Month: April 2016
PORTLETHEN COMMUNITY WOODLAND MANAGEMENT EVENINGS
Over the summer months Portlethen Moss Conservation
Group organise woodland management sessions at the
community woodland. Usually on a Wednesday evening
once a month from May to September. Come along
and join in with a little light exercise, socialise and get
involved in caring for your local wildlife site. 
MEET: at Portlethen Community Woodland
For dates and times and some fabulous photos please
visit the group’s Facebook site http://www.facebook.com/
portlethenmoss
Scottish Mental Health First Aid: Young People
Scottish Mental Health First Aid: Young People
Tesco Community Room – Inverurie
Tuesday 24th May 2016
The Spark now has a trainer able to deliver the above course in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. If you require an in-house course or would like to take part in an open course please get in touch with Emma Cameron at The Spark on e.cameron@thespark.org.uk or 07760257038 for more information. We have an open course on Tuesday 24th May 2016 in Inverurie.
For those working/support or volunteering with 11 – 17 year olds, this is an evidence learning course for adults to provide initial support; in a crisis and non-crisis situation.
This course does not train you to become a counsellor or mental health professional. It is designed to teach you to better understand mental health and how it affects young people, as well as learn mental first aid skills such as:-
- How to recognise the signs of mental health problems or distress
- How to ask about mental distress
- How to provide initial support
- How to guide a young person towards appropriate professional help
The course also aims to show how mental health first aid can be applied in a crisis situation involving a range of common mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide and substance misuse.
This 14-hour training course is designed to increase understanding of
mental health and how it affects young people. The course requires several hours of personal CPD both before and after the training day in order to complete the course requirements. The personal learning part of the course is done through the e-learning zone on the SMHFA –YP website.
The Cost is £75 per participant for the 14 hours CPD (including 1 day training).
Stonehaven Early Years Forum Networking Lunch
Tuesday 24 May, 12pm – 1.30pm, Stonehaven Community Centre
The Early Years Forum aims to work in partnership to ensure children in Stonehaven have
the best start in life and support their wellbeing through the stages from pre-birth to 8 years.
Stonehaven Early Years Forum are hosting a networking lunch to provide the opportunity for
services, organisations and groups to come together, share information on local activities
and discuss future priorities. This will be a drop-in event and lunch will be provided. This event is
suitable for those working with children under the age of 8 including: teachers, health visitors, social
workers, third sector providers. To register for the event please visit: http://tinyurl.com/zvnjsqs
If you have any queries regarding this event please don’t hesitate to contact:
Fiona Murray, Chair of Stonehaven Early Years Forum at: f.murray@nhs.net
Push The Boat Out
Marketing Volunteer/s Wanted for “Pushing Out the Boat” Literary Magazine
Do you have sales or marketing skills? Do you enjoy literature and art?
If you answered “yes” to BOTH of these questions you might be able to help.“Pushing out the Boat”
– North-East Scotland’s magazine of new writing and visual arts needs to raise its profile and
increase the circulation. To find out more about it, go to
http://www.pushingouttheboat.co.uk
They need short-term marketing assistance as well as more permanent help.
Ideally, tasks could include: identify new ways of raising their profile; update the sales pitch
on the website; issue press releases, improve use of social media; organise events;
securing new sales outlets; and any other ideas.
They have volunteers in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Angus, all working from home;
and they meet as required and at monthly Committees (usually in Ferryhill, Aberdeen).
To find out more about this volunteering opportunity contact Freda Hasler at:
coordinator@pushingouttheboat.co.uk
Volunteers needed to help blind people get online
RNIB wants those with a couple of spare hours a month to visit a blind person
in their local area to help them use the internet. RNIB is looking to recruit
volunteers for its Online Today project which aims to help 125,000
people with sensory loss across the UK get online.
Volunteers are required to commit a few hours a month to visit blind and partially sighted
people in their own homes and help them develop digital skills like browsing
the internet, sending emails, and using an e-reader.
Since its launch in 2015, Online Today events throughout the UK have helped thousands
of people with sight and hearing loss get online.
For more information about volunteering for Online Today go to: www.rnib.org.uk/onlinevolunteer
Tesco Bags of Help Greenspace Funding
Do you know a greenspace project in Aberdeenshire Council that would benefit from funding? Local authorities, community groups and organisations can all apply for Tesco Bags of Help funding!
The second round of Tesco Bags of Help is open from 18 April. Bags of Help is available to a wide range of community groups, local authorities and organisations across England, Wales and Scotland and they can apply for grants to improve local green spaces. Successful projects will go forward to a public vote in Tesco stores which will decide whether they receive a grant of £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000. Projects that will get the green light as a result of funding will include new pocket parks, sports facilities, schools, woodland walks and community gardens.
Bags of Help is administered by Groundwork, working in Scotland with greenspace scotland, and funded by Tesco customers from the proceeds of the 5p charge for plastic carrier bags. It will fund projects that benefit communities by physically improving open and greenspaces that do not charge for access. Groundwork anticipate grants being awarded to 144 successful groups across Scotland in November 2016
Full eligibility criteria and detailed application guidance is available online here http://bit.ly/bagsofhelp2.
Good luck and get going as this funding round closes on Fri 3 June 2016.
Cycling Scotland Community Grants now open
Communities can now apply for grants of up to £5,000 via the Cycle Friendly and Sustainable
Community Fund to deliver local cycling projects. The purpose of the Cycle Friendly and Sustainable
Communities Fund (CFSCF) is to support community groups to encourage cycling in their
community and increase the number of locals making journeys by bike.
This Transport Scotland funded grant scheme enables community groups to support and
deliver sustainable projects. Reducing single occupancy car use and increasing active travel
options will also result in reduced local transport related carbon emissions and increased
health and wellbeing of the community. For more information on the fund and to download the
application form and guidance notes, visit:http://tinyurl.com/gs8nw2w
The Volant Charitable Trust
This Trust was set up by the author J K Rowling to support charitable causes.
The Trust has two broad areas of funding:
Charities and projects, whether national or community-based, at home or abroad, that alleviate
social deprivation, with a particular emphasis on women’s and children’s issues.
The next deadline for Volant Grant Application Forms is for the Trustees’ meeting in
September 2016 and is Friday 24th June 2016. For more information, visit:
www.volanttrust.com/how-to-make-application
Are a good listener and communicator?
NHS Grampian is looking for two people to
join its Board as non-executive members
If you are a good listener and communicator and can analyse and review complex issues, you could
be one of the people NHS Grampian are looking for. Anyone with the essential skills to make
a contribution to the Board, as detailed in the application pack, is encouraged to apply.
An application pack and full details can be found at:
www.appointed-for-scotland.org and by clicking on “search vacancies” on the left
hand side. Closing date for applications is Friday 15th April 2016.
Mental Health – Voluntary Health Scotland want your input
Many voluntary health organisations support people’s mental as well as physical wellbeing, whether
you consider yourselves to be a mental health charity or not. You do this by supporting people
through stressful life challenges, by reducing social isolation and loneliness, and by fostering
resilience and creating the conditions for good mental health.
VHS are always keen to hear from members on what they think we should be focusing on in this
area – what are the key issues for you right now? What needs to be addressed in the Scottish
Government’s next Mental Health Strategy? What are they key contributions the third sector
is making to the mental health agenda? Where are the biggest gaps?
Get in touch with Catherine Ronald or call 0131 474 6187 with your input.
Paths for All Spring Step Count Challenge
The aim is simple; to get people to walk more and feel the difference.
Whether it’s by walking to work, going for a lunchtime stroll or simply using the stairs rather than the
lift, the challenge is for people to enjoy the benefits of an active lifestyle.
How does the challenge work?
You enter as a team of 5 people. You’ll get a user account where you can record your daily
steps, share comments with your team and track your team’s progress on leaderboards.
Pedometers can be provided for your team so you can count your steps, or you can use
your own pedometer, favourite app or gadget. Goals are set to provide your team with
motivation and challenges to keep you walking.
Nominate a team captain, choose a team name and register at: www.stepcount.org.uk.
You can enter an individual team or you can enter multiple teams from your workplace.
The challenge starts on 18th April 2016 and lasts for eight weeks.
Entry to the challenge costs £5 per person and they can provide participants with a pedometer for
£5 (RRP£14.99), alternatively you can use your own pedometer or app
Triangle Trust 1949 Fund open to organisations working with unpaid carers
Grants are available for up to £80,000 over three years with a maximum of
£35,000 in year one. The emphasis of the Development Grant is to support
the development of a solid foundation for the future. The grant could, for
example, be used to enable an organisation to make a step change such as diversifying its income
streams or setting up a social enterprise to help it become more sustainable in the long term.
Registered charities, not-for-profit social enterprises and community interest companies that are
working within the UK and have a UK office are eligible to apply. Applications from organisations
working in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales are particularly welcome. Organisations must have a
constitution whose primary purpose is to support unpaid carers.
The deadline for applications is 28th April 2016 (12 noon).
For more information, visit: www.triangletrust.org.uk/apply-funding
K&M Communities 