Hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the South Forum e-newsletter. 

Featured in this edition:

• South Forum AGM - Change of Date and Venue
• South Forum E-voting Consultation
• New Representative for Doxford Park on South Forum Management Committee
• Rooms For Hire
• Carers' Information Event
• Dansomatic Project
• Training and Education
• Job Vacancies
• Funding Information
• Volunteering

Sadly, this will be my last e-newsletter as I will be leaving the South Forum in June to work full-time for the Niemann-Pick Disease Group, a charity very close to my heart.  I would like to thank everyone at the South Forum and Jubilee Centre for making my time here so enjoyable and wish the South Forum every success for the future.

With best wishes

Sue Lowe

If you would like to announce anything or have a feature you would like included in future e-newsletters, please contact Anthony on 0191 5228447 or e-mail sue.lowe @sunderlandcommunitynetwork.org.uk

South Forum AGM - Change of Date and Venue

Please note that the date and venue for the South Forum Annual General Meeting have changed.  The AGM will now be held Wednesday 17th September starting at 1pm.  Venue to be advised.

For further details please contact Anthony Gonzalez on 0191 5228447 or by email by clicking here.

South Forum E voting Consultation

At the South Forum meeting held on 30th April 2008 twenty one South Forum members took part in a general 'Perceptions and Knowledge' e-voting consultation exercise.

A breakdown of those taking part is detailed below: :

A number of salient points came from the exercise including 'ALL 5 City of Sunderland Strategic Objectives are equally important to me - you cannot choose just one as the most important'.  

A comprehensive breakdown of the results of the exercise will be added to the website as soon as possible.

At a meeting of the South Forum Management Committee held on Wednesday 7th May, Audrey Carr was elected to the Committee to represent the views of the residents of Doxford Park.

Rooms For Hire

The Community Development Team are currently conducting a survey to create a list of Voluntary and Community projects who have rooms which would be available to hire for meetings and events.   If your organisation has a meeting space, please complete the form below and return it to Natalie Maidment, Community Development Team, Jack Crawford House, Commercial Road, Sunderland, SR2 8QR or fax to 0191 553 5005.  

Hire Form  

Carers' Information Event

A Carers' Information Event is being held on Monday 9th June at Crowtree Leisure Centre, Sunderland in the Premier Suite between 10am and 3.30pm.   Everyone welcome.    Free therapies will be provided by Sunderland MIND.

For further information contact Joyce Jukes on 0191 5699450

Dansomatic Project

The University of Sunderland are offering 2 exciting new dance projects that are aimed at individuals or groups of learners from across Sunderland.

Project 1: Street/Breakdance, is targeted specifically at male learners.

Project 2: Dancercise, is targeted at unemployed residents of the city.

The dance styles taught in this project will be tailored to learners' interests and needs. All learners must be aged 19 years or over to access the programmes.  Both projects look to be a lot of fun, and will support participants to improve their health and wellbeing, their team working skills, their confidence and - of course - their dance skills! The project was designed to try and engage hard-to-reach learners into community education.

If you have any groups of learners or are aware of any individuals who may wish to participate, please contact Sarah Riach at Sunderland University on 0191 5152547 or by email on sarah.riach@sunderland.ac.uk

There are a couple of places left for the FREE Communication Taster Workshop being run by Sunderland CVS in conjunction with Carlin-Page Associates on Tuesday 20th May.

If you are interested in attending, or require additional information, please contact: Rob Charlton on 0191 5651566 or by email at rob.charlton@sunderlandcvs.co.uk.

Communications Skills Workshop Information               Course Booking Form

Big Lottery wellbeing - IMPACT Deaf/deafblind Training
Does your organisation have the skills to communicate with your service users who are Deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or deafblind?   Is your organisation complying with the requirements of the DDA?

If the answer to either of the above questions is no, then thanks to Big Lottery Wellbeing funding, you could attend free accredited training which is taking place at Sunderland Glass Centre on 18th, 19th and 27th June.   This project is headed by CACDP and develops basic communication skills and knowledge about deafness and dual sensory loss (deafblindness.) and the effects upon mental health. Please contact Lorraine Brewis on 01670 82044 or 07923587656 or email lorrainebrewis@aol.com   For further information, please click here.

Need Money for your Summer Holidays?????   Time for a New Job????

Come to the Jubilee Centre to learn all aspects of ‘Job Search Online’ and how to create an outstanding CV – so that you can get that all important job offer.   Begins Tuesday 20th May from 10am till 12pm.  Free Bacon sarnies for all job hunters.

Contact Margy or Doug on 0191 5228447 or email info@jubileecentre.net) to book a place on this exciting new programme.

Get That Job - Skills 4 Jobs

Would you like to improve your employment prospects?  Are you aged 19 or over?

Do you live in the Doxford or St Chad's area?

If you have answered YES to these questions there is a new, free and interesting course for you.  The course will run for 13 weeks from 12.30-3.30 and will cover confidence building, interview techniques, communication skills, employer visits, CV preparation, first aid, health and safety and letters of applications. 

All those who complete the course will receive a £25.00 Argos voucher.

The courses start Monday 19th May (Doxford) and Thursday 22nd May (St Chads).

If you would like further information, please call into your nearest Job Linkage office, or call Trish on 0191 5373231 to reserve a place.

Train the Trainer

Please click below for information and booking form for the Training the Trainer session to be held at Sunderland CVs on the 6th June 2008. If you are interested in attending or would like any further details please contact  Rob Charlton on 0191 5651566 or by email at rob.charlton@sunderlandcvs.co.uk.

Training the Trainer Course Information               Booking Form

Food Safety – Level II Training

Session Covers: legislation; food safety hazards; temperature control; refrigeration, chilling and cold holding; cooking, hot holding and reheating; food handling; principles of safe food storage; cleaning and food premises and equipment.   The course will be held on 29th May 2008 from 9.30am till 4.30pm at Sunderland CVS, Riverview House, West Wear Street, Sunderland.  The cost will be between £5 - £40 depending up on group status (ring for details).  If you are interested and would like to book a place, or if you simply require additional information please contact Rob Charlton on 0191 5651566.

Sunderland South Forum Administration Officer - £8,128 - 18.5 hours per week (flexible)

We currently have a position for an Administrator Officer for the Sunderland South Forum. Duties include taking minutes of meetings, up-dating website, producing and circulating fortnightly e-newsletter and producing reports.  The ideal candidate will have experience in administration and minute taking, be computer literate with an understanding of community projects.  

Application Form   Person Specification   Job Description   Background Information on the South Forum

For further details contact Anthony Gonzalez on 0191 522 8447.  Funded by Lloyds TSB Foundation.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service - Recruitment and Selection Clerk - Reference 1917

Location: Service Headquarters, Nissan Way, Sunderland, SR5 3QY

Hours: 37 hours per week - a flexible working scheme is in operation - Open to Job Share (Job share requirements must be indicated on your application form)

SALARY: £14,197 - £14,882 (Scale 2 SCP 11-13)

DUTIES: To assist the recruitment administrator with the clerical duties relating to the recruitment and selection of community firefighters for the Fire and Rescue Services of the North East i.e. Cleveland, County Durham and Darlington, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear and general recruitment and selection within Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.

Applicants must have:

• Excellent IT skills including databases and spreadsheets.
• Experience in a busy administrative environment.
• Ability to work on own initiative and prioritise own workload.
• An awareness of the law in relation to recruitment and selection.
• Ability to work efficiently and with a high level of accuracy when working to tight deadlines.
• Advanced interpersonal skills and the ability to contribute effectively to the recruitment team.
• Able to attend events away from normal work base and able to attend events outside of normal office hours, as required.

For an application form and information pack please contact:-  Recruitment Department, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, Headquarters, Nissan Way, Sunderland, SR5 3QY.  Telephone 0191 4441632 (24 hour answer phone) or email recruitment@twfire.gov.uk   CVs will not be accepted.

CLOSING DATE: Friday 23 May 2008 at 12:00 noon.

Development Worker - Tyne & Wear Infrastructure Consortium

NJC Scale 33-36 £26,835 - £28,919 pro rata for 22½ hrs/wk
Funded by Capacity Builders initially until March 2009 but with an expectation of a further 2 years.

This is an exciting new role that offers the right candidate the prospect of making a significant contribution to the success of the Third Sector. Your key task will be to facilitate the strategic development of the Tyne & Wear Infrastructure Consortium in order to ensure effective support for Third Sector organisations. Your role is to inform the Consortium and support it in engaging the Sector on a range of important issues from promotion to influencing policy. Building on the existing strengths of the Consortium members you will seek to expand the membership so that it is truly representative of the wider, diverse society of Tyne & Wear.

For further details please request an application pack from Phil Bagnall, Monitoring Officer, VODA, Shiremoor Centre, Earsdon Road, Shiremoor, NE27 0HJ. Telephone: 0191 2008555, or email: phil.bagnall@voda.org.uk.

Please note CVs are not accepted. Closing date: Thursday 29 May 2008 Interviews: Thursday 5 June 2008

Heritage Lottery Fund – new application materials and updated programmes (UK)

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has introduced new application materials for several of its programmes. Online pre-application advice forms and application forms are now available for the following programmes:

• Heritage Grants – grants of more than £50,000 for projects that relate to the national, regional or local heritage of the UK.
• Your Heritage – until 30 June 2008 this programme will make grants of £5,000-£50,000 to support community-focused heritage projects.

From 1 September 2008 it will make grants of £3,000-£50,000 for projects that relate to the local, regional or national heritage of the UK, especially projects that help people to learn about, look after and celebrate heritage in a fun and enjoyable way.
• Young Roots – until 30 June 2008 this programme will make grants of £5,000-£25,000 for heritage projects that involve 13-20 year olds (or 25 year olds for those with special needs).

From 1 September 2008 the grant range will be £3,000-£25,000. To apply, you must register and log on to the applications portal of the HLF’s website: https://forms.hlf.org.uk/officeforms/HLF_Projects.ofml

You will then be able to use your account to see details of all your applications and enquiries to HLF, and will be able to download application materials and guidance notes. Please note also that the Your Heritage and Young Roots programmes will soon be changing.

You can apply for either of these programmes using the old application packs before 30 June 2008 and will receive a decision on your application by September 2008. However, new online application materials for the new, updated programmes are available now; HLF will start assessing applications made under these new programmes from 1 September 2008 onwards.

Application materials for the HLF’s three targeted programmes – Townscape Heritage Initiative, Landscape Partnership, and Joint Places of Worship – are still available in PDF format only, as before. HLF is currently working on creating online applications for these programmes.

For more information about how to apply to HLF’s programmes and links to the online application portal visit: www.hlf.org.uk/English/HowToApply

Tree Council – Community Trees Fund (UK)

The Tree Council has funds available to help community groups who want to undertake tree planting projects. The Tree Council’s National Tree Week (which takes place from 26 November to 7 December in 2008) is the focus for these projects; applicants must organise their planting events to coincide with this. In addition, children under the age of 16 must be actively involved in all projects. The Community Trees Fund is open to projects where tree planting costs are between £100 and £700. Any applications where the £700 limit is exceeded will automatically be discounted, even if funds are available from other sources. The Tree Council will fund up to 75% of the eligible costs of each project, with the funded organisation or group required to meet the remainder of the costs. The Community Trees Fund is open to formal youth groups, such as cubs, guides or youth clubs, and also to community groups assembled specifically for the project.

Please note that the Tree Council runs a separate Schools Fund, open to schools in the UK who want to carry out tree planting projects.   Application forms and further guidance notes are available to download from: www.treecouncil.org.uk

Applications must be submitted by post (emailed or faxed applications will not be accepted) and must reach the Tree Council by noon on 31 May 2008.

For more information contact: The Tree Council, 71 Newcomen Street, London, SE1 1YT Tel: 020 7407 9992
Email: info@treecouncil.org
Website: www.treecouncil.org.uk/?q=grants

Please feel free to distribute to your friends, family and colleagues with their permission.