Marketing on a Shoe-string

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As part of Support Cambridgeshire’s partnership with local business across the County, 10 delegates attended the recent Marketing on a Shoe – String practitioner session held at Loves Farm House on the 23rd May 2019.

Invitees were treated to an engaging and interactive workshop by Hayley Williams of Keystone Marketing on the basic principles and issues around Marketing, and more importantly how to Market an organisation without a limitless supply of ready cash…

Whilst this was a whistle stop tour, feed-back was really positive:

I really enjoyed this, it was relaxed, informal and informative.

Hayley was well organised and the session was well planned.

Hayley was lovely, and very well informed. 

I feel enthused.

I thought this session was brilliant.

It was clear that most of the delegates were engaging in a range of both online and offline activity, most were doing this in the absence of a clear, defined and agreed Marketing Plan. This was the number 1 take-away from the session itself.

Session notes can be seen here:

More on Keystone Marketing can be found here:

More on Loves Farm House can be found here:

Support Cambridgeshire will be building on this initial session over the coming months as part of our Think Different Approach. 

Keep an eye on our training and events page and watch out for the strap-line.

Small Charities Week 2019

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As part of Small Charities Week (which this year falls between the 17th and the 22nd June) Support Cambridgeshire lead partner Hunts Forum will be holding an advice surgery at the Maple Centre between 10am and 2pm on the 17th June 2019 which will be open to all small charities and community groups across the County.

The Maple Centre can be found at 6 Oak Drive, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 7HN. 

Sessions are for up to half an hour and can be made with the Development Officer at Hunts Forum, Keith Johnson, and can be on any subject from Governance to Fundraising and any other general enquiry. Simply contact Keith@huntsforum.org.uk to book a space.

The Hunts Forum Finance Manager Louise Prosser will also be on hand to deal with any finance related query or concern, so please advise whether its Louise you wish to see at the time of booking.

Spaces are available on the hour and the half hour.

Hunts Forum will also circulate information about similar advice sessions happening between the 17th and the 22nd June such as: 

PEM Accountants in Cambridge.

Free, no obligation, expert advice on a variety of topics including tax, audit or governance is available.

https://www.pem.co.uk/event/big-advice-day-free-advice-for-small-charities/

Voluntary and Community Action for East Cambridgeshire (VCAEC).

Offering advice on funding, training, volunteering, governance, policies and much more.

http://www.vcaec.org.uk/index.php/trainingand-events

On Thursday the 20th June 2019 our Connecting Communities Conference at the St Ives Corn Exchange takes place, looking at a Community Response to tackling unwanted social isolation and loneliness. This is now fully subscribed, but if you want to join our waiting list please email keith@huntsforum.org.uk

Employee Volunteering:

Cantab Captial in Cambridge are looking for employee volunteering opportunities for their staff (they are more than happy to get out of Cambridge for the day) on the 4th July 2019 and 2nd September 2019 (US bank Holidays).  This would be for up to 10 staff members and they are very open to any suggestions as to what they would be asked to do. This could be for a whole or a half day. Contact  keith@huntsforum.org.uk  for more information if this is of interest.

 

A Slice of Orange in Cambridgeshire

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29 delegates from across the County came to Wood Green Animal Shelter on the 22nd May 2019 to hear Steve Beccles – Ebusua, the Speaker with the Orange Tie talk about leadership, beliefs, conditioning, language, happy chemicals and much more, all in an attempt to understand and unlock personal mindsets, important when trying to galvanise social action projects or attract volunteers.

This is the first stage of Support Cambridgeshire’s Think Different Approach to volunteering which we build on over the coming months, so continue to view our Training and Events Page and look for the Think Different strap-line.

Delegates overwhelmingly bought into the interactive nature of the session and here are some comments:

It was lively, interesting and enjoyable. 

What a Ride..!!! Excellent speaker with so much inspiring information.

This was fun, and informative.

Simply brilliant.

Above and beyond my expectations: Can we have more of this..!!

This was great – I really felt it..!!

And on the subject of Thinking Differently, why not book a space at our Connecting Communities Conference scheduled for the 20th June 2019 in St Ives, which looks at volunteering in the context of social isolation and loneliness.

Click here to book your free space.

And for more information on Steve himself please visit here:

Photo caption: Steve bringing the juice at Wood Green.

 

I Heart Wisbech Engagement events

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If you have not been following I Heart Wisbech the back-story can be found by clicking here:

Over a thousand residents completed the survey on what they felt was good about Wisbech, what was not so good, and what could be changed.

Come and hear the results, and see what further opportunities are available by joining us at 3 events, all in June 2019.

Saturday the 22nd June 2019 between 1.30pm and 3.30pm at the Oasis Centre in St Michaels Avenue Wisbech PE13 3NP

Wednesday 26th June 2019 between 10.00am and 12 noon at the Queen Mary Centre in Queens Road Wisbech PE13 2PE

Thursday the 27th June 2019 between 5.00pm and 7.00pm at the Rosmini Centre in 69a Queens Road Wisbech PE13 2PH

Food and refreshments are available.

Hear the results of the survey, hear what people felt were their priorities moving forward, and talk to representatives of the I Heart Wisbech Team about the possible next steps.

The I Heart Wisbech Team is made up of representatives from local councils and voluntary organisations that provide services in Wisbech.

Join us at our Connecting Communities Conference 2019

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Hunts Forum and Support Cambridgeshire invite you to our Connecting Communities Conference on the 20th June 2019.

Join us to Care, Dare and Share as we create a community response to tackling loneliness and isolation in our communities.

Loneliness is a growing problem in our society, and it’s increasingly recognised as being closely linked to physical and mental health issues. The government is starting to take this matter seriously, but the voluntary sector can play a key role too. We often have better local knowledge than statutory agencies; we know our communities because we are a part of them.

For more information on the event and how to book a Free Space click here:

A number of workshops will be run throughout the day.

UPDATE: AgeUK set to run our Finding Workshop 

Andrew Morris and Beverly Young Young from AgeUK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will be facilitating the workshop of Finding (how to identify and reach out to potential volunteers who may be isolated or lonely).

Andy Morris has recently started his career in the charity sector following a career change in 2018. He spent 14 years working for Cambridgeshire Constabulary as a Police officer undertaking various roles. Andy now has the unique challenge of Chief Operating Officer for AgeUk Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

His key skills are in project management, operational and contingency planning, business development and Risk analysis. Andy has a successful history of working constructively with a range of internal and external stakeholders to plan and implement strategies, achieving results, and identifying ways to develop and improve services and productivity.

Some key achievements are the development and delivery of the police service volunteer programme, and most recently, the project lead in creating a unique volunteer steward programme with major event locations in the county.

Beverley Young has held a variety of volunteer roles in the charity sector for over 20 years and as a result has a personal understanding of the needs and motivations of volunteers. Beverley has worked for Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough for 8 years, and has delivered front line services, co-ordinated and managed volunteer recruitment, induction and training. Whilst partnership manager, Beverley delivered a number of local projects working collaboratively and currently manages communications and campaigns at Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough strategically influencing stakeholders.

Book today and get your free space.

Disabled Children’s Service – Applications

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Cambridgeshire County Council Disabled Children’s Service are inviting applications to deliver a range of interesting, exciting and inclusive activities for disabled children and young people living within Cambridgeshire. The children and young people who will use the clubs and groups will be aged up to 19 years and have a range of needs: They may require assistance with personal care for example or assistance with support to enjoy activities in the community with other young people.

The groups and clubs must be able to provide enjoyable experiences for our young people whilst enabling them to reduce social isolation and contribute to their personal and social development.

Any projects or groups set up may be specialist or may provide an environment, which prepares disabled children and young people for transition to inclusive provisions.

The Service is looking for flexible projects or groups that enable children and young people to participate in fun and stimulating activities at a range of times that suit them including evenings, weekends and during school holidays.

The County Council’s current framework ends on 30th September 2019 and they invite all existing providers and new ones to join our new framework. Their tender is due to go live on May 28th and they have a provider engagement day on 16th May 2019, 14:00 – 16:00 at the Kreis Viersen Room, Shire Hall in Cambridge, CB3 0AP.

If you are interested in attending this event, please can you email childrenscommissioningteam@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

National Volunteers Week June 2019

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Its National Volunteers Week between the 1st and the 7th June 2019, an opportunity for organisations across the UK to recognise the fantastic work undertaken by the countless number of volunteers who assist in the provision of services and projects.

Support Cambridgeshire is happy to profile any volunteers who are nominated by Cambridgeshire based organisations. These nominations will appear as a news item each day throughout the week, starting on Monday the 3rd June. If you wish to profile a particular volunteer please send 1 side of A4 to russell@huntsforum by Friday the 24th May 2019 at 5PM.

Please include the name of your volunteer, why they are being nominated and how they have helped your organisation.

 

More than a Giving Machine

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For longer than the term Corporate Social Responsibility (or CSR) has been coined, charities have reached out to businesses for support. But charities can find CSR difficult to access, often being uncertain who in an organisation to contact, knowing if a business is receptive to being approached and the best way to do so, thinking that a business is only interested in publicity for its donation. Businesses too can find it difficult knowing how to deal with so many approaches made to them, not understanding the language that charities use and the hurdles and uncertainties they can go through.  However, when it works, it works well and makes a great difference to both sides and especially to the people the charities are working with.

Coming from a desire to see this work better, have greater intention and impact, and create greater benefit for our communities, Rachel Briant (the Founder of Get Synergised) and Keith Johnson from Hunts Forum (on behalf of Support Cambridgeshire) organised a workshop: Corporate Social Responsibility: More than a Giving Machine.

The title was deliberately chosen to emphasise that often the relationship can be about more than money and can include skills exchange, learning, mutual understanding and respect. The event took place in the boardroom of Barons Cambridge BMW in Cambourne, hosted by Kevin Appleton, their Head of Business.

Sixteen Charitable Organisations and social enterprises from across Cambridgeshire joined three businesses at Barons Cambridge BMW to explore how businesses and charities can engage better together to  impact communities. Sharon Livermore from Kameo Recruitment and Sue Rowley from PwC Cambridge joined Kevin Appleton to facilitate discussion groups exploring key themes. Interest from the charitable sector far exceeded the number of places available.

The workshop aimed to bridge the divide of language and ways of working between business and the charitable sector, helping charities to move beyond the idea of approaching businesses for funds and to explore and enter into dialogue with receptive businesses to develop stronger, meaningful and more sustainable partnerships.

The day saw both sides eager to develop better and stronger relationships whilst learning from each other about the issues each faced. By understanding each other’s positions, needs and intentions better, the workshop was able to break down many of the barriers for both and boost the confidence of charities to approach businesses and for businesses to have greater understanding around the challenges and needs of charitable organisations.

Charities and businesses ended the event wanting to see more opportunities for dialogue and engagement between each other, something that the organisers intend to follow through. Ideas that came from the workshop day include a space for Dragons’ Den style pitching to businesses by charities, informal network gatherings, more dialogue sessions to help each side continue to understand the languages used, the pressures each side is under and the mutual benefits.

Any businesses or charitable organisations interested in taking part in future events should contact either Rachel at Get Synergised, rachel@getsynergised.com or Keith at Hunts Forum, keith@huntsforum.org.uk .

 

 

Ask Me Community Ambassador Scheme

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[Republished from www.cambridgewa.org.uk]

People within a survivor’s community are often the first to know that domestic abuse is happening. But lack of understanding and confidence can make people afraid to talk about it, and unsure of how to respond when someone speaks out. Survivors have told us they can feel judged, silenced or isolated by the people around them.

We are changing that through the Change That Lasts Ask Me scheme, developed in partnership between Women’s Aid Federation England and Welsh Women’s Aid.

The project is a simple initiative that equips community members in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with an understanding of domestic abuse and how to respond to survivors. This knowledge will enable the community to play an active role in ending domestic abuse.

Being a Change That Lasts Community Ambassador

We offer free 12 hour training courses to members of the local community from all backgrounds and identities where they learn about domestic abuse, including its gendered nature, how to challenge the stereotypes surrounding it and how to listen to, believe and direct survivors to specialist support.

Anyone with a connection to Cambridgeshire and/or Peterborough can become an Ask Me ambassador, whether you have been personally affected by domestic abuse or whether you would like to learn more.

After the training, ambassadors are given resources and support to share what they have learned with those around them in ways that feel most comfortable to them. They are encouraged to start conversations about domestic abuse that will help others to better understand the barriers that survivors face in speaking out. An ambassador can commit as much or as little time as they can give.

We keep in touch with Community Ambassadors with new opportunities and events such as ambassador meet-ups, campaign involvement and volunteering. We also send short surveys to find out how they are getting on and how we can support them further.

A Community Ambassador…

… believes in equality of all people, regardless of their gender identity, age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, cultural beliefs or circumstances.

… listens and believes others that share their personal experiences of domestic abuse.

… is non-judgmental and respectful.

… is passionate about ending domestic abuse.

There is a chance that we may decide that it isn’t appropriate for a person to take on the role if they don’t share these values and qualities. We will work with people to overcome any barriers wherever possible, or we will direct you to a more suitable volunteering or training opportunity.

Interested? Join the Scheme

If you would like to take part, please register your interest through the online form here: REGISTER INTEREST FORM

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