E-Bulletin

Welcome to the CVS North Wiltshire e-bulletin. To view the latest e-bulletin online click here.

CVS North Wilts has now officially launched the ‘Wellbeing Centre’ at its premises in 3-4 New Road. The Centre has its own website at www.wellbeing-centre.org.uk. The vision of the Centre is to give something back to those countless unsung helpers in the community who give so much of their time and energy to supporting others. A small group of complementary health practitioners is offering low-cost treatments, or therapies, to people involved in voluntary and community work, whether as volunteers, committee members or paid workers. The Centre held its launch on the evening of May 17^th, which was well attended by members of voluntary groups, the general public and therapists. The theme of the evening was ‘Emotional Rescue in First Aid and Crisis Situations’ with talks and videos about tools and techniques for relieving emotional distress. Light refreshments were served and attendees were presented with vouchers for complimentary treatments at the Centre. Karen Scott, who is one of the two founders of the Centre, said “We will be holding further open evenings in the future with talks and free tasters of treatments. These will be focused around particular issues or client groups, such as Children and Families, Mental Health, or living with long-term limiting illnesses, for example.” “We would still like to hear from other qualified therapists who share our vision and would like to join us. There is also an opportunity for trainees and newly qualified practitioners, who are starting up their practices, to hire the room on an occasional ‘as-needed’ basis,” she added. For further information about the Centre, to talk to a practitioner, or book an appointment please contact Jess Wilks on 07712 797621 or Karen Scott on 01249 654089 or 07887 601844, or email Karen@cvsnw.org.uk.

Small Organisations to Get Date with MP Thanks to NCVO Party Conference Bursary Scheme

Organisations with incomes of less than £100,000 will have the chance to put their concerns directly to a Minister or Senior MP this party conference season thanks to a new scheme being launched by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). NCVO is providing bursaries for thirty smaller organisations to attend the party conferences and have their voices heard at a national level. Sultana Begum, Parliamentary and Campaigns Officer at NCVO said: "Party conferences are incredibly competitive events, with many different organisations vying to get their voices heard. Our bursary scheme will not only give small organisations the opportunity to attend party conferences, but will also allow them to air their issues directly with a Minister or Senior MP.’ In order to qualify for the scheme, organisations must submit an application to NCVO by 2 July, stating their organisation name, why they want to go to the party conferences, what they would ask an MP or the Minister for the Third Sector if they were in a meeting with them and the policies or changes that would make a difference to their organisation. Successful organisations will receive a week charity pass* to the Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat Party Conference. Applicants will be able to nominate a preferred party conference, but the final decision will lie with NCVO, based on the demand for each of the events. There are ten places at each of the three party conferences. NCVO parliamentary staff will be on hand to support successful organisations with a programme of meetings for the conferences, including a roundtable discussion with a Senior MP or Minister. *Due to party conference rules, applicants must be registered charities in order to apply for the scheme. For more information on the Party Conference bursary scheme, or to apply, go to www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/partyconfbursaryscheme or contact Sultana Begum, Parliamentary and Campaigns Officer at NCVO, on 020 7520 2505.

New Short IT Courses in Chippenham

The Learning Curve have just announced a set of new courses at the training suite in Chippenham. These include, Introduction to IT and the Internet, Excel Spreadsheets, Publisher & Promotion and more. Click here for details.

Helping Improve Homes

Ridgeway Care & Repair North Wiltshire takes the worry out of organising building works. We have many years of experience in arranging adaptation works and repairs both for private householders, community buildings and offices. At our offices, which we share with Carers Support North Wilts and Age Concern Befriending Service, we have a disability showroom displaying a Level Access Shower and other adaptations for people to see and use. We have just taken delivery of a working curved stairlift for visitors to try out as well. Home visits can also be arranged as required if clients prefer. 41 New Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire. SN15 1JQ. Contact us on : (01249) 460701 - nwcr@ridgewaycommunity.org.uk

Help raise vital funds for people with diabetes by joining the Diabetes UK Walk in the Park on Sunday 8^th July 2007 at Wiltshire College Lackham. Walk in the Park, sponsored by sanofi-aventis UK, is a fun event for all the family. The walk itself is only 1 mile (but you may do as many circuits as you like) and the route is suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.. Registered walkers will each receive a baseball cap and everyone who completes the route will receive a medal. To register to attend the walk and receive a sponsorship form, please contact Dave Mosdall on 01249 465 826 or walk@diabetes-chippenham.org.uk. Click here to read the full press release.

Easyfundraising: Really!

A CVS member group the VHF (Vulval Health Foundation) uses Easyfundraising to raise funds for their group "Easyfundraising is a shopping directory that features some of your favourite online stores, including Amazon, NEXT, Debenhams, John Lewis, Toys’R’Us, HMV and over 400 others. All you have to do is use the links on the easyfundraising site whenever you shop online and, at no extra cost to you, the charity of your choice will receive a free donation of up to 15% from every purchase you make. It really is that simple! It’s completely FREE to register and use and you still shop with each retailer in exactly the same way. There is a Referral Programme amongst voluntary organisations; “Through our fantastic referral scheme, you can raise extra funds for your cause simply by spreading the word! Introduce easyfundraising to other charities, groups or good causes and we'll pay you a 'lifetime' revenue share of 20% of whatever they raise, for as long as they use our service. Don’t worry – this will not affect their fundraising total as the extra funds are paid by easyfundraising so you both benefit." To refer a new group all we need to do is ask them to use your Referral Link when they sign-up; http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/referral/3388. We hope that not only will this information raise awareness of the service to raise funds for our own cause, it will enable other organisations to benefit too!

Fast track ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence). This one week programme has been developed for IT professionals looking for a qualification. It is not suitable for beginners or Level 1. The programme incorporates the European Computer Driving Licence through British Computer Society (BCS) IT User, Levels 1 and 2 and will allow you to develop and demonstrate competence in a wide range of IT skills. Using the Microsoft Office Suite to include MS Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint, you will be able to work efficiently and effectively towards this nationally recognised qualification. This course is being run by the Learning Curve, click here for more details.

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