Hello Everyone,
Now is when we really will be tested. We’re hurling towards our usual Scottish dark morning and evening winter without the anticipation of (not to mention the hard graft of) a full programme of special events for people who normally come through our doors – Halloween, Guy Fawkes, Armistice Day, Diwali, Bodhi, Hanukkah and Christmas are all very different affairs this year. So it’s even more important we celebrate what we can, how we can.
People Place Possibilities is a series of events running week beginning 23rd November which we are holding in partnership with our sister organisation GVCS. We have a fantastic line up of speakers, seminars and challenging discussions to help us consider what the future could be like, what power we have to shape it and how we can work together to make that future a reality. Please join us – meet old friends and make new ones.
Over the next few months we will be working with the Third Sector Strategy Group to draw together the themes and agree actions from the series of Round Table events we are in the midst of. Again please join us.
It’s important that we explore what we want for our communities, but it’s even more important that we work together to make those ambitions real. At one of the recent Round Table events Peter Carruthers (SEAG) put it very succinctly: “If we as third sector leaders focus on the following actions, we will achieve improved partnerships will all the key stakeholders for the benefit of our communities.
Agree + Plan + Present = Consolidated Partnerships.”
I can’t think of a better ambition to work on during the dark evenings of winter.
As always, take care of yourself and each other and please stay in touch
Ella Simpson
Chief Executive, EVOC
ACTIVE TRAVEL SURVEYS
We’ve created 3 different surveys to gauge levels of support for active travel (walking, cycling at least part of your journey) within the voluntary sector, thanks to funding from Paths for All. We also want to understand the best ways to support voluntary organisations to promote active travel to their staff, volunteers and service users.
– Staff and volunteers travel survey
– Service user travel survey
– Management travel survey
Your answers will help identify barriers and opportunities to more sustainable travel practices within Edinburgh’s voluntary sector. They’ll be anonymised, but we’ll share any valuable insights.
BUILD BACK BETTER
We’ve now finalised details of our final Round Table Event for 2020 – delivered in partnership with the Third Sector Strategy Group (TSSG) – and hope you will join us.
Build Back Better I Wed 25 Nov, 9.30am to 11am
In the final Round Table event of this series we hope to challenge politicians and decision makers to work with us to make the changes that together, we have decided are necessary. Councillor Cammy Day (Edinburgh Council Coalition Leader & Labour group leader. Councillor for Edinburgh Forth Ward) and Angus McCann (Chair – Edinburgh Integration Joint Board) will be joining us for this session.
Book a place
EDINBURGH RECOVERY ACTIVITIES
Since the closure of Serenity Café – the first recovery café in Scotland – Edinburgh Recovery Activities (ERA) has been working tirelessly to support the recovery community, promoting connection and providing a range of activities and events in safe spaces across the city. ERA is an interim project currently funded by Edinburgh Alcohol and Drug Partnership (EADP) and directly supported by EVOC. We have a long-term goal of establishing a new recovery centre in the city and hope that the project will be able to open a city centre recovery centre offering not only further activities and peer support, but also a safe place for peers to thrive. The contract procurement process has now opened to continue the development of this project and there is a deadline of Mon 16 Nov.
EVOC MEMBER BENEFITS
The cost of an EVOC annual membership depends on your organisation’s income (see below). There’s lots of benefits, including 10% off all of our training, benefiting from our partnership with Law at Work and exclusive member-only events and opportunities – so it’s definitely worth considering.
- FREE membership (income is less that £25,000)
- £35 (income between £25,000 and £500,000)
- £55 (income more than £500,000)
EVOC NOTICEBOARD & SLACK
If you’ve got some news, a job vacancy, training course or event that you’d like to share, there’s a couple of ways we can help:
- Submit something to our website Noticeboard
- Share it on our Slack channel
EVOC RED BOOK DIRECTORY
There are currently over 330 COVID safe services and activities provided by voluntary organisations across the city to meet local needs and overcome adversity during the current restrictions.
Please view your entry HERE and check to see if it is up to date and share.
EVOC SMALL GRANTS FUND
Thanks to Foundation Scotland we’ve got a pot of funding available to charities and community organisations across Edinburgh.
If your organisation/project supports people living with poor, interrupted or impaired access to food, shelter and necessary amenities (like sanitation and heat) then you can apply for an EVOC Small Grant. We really want to support organisations who seldom receive funding and you don’t need a constitution, set or rules or event a bank account to apply.
Grant amounts: £1,500 – £2,000 or £100 and £1,500
Application Deadline: Fri 23 Nov, 5pm
FACE COVERINGS EXEMPTIONS
The Scottish Government has produced a face covering exemption card, to support those who are unable to wear one to feel more confident and safe when accessing public spaces and using public services.
A physical card can be requested from Disability Equality Scotland to wear on a lanyard or hold in a wallet, while a digital card is also available to be displayed on a phone, tablet or other device.
Request a card or call the free helpline no. 0800 121 6240
FORUMS & NETWORKS
Keeping connected is hugely important with so many of us still working remotely. To get involved with any of the Forums and Networks below, please contact the Forum Lead.
| Older People’s Forum | Roisin Hurst | |
| Substance Use Network Edinburgh | Maria Arnold | |
| Edinburgh Mental Health Forum | Christina Hinds | |
| Edinburgh Disabilities Forum | Hugo Whitaker | |
| Children, Young People, & Families Forum | Katherine Anderson | |
| Voluntary Sector Forums – across Edinburgh’s localities | Kate Barrett | |
| Voluntary Sector Carers Forum | Maria Arnold |
You can also sign up to the EVOC Slack Channel to connect to our online community and share information and ideas.
KICKSTART JOB SCHEME
If you’re looking to access the government’s £2billion Kickstart Scheme to create a 100% funded job, or jobs, for 16-24yrs olds out of work then SCVO is able to act as a representative and can offer support with your application submission (Third Sector organisations only).
The roles you are creating should:
- Be for a minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months
- Be paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group
- Not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement
- Help the participants to develop their skills and experience in number of areas including basic employment skills
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
- How to do Appraisals Well, Especially in 2020 I Mon 9 Nov, 10am – 1pm
EVOC Members £63, Voluntary Organisations £70, Private/Statutory £80
Book a place - Fundraising Nuts & Bolts I Mon 16 Nov, 3.30pm – 5pm
Voluntary Organisations £10
Book a place - Effective Minute Taking I Wed 25 Nov, 9.30am – 12.30pm
EVOC Members £63, Voluntary Organisations £70, Private/Statutory £80
Book a place
TRUSTEES WEEK 2020
It’s a real privilege to be celebrating the people who give of their time, expertise and energy to support the work of charities across Edinburgh (and Scotland) alongside organisations from across the UK.
During this week of events and activities we sat down for a chat with Mairi Norman from North East Edinburgh Counselling Service to hear about the role her Trustees play and with Carole Maccartney to find out more about her Trustee experiences with MS Therapy Centre Lothian.
USEFUL HEALTH INFO
As always we appreciate you reminding the people and communities you work with of some of the simple ways that they can stay safe and healthy this winter:
- Flu vaccine info is available in a number of languages
- NHS inform has lots of useful pointers including how to register with a GP
