Welcome to the summer edition of Network News!! · Welcome to the summer edition of Network News!!...
Transcript of Welcome to the summer edition of Network News!! · Welcome to the summer edition of Network News!!...
Welcome to the summer edition of Network News!!
Helping Older People Page 2
Information Page 3
People’s Park Festival Page 4
Health & Wellbeing Page 5
Current Funding Page 6
Training Review Page 7
CONTENTS
facebook.com /abccommunitynetwork
@ABCCommNetwork ABC Community Network 22 Church Street Portadown
028 3839 2777 [email protected] www.abccommunitynetwork.com
Training
The summer months are particularly busy for ABC as we seek
to finalise our training programmes for September 2011 - June
2012. Having just completed the evaluation reports for the
2010/2011 training programme, we are now busy preparing
funding applications to support the new programme. I’m
especially delighted to report on the high level of participation
from member organisations and groups on our needs-based
training courses: between September 2010 and June 2011,
28 accredited and vocational courses were delivered, with
370 participants benefiting from the training and support
provided, and participants continue to appreciate the
networking opportunities provided during training courses. An
increased emphasis will be placed on co-ordination of training
activity across the ABC Council areas, with even greater
collaboration with our partner organisations, in the delivery of
courses. To help us plan a targeted programme of courses
that best suits your needs, please complete and return the
enclosed Training Needs Questionnaire as soon as possible.
Big Lottery
On the development front, we’ve just completed the outline
grant application form for the BIG Lottery Fund’s Reaching
Out - Connecting Older People Programme in support of our
proposed Helping Older People + Project. The programme,
which seeks to support and assist Older Peoples’ Groups
across the Southern Trust area, is being developed in
partnership with the SHSCT and other community and
voluntary groups. Thanks to everyone who assisted with and
supported consultation events and focus groups as part of our
consultation process. We look forward to being invited to
submit a full grant application form so hopefully we’ll be in
touch again at the end of August.
Membership We continue to develop our membership base, particularly in
the Armagh and Banbridge areas. Don’t forget—Membership
is Free! To request a membership application form and
for further information on our services please contact us or
check out our website where you can download membership
forms. Thanks also to everyone who returned the new ABC
contact information forms. This has enabled us to develop and
update our membership data base which will facilitate a more
targeted approach to meeting your information needs.
Voluntary Board of Directors
ABC Community Network has a dedicated and active Board of
Directors and is recruiting new voluntary Directors to take
forward our work. We are keen to work more closely with key
groups and organisations in Armagh and Banbridge and
increase representation from those areas on the Board. We
are particularly looking for people who have expertise in HR,
finance, marketing, community development, PR or lobbying.
Board meetings are held during the afternoon on the third
Wednesday of the month at our offices in Portadown. The
position of Board Director is voluntary and unpaid, however
reasonable expenses including travel w ill be
reimbursed. If you can make a positive contribution to our
development and able to make the time commitment, please
contact me directly on 028 3839 2777 for an informal chat or
e-mail [email protected] for more information.
Information & Articles for Publication
Finally, we welcome articles for publication that highlight
news, activities and events across the Armagh, Banbridge and
Craigavon Council areas. So please get in touch!
JOHN McGUINNESS, DIRECTOR
Network News Page 2
June Edition 2011
Electric Blanket Testing Roadshows A series of free 'Electric Blanket Testing' road shows
will be held across the Southern area later this year.
Individual testing dates will be announced shortly.
Electric blankets cause over 800 fires in the UK each year,
with nearly 20 deaths and 200 injuries. Most of the casualties
are people aged over 60 years. The aim of the road shows is
to reduce the number of injuries and deaths caused by faulty
and misused electric blankets. These sessions will provide
free safety checks on electric blankets and give members of
the public tips on their correct use.
Injuries and fires often happen because people do not use or
store their electric blankets properly, do not replace them or
never have them serviced. People are often unaware when
blankets have become worn or damaged and it is advised that
electric blankets be checked at least every three years.
Participants whose blankets fail the safety test will be given a
£15.00 voucher towards buying a new one and will be able to
ask for advice on home safety and general wellbeing issues
from representatives attending on the day. Anyone with an
electric blanket can come along to the road shows and have
their blankets checked professionally and for those whose
blankets are more than 10 years old to have them replaced
immediately. Just because it's working doesn't mean it's safe.
For further information on the Electric Blanket Testing days
contact Nina Daly, on (028) 3834 4973.
Helping Older People Project Worker
Kathy Trainor being congratulated on
her forthcoming marriage at a
networking event held recently in
Portadown Town Hall during June. Many groups with whom Kathy has worked were
there to celebrate the good work Kathy has done,
and to look forward to the future of older
people’s groups in the Southern area.
[Patricia Jordon Chairperson of ABC presents Kathy with a bouquet of flowers (right), and Violet and Mervyn Dougan of Redrock CDA make a presentation to Kathy (left). Above, participants at the networking event]
Network News Page 3
June Edition 2011
The Charity
Commission for
Northern Ireland
(CCNI) has
announced the
introduction of
charity regulation to Northern Ireland.
The move allows CCNI to begin its investigatory, compliance,
enforcement and regulatory scrutiny of all charities currently
registered with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for tax
purposes and will begin the regulators’ efforts to increase
public trust and confidence in charities. Details, including the
names of more than 6000 organisations to which these powers
apply, have been published on their website.
Their powers do not yet apply to all charitable organisations.
At present they will only begin regulation and investigations of
organisations previously granted charitable tax exemption by
HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC). A list of these organisations
is available on their website.
The powers are transitional measures to allow the Commission
to begin regulation and investigations of charitable
organisations registered for tax purposes with HMRC.
Further information and guidance is available on
www.charitycommissionni.org.uk.
Peace of Mind—Home Safety tips when
planning to go on holiday
Portadown Neighbourhood Policing
Team—Community awareness mornings Portadown Neighbourhood Policing Team will be
holding community awareness mornings in the
reception area of Portadown Health centre.
These will run on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month
from 9:00am to 12:30pm. Members of the public are invited
along to discuss any issues that they may wish to raise with
the police.
Free phone Advice & Advocacy Service
The service offers free,
independent and confidential
support to older people, their
families and carers.
Last year the Advice & Advocacy
team helped over 15,000 older people claim £720,000 in
additional benefits. However £60million a year goes
unclaimed, AgeNI is encouraging older people to ensure they
are receiving the benefits that are rightfully theirs - especially
those who have not had a benefit check in the past year and
those whose individual circumstances have changed.
To find out more contact free phone 0808 808 7575 or email
Give the Gift of Life The Southern Health and Social Care
Trust is encouraging people to
consider signing up to the organ donor
register.
There are 7,974 people across the UK
waiting for organ transplants. Last year 3,693 transplants took
place but there is still an average of 3 people dying each day as
they wait for a suitable organ.
Organ donation saves and enhances lives.
To join the NHS Organ Donor
Register and give the gift of life,
log on to
www.organdonation.nhs.uk
or call 0300 123 23 23
Network News Page 4
June Edition 2011
The People’s Park Festival! Craigavon Borough Council’s Arts Development Section
is leading on the delivery of the second annual ‘People’s
Festival’.
We are working in partnership with our colleagues in Good
Relations, Community Development and Parks plus a steering
group of community and voluntary partners. Plans are well
underway and we can now offer your group an opportunity to
be involved in the activities leading up to the festival!
The People's Festival is an intercultural festival that will run on
the 1st Saturday in August annually. 2011 is the second year of
this high quality family-focused festival that brings together the
best of local and regional talent in Portadown Park. Come and
enjoy the following: Arts Ekta dance tent, Barren Carousels
trapeze show, come and try Sports zone, John Hewitt poetry
zone, main music stage, acoustic stage, Youth zone and world
food court.
A host of arts installations will also adorn the park
creating a colourful and inspiring space for all
ages to enjoy culture, sports and arts. This year
the events starts in style with a 10 km run, family
buggy push and festival parade from Bann
Boulevard through Portadown town centre and to
the park. The festival has been set up as the
forerunner project to a major redevelopment of
the park and it will become the flagship event in
the transformed park.
How to get involved... In the lead up to the festival our team of artists
are offering projects which will allow your group
to be actively involved in the event and will
showcase the talents of all the participants work!
We want to involve the community all over in
Portadown in the festival!
We are offering groups one 2 hour session in
their own centres with the artists to make their
creations so they can come along on the day to
join the fun. Choose from these two options:
The Bed of Roses Parade - Participants w ill
create carnival props based on McGreadys roses
to carry in a parade from Bann Boulevard through
the town centre and on to the park to begin the
event!
Return of the Duck Pond - Participants w ill
create an artistic representation of the old duck
pond in the park which will be an interactive
spectacle in the park on the day!
Other ways to get involved:
Marshall the 10k run
Join the buggy push!
Are you a local singer songwriter? Send us a
track!
Are you part of a great dance troop? Are you a
poet? Get in touch!!
Community Information Zone – Why not set up an
information stand We will also bring together groups and organisations both local
and statutory to provide an opportunity to showcase their
services and the opportunities they offer. If you feel your
organisation or group would benefit from reaching a wide
audience please get in touch.
Please email [email protected] See you at
the festival on Saturday 6th August!
Network News Page 5
June Edition 2011
The BIG Lottery funded
REACH project has been
established to offer
increased access across
the SHSCT area to
community and family programmes to help people
improve their health.
Common arguments in my home usually revolve around
biscuits. Not that someone has eaten my favourite one (the
good old Ginger Nut) but that more packets have been
purchased. Being of a weak-willed disposition I see the
purchase of more biscuits as the cue to eat more.
Since working with the REACH project I have learned a basic
skill which I try to pass on to groups we work with – the
ability to read and understand food labels. Now I understand
that the friendly Ginger Nut has 55 calories which is around
2% of my daily calorie intake (usually around 2500 for a
man). But who eats only one Ginger Nut! Five ginger nuts
can easily evaporate with a good cuppa and suddenly 275
calories are consumed – 10% of my recommended intake!
I was completely ignorant of calorie counting and this was
probably why I never questioned eating so many biscuits -
but times change. I still love a biscuit with a cuppa but now I
tend to think about how many and how often I eat them.
Also I learnt some new eating habits. For example I try to
eat a sliced apple with a cuppa. An apple only has around 50
calories, helps your immune system and is full of fibre which
is good for those who are regular visitors to the porcelain
throne! The mighty Ginger Nut does not offer that.
It is this type of information that the REACH programme tries
to get into the hands of parents so they are more aware of
simple things that can be done in the home to guard a family
from being overweight.
In the media, in our communities and across many
government departments there are increasing attempts to get
everyone thinking about what and how much we eat.
However this is one of those issues that can raise the
emotions – what family wants to consider that weight has
become a serious issue? But for many families this is vital. A
recent report by the OCED, one of the most important global
institutions, stated that:
Severely obese people die 8-10 years sooner than those of normal-weight, similar to smokers, with every 15 extra kilograms increasing risk of early death by approximately 30%. In ten European countries, research shows that obesity doubles the odds being unable to live a normal active life
Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat (September 2010)
Clearly, being overweight can lead to a range of personal and
social issues that are dangerous to ignore. A recent
government report outlined that in Northern Ireland 59% of
people can be defined as overweight or obese. There is no
doubt this is staggering. Support must be available for
adults, particularly adults with young families, to consider
ways to halt the increasing waistline of the country.
This is the aim of the REACH project – to support people to
think about their weight. We do this by running two
programmes. Firstly we have our Community Lifestyle
Programmes that provide tailor-made programmes to
explore ways to get people active and cooking healthy meals.
In year one 175 individuals benefitted from these
programmes from a range of community, voluntary and
statutory groups. We arrange walking programmes, cycling
activities, kite flying, boccia games, activities using games
consoles and a range of other activities simply to get more
people active and burning off excess calories, or showing
people ways to reduce the calories they consume.
Secondly we run a programme called “Move it, Change It”.
This is a fun, free healthy lifestyle programme for families
with children in primary years 1 to 4 who are over their ideal
weight. The programme has been designed by a dietician
and physiotherapist along with the REACH community lifestyle
co-ordinators and aims to promote a healthy lifestyle at an
early age to tackle the rise in childhood obesity. It is hoped
that it will help to inform children and parents how to make
healthier food choices and encourage them to be more active.
If you want more information about REACH please call us at
ABC. You can also email me at
We have a Facebook page where you can access some short
videos about our programmes –
log on at facebook.com/ReachC&B
For online healthy recipe ideas and tips and advice on
maintaining a healthy weight visit:
www.enjoyhealthyeating.info
For information about community healthy cooking groups
contact Marie Gormley on 028 37415221
You can even get help to start your own walking group. For
more information on local walking groups go to:
www.promotingwellbeing.info/walking or contact
Sabrina Lynn on 028 3834 4973.
For information about Weigh2Go, a community weight
management programme, contact Valerie Gough, Health
Promotion Officer on 028 3831 1487
Network News Page 6
June Edition 2011
Phew!!!! ABC’s April – June 2011 calendar has been delivered
successfully and we’re catching our breath before starting all
over again in September! Alongside our well-established courses,
new topics in our April – June calendar included: Tai Chi; Book-keeping
for community/voluntary groups; Digital Photography; Managing and
assessing risk. Once again, all courses were FREE OF CHARGE thanks to
funding from Lloyds TSB Foundation and the Big Lottery, alongside in-
kind funding from ABC. Currently, we are applying for funding from a
number of sources to ensure that ABC can offer courses from September.
Looking back since last September, we’re delighted to report that ABC
delivered training courses to nearly 370 participants via 28 courses. Of
the 28 courses, 13 were accredited, 10 were non-accredited vocational
courses and 5 were recreational. This is in addition to our continuing
work with Southern Regional College to deliver IT courses through the
Learner Access and Engagement project. Three different courses were
offered: Foundation, Level 1 and Level 2 and, to date, nearly 90 people have successfully gained IT qualifications. Courses are
due to start again in September so please contact us if you’re interested in joining a class. If you’ve already completed a red
application form, don’t worry, we’ll call you.
Lloyds TSB Foundation NI The key interest of the Foundation is ‘To
support underfunded charities which enable
people, especially disadvantaged or disabled
people, to play a fuller role in the
community’. The two key areas are social
and community needs, and education and training.
Please check website www.lloydstsbfoundationni.org for dates
and more information.
Contact Lloyds TSB Foundation for NI on 028 9032 3000 or e
-mail: [email protected]
Lottery Programmes Your Heritage
Projects which help people learn about their
own and other people’s heritage. The
programme funds activities and capital
works up to £50,000.
For information visit www.hlf.org.uk or call the Belfast office
on 028 9031 0120.
Awards for All Project funding of up to £10,000 is available to community,
voluntary and statutory groups. Changes to the criteria now
allow groups to apply for up to £20,000 per year.
For information visit www.awardsforall.org.uk or call
028 9055 1455
Garfield Weston Over the past fifty years the
Garfield Weston Foundation
has supported a wide range
of organisations with grants of varying sizes. Recent funding
has supported projects in the following categories: Arts,
Community, Education, Welfare, Medical, Religion, Youth and
Environment. All applications should be sent by post.
There are no formal deadlines for submitting applications and
organisations should allow approximately four months for a
final outcome, though acknowledgement letters are sent
within four weeks. Please note that once an acknowledgement
letter has been sent there is typically no further
correspondence until the outcome of the application.
Contact www.garfieldweston.org for further information and
to download guidelines and an application pack.
S.T.E.P. Participants using the ABC training facilities
Santander Foundation One off grants for project costs are
available to charities helping
disadvantaged groups through
priorities of education & training and
financial capability.
Project ideas include informal and accredited training, craft,
IT, reminiscence and budgeting, financial advice and meeting
challenges of unemployment.
Applicants should complete 2-3 sides of A4 paper outlining
the project along with a cover sheet downloaded from the
website. This is a rolling programme with no closing dates.
See www.santanderfoundation.org.uk for further information.
Network News Page 7
June Edition 2011
Employ Me
Programme This is a new and
exciting programme to
get you back into work!
Train at your local college and achieve a recognised
qualification that will help you prepare for employment.
Employ Me Programme is aimed at members of the
community that are currently long-term or short-term
unemployed.
The key elements of the programme include:
Core pathway Training:
(Participants choose one pathway only)
Engineering
Retail
Hospitality
IT
Finance
Construction Generic Training:
(Participants are also offered elements of further training from the following)
Personal Development
Customer Awareness
Careers advice and guidance
OCR Computers
Employability
Food Hygiene
Essential Skills Numeracy and Literacy Industry Training
The programme includes industry training and work placement
opportunities with local employers.
All Employ Me Programme Training will be delivered on a part-
time basis of fewer than 16 hours per week over 25 weeks,
September – March.
Benefits of this programme
Enhanced employment opportunities
Work towards accredited qualifications
The programme is FREE to participants—100% funded
Access to College support measures and resources
such as Hi Tec drop in ICT learning centres through e
-learning provision; support from identified businesses
Career advice and guidance
A percentage of childcare expenses reimbursed
Training programmes will be offered in Armagh, Banbridge,
Kilkeel, Lurgan, Newry and Portadown Southern Regional
College campuses and some local outreach centres.
Employ Me Team
Community & School Partnerships
Southern Regional College
Lonsdale Street
Armagh
BT61 7HN
T: 028 3751 2825
ABC has recently been working with a number of minority
groups to source and deliver training, including the Muslim
Association Craigavon and a variety of member groups from
Craigavon Intercultural Partnership. ABC is delighted to
welcome STEP (South Tyrone Empowerment Programme) to
our premises in Church Street where participants are
developing their IT, job search and English skills.
ABC is planning to celebrate Learning and Development at our
AGM this coming autumn. We hope all of you who
successfully completed our courses will come to collect your
certificates. More details will follow soon…
As you know, we are able to offer training courses AT NO
COST to the participant through external funding. ABC
also contributes to the cost of course delivery through money
we raise ourselves by offering services such as photocopying,
faxing and room hire. As you can imagine, courses that are
not full have a detrimental effect on how efficiently our funds
are used – if participants fail to attend the course this means
that others miss out and have to go on a waiting list; ABC still
has to pay for room hire, tutor costs and refreshments even
though the course is not full; as waiting lists get longer, it is
necessary for ABC to finance additional courses without any
further contribution from external funders who will only pay
for courses agreed as part of their funding package. While we
appreciate that unexpected circumstances may occur which
prevents attendance, ABC would be most grateful for at least
24 hours’ notice of cancellation. ABC has been monitoring
attendance at all its courses since September 2010 and has
regrettably taken the decision to levy deposits for certain
courses which will be fully reimbursed providing the
participant or a substitute attends.
ABC aims to offer Learning and Development opportunities to
the community and voluntary sector which reflect the needs of
groups and aims to address current statutory requirements. If
you have a training need, please let us know so that we can
explore training possibilities together. Look out for our
September – December 2011 training calendar which will be
available soon. The calendar is still being finalised but we’re
hoping to bring you some new courses like ‘A Taste of Islam’
and Personal Development, in addition to our regular
favourites.
Gilford Computer Participants
Consultation on the implementation of
Policing and Community Safety Partnerships
(PCSPs) Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (or PCSPs) are
new statutory bodies which will be established under the
Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. They have been designed
to combine the work of the current District Policing
Partnerships (DPPs) and Community Safety Partnerships
(CSPs), and aim to help make communities safer.
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on the
following aspects of the new partnerships:
the practical operation of PCSPs, including the Policing
Committee;
the issue of designating bodies to partnerships; and
a draft code of practice for the appointment of
independent members to PCSPs.
For more information, contact:- www.dojni.gov.uk
Telephone: 028 9052 2176, Textphone: 028 9052 7668
Visual Arts Society Interested in art? That’s the only qualification to join
our friendly Arts Society! Everyone’s welcome, young
and old, beginner and experienced, no matter where
you are from.
We meet in the Millennium Court Arts Centre in William Street,
Portadown, from 7:00pm—9:00pm on the 1st and 3rd
Thursday evenings of the month, from September to May.
Some of the activities are: workshops; demonstrations; public
exhibitions of our works; DVD loans; sketching trips and
informal get-togethers where our members can enjoy working
in each other’s company. Yearly membership costs £20. Some
other fees may apply depending on activity.
For more details contact:
Ann Purnell, 028 38344439, [email protected]
THANKS TO…. Neighbourhood Renewal ABC Community Network were pleased to receive additional
funding from SHSCT—Promoting Wellbeing Team under the
Neighbourhood Renewal Programme to arrange a number of
social events for local older people to enjoy an afternoon of
singing and dancing. A Tea Dance was held in Killicomaine on
18th June, while further upcoming events are:
Ashgrove Community Centre 10th August
Mourneview 17th August
Craigavon Borough Council Good Relations
Thanks also to Craigavon Borough Council for funding
received through the Good Relations small grants scheme
2011-2012. This project will seek to raise Islamic cultural
awareness via a half day session to promote understanding,
integration and good relations across the Borough.
The Health and Social Care Board and the
Public Health Agency have launched, for
public consultation, a new Community Development Strategy.
The consultation period will run for 12 weeks from 10 June until
2 September 2011.
The Board and Agency want to see strong, resilient
communities where everyone has good health and wellbeing,
places where people look out for each other and have
community pride in where they live.
The Board and Agency have jointly held pre-consultation
workshops over the past few months across Northern Ireland
on their Community Development Strategy and have engaged
widely with the community and voluntary sectors. They are now
keen to receive feedback from individuals, families and the
wider community. This will help shape the future of community
development across the province.
The draft Community Development Strategy, as well as
information on how you can respond, can be found on the
website: www.publichealth.hscni.net
For further information contact:
Martin O’Neill, HSCB on (028) 3741 4615 or
Caroline Bloomfield, PHA on (028) 9031 1611