E-Bulletin

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

It is unfortunate that we have to announce that the Volunteer Centre will be reducing it's opening hours from from 28th May. Our current source of funding has come to and end and Vanessa will be leaving CVS North Wiltshire on that date. The good news is that Volunteer Centre Swindon has kindly offered us funding for 7 hours per week to keep the centre open until the end of September. This does mean that we won't be able to do as much as before but we will still be here to advertise your opportunities on the national website www.do-it.org.uk, in the Gazette & Herald on BBC Radio Wiltshire and other places to help find potential volunteers. Vanessa has been brilliant in building up a fantastic Volunteer Centre service and we wish her very well for the future, however, feel free to keep her busy until she leaves and contact her about advertising your opportunity! Email vanessa@cvsnw.org.uk.

Information about our Wellbeing Centre project will from now on be coming to you via a separate bulletin, look out for the first edition in your inbox tomorrow! www.wellbeing-centre.org.uk.

In 2008 the fourteenth annual Carers Week will highlight the impact caring can have on Carers’ health and wellbeing. At Carers Support North Wilts we are planning several events including Health Checks at Purton Surgery, a Carers Wellbeing Day and a Carers Relaxation Day. Corsham Library will be hosting another Carers Wellbeing Day on Wednesday 11th June from 10am - 3pm. There will be taster sessions in a variety of complementary therapies to include as follows: Colour Me Beautiful, Mini Facials & Manicaures, Reiki, Indian Head Massage and much more. Click here to download the full details.

The Big Lottery’s £50 million Local Food Fund is now open for application. You can submit a first stage application at any time in the next five years. Only Beacon bids of £500,000 have an end of June 2008 deadline. See www.localfoodgrants.org. Local Food is a £50 million programme that will distribute lottery grants to a variety of food-related projects to help make locally grown food accessible and affordable to local communities.

Wednesday 21^st May 2008, 7:30pm - 9pm. Jubilee Buildings, Market Place, Chippenham. Opportunity for people with diabetes, or with family members who have diabetes, to meet others with the condition, and to discover what their local group is doing. Organised by Chippenham & District Voluntary group Diabetes UK. The event is a friendly and informal evening hosted by the local Chippenham & District Voluntary group of Diabetes UK. Existing members are keen to encourage people from the local area to come along and discover a bit about what we do. Click here for more information.

Advising VCS Groups on Funding Issues

Bristol 18-19 Nov & 9-10 Dec. Oxford 09 13-14 Jan & 3-4 Feb. An OCN accredited training course for Funding Advisers. This 4-day programme provides a unique opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification in giving funding advice. It is aimed at existing funding advice workers from voluntary/statutory organisations, umbrella agency workers, community development workers, external funding officers and all others who give funding advice to voluntary/community groups. For a booking form please contact Bridie Nelson; bridie@cibwilts.org.uk. Visit our website; http://www.cibsouthandwest.org.uk/

Help With Web 2.0

Tapping into the potential of Web 2.0 can feel quite daunting and overwhelming at first. The Media Trust have produced a new 'How to ...' guide focusing on the voluntary sector, to share with you some instructions, advice and success stories to get you blogging, podcasting and twittering. Go to http://www.mediatrust.org/ict-project to download your copy.

Wiltshire World Changers Network Launch: May 31^st

The next ten years mark a turning point for environmental action. We urgently need to achieve major changes throughout our society, in order to tackle the linked challenges of climate change and destruction of the natural environment. This is why we are inviting your group or organisation to send one or two representatives to the launch of the Wiltshire World Changers Network on Saturday 31^st May. The aim of the event is to share information on environmental action, celebrate achievements, plan how we can work together for greater impact and launch the Network. To book a place, please complete and return the attached booking form by May 19^th. The Network will bring together the environmental sector countywide, giving us a strong, united voice to influence policy and strategic action, at both county level and beyond. While the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is taking the lead in its development, we need the active involvement of as many organisations and groups as possible, if it is to succeed. So please help by filling in the brief on-line survey by May 19th, and join us at the workshop to decide how to take this forward. The Network will complement the work of the proposed Wiltshire Environmental Alliance, a smaller, strategic group set up as part of a new structure for the Wiltshire Local Strategic Partnership. This is the countywide body responsible for development of the Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement, and has a major influence on funding and delivery in the county. For further background information on both the Alliance and the Network, please see the attached overview. The online survey also asks for your views on priorities for the Environmental Alliance.

Win a £500 Donation

My Charity Page is rapidly becoming the place to fundraise online with hundreds of new charities registering every week. The website allows fundraisers to accept online donations without any commission so 100% of all donations goes to charity and it's completely free for your charity to register. We're now giving away a £500 donation in our new competition. For more information please visit www.mycharitypage.com.

Mosaic Day Workshop

Saturday 28th June, 10 am – 4 pm. A practical workshop run by Joanna Dewfall in delightful surroundings near Pewsey. Come and learn about this ancient craft and make a beautiful and durable mosaic panel for your home. To see Joanna's work go to www.dewfallmosaic.co.uk. The cost is £40 which includes coffee and lunch. 25% of this cost will raise funds for Arts Together, an innovative charity for isolated older people. To book a place please send a cheque to: Joanna Dewfall, Oak House, 2a, Beechfield, Newton Tony. SP4 0HH and include your contact details, preferably with email address. Places are limited. Please reply by 30^th May. For more information ring Joanna on 01980 629472.

ACAS Online Training Available

On discrimination in employment on the basis of religion or belief, and on age discrimination. Visit www.acas.org.uk/elearning.

Foresight Report: How ICT is Shaping the Future Design and Delivery of Public Services
Drawing on case-studies from high profile organisations and current thinking and debate from ICT experts; the report looks at emerging trends in the ways organisations are run and public services delivered through the innovative use of new technology. It includes the role of digital TV and video to provide remote support; open exchange for partners and stakeholders to collaborate effectively online; greater accessibility to information and the use of call centres and online self-help tools. Download the pdf for free or order online.

Funding Information Database

Charities Information Bureau South & West provides information, advice and support concerning charitable funding and charity law to help community groups, organisations and individuals in the South West of England. Their funding information databases are accessible through their website via a simple registration system. Their new website (due to go live soon) has been revamped with funding help from Sport England. It will have a free searchable facility for individual project searches and also ready to go packs for particular themes, such as Sport, Health & Social Welfare. There is also a link to a bi-monthly regional bulletin with information on new grants, selected ongoing grants and local funding information. The new website will be at: www.cibsouthandwest.org.uk. If you would like one-to-one support with Funding issues please contact CVS on 01249 654089 and we will arrange an appointment with our funding advisor.

Simplify Searching the Web
If you've ever searched on the word 'chair' and only found results for furniture to sit on, then you should try the Governance Pages search engines. In addition to the usual site search, we've created two custom search engines (one UK and one International) that only find relevant results - results tailored for management committee members of voluntary organisations. Go to the Governance Pages search page and chose either to: search Governance Pages only, search relevant UK sites or search relevant International sites.

Launch of Myplace

Myplace has launched: BIG's second major non-lottery funded programme. This time we are distributing and managing up to £190 million over two years on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). myplace aims to deliver world class youth facilities that are driven by the active participation of young people. Funded projects must deliver the following outcomes: more young people, parents and communities feel that young people have exciting and safe places to go in their leisure time where they can get involved in an attractive range of activities; more young people, particularly the most disadvantaged, participate in positive leisure time activities that support their personal and social development; more young people have access to information, advice and support services from within places they feel comfortable; and stronger partnership working between local authorities, third, private and public sector partners to plan, deliver and operate financially sustainable youth facilities with and for young people. myplace will only fund projects that will deliver on all four of these outcomes and demonstrate evidence of the real participation of young people, particularly disadvantaged young people, in the development, design and future of running of the project. The programme opened for applications on 6 May -- and up to £160m will be available in year one. Click here for more information.