Connecting Bowthorpe is a collective of community volunteers from several organisations within Bowthorpe, all with extensive experience of community work and a real vision for the area, and with a long-term commitment to the residents of Bowthorpe.
With county and district council elections happening on 6th May 2021, now is a good time to take a close look at what VCSE sector organisations need to know about getting involved in political campaigning.
Everyone in the VCSE community should[JC1] [SN2] be aware of the need for vigilance and protecting the vulnerable – and understand the requirements and implications of safeguarding. Every VCSE organisation delivering charitable activities has a duty to safeguard volunteers, staff, hirers, adults, children and young people, participants and donors.
There are around 3,200 cervical cancer cases in the UK every year. That’s more than eight every day. UK Cervical Cancer – based in Norwich but with links across the world - campaigns to prevent suffering and death from cervical cancer and, in particular, by those who are disadvantaged and deprived.
We feature regular articles here about how VCSE organisations across Norfolk have been adapting to, and coping with, the demands and constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of you reading this will know about ThinkingFuel, our collective heating oil buying scheme. And you’ll know that the aim is to help support householders across Norfolk who depend on heating oil to heat their homes, and for whom the unregulated cost of heating oil is a constant worry.
Many mutual aid groups and Good Neighbour Schemes are even more active in the final run-up to Christmas. Just one example is Thorpe Helping Hands, operating across south-east Norwich.
Every VCSE organisation has a duty to safeguard volunteers, staff members, participants and donors, and to have appropriate and proportionate policies and procedures in place. Likewise, staff and volunteers themselves need to aware be aware of their individual responsibilities to themselves and to their clients, service users and hirers.
Action Fraud, the Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator are warning the public to remain vigilant when making charitable donations this Christmas. Whilst the warning is directed to the giving public, it’s important for VCSE organisations themselves to understand the implications of potential impersonation fraud.
The Benjamin Foundation is well known across Norfolk and Suffolk for its sterling work in bringing hope, opportunity, stability and independence to children, young people and families experiencing life’s challenges. This includes working to prevent youth homelessness, offering emotional wellbeing support and providing positive activities for young people with limited opportunities.