By Alea Ibrahim, Communications Intern for EVOC 150 Heritage Programme

The EVOC150 team seized the uncharacteristically tropical Edinburgh weather last Friday and visited Social in the Gardens, organised by Edinburgh Social Enterprise.

Locals and people from all over the world enjoyed family activities and a jam-packed entertainment programme of Highland dancing, storytelling and music until late in the evening. Social enterprises are set up like other businesses but use the profits to reinvest into causes with a social impact. Some of Edinburgh’s social enterprises joined the event to showcase their work and volunteers from across the city were socialising with the visitors.

Cooking Classes with Cyrenians Good Food

Manning the Cyrenians stall Viki Fox, Cookery Tutor, of Cyrenians’ Good Food Programme said that since Prue Leith from the Great British Bake-Off opened the brand-new, purpose-built Good Food kitchen in Jane Street at the beginning of the year, they have had a busy programme.

Viki said: “We are teaching cooking classes funded by the council and we are doing evening classes for adults, the money made from that goes back into the service. We do kids classes during the summer holidays and there is a supper club for refugees trying to get a business going.” Cyrenians is currently celebrating their 50th anniversary of supporting Edinburgh’s vulnerable citizens with a large network of services.

Business Advice to Ice-Cream

Michelle Craig, from Citizens Advice Scotland attended the event to promote the organisation’s services, but also ended up giving some fairly unusual advice. She said: “Many were interested in advice and services on how to set up their own business but we give advice on anything really. Someone needed advice on where the nearest ice-cream was.”

Invisible Cities taking a stand

Invisible Cities trains homeless citizens as guides who create their own tours around the city while the organisation helps them back on their feet, into employment and housing.

Alice from Invisible Cities, explained how one of their trained guides had recently turned his situation around, she said: “ The guide and his son had been homeless and on benefits due to a range of unfortunate circumstances when they came to Invisible Cities but it was really important for him to come off benefits. He became a tour guide and recently started a new job as a chauffeur, he was working until 3 o’clock this morning before coming here. That’s dedication for you!”

In keeping with Edinburgh’s other festivals, this year’s Social in the Gardens had an international focus. Alice continued: “We receive inquiries from all over Europe, a lady from Australia approached us today and wants to do something similar there.”

A call for social justice

Edinburgh Social Enterprise has been organising this event since 2014 but this year has been a remarkable success with over 30 stalls and 160% more visitors than in previous years.

Chatting to people on the stalls reflects that while a lot of organisations are working to tackle social inequality, poverty and homelessness, the problems still prevail. Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council grew out of concern over the health and social inequalities between people in the city. Founded in 1868, it is now celebrating its 150th year.

EVOC150 is marking this year with a series of collaborations and events, to strengthen the third sector and continue the fight for social justice.

Follow our programme, find out how to be involved and spread the word. Twitter: @evoc_edinburgh and use the hashtag #EVOC150

As part of our celebration of 150 years of EVOC’s role in campaigning for social justice in Edinburgh, we are recruiting volunteers to help us deliver a range of activities and events.

Storyteller

We have opportunities for people to tell their story at events or in schools and to demonstrate the important and positive impact your experience of the third sector has had on your life. You’ll be an advocate and be encouraging and inspiring people to volunteer and consider the third sector as a valuable career.

For more information on the role and to apply click here.

Events and Evaluation Assistant

In this role you’ll be supporting the smooth running of events including staffing stalls, distributing questionnaires and conducting surveys with people. You’ll also be working to collect data and update digital records for evaluation purposes.

For more information on the role and to apply click here. 

Creative Contributors 

Creative Contributors will have the opportunity to attend events to capture images and creatively interpret resources according to areas of interest for example: photography, all forms of painting, drawing, poetry etc. In this role you will also contribute to the legacy of the project with opportunities for your work to be displayed publicly.

For more information about the role and to apply click here.

To find out more about EVOC’s 150 year heritage and what we’ve been doing to celebrate, visit the EVOC 150 site here – https://www.evoc150.org.uk/ 

Tweet us at @evoc_edinburgh and use #EVOC150

Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council (EVOC) has launched its ‘Memory Box’ project at the Living Memory Association as part of celebrations to mark 150 years of civic action in Edinburgh.

From today (4th July 2018) people will be able to write down and submit their memories of campaigning, volunteering and protesting and post them into a physical box.

The Memory Box and collaboration with the Living Memory Association is part the EVOC 150 programme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Lucy Ridley, Programme Manager for EVOC 150: “The EVOC 150 project is a celebration of civic action in Edinburgh through the delivery of all sorts of different interactive activities.

“As part of this, we are working in partnership with the Living Memory Association and they have already begun looking at archive material from our heritage and making these accessible. The next phase of their work is to investigate who the people in the photos are and what the story is. From there, they will help us create a rich oral history of EVOC for future generations.

“We would welcome people to submit a memory, a short story or poem about their memories of voluntary and civic action in Edinburgh. Our job will then be to interpret them and communicate them with the wider community.”

The Chance to Reflect

The Living Memory Association, located at Ocean Terminal, provides a range of services aimed at giving people the opportunity to reflect and reminisce on the past.

Miles Tubb, Project Worker at the Living Memory Association, said: “We are a reminiscence oral history project, we’ve been going for 32 years and we work largely with older people using reminiscence to get people more socially active.

“I think the EVOC 150 Memory Box is a great idea because people in here like to share memories. They are not just picking things up but they are also giving information. The fact that we can put a box out there specifically about protest and campaigning is great, people like to contribute and that’s what we are about.

“I think to reminisce is a basic human instinct and it’s nothing to do with age, young children reminisce and it’s surprising how it brings people together.”

The EVOC Memory Box will be available during Living Memory Association opening hours, people can also submit their memories online here.

                                                                          

The Scottish Government has launched a new website to provide a free and accessible source of guidance to all suppliers interested in bidding for any Scottish goods, services or health and social care public contracts.

The ‘Supplier Journey’ site was created in response to a survey commissioned by the Scottish Government which asked public, private and third sector suppliers about what support they needed. The survey drew in over two and a half thousand responses which informed the look and feel of the new website.

The site is set out as a series of chronological links guiding suppliers through the whole process from preparing and analysing your organisation to reflecting on the lessons learned.

The stages are: Prepare, Bid, Decision and Award, Contract Management and Lessons Learned.

Because the site can be used by organisations to bid or re-bid for public contracts, it will be patricianly useful for Third Sector, voluntary and charity organisations looking to secure Health and Social Care contracts.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “The aim of the Supplier Journey is to provide a consistent source of procurement information to all Scottish suppliers which is free to use and easily accessible.  The guidance contained can be used by suppliers from all sectors and will be updated over time.

The site also offers guidance on where to look for contracts, such as the Public Contracts Scotland website where organisations can gain free access to details of contracts with public bodies, local authorities and the Scottish Government.

The website also includes a glossary of terms commonly used in the procurement process, to make bidding for contracts accessible for all organisations such as small and medium sized businesses and third sector organisations. 

For more information follow the links in the article of visit the website at: https://www.supplierjourney.scot/ 

Are you a Third Sector organisation that is using the Supplier Journey? Have a comment to make? Get in Touch at comms@evoc.org.uk 

 

Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council (EVOC) is working in partnership to address the issue of trustee recruitment in Edinburgh and has helped to launch an e-bulletin to advertise board and trustee opportunities available in the city’s charity and voluntary organisations.

‘Get on Board Edinburgh’ is a service delivered by Edinburgh’s Third Sector Interface which is a collaboration between Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council (EVOC), Volunteer Edinburgh and Edinburgh Social Enterprise.

This is a FREE vacancy list for board and trustee opportunities for third sector organisations in Edinburgh.

We know that not all organisations have the resources or the time to advertise this type of vacancy so we want to make it as easy as possible and we know that there are people out there looking to join a board, so register your vacancy now – click here. 

Advertise Your Vacancy

Advertising your volunteering opportunities with Volunteer Edinburgh can help you reach thousands of potential volunteers. Their website has over 65,000 visitors annually and they see thousands of people come through their doors each year, all looking to volunteer. It’s simple and free to advertise opportunities, so register now and start recruiting.

Don’t meet the minimum requirements?

If you’re concerned that you are not able to meet the minimum standards for registering your vacancy, for example you might be a new or emerging third sector organisation that doesn’t have everything in place yet, please contact Volunteer Edinburgh by email at hello@volunteeredinburgh.org.uk or call 0131 225 0630 and they will be happy to help guide you through the registration process.

Lord David Puttnam, Director of the Oscar winning film Chariots of Fire, launched a fundraising appeal for a local dementia care charity. Lord Puttnam lent his support to the appeal to raise funds for the Eric Liddell Centre and its carer befriending project.

The Befriending programme pairs trained volunteers with unpaid carers in order to provide a social outlet, emotional support in the face of a demanding often socially isolating role and a break from caring responsibilities.

Lord David Puttnam

Lord Puttnam, who is also a Patron of the Eric Liddell Centre, a care charity and community hub providing services throughout the City of Edinburgh, said: “The notion of a fundraising campaign that helps the Eric Liddell Centre achieve its aims, one of those aims being the advancement of an inclusive view of the elderly, an inclusive view of people with dementia has got to be an incredibly worthwhile aim.

In addition to Lord Puttnam, Sue Liddell Caton, the niece of Olympic runner and gold medallist, Eric Liddell, returned to Edinburgh to lend support to the charity set up in her late uncle’s name.

Chief Executive of the Eric Liddell Centre, John MacMillan, said: “We are proud to receive the support of Lord Puttnam and Eric Liddell’s family, as we launch the Centres 2018 Befriending Appeal.

“We very much welcome their continued support for the work of the Eric Liddell Centre and hope that the wider community of Edinburgh will join us in making a difference to the lives and circumstances of carers throughout the city.”

The Eric Liddell Centre is a registered care charity and major community hub which provides a wide range of services for the capital’s community groups with the aim of inspiring, empowering and supporting people of all ages.

Founded in 1980, the Centre was renamed in 1992 in memory of the 1924 Olympic 400m Olympic gold medalist, Eric Liddell who was the central character of the highly successful film Chariots of Fire. The Centre remains true to the beliefs of his inspiring life.

Donations can be made at www.ericliddell.org or by texting ‘ERIC15 £10’ to make a £10 donation. The appeal can be also be found on JustGiving here.

 Edinburgh’s Inspiring Volunteers

EVOC Edinburgh Interface partner, Volunteer Edinburgh has hosted an awards ceremony to honour the contribution of volunteers to the lives of Edinburgh residents. 

Over fifty of Edinburgh’s most “Inspiring” volunteers were honoured by Frank Ross, Rt. Hon. Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, at a special awards ceremony on Wednesday 6th June 2018, during Volunteers Week.

Edinburgh’s Annual Inspiring Volunteer Awards, now in its twelfth year, reflects the huge range of organisations and individuals who give their time freely to work with city’s vibrant charity and non-profit sectors.

This year’s awardees include: a keen sportsperson who organises a jogging group for migrants and refugees; a massage therapist; an IT instructor; a befriender providing care and support to the elderly; and a group of skilled crafters who design and build things for other charities.

The recipient of the “Lord Provost’s Inspiring Volunteer of the Year Award 2018” is Malcolm Scullion, Media Volunteer (Development Team) with Thistle Foundation.

Frank Ross, Rt. Hon. Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh said: “This event allows me on behalf of the people of Edinburgh to recognise the 35% of the city’s residents who regularly give their time and efforts for the benefit of others within our communities.

“Selecting the Inspiring Volunteer of the Year is, as always, extremely challenging however, it is clear that Malcolm Scullion certainly is an ‘Inspiring Volunteer’ and worthy of the 2018 Award.”

Paul Wilson, Chief Officer of Volunteer Edinburgh: “The volunteers that are receiving awards this year come from all walks of life, have a whole range of skills and abilities and make their impact in a huge variety of ways.

“This is true of course of the many thousands of volunteers across Edinburgh, each of whom makes a powerful and unique difference by choosing to volunteer. We’d like to thank each and every one of those volunteers for being truly inspiring and making our city a better place to live and work.”

The award ceremony has been organised by Volunteer Edinburgh. Which exists to inspire more people to volunteer so that they can enhance their lives, the lives of others and build resilient communities.

Edinburgh Voluntary Organistions’ Council (EVOC) is delighted to publicly announce its support for the campaign to erect a statue of medical pioneer Dr Elsie Inglis.

As part of events and activities to mark its 150th Anniversary, EVOC has been simultaneously uncovering its own heritage and the history of the campaigns for social welfare in Edinburgh.

Through this research, connections to Dr Elsie Inglis have been rediscovered and celebrated.

Joan Fraser, EVOC Convener, said: “Elsie Inglis made an enormous contribution to the city of Edinburgh. Her work in establishing hospitals and improving the medical care of women is well known.

“However, perhaps less well known is her work with the charity sector in Edinburgh. She was a member of the governing council, Edinburgh Charity Organisation Society (ECOS) for almost ten years.

“On behalf of ECOS she organised lectures for health visitors and for mothers with the aim of reducing infant mortality in the city. ECOS exists today as the Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council and this year we are celebrating 150 years of campaigning for social justice, fighting poverty and supporting the Third Sector in Edinburgh.

“In our 150th year we are delighted to support the campaign for a commemorative statue in honour of Elsie Inglis’ life and work.”

EVOC will lend its support to the campaign launched by The OneCity Trust and Edinburgh Evening News to honour one of Edinburgh’s most prominent war heroes and address the imbalance of women commemorated in sculpture on the streets of the city.

Dr Inglis set up female run hospitals during WW1 for allied soldiers throughout Europe and was the first woman to be awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia.

In addition to her work in the medical profession, Elsie Inglis was also instrumental in the women’s suffrage movement which marks its centenary this year.

A special website celebrating EVOC’s connection to Elsie Inglis and other prominent Edinburgh historical figures such as Flora Stevenson has been launched. Please click here to uncover the history of the campaign for social justice in Edinburgh.

Tweet us at @evoc_edinburgh to show your support, using the hashtag #StatueforElsie.

To donate to the campaign for a statue of Elsie Inglis click here. 

EVOC as an organisation has a responsibility to protect and respect your privacy and to look after data provided to us.

In compliance with the GDPR, EVOC has updated its privacy policy. The new privacy notice is available by clicking the link at the bottom of the page. 

This privacy notice explains what data we collect, how we use that data, where we store the information, how long we store that data for and how we store your details securely.

EVOC may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. The last updated date will be displayed at the bottom of this page.

– What information is being collected?
– Who is collecting it
– What data we collect
– How we use that data
– Where we store your information
– How long we store the data
– How we store your information securely
– External web links
– Requesting Personal Data Records
– Your right to make a complaint
– Contact details

EVOC Privacy Policy 22nd May 2018

This year marks the EVOC’s 150th Anniversary, and to celebrate we are delivering an exciting programme of events and activities that will allow people to uncover the intertwined history of the organisation, the third sector and social welfare in Edinburgh. 

As part of this programme, EVOC  is working with Media Education to produce a documentary film about the organisation’s history and its role in the fight for social justice. In the spirit of learning from the past to inform the future, a youth media team will gather stories and experiences from stalwart campaigners, volunteers, activities and charity workers. 

This is now in full swing and Media Education has captured the experiences and knowledge of three prominent Edinburgh third sector figures: Shulah Allan, Trishna Singh OBE and Paul Wilson. 

These insightful interviews were filmed at EVOC’s 150th Anniversary celebration, held at the Scottish Parliament in April. 

 Shulah Allan MBE, Former Director of EVOC

EVOC 150 Event at the Scottish Parliament – Shulah Allan from Media Education on Vimeo.

Trishna Singh OBE, Director of Sikh Sanjog

EVOC 150 Event at the Scottish Parliament – Trishna Singh from Media Education on Vimeo.

Paul Wilson, Chief Officer at Volunteer Edinburgh

EVOC 150 Event at the Scottish Parliament – Paul Wilson from Media Education on Vimeo.

We believe that uncovering a collective history of EVOC and Edinburgh’s third sector is of paramount importance in securing the future of civic action. As such, we would love for you to share your memories to our ‘Memory Box’. 

For more information, please visit the EVOC 150 website.