The Skills Network and ERVAS are currently working together to offer Learners access to qualifications via distance learning.
This opportunity provides access to interactive and engaging learning content from The Skills Network, a company that has partnered with a number of leading awarding organisations, including NCFE, CACHE and TQUK, to develop outstanding learning resources that meet a diverse range of learning needs.
Learners can submit their answers online or via the answer booklets provided.
Beyond our four walls is a lottery funded project in partnership with HEY Smile Foundation. The project runs to the end of March 2021. We offer free advice and support to local groups in all areas of governance, fundraising and finance. The project is a response to the pandemic, as groups are struggling to survive and deliver services, with fundraising especially impacted. We want to ensure that at the end of the pandemic we still have a thriving voluntary sector in the East Riding, there to support the thousands of local people helped by your groups every day.
We can offer a ‘healthcheck’ with your group to make sure you are fit for funding and help you build resilience; to make sure you survive the uncertain months ahead and come out ready to help those in need.
The Fund is open for applications from 7th December 2020 until 26th April 2021.
The decision-making panel, made up of representatives from the area of benefit, will then meet in May/June 2021
RES, the British independent renewable energy company that developed the nine turbine wind farm, has established a Community Fund to provide £36,000 per year (index linked) to support local community projects during the lifetime of the wind farm. Applications from charitable and community organisations are now invited for the 2021 fund, which is the seventh year of the funds.
Completed applications to the Fund must demonstrate that their activities will benefit the communities living and working within 5km of Roos Post Office. This area includes the parishes of Burton Pidsea, Rimswell, Halsham and Roos.
Dynamix began in 2013 as an inclusive youth club for young people aged 8 to 24, where disabled young people and those with additional needs came to have fun, gain some independence, make new friends and develop practical skills too. It would now like to leave a legacy to other young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities who live in East Riding by providing small grants to VCS groups offering similar activities, as well as individuals in receipt of Education Health Care Plans.
For further information about how to apply for the grant, please see the guidance notes and application form available on our website and feel free to contact Detty Tyler: detty@ervas.org.uk or Judith Leech: judith@ervas.org.uk if you would like any support with the application.
Does your organisation or community group have an interest in supporting the community? We are looking for organisations and businesses to support our FraudWatch project by making a pledge. As part of the Fraud Watch project, we aim to work with organisations from all sectors, to encourage the sharing and promotion of key fraud and cyber awareness messages.
If you would like to support this project and make a pledge support our key messages, please complete the form on our website.
Your pledge could be:
To ensure all your staff are trained up to recognise fraud and cybercrime
To share key messages to your beneficiaries or customers about how to stay safe
Anything else, let us know how you would like to support the project
Every organisation that makes a pledge will be featured on our website, with your logo and a link to your website, as well as details of your pledge.
As soon as you have made a pledge, be sure to tag us on Facebook and Twitter.
Bridlington Virtual Volunteer Fair (UPDATED)
We have previously held face to face volunteer fairs within the area, however COVID-19 restrictions have made this impossible to achieve in the short term.
We are now holding a virtual volunteer fair for the Bridlington area.
Thursday 11th January 1pm
Organisations can book a “stall” free of charge, which is a virtual zoom room for perspective volunteers to go and visit, meet you and find out more about your volunteering roles.
If you would like your logo to be part of the advertising once registered then please forward a logo for inclusion.
If you could also provide us with an overview of any roles you are looking to fulfil then we can also promote this ahead of the event.
As well as ERVAS promoting it in their e-bulletin, local media and social media platforms, The Department of Work and Pensions will be involved promoting it to those interested in volunteering and those seeking work experience opportunities who are struggling to find paid employment.
In the meantime if you would like to advertise any current positions then please go to https://do-it.org and place your advert. You can also list opportunities via our local-links website here.
THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON EAST RIDING YOUTH PROVISION AND YOUNG PEOPLE – SURVEY
East Riding Voluntary Action Services is working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Youth and Family Support Service and HEY Smile Foundation to undertake a study into current youth provision across East Riding and the impact that Covid-19 has had on the different youth services across the county, as well as on young people.
We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete the survey, which is aimed at youth professionals, paid and unpaid, across the sectors, as well as encourage and support young people to complete the survey that is designed for them as well. Both of these surveys are accessed via the following link: https://ervas.org.uk/east-riding-youth-provision-survey/
For your information, we are also developing a shorter, simpler version of the survey for young people so that they have a choice of which to complete and hopefully this will be out in the next couple of weeks.
It would be great if you could share the link and this information via your social media channels, news bulletins and networks.
Information gathered from the survey will be used to inform the East Riding Youth Board about future needs and how the partnership can work together to support young people and those who work with them.
If you would like to have a more in-depth discussion with us about the impact that Covid-19 has had on your youth group, organisation or service, or young people you support, please email detty@ervas.org.uk to arrange a time and date that suits you.
We anticipate that the survey will close towards the beginning of February 2021.
What does the National lockdown: Stay at Home mean?
Leaving home
You must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary. You may only leave the home to:
shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person
go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home
exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area
meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one
seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)
attend education or childcare – for those eligible.
If you do leave home for a permitted reason, you should always stay local in the village or town where you live. You may leave your local area for a legally permitted reason, such as for work.
Meeting others
You cannot leave your home to meet socially with anyone you do not live with or are not in a support bubble with (if you are legally permitted to form one).
You may exercise on your own, with one other person, or with your household or support bubble.
You should not meet other people you do not live with, or have formed a support bubble with, unless for a permitted reason.
Stay 2 metres apart from anyone not in your household.
Education
Schools and colleges are closed from Tuesday, 5 January to most pupils, except vulnerable children and the children of critical workers, and they will provide remote learning for other students until at least the half-term in February.
Early years settings such as nurseries will stay open
End-of-year exams will not take place this summer as normal
Elsewhere, university students should not return to campuses and will be taught online
Food delivery
Restaurants can continue to offer food delivery, but takeaway alcohol is banned
Two Ridings Community Foundation are committed to supporting you as we navigate the impact of the latest announcement regarding the current Lockdown. We know that many of you may be anxious about delivery of funded projects and as previously we aim to work as flexibly as possible to assist as you seek to adapt or delay your plans.
We have planned some Q&A sessions which will take place via zoom each week during January to answer general questions that you might have about delivery of your funded projects or any other questions that you might have.
We are also planning a specific session for those delivering youth projects and a focus group session to allow you to share your views on the next stage of the Coronavirus Community Fund.
Coronavirus Community Fund Focus Group – Share your views on the delivery of the next stage of the Coronavirus Community Fund. Wednesday 27th January at 1pm. Join via Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83325467956
Like many others, our staff are managing increased pressures including children at home. The sessions are the best way to have your queries answered quickly. Each session will have a member of the grants team, finance and partnerships so that we should be able to provide support and answers then and there. However, if you’re unable to attend a session please do get in touch on 01904 929500 or email grants@tworidingscf.org.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
National Voluntary Sector Updates
NAVCA Update
Celebrating 100 Years Together: Village Halls Week 2021
Village Halls Week is a national celebration of the 10,000+ village halls which can be found across England, their volunteers and the difference they make to the rural communities they serve.
Youth organisations in England face wholesale closure
Almost two-thirds of youth organisations with incomes under £250,000 say they are at risk of closure, with 31% saying they might have to shut in the next six months.
The forced withdrawal of support officially recognised as “essential” comes at a time when the pandemic has left more than 1.5 million vulnerable young people in critical need of help, the research by the charity UK Youth found.
Today is the International Day of Filling Your Calendar with Awareness Days… ok I joke, but it’s not the weirdest awareness day I have ever seen. Be prepared for a bunch of resources similar to this one surfacing over the next few weeks. Always good to get the main ones in the diary and start planning.
This one is a list of all the big global awareness days – but there are a couple of useful ones for our sector each month so it is worth casting your eyes over.
VCSEs: Winning Central Government Contracts and the New Social Value Model
VCSE organisations that are interested in finding out more about the new Social Value Model and bidding with central government are invited to attend one of these webinars hosted by DCMS.
The webinars are being held on the following dates:
Increasing data allowances on mobile devices to support disadvantaged children
The Government has launched a scheme that temporarily increases data allowances for mobile phone users on certain networks. This is so that children and young people can access remote education if their face-to-face education is disrupted.
Schools, trusts and local authorities can request mobile data increases for children and young people who:
do not have fixed broadband at home
cannot afford additional data for their devices
are experiencing disruption to their face-to-face education
Let’s Talk Loneliness winter campaign This winter we have launched our Let’s Talk Loneliness calendar that each day will share practical advice, inspiring stories, and support routes to encourage people to take the first steps to alleviate loneliness in themselves and others. We’d welcome your support with this by joining in on your own channels, using the #LetsTalkLoneliness hashtag.
We are sharing daily stories on DCMS social media channels throughout December (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube). The calendar is hosted the Let’s Talk Loneliness website, which also has advice and guidance for those struggling with loneliness or who want to help someone else.
If you have your own content that you’d like to create and share on these days (videos, photos, case studies) or at any point throughout the calendar, we would really encourage you to do so, and we will amplify this wherever we can. The toolkit on the Let’s Talk Loneliness website contains the campaign branding pack which you are more than welcome to use.
Updated Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 guidance
The Government have updated ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018’ with factual changes in relation to information sharing, homelessness duty and references to domestic abuse.
‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015’ and ‘Working Together: transitional guidance’ have been archived.
For more information and to read the statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children click here.
NYA COVID-19 Readiness Level
** From 5th January 2021 we can confirm that the youth sector moves into RED in the readiness framework. **
RED
Online and digital youth services
Detached local youth services
1-2-1 sessions with vulnerable young people (indoors)
Support groups indoors and outdoors are permitted for vulnerable young people, max 15 per group + workers/leaders
(Version 4.2)
The NYA has not been funded to provide this guidance to the youth sector. Please support us by donating here.
Kent Police praised the “quick action” taken by the delivery driver who called them after he was told by the elderly man, a resident of Peacock Street, that it was costing him some £17,000 to have his roof re-tiled. more
They called the resident and claimed they were from West Midlands Police and had arrested someone in possession of their bank card and they needed to help with the police investigation. more
5,478 reports of DPD phishing emails were made in November 2020, an increase of 655% when compared to the previous month. Action Fraud has also received 166 reports of suspicious DPD text messages between June and November this year, with a total reported losses of £139,000. Reporting volumes and losses are continuing to increase in the run up to Christmas, with a further 35 reports with a reported loss of £103,000 recorded in the first 8 days of December 2020.
Fraudsters are using fake DPD messages to lure victims into a phishing scam. The messages state that the recipient has missed two attempted deliveries of a parcel, and provides instructions on how to arrange another delivery. The links in the messages lead to fraudulent websites that request a payment (£2 – £3) to rearrange the delivery.
If the victim makes this payment, they’ll receive a phone call within a few days from someone purporting to be from their bank to inform them about suspicious transactions on their account. They may also receive text messages, purporting to be from their bank, confirming these transactions. The victim is informed that their bank account may be compromised and is instructed to transfer their money to what they believe is an alternative secure account in order to prevent further losses.
In other cases, suspects have gained enough personal details and security information during the phone call with the unsuspecting victim, to enable them to take out a loan in the victim’s name. The fraudsters then transfer the loan to an account under their control. Fraudsters are able to use a tactic called ‘spoofing’ to make the call or text appear genuine by cloning the phone number, or sender ID, used by the bank.
There is an easy way to check the email or text is safe, only emails sent from one of three DPD email addresses are genuine. These are dpd.co.uk, dpdlocal.co.uk or dpdgroup.co.uk.
Your bank, or other official organisations, will never ask you to share personal or financial information over the phone, or via text or email. If you need to check that it’s a genuine message, contact them directly.
If you have received an email which you’re unsure about, you can report it by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk. You can report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to 7726.
If you have acted upon a message you have received, and you think you may be a victim of a fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Covid 19 Vaccine Scam
COVID 19 Vaccine Scam Text
We have been informed about a new scam that is being circulated, but looks very believable. It starts with a text, seemingly from the NHS saying that you are now eligible to apply for the new vaccine and to click on the link to apply.
The link takes you to a website, which looks genuine and asks the user to complete a form asking for the following information.
Name
Date of Birth
Address
Payment card details
Proof of address
As you can see from the above, this should automatically ring alarm bells, as we all know, the vaccine is FREE.
Please follow this advice:
Do NOT click on links in unknown texts – always check it first
NEVER give out your personal details.
With the recent approval of multiple vaccines in the UK, these types of scam attempts are likely to continue as fraudsters look to take advantage of the rollout.
Cold calls regarding the vaccine are also beginning to take place.
If you, or anyone you know, have been affected by this fraud or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 1232040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Links and attachments: Humberside Police will only ever link you to secure web-sites we trust. We will only send you attachments where we believe it is absolutely necessary.
Message Sent By
Michael 8366 (Police, Communications, Humberside)
Health Updates
Would you like to help shape outpatient services?
Please join us at our virtual engagement event:
We are reshaping the way we deliver Outpatient Care and we want to hear our patients views on proposed changes and what will work for them.
About this Event
Here at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust we would like to hear our patients views on proposed changes to outpatient appointments and their thoughts on our services as a whole.
When? 24th February 2021 Time? 2pm – 4pm
Book via Eventbrite or email HEYImprovement.Programme@hey.nhs.uk for further details.
Community Safety Updates
Commissioner Seeks Volunteers To Scrutinise Aspects of Police Work
Police and Crime Commissioner Keith Hunter is seeking to recruit members of the public to act as volunteers to help scrutinise certain aspects of police work. These include the use of police powers such as Stop and Search and Use of Force, also how the police respond to reports of Hate Crime.
Message Sent By
Dave Hudson (OPCC, Communications Manager, Humberside)
Funding News
Weston Charity Awards
The 2021 Weston Charity Awards are now open for applications, offering small charities in England the opportunity to win strategic leadership support along with an unrestricted grant.
Garfield Weston Foundation and Pilotlight have launched the call for applications for the awards, which will give 20 small charities a package of strategic leadership support from Pilotlight along with a £6,500 unrestricted grant from Garfield Weston Foundation.
Charities have until 8 January to apply.
To be eligible to apply, charities must have the following:
A registered charity number
Be working in the fields of Welfare, Youth or Community
At least one paid full-time member of staff in a leadership position
Ebay for Charity
eBay for Charity is launching its next ‘Big Charity Sell’ in the run up to Christmas and calling all charities to encourage their supporters to sell their pre-loved items on eBay donate between 10% and 100% of their sale to charity.
The build up to Christmas is a key moment in the fundraising calendar, and with charity shops shut for the second time this year and festive fundraising events cancelled, eBay’s Big Charity Sell aims to support the charity community through this difficult time.
Funding for Community Based Projects (UK and Overseas)
Grants of an average of £5,000 are available to charities working at community level in the UK and developing countries on causes which are less likely to be able to raise funds from public subscriptions. Grant making activity is directed largely at supporting work at community level; in the UK, this is concentrated on work that addresses issues around: Homelessness, Penal Affairs, Asylum Seekers and Refugees, and Community Based initiatives for Disadvantaged Young People Aged 16 to 25. Charities working in developing countries on community development, education and health can also apply.
2021 Positive Activity Grants Launched
The Youth & Family Support (YFS) service of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) are very pleased to announce the 2021 Positive Activity Grant (PAG) are open/
This year we have three bands of grants available: –
Band A – For Voluntary Youth organisations that have delivered face to face Positive Activities for young people during Covid-19 in East Riding.
Maximum of three awards of £5,000 each
Band B – For Voluntary Youth organisations that have delivered online/digital youth work or the occasional youth event during Covid-19.
Maximum of two awards up to £3,000
Band C – For Voluntary Youth organisations that have not been able to deliver
any provision during Covid-19 but need funding to re-open when able to. Maximum of nine awards up to £1,000
Since 2013 the Council has provided £375,000 to nearly 200 different youth groups across the East Riding helping to create new youth projects and support existing youth groups.
Kevin Allen – YFS Service Manager commented: “2020 has been an unusual year with Covid-19 changing how we all work and provide services. Youth projects across the country have been hit hard, so it my pleasure to announce the £30,000 PAG award for 2021, that will play a part in supporting the valued projects that offer positive diversionary activities to young people aged 9 to 24 across the East Riding.”
We particularly welcome applications from organisations that can deliver provision for targeted and vulnerable young people from areas of urban and rural deprivation within the East Riding.
All organisations applying for a PAG award must be registered with Beecan at www.beecan.org and contact the team at hive@heysmilefoundation.org to organise and complete a Development plan by the 31 January 2021.
For further information please contact from Darron Lawer – YFS Community & Partnership Officer – Mobile : 07796697940 or
email darron.lawer@eastriding.gov.uk
Emergency funding available for residents struggling financially due to COVID-19 pandemic
East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s emergency assistance scheme aims to help residents of the East Riding who are in need at a time of crisis.
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the government have made available a limited amount of funds for residents of the East Riding who are in need at a time of emergency or crisis. This money is to help support residents where they have had a reduction in their income as a result of coronavirus and urgently require assistance with food and essentials.
Awards will be made where there is no alternative means of meeting the need, this includes help from universal credit and other benefits payable.
Our mailing address is:
East Riding Voluntary Action Services (ERVAS) Ltd
Morley’s Cottage, Morley’s Yard
Walkergate
Beverley, East Riding HU17 9BY
United Kingdom Add us to your address book
This winter we have launched our Let’s Talk Loneliness calendar that each day will share practical advice, inspiring stories, and support routes to encourage people to take the first steps to alleviate loneliness in themselves and others. We’d welcome your support with this by joining in on your own channels, using the #LetsTalkLoneliness hashtag.
