abilities are welcome!

We Stand Together to take anti-discrimination workshops to schools, colleges, youth and community groups alongside developing and supporting local #WeStandTogether Groups to undertake local cohesion work.

The British Wrestling Association is proud to announce a partnership with Wrestle Like a Girl for the ‘This Girl Can Wrestle’ Campaign in an effort to drive the growth of girl’s and women’s wrestling throughout the UK.

Student Volunteering Week (SVW) takes place this year from 8^th – 15^th February and aims to celebrate the impact of student volunteers and encourage students to engage in civic life.

When students are supported to tackle social challenges, learn about issues and connect with each other, both communities and students benefit. SVW is a brilliant opportunity to demonstrate how social action creates positive change.

LGBT+ History Month is an annual celebration, held throughout February, that provides education and insight into the issues that the LGBT+ community faces.

The overall aim of LGBT+ History month is to promote equality and diversity for the benefit of the public. One of the main focusses is to teach young people about the history of the gay rights movement and to promote an inclusive modern society.

More than 100,000 concessionary pass holders whose tram and train add-on is due to expire are being encouraged not to travel to renew their pass.

Instead, anyone who bought the £10 add-on in early 2020 and who needs to travel for a legally permitted reason will still be able to use their pass, without renewing, until 31 March 2021. 

Manchester Metropolitan University and the Centre for Ageing Better are launching a new survey to better understand older people’s views about the homes and communities they live in. The survey is part of the ‘RightPlace’ programme, which aims to investigate the reasons why some older people want to move home in later life, while other choose to remain in their current home as they grow older.

Manchester Metropolitan University and the Centre for Ageing Better are launching a new survey to better understand older people’s views about the homes and communities they live in.

The survey is part of the ‘RightPlace’ programme, which aims to investigate the reasons why some older people want to move home in later life, while other choose to remain in their current home as they grow older.

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.

Read 'The Road Ahead' report here.

The 1 - 7 February 2021 is Greater Manchester Hate Crime Awareness Week.

The week aims to raise awareness of hate crime and encourage people to report incidents.

Hate crimes are crimes committed against someone because of their race, religion, belief, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and can include verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, harassment, assault, bullying, or damage to property.

It is estimated that around £100m worth of Pension Credits are unclaimed across GM each year, with almost 50,000 households not claiming the credits that they are eligible for.

Nearly 9 out of 10 claims for Pension Credit are successful and that in Greater Manchester there are already over 70,000 residents receiving their Pension Credit entitlement.

Currently, the average Pension Credit claim in Greater Manchester is around £60 per week or £3,000 a year.

During COVID-19 Salford City Council can now come to you with their brand-new cloud coffee and chat sessions.

They are now offering face to face chats with a member of the locality team via video calls to replace the drop in BetterOff sessions usually held in our Gateways.

Flourish is running a series of events to help provide an ecosystem of support for women.

One event they are organising is their Holistic Wellbeing Afternoon, an opportunity to take time for you, connect with women change-makers and hear from women leading health and wellbeing ventures.

Can you change one photo on your website or publication, to a positive image of an older person?

• Need: Often negative and stereotyped images of ageing that show older people as frail, vulnerable and in need.
• New resource: Old Frame New Picture Gallery celebrating positive representations of older people:

Age UK Salford are running an Online Zoom Workshop called ‘The World from Our Window’.

Could you help to shape this new group and interactive sessions by sharing your ideas, tips and creativity?

The group is open to all and will offer support to encourage ‘complete novices’ at growing their own or identifying the wildlife outside, right through to those with ‘green fingers’ or ‘wildlife experts’.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which is made up of the ten Greater Manchester councils and the Mayor of Greater Manchester, is running a new awareness campaign for young people about reducing violent crime.

They are looking to hear from both young people as well as parents or carers of young people aged between 10 – 17.

‘Stage Directions’ is presenting an opportunity for a theatre company or consortium** to apply for one commission of up to £10,000, to research and develop a new production co-created with students from Pendleton College.

Researchers at the University of Salford are interested in speaking with disabled people from across Greater Manchester about their perceptions and experiences of E-Scooters. This could be, for example, as pedestrians sharing space with E-Scooters, or as E-Scooter users. The overall aim of their research is to contribute to policy and planning around E-Scooter share schemes and they want to incorporate disabled people’s views into these discussions.

Are you a young person or parent with experience of having had a social care assessment?

Fit Over Fifty have put together their ‘Use It or Lose It’ Booklet and Toolkit to accompany their chair-based exercise classes for people over the age of 50.

The exercises come with a list of benefits for body, mind, as well as a list of social benefits including empowerment, making friendships, and reducing loneliness.

Are you a budding novelist or just like to write a few words?

Join in with the Creative Writing Workshop. All you need is to log on and have a pen and paper at the ready!

The workshop will be hosted by Patricia Wardle on Thursday 4^th February at 3:30pm-4:30pm and will be held remotely on Zoom.

Free digital training programmes for young people in Stockport to fast track into digital roles

Thriving Communities is a new national support programme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups, supporting communities impacted by COVID19 in England, working alongside social prescribing link workers.

Corinth Business and Community Training are offering free online courses to Salford residents aged 19 and over, irrespective of working or in receipt of benefits.

The online courses are delivered remotely via Microsoft Teams and are perfect for improving your skills and opportunities, building your confidence, meeting new people online and making new friends.

Homelessness charity Emmaus Salford is pioneering a new approach to community health by hosting a weekly pop-up GP service at its Pendleton base.

Emmaus Salford is a charity that supports formerly homeless people by providing a stable home, meaningful work and support for as long as they need it. 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.

Thursday 14 January 2021, 09:00 - 10:30

This is the third in a series of engagement events that Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Clinks are hosting to help voluntary organisations understand the co-commissioning process for probation services in Greater Manchester as part of the new probation model.

This event will specifically be looking at the Women’s Services contract lot.

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 today.

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.

Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and we all need to work together to overcome barriers and share good practice to make Salford a safer place for children and young people.

If you are a practitioner or front-line manager working with children, young people and families in Salford you are invited to attend the SSCP Practitioner Forum

Thriving Families and Neglect

Safer Salford are looking to set up and support the development of a panel of volunteers who have experience of living with, or caring for someone with health and social care needs in Salford

Wai Yin Society is running free online language courses and groups starting 11th January running through into the end of March.

The courses range from beginner to conversational English language courses as well as a range of groups for gardening, arts, digital skills, and nature and sustainability groups.

A full list of the timetable is available here

With a new lockdown and school closures starting from the 5th January, Children & Young People Now share the latest government guidance for early years, schools, social workers, youth, and youth justice services.

The article covers the latest information about nurseries, schools and colleges openings, availability of support for vulnerable children, exams and assessment guidance, and information on the social care, youth work, and youth justice sectors.

During the pandemic, Clinks has been collecting information about how voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system in England and Wales have been faring.

Thieves have dampened the festive mood at homelessness charity Emmaus Salford after stealing a van, one of only two that the charity relies on.

Emmaus Salford supports 25 formerly homeless people by providing a stable home, meaningful work and support for as long as they need it. The stolen van is not only used to collect and deliver furniture for Emmaus Salford’s charity shops, it is also used to deliver food and household essentials to vulnerable residents across Salford.

Applications for the 2021 Weston Charity Awards are now OPEN!

The Weston Charity Awards were created by the Garfield Weston Foundation to celebrate and support great front-line charities working in the fields of Community, Welfare and Youth.

The Awards help charities to plan for sustainability, development and growth through a year-long programme. Award holders finish the process stronger, more effective and fit for the future.

Shift Click programme is a new two-track digital training programme for young Greater Manchester residents.

Church Action on Poverty's brand new Speaking Truth to Power programme kicks off in January.

They are looking to recruit 24 individuals with lived experience of poverty (or a close ally working with people who have lived experience) to speak truth to power locally and nationally.

The Federation of Jewish Services (The Fed) has recently researched and published the brand-new Manchester Jewish Services Directory on behalf of the Manchester Jewish Community Strategic Group.

When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020, the major organisations serving Greater Manchester Jewry united in unprecedented fashion to form the Manchester Jewish Community Strategic Group, to address the social care and medical needs of our community.

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC), which represents England’s 10,000 local (parish and town) councils and 100,000 councillors, has launched “The Good Councillor’s Guide to Community Business” to promote the opportunities that community businesses can create locally.

Salford Foodbank provides a vital service for local families and individuals, delivering food parcels to over 6,000 families already this year and demand is set to increase over the coming months.

A new booklet has been produced by Age Friendly Salford to help older people plan for winter.

The term ‘Age Friendly’ it’s about recognising the challenges of an ageing population and looking at all the different ways that together we can rise to those challenges, foster healthy and active ageing, make it possible for people to continue to stay in their homes participating in the activities they value and contributing to their communities for as long as possible.

Mothers Together is a new project from Visit from the Stork in partnership with Doosti Salford.

The project is for parents with lived experience of the immigration system.

• 12 weeks of activities for mothers and children

‘START’ a leading mental health charity in Salford are delivering ‘Bags for Life’ which sees reusable shopping bags with suicide prevention messaging being used to provide food parcels through foodbanks across Salford.

The Lowry are looking for young people aged 13-17 living in Greater Manchester to be part of a new creative youth leadership programme.

If you work with young people please share this great opportunity with them.

Lowry Young Leaders will work with artists, activists and other professionals to address the issues that matter to them. They will work together, develop leadership skills and find ways to be heard, take action and make change.

Armchair Adventures is a podcast for children, teachers, imaginative older people, carers and activity coordinators. It is designed to bring people together, combat loneliness and improve wellbeing – helping people stay happy and healthy.  

Join this session on 17 December to explore how the NHS and voluntary and community sector can work together to create a more sustainable partnership.

Do you use health and social care services or have a family member that does?

Would you like to help Salford University to train their nurses?

Salford University has a day called ‘Voices of the Service User and Carers’ that will take place in February 2021.

On that day student nurses have the opportunity to ‘meet’ people who use services and their families.  

New local wellbeing walks in Greater Manchester are now on the Go Jauntly app.

Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations are invited to join this workshop, to explore how you can create your own walks on Thursday 3 December, 2.30pm.

This year a lot of people have been hit hard financially, and many will struggle to afford to keep their homes warm over winter.

To help, a team at the University of Manchester have put together a webpage with free advice on reducing energy costs and keeping homes warm. Visit the online energy cafe here. 

Peer Networks is a peer-to-peer networking programme for SMEs (including charities) that is delivered locally by the network of Growth Hubs across England.

An exciting new partnership between the Working Class Movement Library and Walk the Plank aims to use the radical thoughts and actions of the past - as documented within the Library’s collection - to prompt new thinking and share it through a series of podcasts.

The Healthy Start Voucher Scheme is an NHS initiative which can offer support for families in receipt of benefits.

This is a means-tested scheme for pregnant women or parents who have a child under 4 years old.

The vouchers are provided on a weekly basis and can be used to buy milk, fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried, and tinned pulses, and infant formula milk. The scheme can also provide access to free vitamins.

This hiring guide from Charity Jobs will help you to consider if your charity's recruitment practices are inclusive enough.

Cultivating a diverse workforce is about more than just filling quotas—it’s about building lasting frameworks that inspire creativity and celebrate difference. And that means changing the way you think about recruitment.

So how can you ensure you’re doing everything you can to celebrate and encourage diversity in the charity workforce?

On 10 November, the National Academy of Social Prescribing (NASP) launched Thriving Communities, a new national support programme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups, supporting communities impacted by COVID19 in England, working alongside social prescribing link worker

Cycle and Stride is an exciting new project to help people and groups become more active through cycling and walking. To do this, we want to work with you, using your understanding and the knowledge you have of your local area and local community. 

Free Adult Education Courses for November 2020 from Corinth Business and Community Training CIC 

• First Steps to Card Making and Photo Restoration on a computer (Teams or at the Agnes Hopkins Center) 

           Start Date: Friday 13 November 10am - 12.30pm (4 weeks)

Movement for Good's 12 days of giving will provide vital support to remarkable organisations.

The draw is open to UK, Irish, Channel Islands and Isle of Man registered charities, not-for-profit organisations and community interest companies. Ten winners will be drawn at random each weekday to receive £1,000 and nominations will remain open until midnight the day before each draw. Previous winners have shown what a huge difference £1,000 can make.

The 10GM partnership of local VCSE sector infrastructure organisations is working to assess the impact of Covid-19 on charities, community groups, faith bodies, voluntary organisations and social enterprises in Greater Manchester. 10GM is doing this in a variety of different ways and this redundancy survey is one of several methods they are using.

A new YouTube channel for the d/Deaf community in Salford.

#SalfordSigned is a new YouTube channel designed to be fully accessible to the d/Deaf community in Salford and is a platform to share information on services across the city and to share experiences of accessing healthcare.

The new channel was developed by Salford Deaf Advocacy Service and delivered by Manchester Deaf Centre.

Safeguarding Adults Awareness Week runs from 16 to 22 November this year.

The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that is voluntarily paid by nearly 7,000 UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a wage which meets everyday needs; the weekly shop, or a surprise trip to the dentist. Accredited employers voluntarily pay the real Living Wage to their employees.

Homelessness charity Emmaus Salford is using Trustees’ Week 2020 to appeal for a qualified accountant to join its Board of Trustees.

Emmaus Salford is a charity that supports 25 formerly homeless people by providing a stable home, meaningful work and support for as long as they need it. Trustees play a vital role at Emmaus Salford, using their skills, knowledge and experience to help in the development and governance of the charity.

Read the November edition of Salford Heart Care 'The Pulse' Newsletter.

This latest edition contains up to date information about the new restrictions during the coronavirus crisis.

Download the newsletter here 

Banana Enterprise Network are offering free one-hour personal development and self-employment short courses 

Unemployed people living anywhere within Greater Manchester can attend as many of the short courses delivered "Live" online by Zoom.  

Please contact Jayne on 07775 066130 to see if you are eligible for our FREE sessions and to book

NEW - Train the Facilitator – Training for Answer Cancer Champions

A new, exciting course which focuses on growing your facilitation skills, knowledge, and confidence. You will pick up lots of ideas and training tips so that you can run a cancer awareness session back in your own work or community. These are fun and interactive sessions which cover a range of presentation and facilitation techniques.

The Psychology of sex offenders (Webinar)

The 3 hour webinar will cover:

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes on 31‌‌‌ ‌October and organisations will need to make any final claims on or before 3‌0‌‌‌ ‌November and the new Job Support Scheme opens on 1‌‌‌ ‌November, with claims opening on 8‌‌‌ ‌December.

To support organisations HMRC are running a series of COVID-19 support for employers webinar. The webinars will provide an overview of:

Are you a group who wants to find out more about how employer-supported volunteering could help you? Maybe you’ve had to change how you deliver your services in light of Covid-19 and have lots of ‘need to do’ tasks that you haven’t had the capacity to complete.

If so, then this is the right webinar for you.

Skill Givers Webinar: How groups can make the most of employer supported volunteering - 5th November 2pm - 3:30pm

Duration: This training will be delivered over 2 half-day sessions and participants must be available to attend both sessions.

The Lowry is looking for 10 people from Salford to join a community steering group, as part of its art exhibition Days Like These.

They are looking for passionate, interested people in Salford, to meet once a month online between November 2020-March 2021. No arts experience is necessary, and people of all ages (aged 16+) are welcome. The community steering group will help make decisions and shape the exhibition and the activities that sit alongside it. 

The Digital Strategy for Resilient Charities programme from Charity Digital and Dot Project has been designed specifically to give charities the confidence and capabilities they need to work through their own unique digital strategy. Each participant will be supported and given the tools to assuredly create a digital strategy that works for both their organisation and their service users.

Report highlighting the differences in social mobility opportunities within local areas in England.

The report finds:

Greater Manchester Poverty Action are calling for urgent steps to tackle poverty as new analysis reveals already high levels of poverty in Greater Manchester are likely to have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

New analysis of poverty in Greater Manchester launched today reveals that:

Thursday 15th – Saturday 17th October 2020.

2020 leaves a devastating legacy, but the global pandemic has also led to a surge in mutual aid with communities coming together, connecting with each other and helping the most vulnerable.

Social enterprises are set up to with the sole intention to support communities, both in geographic terms as well as groups of individuals with a shared identity or challenge.

Friday 23 October 2020, 10:00 - 11:30

Free

Forever Manchester is inviting Community Groups from across Greater Manchester to design the official Forever Manchester Christmas card for 2020.

The chosen designs will be featured on the front of each Christmas card, with packs available to purchase at our Forever Manchester online shop.

A recent report into the social value created by social housing providers in Greater Manchester has revealed that 10,222 residents have been supported towards employment in the last year.

#WeStandTogether's next difficult dialogue session explores the reality for reguees during Covid-19.

The next #WeStandTogether difficult dialogue session is partnered with Refugee Action and will take place on Wednesday 21 October at 6pm.

The questions being discussed include:

Broughton Trust to start a free CSCS Card course

The CSCS Card course includes Level 1 Health and Safety in a Construction Environment - this is a one day course, the CSCS test and the CSCS card which will be issued one the test has been passed.

To secure a place on the course, all applicants must complete enrolment paperwork before the start of the course. This will be done by appointment only. The courses are ongoing so you can book an appointment anytime.

Local homelessness charity Emmaus Salford has teamed up with Salford City Council to offer a safe place to sleep for people who are street homeless.

The People’s Pods allow those who are sleeping rough to access a secure and comfortable night’s sleep at Emmaus Salford’s Pendleton base. The facility, part of Salford City Council’s A Bed Every Night provision, has already supported 93 people since opening in early May.

A formerly homeless man has secured a full-time job and apprenticeship in Salford thanks to a work placement with The Casey Group (Casey).

22-year-old Dylan McKellar, originally from Leeds, was offered work experience at construction firm Casey as part of the support provided by homelessness charity Emmaus Salford. Dylan impressed during his two-week placement and staff at Casey decided to offer him a full-time job and apprenticeship.

The Skill Givers project has expanded and is now able to offer support to ALL voluntary organisations, community groups, charities and social enterprises across Salford and Manchester.

Over the next six months they will be focusing on trying to support the voluntary sector with adapting to the new ways of working that have had to be put in place due to Covid-19.

#TimeTogether, in partnership with Global, is about allowing mum and daughter to set aside time to develop their relationship with each other, and with exercise.

Has Covid-19 highlighted challenges or opportunities your charitable organisation wants to address?

Do you need help to plan your strategic future?

The Pilotlight Programme is here to help.

The programme brings together senior leaders from prominent UK businesses with a charity's leadership to provide the strategic business support you need to develop and grow your organisation.

UpRising are now recruiting for their free, three month, online employability programme, Fastlaners.

Throughout the programme, participants gain insight into different careers and insider tips to securing them. After they have completed Fastlaners, participants can access three to twelve months of one-toone employment support from a trained mentor.

On the programme participants take part in a range of online workshops and 1-2-1 sessions, including:

A partnership between local charities Foundation 92 and Emmaus Salford is using football to unlock a better future for Salford residents, vulnerable families and formerly homeless people.

The Autistic Society Greater Manchester Area has a new, uplifting name - I AM Celebrating Autism in Greater Manchester.

Its ambition is to be the go-to organisation across the region for services for autistic people along with their families, carers and friends.

Gaddum Carers Salford have set up an online coffee morning

The virutal coffee morning will take place on the first Tuesday of every month 11.00am-12.00pm.

The sessions are aimed to give carers opportunities to talk and connect with other carers. It also allows carers to have of a bit of 'me' time.

Activities during the virtual coffee morning will focus on mindfulness breathing, seated yoga and quizzes.

The Greater Manchester public sector has made a commitment to recognise and respond to workforce race inequality and address these issues:

Child Poverty Action Group have produced a briefing for MPS for the comprehensive spending review on expanding eligibility for free school meals.

The briefing aims to give more information about free school meals, including the importance of universal free school meal provision for all school-aged children in England, and the urgent need to significantly expand eligibility, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The briefing covers:

RSPH, Carole Donnelly, a social entrepreneur, and the Social Investment Catalyst Programme are leading a set of FREE masterclasses aimed at supporting the development of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.

The masterclasses are running second Thursday until Thursday 19 November and will discuss how the right investment, collaborations, communications and planning are the foundations for building resilient organisations. 

The Improving Quality of Life (IQL) team and Citizens Advice Manchester are putting on a range of online session where people with MS can talk, get wellbeing tips as well as helpful benefits, debt, employment and housing advice from our team of professionals.

StreetGames are working with Sport England as they consult the sports sector about their future strategy.

Part of this consultation has been called the ‘Big Club Conversation’. For the second stage of this consultation, StreetGames are helping to facilitate local organisations with direct community sport delivery experience to get involved in the conversation.  

The Heart of Salford Awards are Salford CVS and Volunteer Centre Salford’s annual event to celebrate volunteering and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations in Salford.

Mind In Salford are looking for organisations who deal with groups facing barriers, as part of their Accessibility Project

Charity infrastructure organisations have developed an updated Five Point Plan which shows how the Government could provide additional support.

SoundUp Arts CIC Music Made Well - a Zoom-based training session teaching how music improves the wellbeing of people living with dementia

SoundUp Arts CIC are partnering with Together Dementia Support and We Love Manchester to provide two 3-hour training sessions aimed at carers, care staff, volunteers, facilitators and artists. The focus of the training is to give fresh ideas around using music to improve the wellbeing of those living with dementia.

A ground-breaking new artist residency project will shed light on LGBT people’s experiences of sheltered housing and independent living schemes, looking at how LGBT visibility can be improved in these settings.

Social Value UK are the Inspiring Impact partner for England.

NCB has been supporting a group of children and young people to plan a campaign calling on the Chancellor to put all babies, children and young people at the heart of the government’s spending decisions.

They have now launched the first strand of this campaign, which involves asking all children and young people, and the parents of babies and very young children, to join this campaign by

City of Sanctuary (CoS) and Doctors of the World (DOTW) are working together to ensure everyone, including people seeking asylum and refugees, has the right to healthcare in the UK. In this collaboration, we are asking GP practices to become a Safe Surgery as a minimum, and then we will invite them to apply for Sanctuary of Surgery award.

The Caribbean and African Health Network (CAHN) will be launching Black History Month for Greater Manchester 2020, Learning from the Past, Navigating the Future, Transforming the Future.

This will be hosted by  Mike Shaft and will take place on virtual platforms on Wednesday 30th September 6.15 pm till 8.30 pm.

Wai Yin Society release 'Talking about Nature', a free online course available to BAME women

Talking about Nature is an online group which has been started by the Wai Yin Society as an opportunity for BAME women to practice their English. The online discussion will focus on learning about the natural world whilst giving attendees the opportunity to meet other women online, listen to interesting talks and be part of a friendly group.

Greater Manchester Autism Consortium is conducting research to better understand how families of young people with autism, who have involvement in the criminal justice system, access help and support.

Challenge Poverty Week England and Wales: 12–18 October 2020.

Challenge Poverty Week has been a highly successful event in Scotland for the past seven years, and has been mirrored by London Challenge Poverty Week since 2018 - but this will be the first time it has been replicated in other parts of the UK.

Salford's Locality Plan and is the ‘blueprint’ for our health and social care.

It explains how the CCG and other NHS providers and commissioners; Salford City Council and voluntary and community sector will build on what is already in place so services work better and cost less. 

The vision is for Salford to be a place where everyone can enjoy the best opportunities that Salford has to offer.

Abonsh House, a dedicated refuge service for migrant women survivors of gender-based violence with no recourse to public funds has opened in Greater Manchester

Safety4Sisters North West have partnered with Salford Women's and Irwell Valley Housing Association have opened Abonsh House, a new refuge service for migrant women who are survivors of gender-based violence and have no recourse to public funds.

The Broughton Trust are back with classroom and online courses in Salford

The Broughton Trust have released a list of upcoming courses for the following areas:

Lower Broughton

• English
• Maths
• ESOL
• Employability
• First Steps to Counselling
• Mindfulness
• Beauty with Confidence Building

Eccles

No Going Back brings together the experiences of 22 local voluntary sector leaders who shine a light on the critical role that the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector has played during the response to the Covid-19 crisis.

Building on the Success of Front of Pack Nutrition Labelling in the UK: A Public Consultation

Wai Yin are looking for tutors who can teach the following online courses:

• Employability Skills
• Befriending
• ESOL for Volunteering and Employability

Tutors need to have a teaching qualification and have good digital skills.

Tutors should email their CVs to susan_crabb@waiyin.org.uk

Reach Out; Start to End Suicide have published their Impact Report for 2019 - 20.

Evidence shows that stigmatising attitudes result in people being less likely to get help or give help. If we don’t speak up about persistent stigma, we are at risk of perpetuating a society where we remain reluctant to reach out for help for ourselves or to support others. 

Your Digital Family is a new online quiz event, helping families enjoy a more positive digital life. If you are affiliated to the Connection Coalition, you can receive training, tools and support to host this event in your community. 

Greater Manchester is one of the leading pioneers of devolution across local government in England.

The Combined Authority has pioneered this approach as a means to enable local solutions and early intervention to reduce demand on public services. Delivered via an approach rooted in local pride, an independent Northern spirit and with the conviction that local knowledge produces better policies and solutions. 

What’s open in MediaCityUK?

Places to Eat and Drink

As we move towards recovery post-COVID-19 Primary Care Networks and Social Prescribing will be vital sources of support for children, young people and families affected by the pandemic and lockdown.

The National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) will start work immediately, with a single command structure to advance the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DIY Theatre Company's Youth Arts Programme, Passing the Baton, is aimed at young people with learning disabilities in Salford.

Passing the Baton has a new timetable for the Autumn 2020 Term with free sessions for young people with learning disabilities aged between 10-25 years old.

All sessions have now moved online using Zoom, hoping to eventually transition the group back to face-to-face delivery once it is safe to do so and restrictions are lifted.

Salford Libraries have currently opened 6 of its 16 libraries, all of which offer book borrowing and booked computer slots

So far Salford Libraries have opened Broughton, Cadishead, Eccles, Height, Little Hulton and Winton Libraries. To open safely, the libraries are offering reduced opening hours as well as booked PC appointments and booked call and collect or browsing slots for book borrowing.

Are you aged 18-30? Looking for a job in the NHS?

Join the Princes Trust three-week employability skills training programme and take part in live video interviews for a wide range of entry-level roles in the NHS. You can expect:

8.00pm (GMT), Thursday, 10th September, ‘World Suicide Prevention Day’, will see the world’s first pop up drive-in cinema being erected by START a mental health charity, in Salford, to mark World Suicide Prevention Day with their annual Vigil of Remembrance. The Vigil of Remembrance will also be broadcast in a worldwide live stream by the charity.

BAMER HUB is a free online platform from Money4YOU, providing members exclusive access to content to strengthen and grow their non-profit organisations.

Money4YOU exists to tackle inequality by teaching people how to make money, helping organisations to raise funds and supporting everyone to make the most of their resources.

The Loneliness Monetisation report estimates the monetised impacts associated with loneliness stemming from subjective wellbeing, health and productivity.

These are estimated using best-practice techniques endorsed by the HM Treasury Green Book. The findings can be used to facilitate comparison and assessment of interventions aimed at alleviating loneliness.

The Directory of Social Change (DSC) has been publishing information on grant-making charities for over 40 years.

So, it’s fair to say that they have learned a few things along the way. In their latest short blog, they share their top ten practical tips to help boost your chances of securing a grant.

The Dementia Carers Expert Reference Group (DCERG) is the first ever commissioned carers group in the UK. It consists of a group of current and former carers of people with dementia who are passionate about improving the lives of carers of people living with dementia and those they care for across all Greater Manchester.

Be a part of Salford’s history!

Salford’s Equality Improvement Partnership and Salford’s Mental Health Champions are looking for six volunteer portraits and stories of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and citizens as part of Black History Month in October 2020.

SEWF Digital will take place on 21st - 25th September 2020. 

SEWF Digital is a great opportunity to champion the potential of social enterprises – small and large, rural and urban – to bring about inclusive and sustainable economic development.

The See, Hear, Respond Partnership is a new service funded by the Department for Education. 

With your help, the See, Hear, Respond Partnership will quickly identify and support children, young people and families who are struggling to cope with the impacts of coronavirus.

Its aim is to provide early intervention before these children reach the threshold for statutory intervention.

Bolton Safeguarding Children Partnership (BSCP) and

Residents from across Greater Manchester are invited to apply for fully funded training programmes designed to help individuals gain digital employment with companies in the city-region.

The free training programmes, which have been funded as part of the Fast Track Digital Workforce Fund to create inclusive opportunities into digital employment, are now open for candidate applications.

The case for adult social care reform is well established.

Whether viewed from the standpoint of someone who needs care and support today, millions more of us who will need care in the future, for taxpayers and for Government, reform is essential. Social care transforms and enables, we must now enable social care to do what it does best.

Opportunity to become a Greater Manchester Living Life to the Full (LLTTF) Train the Trainer and be part of a new approach to mental wellbeing in Greater Manchester.

Are you a skilled trainer looking for an opportunity to become part of a new team to train staff who are based in health/social care/voluntary and community settings (VCSE) across GM to deliver an exciting range of life skills classes

This social prescribing report presents key findings from a mapping and research exercise undertaken by the University of Salford and Salford CVS from February to May of 2018.

Recent events have brought the challenges of managing flood risk back to national attention, and climate change means these events are likely to become more frequent.

Building on the previous Committee’s interim report on coastal flooding and adaptation to climate change, this inquiry would focus on the Government’s approach to managing the risk of inland flooding in England.  

Cycle September is happening in GM

Cycle September has been launched to get more people cycling, to have fun whilst cycling and have access to support needed to ride for transport. Cycling can help change the way you feel, making you more energetic, healthier, helps the environment and can make you happier too.

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is open for nominations!

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done in their own communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of The Queen's coronation. It is the MBE for volunteer groups.

This research was part of the Greater Manchester Growing Older with Learning Disabilities (GM GOLD) project, which was carried out by a team of 16 older people with learning disabilities.

The aim was to reduce social isolation amongst older adults (aged 50+) with learning disabilities and to find out what makes somewhere an age-friendly place to live for older adults with learning disabilities.

Title: Switching to virtual recruitment
Date: Tuesday 18 August, 11 am
Description: 1-hour online clinic

Whether you are looking for new staff, volunteers or trustees, your recruitment may now need to work in a different way. This free 1-hour clinic for small and medium sized charities is to help you think about how to change your systems and processes to get the most out of recruiting remotely.

A Greater Manchester Cancer Campaign called 'Help Us Help You' has been launched with downloadable resources.

The campaign has been launched to encourage people who have been invited for cancer-related appointments, diagnostic tests, or follow up appointments.

A variety of resources have been made available for organisations to share on social media accounts to spread the word of 'Help Us Help You'.

The resources include:

A school uniform recycling hub has been launched by homelessness charity Emmaus Salford with support from Guinness Partnership and Sal’s Shoes.

The Emmaus Salford School Uniform Hub will collect and redistribute school uniforms and shoes to children living in Salford. The hub aims to reduce good quality clothes and shoes going to landfill whilst providing items free of charge to families in need.

Start Inspiring Minds is erecting a pop-up drive-in silent cinema to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, Thursday 10th September.

The Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership has published their Annual Report for 2

Transcend are introducing online wellbeing sessions from 1 August

The free online wellbeing sessions are aimed to help people who have been isolated or who have been shielding, or in need of Covid-19 support in Salford.

There are 16 sessions being produced weekly via Zoom and start from 1 August.

The classes include:

Virtual Open Day for Salford City College Community Learning courses in August

Community Learning adult courses for Salford residents start in September. The sessions are free.

In order to learn more about what courses are on offer and what Salford City College Community Learning courses can do to benefit you, a Virtual Open Day has been launched. The Open Day will take place on 19th August 10.30am - 12.30pm via Microsoft Teams.

Are you a funder or commissioner who is interested in learning more about the challenges faced by older BAME communities in neighbourhoods?

Ambition for Ageing and the Zebra Partnership are excited to invite you to our event on understanding what ageing in place means for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

The Greater Manchester Equality Alliance (GM=EqAl) is a Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) alliance which aims to influence policy making in Greater Manchester. 

The final stage of the listening exercise to help develop a Race Equality Panel for Greater Manchester is now underway.

Jesus Foundation Family International (JFFI) have classes available for young people in Salford

The classes are available for young people who are currently not in employment, not in education or are not doing any training. They are designed to help develop skills and boost confidence.

Available classes include:

• Piano lessons
• Social media marketing
• Film making classes

All classes are free to attend.

Young people from across Greater Manchester are invited to apply for a place on the Youth Advisory Group.

The Disability Unit has established a new Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) Forum to strengthen its engagement with disabled people.

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has produced a series of recruitment guides to support the fundraising profession, and more widely the whole sector, to become a more equal, diverse and inclusive profession where we recruit for “culture add”, not “culture fit”.

The Greater Manchester VCSE Leadership Group, of which Salford CVS is a member, have published a BAME Statement:

All Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, and BAME-led organisations, are an integral part of the fabric that makes up Greater Manchester (GM). 

Duration: This training will be delivered over 2 half day sessions and participants MUST be available to attend BOTH sessions

CAHN Domestic and sexual violence support is a service for women and men who have experienced some sort of domestic abuse. There has been an increase of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, hence the pressing need to address the issue and raise awareness. CAHN is offering free and confidential culturally and religiously appropriate counselling sessions with qualified professionals from the Caribbean and African community.

The GM Race Equality Change Agents Programme (RECAP) has been inspired by the National NHS Workforce Race Equality Standards (WRES) Experts Programme to enable 60 partner organisations across NHS, local authority, wider public sector and third sector organisations to become delivery partners

LGBT Foundation has some office furniture they want to pass on - all completely free to a non-profit.

Available furniture:

The Greater Manchester VCSE Leadership Group are building a new VCSE ‘Collaborative’ to harness the passion, knowledge and expertise that exists within the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector,  to help influence policy making at a Greater Manchester (GM) level.

Collaborate Out Loud CIC are working with GM Walking (part of GM Moving) to host an out loud conversation about what would help communities across Greater Manchester to walk more each day.

They will do this through engaging with individuals and community groups and collectives to understand:

On 13 July the government launched a new campaign to help businesses and individuals prepare for the end of the transition period.

Windrush Scheme Online Event

Did you come to live in the UK before the end of 1988 and are you worried about demonstrating your right to live here?

The government is running an online event on 22nd July 6pm - 7.30pm to help you find out more. 

Last month Voice4Change England and ACEVO released Home Truths: Undoing racism and delivering real diversity in the charity secto

Our immigration system is dysfunctional, cruel and in need of reform, finds Runnymede report Immigration and the Lottery of Belonging in Britain, released in June 2020.

How governments contracts fail people seeking asylum.

Towards the end of 2019, the asylum accommodation and support system were almost fatally disrupted by the transition from one set of government contracts to another.

People seeking asylum began to experience unacceptable and entirely avoidable destitution.

Arts Chain have written an open letter on behalf of those working in the field of participatory arts, social engaged arts, and community arts who throughout the Covid-19 crisis have continued to work in solidarity with and at the heart of neighbourhoods, places and communities. 

Learn to lead a multicultural team and promote diversity in your workplace.

Cultural diversity in the workplace allows organisations to benefit from differing opinions and approaches. Learning to harness multiculturalism in your team can be a powerful tool.

Is your organisation interested in making a social impact while advancing diversity and inclusion within its workforce?

Then We Need To Talk About Mental Health - Thursday 30th July.

A diverse, healthy and productive workforce is essential to the success of individual businesses and the economy as a whole. However, pre-Covid-19 almost 1 in 7 people in the UK experienced mental health challenges in the workplace.