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

My name is Sue Lowe and I am the new Administration Officer for the South Forum.  I am originally from Sandy in Bedfordshire and have been living in Washington for nearly three years. As well as working for the South Forum, I also work for a small independent charity; my previous experience includes working for the BBC, Oracle Teletext and an Audi Dealership in Bedford.

What's featured in this edition.

• South Forum Funding Event
• Christmas Fayre
• An Invitation from the Mayor
• Salvation Army 2007 Christmas Present Appeal
• Volunteers Who Give a Little Time To Make a Big Difference to Receive Awards
• SID Phase 3 Launch Event
• The Box Youth Project Has Received Two Awards
• Training and Education
• Job Vacancies
• Funding Information

If you would like to announce anything or have an article you would like featured in future newsletters or on the website, please contact me on 0191 5228447 or e-mail me on sue.lowe@sunderlandcommunitynetwork.org.uk

Regards Sue Lowe, Administration Officer

South Forum Funding Event

You are invited to a Sunderland South Forum Funding Event which is to be held at the Sunderland South Community Safety Centre, North Moor Road, on Friday 7th December 2007 from 9.30am -1pm. Click here for booking form and itinerary.

The event will be opened by Councillor Peter Gibson, followed by workshops from various funding providers. The event will end with a short feedback session, followed by lunch.  Please book by Friday 30th November to guarantee a place. To book and for further information contact Mary Pattinson via email: mary.pattinson@sunderlandcvs.co.uk or tel: 0191 565 1566

Christmas Fayre

Wednesday 12th December  5- 7 pm

At the Jubilee Centre, Allendale Road, Farringdon Tel No: 0191522844

Come along and see Santa in his Grotto. £1, Refreshments, Fun and Games, Tombola, Raffles,

Bric a Brac   Free Entry

An Invitation from the Mayor

The Mayor's Carol Service will be held on Sunday 23rd December at 6pm

Sunderland Minster, High Street West. 

Mince Pies and Mulled Wine will be served after the Service.

EVERYONE WELCOME

Help Us To Help Others This Christmas

On Friday 23rd November The Salvation Army launches the 2007 Christmas Present Appeal.  The Appeal will run until 16th December. Every year The Salvation Army relies on the generosity of the public to donate gifts and toys for children and young people who otherwise would have little or nothing on Christmas morning. Over many years, millions of toys and gifts have been donated and hundreds of thousand of lives have been brightened in the process.

From 23rd November to 16th December members of the public are asked to drop off a new unwrapped gift for a child aged 0-16 years at Austin House, Shakespeare Street, Southwick. Local Salvation Army representatives will then distribute them to children and families in need in the area through their own networks, local groups and social services. For more information about where to drop off your gift in your immediate area, please ring the number below. Thanks to the generosity of people in Sunderland last year, the Salvation Army here collected 4000 toys and distributed to around a 1000 people and families in this area who might otherwise have struggled at Christmas.

If you require further information, please contact:

Graham Wharton,Community Manager, Contact Phone Number: 0191 5662677.

Volunteers Who Give a Little Time to Make a Big Difference to Receive Awards

On Thursday 15th November volunteers joined Cllr Speding at Sunderland Hetton Centre to launch the next phase of the campaign to raise awareness of volunteering and to encourage people to give a little time to make a big difference for Sunderland. Those who are already volunteering, or who sign up with Sunderland Volunteer Centre, can now pick up a special bag-for-life, an enamelled badge to wear with pride and a congratulatory certificate. The bags, badges and certificates can be collected from Libraries and Customer Service Centres across Sunderland.

So far the volunteering campaign has had a real impact, with the Volunteer Centre reporting the numbers of people who have volunteered to give a little of their time to help others up 100% on last year.

Cllr Mel Speding, Member with Portfolio for Culture and Leisure, said: “Becoming a volunteer is easy and, as many have already discovered, really rewarding. Anyone can get involved, no matter what his or her age, abilities, or interests are.  There are so many ways that you can help others, from conservation to caring, sport to support work and much more. Even just giving two hours a week can make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Anyone can become a volunteer. To find out more they should contact the Sunderland Volunteer Centre on 0191 567 8902 or visit www.sunderland.gov.uk/communitydevelopment or www.do-it.org.uk     Click here to view venues

The Box Youth Project Has Received Two Awards
 
Last week The Box Youth Project received a Silver Quality Standards mark from the Sunderland Partnership for the work they do to engage and work with 14-19 year olds who are at risk or are already not in education, employment or training. The awards were presented by Cllr Pat Smith and Lynda Brown, Head of Standards at the Civic Chambers.
 
The Box Youth Project has also been honoured with an award for recognition from the 'Save the Children Here to Help' Awards. This award is for the work they have done in establishing The Box Youth Project and engaging local young people to take the lead and work alongside local adults and staff in the design and development of the centre at Hall Farm. The Project has been invited to the House of Commons in January to collect the award.
 
Lisa Wilson, Project manager of The Box Youth Project said "We are delighted with the latest recognition for the work we do in the community which often goes un-noticed. We would like to thank all of our many supporters for their continuous help and support".

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service are working in partnership with the Prince’s Trust to deliver The 12 week Team Programme to young people aged between 16 – 25.

The programme aims to reach young people who are:
• unemployed, particularly those who have been unemployed for 6 months or more
• educational underachievers
• offenders and ex-offenders
• in, or leaving, care
• black ethnic minorities
• with disabilities
                                       • refugees or asylum seekers

Recruitment is taking place now for the next course which commences on 21 January 2008 at Sunderland Central Fire Station. If you feel that the Prince’s Trust Programme may be of interest to any young people whom you are involved with, please do not hesitate to contact Sharann or Vicki for further information. Recruitment Letter  Introductory Information

Email: sharann.smith@twfire.gov.uk or vicki.parnaby@twfire.gov.uk  Tel: 0191 444 1289 or 0191 444 1290

Tyne and Wear Training Calendar - December 2007

This Calendar is designed to provide a ‘snapshot’ of local workforce development training opportunities available to the voluntary community sector within the City of Sunderland and surrounding areas.  The Calendar is compiled by Rob Charlton (Training & Development Co-ordinator – Sunderland CVS) on a monthly basis. If you have any training you would like included within the calendar, e-mail the details to Rob before the 10th of each month.  Click here to view December

Sunderland CVS Training Needs Audit 2007 – 08 Questionnaire.

Many of you completed one of these last year and once again thank you for all of your efforts. As you are probably aware the results of the consultation will shape the programme of training delivered to the voluntary community sector in Sunderland over the next 12 months, so it is vital we get as many back as possible.  If you could take 10 minutes out of your day complete a questionnaire and also ask as many people in your organisation (paid staff and volunteers) to complete a form, we would be very grateful. Also if any of you took part in any training we have offered (January 07 – November 07) your comments would be welcome.

You can return the form electronically or by fax 568 0740 or post / drop into our office – Riverview House, West Wear Street, Sunderland, SR1 1XD. Click here to view the questionnaire.

For further information on either article, contact Rob on 0191 565 1566 or rob.charlton@sunderlandcvs.co.uk  

Portland School

Job Title: Cleaner,  Department: Education and Community Services.

Responsible to Head Teacher/Site Manager.

Main duties include responsibility for the cleanliness of a designated section of the school building, reporting deficiencies and to be part of the cleaning team covering other areas as and when required. Hours required: 3 hours per day, 15 hours per week.  Time required 3.30 to 6.30 pm.  

For further information or an application form, please contact the school on 0191 553 6050.

Humbledon & Plains Farm Community Initiative

Centre Manager - (37 hours per week). Required as soon as possible. Grant funded post .£18,555 (for 1 year initially).

The Directors are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic Centre Manager for our growing Community Initiative who will be responsible for the overall management, delivery and development of the Centre including service delivery and financial management. The successful candidate should be enthusiastic, flexible, efficient, organised, hard working and computer literate with good interpersonal skills and be prepared to work with members of the local community.

Application packs are available from Humbledon and Plains Farm Community Initiative, Plains Farm Primary School,
Tudor Grove, Plains Farm, Sunderland, SR3 1SU. Telephone number: 0191 5250007.  Closing date December 2nd, 2007.

Independent/State School Partnerships Scheme - Building Bridges
The Independent/State School Partnerships Scheme (ISSP), or Building Bridges as it has come to be known, encourages collaborative working between independent and maintained schools. Support is available for partnerships which focus on gifted and talented young people, with activities centered on increasing university applications, particularly from communities where aspirations are low. Additional funding within the Children's University is also available for partnerships which focus on developing aspirations and increasing attainment amongst 7 to 14 year olds in communities where educational attainment is low.
View scheme

Launch of Big Green Challenge: the people powered £1m innovation prize.
You may be interested in the £1m Climate Change Prize Fund, launched by NESTA's Innovation Challenges programme. The Big Green Challenge is an ambitious project aimed at stimulating innovation from communities and the not-for-profit sector in response to one of our biggest social challenges: climate change.
The Big Green Challenge is asking communities to compete to achieve 60% reductions in CO2 emissions by October 2009 through innovative and creative methods that can last beyond the life of the Prize.
For more information, visit the website www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk

Independentage is a national charity that helps older people on low incomes to stay independent in their homes. The charity provides a small regular income, one-off grants and the friendship of a volunteer visitor and they are currently looking for such volunteers to visit their elderly beneficiaries in the Sunderland area. Volunteers don’t need any special skills to carry out the role, just a friendly manner and the ability to relate and empathise with older people. The volunteer also has the freedom and flexibility to decide how many beneficiaries to visit and when. So if you have a few hours to spare and enjoy the company of older people please get in touch.

Sunderland Counselling Services Care Line are looking to recruit volunteers for their team. In the event of a Major Disaster their team will be activated as an immediate support, medium term response and long-term response for victims and their families. Applicants need to be dedicated and committed to ongoing training, team building and meetings. They must also be able to keep calm and focused in troubled times, have good people skills and work well as a team member. If you think you could help in a disaster then please get in touch, volunteers can be men and women from all ages and all backgrounds.

Diabetes UK is a nationally based charity that supports patients with Diabetes and their Carers and raises funds for Diabetes UK locally and nationally. They currently require a volunteer aged over 18 to act as Secretary for this newly re-formed self help group. They will be required to organise the smooth running of the group by answering letters, helping to arrange speakers, promoting the group and taking minutes at meetings. The volunteer should have good life skills with an interest in Diabetes and some general clerical skills.

If you are interested in any of the opportunities please contact the Volunteer Centre Sunderland on (0191) 567 8902 or call into 4 Toward Road, City Centre, Sunderland. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm.  A postal application service is also available.  Alternatively email us at: sunderlandvc@aol.com or visit www.do-it.org.uk

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