The Weekly Surveillance report collates published national data to describe COVID-19 cases in East Sussex, how they change over time, and how this compares to other areas. It is available online together with the East Sussex COVID-19 Outbreak Control Plan. 

Civil society organisations are on the frontline of this war – inside Ukraine, in neighbouring countries supporting refugees, and in countries around the world lobbying governments and raising funds.   

The National Council for Voluntary organisations (NCVO) have published an article How charities and civil society can support Ukraine about the likely impacts of the war on UK charities and suggest how you can prepare. The article also has suggestions for action that you could take.

Recent tragic Cardiac Arrest events has highlighted the fact that Cardiac Arrest can happen to ANYONE of any age, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE! 

If an adult or a child goes into cardiac arrest, without a defibrillator, there is only a 7% chance of survival.  If a defibrillator is on the patient within the first 3-5 minutes, the chances of survival is over 70%. 

We have therefore launched an initiative to assist you in obtaining this life-saving equipment.  We are currently offering a £300 grant towards the cost of every Defibrillator we supply to across the UK.  

With every Defibrillator we supply we provide free online training. 

Equipment is available now and can be with you in a matter of days.

3VA will have some display and table space available at the People Matter Job Fair to offer volunteer opportunities that can aid a person returning to work or looking for work.

We ask you to get creative with your volunteering ideas, what you're offering and how it would aid someone them into work? Would it be long or short term? Do you have a project to be supported, succession of event support, office duties or training to become a volunteer ambassador for your charity or group?

Please send an A4 poster of the opportunities you wish to display along with contact details and how to apply to emma.millar@3va.org.uk by 23rd March.

Take a look at our brand new website and Facebook page at www.tn22clubs.org and find out what we offer. Engage local charity runs two clubs in Hadlow Down village in Wealden.

The TN22 Club provides a warm and welcoming environment to meet and make new friends whilst enjoying a delicious freshly prepared two-course lunch. The Club is for the over 60s – meeting on alternate Wednesdays at the Hadlow Down Village Hall from 11am – 2pm. Volunteer transport can be provided, if we have capacity.

The TN22 Plus Club runs on alternate Wednesdays in Hadlow Down Village Hall and is tailored for those with memory loss and mild to moderate dementia. The Club runs from 10.30am – 3.30pm with personalised activities and a high ratio of helper support.

We can offer reduced price Taster sessions for both clubs if you would like to come and meet us and see what we have to offer.

Tickets are now on sale for the Mayor of Eastbourne's Charity Ball, which takes place on Saturday, April 23, at the newly refurbished Winter Garden.

The black-tie event will raise funds for local charities including Amaze, Community Wise and Holding Space.

Anyone who is pregnant or families with children under 4 and in receipt of qualifying benefits may be entitled to some help under the NHS Healthy Start scheme to buy some basic healthy foods and milk. 

Beneficiaries of the scheme will get:

• £4.25 each week of their pregnancy (from the 10th week of pregnancy)

• £8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year old

• £4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4 years old

The payments will stop on the child’s 4th birthday or if they no longer receive the qualifying benefits.

We're running our first ever Conversation Cafe and - as a valued member of our community - we'd love you to join us online.

We are focusing on our communication campaigns to help us get better at keeping people safe.

We want to hear your thoughts on where you get your news and information, whether you use social media, read local papers or listen to the radio, what are you interested in hearing about and how can we catch your eye!

It's essentially your chance to tell us what matters to you, influence our work, and ask for our help.

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone else who might be interested!

Monday 28th March 2022 - Time:09:00 - 13:30

Join our Improving Services for People Living with Dementia Conference for practical guidance on how to improve living standards and health outcomes for people living with dementia in the UK.

From a timely diagnosis to integrated support, this half-day online event will feature multi-agency best practice case studies from a range of service providers including housing, health, social care and voluntary sector services.

Hear from Debbie Abrahams MP, Co-Chair of the APPG on Dementia, on the priorities and next steps to improve dementia care, including workforce support, research funding and collaborating with key partners to identify and bridge gaps. Understand the impact of social care and funding reforms on dementia services and next steps towards a national dementia strategy.

Practitioners will share ground-breaking initiatives to improve pathways for early diagnosis, develop personalised care and build dementia-friendly community spaces that tackle isolation and improve the quality of life of people living with dementia.

Don't miss this opportunity to update your knowledge on dementia services and take steps to ensure that the people in your communities, and their families, live well with dementia.

Monday 29th March 2022 -from 09:30AM onwards until 4:00PM at Eastbourne Town Hall, Grove Road

• No appointment necessary
• Friendly employers in healthcare, retail, warehousing, care, hospitality and much more…
• No CV needed
• Additional support available on the day with benefits, careers advice and any other queries!

31 March 2022 Online 1.00PM

CAVEAT aims to co-develop and test a set of guidelines and resources (a 'toolkit') to support VCSE organisations in collecting data and demonstrating their activity and impact. This is primarily aimed at those organisations providing services to support the well-being of older people living at home.

For further information about ARC KSS or this Community of Experience, please contact either Rebecca Sharp, Implementation Lead, Social Care (rebecca.sharp4@nhs.net) or Myles Godfrey, Implementation Research Assistant (myles.godfrey@spft.nhs.uk)

Policing’s  VKPP would like to invite you to attend the second virtual National Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) Conference on Friday 1st April 2022, which will focus on the priority area of protecting children and adults affected by vulnerability related risk and harm. Please pass to colleagues and partners who may have an interest.

The remote conference will provide policing colleagues and partners an opportunity to come together to explore the latest knowledge, research and innovation across the vulnerability space. We have an exciting range of inputs from key system leaders inside and outside of policing and the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) team.

19th April

Support group meetings take place every 3rd Tuesday of the month at 2pm at 233 Deerfold Centre Seaside Eastbourne. There is a walking group rehabilitation with quizzes, raffles, yoga, and speakers. You will receive a warm welcome and tea + coffee. Volunteers are needed. Please contact breatheasyeastbourne.org.uk or 07969490379

We’re launching a series of short, bitesize webinars to explain our Station Partner scheme and how we can work with you to support local groups. Our short webinars are intended for prospective and new station partners, who are keen to explore new ideas, plan for the future, and how to fund projects. The sessions will be hosted by the Community team and will include an expert external speaker on four different themes. There will be opportunities to get advice from the community team as well as the experts.

Our confirmed webinars are:

• 23rd March at 13:00: Your station, your community - Guide to project funding for community groups- Directory of Social Change – register here
• 5th April at 12:30 Your station, your community – Biodiversity and Rewilding Projects with Rewilding Britain – register here 
• 7th April at 14:00: Your station, your community - Planning a Successful Station Partnership - register here

Lewes Community Kitchen | 12 & 13 April 2022

Two days of training and mentoring for people wanting to teach cookery, set up community food activities and social enterprises.

Our aim is to empower and motivate you to create projects that promote health and wellbeing, build community and sustainable food systems.

This training will help you to:

• Plan a cookery course, club or community food project.
• Be a better cook.
• Understand more about the food we eat.
• Support others in improving their cookery and everyday nutrition skills.
• Work effectively with groups and share your enthusiasm for good food.
• Develop a social enterprise.
• Make healthy cohesive communities.
• Create a sustainable food system.

In addition to the two days of training, participants receive ongoing mentoring and support. The course includes a recipe book, training manual, lunch, refreshments and food to go.

We have some bursary places available. Please get in touch with us directly if you would like to be considered for one. You can book a place here, or for more information, contact Robin Van Creveld, Community Chef, tel 07766 526217, or email robin@communitychef.org.uk.

Date Tuesday 3rd May 2022

Time 12:00 for lunch and networking 13:00-16:30 event

Venue The Welcome Building, Devonshire Quarter, College Road, Eastbourne BN21 4JJ

Our focus, as always, is on whole family, whole system working. We are collaborating for the benefit of children and families to build resilience, prevent negative outcomes, provide support in crisis, and promote the best possible life chances for children and young people. This year, coming out of the pandemic, we propose to refresh the Children and Young People’s Plan with a real drive to “get upstream” as much as we can.

Starting 9 May 2022

The workshops are free of all unpaid carers in East Sussex.
The workshops below take place in Lewes and we have workshops, demonstrations and courses coming up in Newhaven, Uckfield and Eastbourne in the summer and autumn. If you would like more information please contact office@communirtychef.org.uk

Fresh pasta and sauces - 9 May
make fresh pasta and classic sauces Book Now

Aromatics and spices - 16 May
cook and bake with delectable spices and aromatic ingredients Book Now

Gluten-free baking - 23 May
make gluten-free cake, rough puff pastry, shortbread and farinata Book Now

Probiotic drinks - 30 May
make water and dairy kefir and fruity kombucha Book Now

Sensational salads - 6 June
prepare fresh, vital and delicious summer dishes Book Now

Allsorts Youth Project will be running a series of online workshops for parents and carers of LGBT+ children and young people to provide advice on supporting their child’s sexual orientation, gender identity or exploration, and to discuss experiences of supporting their child in relation to self-harm.

They will also be running a series of online workshops for staff working in educational settings to explore some of the critical issues and challenges experienced by children and young people who are LGBT+. Together, participants will examine how these factors may contribute to the disproportionately high level of mental health difficulties in this community and how education settings (working with parents and carers) can adopt a whole organisation approach to LGBT+ inclusion

Workshops for parents and carers

Workshop for Parents/Carers of LGBT+ Children/Young People who Self-Harm

Thursday 21st April, 6-9pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/262487355747

Workshop for Parents/Carers of Neurodiverse LGBT+ Children/Young People

Thursday 19th May, 6-9pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/262496693677

Workshop for Parents/Carers of LGBT+ Children/Young People who are not in Mainstream Education

Thursday 9th June, 6-9pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/262507104817

Workshops for staff working in education settings

Thursday 31st March, 9:30am-12:30pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/264136999877

Thursday 28th April, 9:30am-12:30pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/264108895817

Twilight workshops

Part 1: Thursday 12th May, 3:30-5pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/264100079447

Part 2: Tuesday 24th May, 3:30-5pm

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/266193801827

June 18-19th

CANCER RESEARCH UK is encouraging family, friends and work colleagues at the South of England Showground to enter Relay For Life and fundraise for life-saving research.  

Relay For Life celebrates the power of community fundraising in the fight to beat cancer. 

Teams of family and friends, of all ages, levels of fitness and walks of life are asked to raise vital funds through a wide range of activities from online quizzes to bake sales, virtual bingo, head shaves and donations from their family, friends and work colleagues. They are then invited to come together on June 18-19th at (The South of England Showground) to honour everyone who has been affected by cancer and celebrate the money raised for research.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nora Ferguson, Relay For Life Eastbourne Chair Volunteer, Cancer Research UK, eastbournerelay@gmail.com, 07855211472

Insta: eastbournerelay4life

Facebook: Eastbourne Relay for Life

Deadline for responses: 25 March 2022

We would really appreciate it if you could take the time to complete this short survey, to ensure we capture the views of our partners and stakeholders.

Deadline for participation: 5pm 25 April 2022

Eastbourne Borough Council is seeking people’s views on a proposal for a new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle anti-social driving.

Residents and police have identified parts of the town where anti-social driving is a problem including the seafront, Seaside area, stretches of East Dean Road and Lottbridge Drove.

A council PSPO covering these areas would prohibit dangerous and aggressive driving, speeding, manoeuvres, racing and excess noise from vehicles, and fixed penalty notices of up to £100 or fines up to £1,000 could result for any driver failing to comply. The order would make it easier for Sussex Police to enforce against anti-social driving including giving on-the-spot fines for non-compliance.

Deadline for responses:  2022

Devonshire Collective is a cultural organisation with spaces along Seaside Road, Eastbourne. We run a gallery, artist studios and a learning and engagement programme for local families and the Devonshire Ward community. We want to build stronger relationships with our local audiences, we would be so grateful if you could complete this short survey. One entrant will be chosen at random to receive a free life drawing class as a thank you.

Deadline for responses: 4 April 2022

The Boundary Commission for England is inviting people to comment during its secondary public consultation on constituency boundaries, which runs until April 4.

The Commission is undertaking an independent and impartial review of all constituencies in England, to make the number of electors in each constituency roughly the same.

The number of constituencies in England will also increase to 543. The 2023 Boundary Review requires substantial changes to the map of constituencies across England, and the Commission wants members of the public to help shape the boundaries in their area by taking part in the consultation.

The Eastbourne constituency would become known as the Eastbourne Borough Constituency and have some existing areas removed from the current make-up of the constituency including Jevington, Wannock and part of Willingdon. 

They are interested in whether:

•perpetrators are using their ability to end a joint tenancy to threaten the victim with homelessness;

•victims feel trapped in their joint tenancy with the perpetrator;

•the current guidance for social landlords is sufficient to support victims in joint tenancies; and

•the law on transferring joint tenancies is functioning successfully for victims.

The DLUHC are gathering evidence from victims, landlords, the legal profession, advisory services and other organisations and individuals associated with the domestic abuse sector with an understanding of the issues impacting victims in joint social housing tenancies.

The Consultation closes on the 10th May 2022

The Advocacy People are pleased to be continuing to deliver the IHCA part of the contract and we are currently looking at what we can do better and differently going forwards. One of the things we’d like to understand a bit more about is whether people know about IHCA and if they don’t, how this could be best addressed.

We would like to start with feedback from yourselves and to this end we would be grateful if you could take a couple of minutes to complete a short survey (Survey Monkey tells me it does only take 2 minutes!). Feel free to share with colleagues and other organisations you work with.

We, the East Sussex County Council Substance Misuse
Team, want to talk to people about alcohol and drugs.

Why are we doing it?
It is important that the substance misuse support we have in East Sussex meets local need and understands those things that could be stopping individuals from getting help. This work will help us decide what support we spend money on in East Sussex over the next year.
How are we getting people involved?
Through discussion groups and an online survey.
Who will we be talking to?
We will be talking to as many people as possible as anyone can develop a dependence on a substance.

CHAMPIONS is a national project looking at the impact of COVID and living through lockdown on children under 5 who are living in temporary accommodation (TA) due to experiencing homelessness. We are working alongside families and professionals to co-develop recommendations for future support and best practices. Please take a look at the ‘Take Part’ tab if relevant to your service. Details below and link here:

Champions Project

CHAMPIONS need your help in two important ways: by completing a questionnaire, and/or by taking part in an interview.

You must meet both of these requirements to be able to take part:

1). You have lived in temporary accommodation during COVID-19, due to experiencing homelessness

2). During that time you were caring for a child under 5 years old, responsible for decisions about their healthcare and wellbeing, and can talk about the different ways it has affected them.

What you say could help to make a difference in the future to other families who have been in your situation. We give Love2Shop vouchers as a thank you to everyone who takes part. 

The online survey takes 20-30 minutes to complete.

Everyone who completes it will receive a £10 voucher.

Deadline for applications: 18 March 2022 at 5pm

Grants of up to £2,000 are being offered to promote ecological science, thanks to the British Ecological Society.

It supports projects that:

• Increase public understanding of, and engagement with, ecology.
• Stimulate discussion about ecology and its implications for society.
• Inspire and enthuse people of all ages about the science of ecology, especially those not previously interested.
• Develop skills in communicating the science of ecology.

The Big Give is very excited to announce the launch of our Anchor Match Fund to help charities launch their own match funding campaigns, this is the first time the Big Give will be providing funding to charities from our own funds.

This is the first time the Big Give will be providing funding to charities from our own funds.

The Big Give will offer a contribution of £1k of match funds (up to a maximum of £10k per charity) to charity campaigns for every £4k they raise from pledges.

Timing: Charities need to submit their expression of interest form by 18th March 2022. Charities need to launch their match funding campaigns between 2nd May 2022 and 30th June 2022. Campaigns must end by 31st August 2022.

Selection: Applications will be shortlisted by the Big Give. Charities will be notified by 1st April 2022 if they have been selected for Anchor Match funding.

The deadline for applications is 20 March 2022 (midnight)

In partnership with Julia and Hans Rausing, the UK Youth Fund has launched the new £8.4 million Thriving Minds programme. Established as a direct response to the growing youth mental health crisis in the UK, funding will support UK-based charities and not-for-profit organisations with an annual turnover of less than £500,000 to improve mental health support for young people aged 8 to 25 in their communities, whilst ensuring organisations have the resources needed to properly engage with the Thriving Minds programme and implement and instigate learnings to improve their mental health provision.

Unrestricted grants of between £15,000 and £50,000 per year for up to three years are available for projects that demonstrate commitment to the following key outcomes: 

Improved community support for young people experiencing mental health problems and improved preventative provision to support young people before they reach crisis point.
Improved best practices on ways to improve youth workers’ mental health literacy.
Embedding sustainable youth work practises in the youth sector and mental health sector.
Proposed projects and activities must directly engage with at least one of the following focus groups: 

Young people from racialised communities.
Young people living in poverty.
Young people dealing with trauma.
Young people suffering adversity due to their gender or sexuality.
Young people living in rural communities.
Funding is unrestricted and can be spent on any aspect of an organisation’s operation. However, applicants must demonstrate how any monies awarded will help their organisation improve mental health support and provision for young people. Applicants must be willing to commit to engaging and attending core activities of the Thriving Minds programme and complete all online reporting requirements.

There is a two-stage application process.  

Applications will open on 28 February 2022 and close on 24 March 2022.

Social enterprises will soon be able to apply for the next round of grants to assist in their recovery from the pandemic and allow them to continue supporting communities which have been disproportionately impacted.

To be eligible, organisations must:

Have been incorporated for at least a year.
Be based in England.
Have had an annual income of between £20,000 and £1.8 million before COVID-19 (either in the organisation’s last financial year or in the previous financial year (pre-COVID-19).
Have been financially stable on 31 December 2019. This means if the COVID-19 crisis had not struck, there would have been a good expectation that the organisation would have been viable this year and into the foreseeable future.
Be substantially reliant on trading income to deliver social impact (eg, sales and contracts).
Have a dual authority bank account.

Application deadline: 25 March 2022

The Rampion Community Benefit Fund is a grant set up by Rampion Offshore Wind Ltd and managed by Sussex Community Foundation. The fund supports projects that benefit the local community, in particular those with links to environment and ecology, climate change and energy.

Application deadline: No set deadline but payments must be made by 31 March 2022

The Voluntary & Community Sector Emergencies Partnership has ring-fenced an incentive pot of £20,000 to promote the engagement of organisations both within and beyond the partnership, to provide insight and/or intelligence on topic(s) that are emergency focussed in either preparedness or response and that ‘fill a gap’ in our collective knowledge.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has announced an £8 million fund over the next three years to support the work of the voluntary and community sector in tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.

The Programme is divided into four individually biddable lots, each with a different objective and its own individual budget per annum:

• Lot 1 - Increase the capacity and capability of the sector to prevent and relieve rough sleeping and homelessness (850,000 to £1.2 million).
• Lot 2 – Deliver a specific, specialist advice service to help frontline workers resolve individual cases (£750,000 to £950,000).
• Lot 3 - Enable stronger local strategic partnerships (£450,000 to £600,000).
  Lot 4 - Developing the faith and community sector (£175,000 to £225,000).

Applications are accepted from voluntary and community sector organisations in England with a proven track record of providing specialist delivery in the field of homelessness and working collaboratively across sectors. Consortium bids are also encouraged.

Bids will be considered for single or multiple lots.

The deadline to apply is 1 April 2022.

As part of its Food for the Planet project, registered charity Sustain is delivering small grants to support communities to campaign and advocate for food and climate justice in their local areas.

Grants of up to £5,000 are available to Sustainable Food Partnerships, local authorities and community or campaign groups based in the UK.

Eligible activities may include:

Encouraging and celebrating climate-friendly food in public institutions and council settings.
Growing more sustainable and healthy food, especially in urban fringes.
Tackling unfair and unhelpful pricing and advertising of the most climate-damaging foods.
Divesting from industrial agriculture.
There will be an introductory workshop on 14 March 2022 from 11am to 12pm for potential applicants who would like to discuss their projects in more detail.

The deadline to apply is 15 April 2022.

Funding is available to community groups in the UK to support a broad range of activities which can contribute towards transforming their community and improving the lives of people in their community.

Asda Foundation's Empowering Local Communities Grant programme is currently accepting applications for funding for projects under the following four themes:

• Building Resilient Communities - supporting community groups with the equipment, essentials and facilities to enable activity to take place. This might be enhancing what is already available, providing core items or enabling an activity to continue. 
• Active Lives - supporting participation in group physical activities. Whether low or high impact, regardless of age or ability, encouraging people to lead more active lifestyles and for everyone to feel able to participate. 
• Seasonal Celebrations & Festivals - enabling communities to celebrate what matters to them. Helping to bring people together to share experiences and encouraging everyone within the community to be together, eg Easter, Holi, Passover, The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, community garden party etc.
• Leading Healthier Lives - from cooking and education classes to enabling positive mental health. Asda Foundation is seeking to support health in body, mind and soul in UK communities.
  Applications will be accepted from local community groups and not for profit organisations based in the UK. Project activities must start or take place before 5 June 2022.

Groups may apply for one Empowering Local Communities grant per year of between £500 and £1,500.

The deadline for applications is 15 April 2022.

Community and heritage organisations will soon be able to apply for grants of up to £25,000 for projects which engage with a wide range of heritage and enable people to creatively share overlooked or untold stories of their communities.

Historic England is delivering the Everyday Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories programme as part of its Diversity and Inclusion strategy, published in 2020, which outlines its commitment to helping the heritage sector become more inclusive.

Grants could be used to celebrate aspects of diverse heritage including:

Local industry such as railways, mines and factories.
The working-class history of coastal and rural towns.
Local architecture.
Activities should provide innovative volunteering opportunities for young people or people facing loneliness or isolation, as well as contribute positively to participants' wellbeing.

The fund will open on 23 February 2022 and close on 23 May 2022.

The 7Stars Foundation is offering grants of up to £2,500 for groups to support young people (aged 16 and under) challenged by abuse and addiction, young carers, and those suffering from homelessness or lack access to a safe space. Funding is intended to help young people who lack opportunities to cope with unfair situations and achieve their potential.  

UK-based organisations with an annual turnover of less than £1.5 million can apply for funding for projects that:  

• Enable young people to have the best start in life and aim high.
• Have a direct impact and respond to a need in an immediate manner.
• Are hosted in geographical areas of deprivation and socioeconomic disadvantage.
• Respond to one or more of the funding priorities of the 7stars Foundation (abuse, addiction,
• homelessness and child carers).
  Address a lack of provision (due to a lack of funding from alternative sources).
• Provide immediate support, not just in the short-term but with long-term benefits too.

For projects addressing Child Carers, preference will be given to applications that offer long-term impact or sustainable support, such as mentoring or outreach programmes, over recreational trips.

There are four application rounds in 2022.

The next deadline is 31 April 2022.

Deadline for applications: 6 May 2022

Sussex Community Foundation’s next General Awards round deadline has been announced. We are encouraging applications across the whole of Sussex in the usual way but can confirm two main changes to our grants criteria from the next round. We will be open to applicants with an income of up to £2 million and will be able to consider grants of up to £10,000, rather than up to £5,000.

Our priority will be to continue to support the smallest, grassroots organisations across Sussex but the increase in income threshold is intended to allow support for a wider range of organisations, including those who have a broader reach and geography.

We hope that the increase in the grant amount offered will allow our support to extend over a longer period, so for some organisations, to fund delivery over 12 months rather than 3-6 months. Both these changes are in response to feedback received over the past year.

We will be holding our next funding advice surgery on 1 April. If you would like to register your interest, please email our grants team and we will send you the booking information nearer the time.

This event is particularly aimed at groups applying to us for the first time, those who have applied unsuccessfully in the past, or those who would like further support and advice with future applications.

The Government has announced the launch of its Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to fund low-carbon technologies like heat pumps, solar and geothermal energy. The scheme is supporting the rollout of the next generation of heat networks, enabling more towns and cities to take up this established technology.

Heat networks supply heat to buildings from a central source, avoiding the need for households and workplaces to have individual, energy-intensive heating solutions - such as gas boilers. At present, there are over 14,000 heat networks in the UK, providing heating and hot water to around 480,000 consumers.

The scheme will incentivise new and existing heat networks in England to move away from high-carbon sources, as well as exploiting waste-heat opportunities while bringing down costs for consumers. During the programme’s lifetime, it is expected to reduce carbon emissions equivalent to taking 5.6 million cars off the road for a year.

The GHNF is a capital grant funding programme with a total budget of £288 million. Grant levels for individual projects will vary, however, there will be an upper limit of £1 million for commercialisation support. Funding requests will typically span across multiple years. In a given financial year (April-March), applicants must have carried out works up to the value of the grant awarded within that given financial year.

Applications are open to public, private and third sector organisations in England.

The scheme opens its first application round on 14 March 2022, with a deadline for applications of 27 May 2022. This will be followed by quarterly rounds until the scheme closes in 2025.

The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) was first developed in response to the Government’s commitment to provide millions of pounds for planting both large and small trees in and around England’s towns and cities.

Urban trees are said to offer a range of benefits, including temperature moderation, flood risk mitigation, and improved wellbeing – particularly when in close proximity to large populations. The UTCF will contribute to delivering these benefits through the targeted planting thousands of large and small trees and in urban and peri-urban areas.

The new trees will also support the UK’s journey to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and commitment to increase tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares of trees a year by 2025.

The fund is currently open with a planting budget of £3.8 million (excluding establishment payments) for the coming planting season 2022/23. This round supports both block bids and individual applications. A block bid is designed for organisations to apply for funding towards multiple projects that can be geographically dispersed or focused in one area but submitted under one application.

The guideline for block bids is a minimum funding requirement of £125,000. Individual applications are for smaller, focused areas of planting undertaken by small organisations or community groups. These individual applications will need a minimum funding requirement of £10,000 up to a maximum of £30,000.

Applications are accepted from community and volunteer groups, town councils and individuals wishing to plant trees in urban areas of England. Applicants must have full management control over the land or signed consent from those with such control.

Applications must be submitted by 31 May 2022 (23:59 BST)

Sport England has announced it will provide grants of up to £15,000 to community organisations and public bodies if they are in charge of a sports facility which has incurred flood or storm damage and requires support to reopen.

Grants can be used to:

Repair storm-damaged buildings and roofs.
Grass and artificial pitches.
Decontaminate flooded clubhouses.
Replace damaged electrical systems or clear blocked drains.
Funding may also cover the hire of skips, pressure hoses or tarpaulins to secure exposed buildings (for use when safe to do so).

Public sector organisations such as local authorities and councils must provide £:£ match funding to be eligible.

Groups should apply using the Queen's Jubilee Platinum Activity Fund form using the project reference 'Storm 22' and including a picture of the damaged facility.

The Afghanistan Veterans’ Fund aims to increase capacity in services and initiatives that offer supportive comradeship, engagement and wellbeing efforts for those in the Armed Forces community impacted by events in Afghanistan, and the wider veterans community.

The Office for Veterans' Affairs has asked the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to run programmes that will award grants to improve wellbeing, resilience and promote good mental health. There are four funding strands and you can only apply to one strand. 

Consortium and its Community Collaborators, working in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, are delighted to announce the launch of the LGBT+ Futures: Equity Fund. This Fund has been enabled thanks to National Lottery players.
£465,000 is available through small grants to LGBT+ groups and organisations who are community-led and whose primary focus is one of our 5 priority targeted areas: Trans and Non-Binary people; Those facing racial injustice; D/deaf and/or Disabled people; Older people; and Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans+ Women.
Grants will be available for organisational running costs, projects and organisational / leadership development and can range from £100 - £25,000.
This Fund is participative, meaning people with lived experiences of the broad thematic area/s your organisation is applying under will be making the decisions on what to fund.

Charities with an annual income of between £25,000 and £1 million can still apply for unrestricted grants of up to £50,000 and accompanying development support from the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales.

Eligible charities must demonstrate a track record of undertaking work related to the following Complex Social Issues:

Addiction and dependency.
Asylum seekers and refugees.
Care leavers.
Domestic and sexual abuse.
Homelessness and vulnerable housing situations.
Learning disabilities.
Mental health.
Offending, prison or community service.
Sexual exploitation.
Trafficking and modern slavery.
Young parents.
Two-year funding is available for core organisational costs which are related to the day-to-day running of the charity. Consideration will only be given to requests for core costs where over 50% of the charity's work and expenditure meets the Foundation's criteria. Funding is also available for costs associated with the direct delivery of the charity's work.

The Foundation has introduced regional priorities to ensure that its portfolio of grants is equitably distributed across the 11 complex social issues and the regions in England and Wales. This means the size of grant a charity can apply for, or whether they can apply at all at the moment, depends on Local Authority and the complex social issue the charity’s work is addressing.

Applications can be submitted at any time.

Lewes District Council has received further limited funding from central government and has reopened this fund for applications. If you, or someone you know, is eligible, please apply without delay.  

If you’re finding it difficult to keep warm, buy enough food or pay essential bills, you may be able to get extra help. Residents across East Sussex can now apply for help from the Government’s Household Support Fund, which local councils are now helping to pay out.

To qualify, you must live within the council’s area, be over the age of 18, and be finding it difficult to pay for heating, lighting, water bills or food. You must also be in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Pension Credit
• Council Tax Reduction Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Income Support
• Income Based Job-Seeker’s Allowance
• Income Based Employment & Support Allowance

If you applied last year and didn’t complete the process you do not need to start again – you are able to login and pick up where you left off to finish and submit your application.

For further information and to apply, click below.

Sussex Community Foundation has announced a further donation of £195,000 from East Sussex County Council (ESCC) to the Sussex Crisis Fund, specifically to support food security projects in East Sussex.

ESCC donated £100,000 to the fund in the first weeks of the pandemic. The Sussex Crisis Fund has now given out an incredible £2 million in emergency funding in just 20 weeks.

There is no set deadline for applications as reviews are made on an on-going basis.

These grants are aimed at community-led arts and culture projects, with a focus on equality and inclusion, and which approach the subject of dying in an innovative or creative way.

We're looking for activities which take place in communities, outside of formal healthcare settings, which help make it easier for people to talk about death and dying.

We welcome applications from community arts and culture groups. For more information, visit the website here.

Find out more about 3VA's high-quality, evidence-based free and low-cost learning opportunities. 

Courses starting from 21 March

Survivors’ Network are offering FREE Bystander Intervention training on multiple dates throughout the year, or the opportunity to watch a 40-minute webinar at your own pace. Please share within your networks.

1) Recognise sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour and understand how it contributes to unsafe public spaces for certain groups of people.

2) Understand the impact of sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour.

3) Learn and practise tools and techniques to challenge this behaviour in a safe way.

Date: Thursday the 24th of March

Time: 9.30 am – 2.30 pm

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child, (VRAC) pilot-project invites you to, Wraparound Care training.

We warmly invite those working and/or volunteering with children and young people in the Newhaven and Hailsham areas to this in-person, relaxed, training.

This training is free to attend, free refreshments will be available, and a free light lunch will be provided.

VRAC focuses on an integrated approach to supporting children, young people, and their families, in which many different professionals, organisations and volunteers play a role and wide-ranging expertise and experience come together.

Optional networking hour, (stay on and have a cuppa with us!): 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Venue: The Motcombe Room, Community Wise, Ocklynge Road, (Old Town), Eastbourne, BN21 1PY

Booking: To book a place, please email the VRAC Wellbeing Coordinator

Donna.Lonsdale-O'Brien@escv.org.uk

Date: Thursday the 12 -14th April

The program is applicable to young people from 18 to 30 years old who are interested in working in the Health and Social Care sector and are eligible to work in the UK.

Part of the training session is to develop the appropriate employability skills to boost their confidence and prepare them for the available roles. Moreover, on the last day,  we will give the young people the opportunity to meet and have an interview with the employers.

Date: Thursday the 28 March

NCFE, Level 2 Certificate, 2 Week, online, Understanding Retail Operations course. With this course all learners will gain:

• Understanding customer service in the retail sector
  Understanding the retail selling process
• Understanding how individuals and teams contribute to the effectiveness of a retail business
• Understand how a retail business maintains health and safety on its premises
• Understand retail consumer law
  Understand how to deal with customer queries and complaints in a retail environment
• Understanding the handling of customer payments in a retail business
• Understanding the control, receipt and storage of stock in a retail business
   

We will be running the first course on the 28th March and anyone can attend who meets the following criteria:

Over 19 – must have turned 19 before September 2021
Unemployed and Claiming benefits
Employed and earning under £17k per year
Must have lived in the UK for at least the last three years
Must be able to provide ID

The training covers the following topics:

• Unpaid carers and the impact of caring
• The importance of ‘thinking carer’ identifying and supporting carers
• Carers rights
• Support available – signposting and referrals
• A ‘Carer-Friendly Community’ approach – good practice and the role we can all play to deliver the Government and NHS commitment to carers

2022 dates:
Thursday 28th April, 10am – 12.30pm
Monday 16th May, 1.30pm – 4pm
Tuesday 7th June, 10am – 12.30pm 
For further information or to book a place, call Carole Gregory on 01323 738390 or email: caroleg@cftc.org.uk

The ESTAR Team are pleased to announce the new Grow Your Future groups for this Spring, in Alexandra Park Hastings, and Helen Garden Eastbourne. There will be meet and greet sessions next week for clients to get to know the tutors and find out what to expect.

Grow Your Future is an 8-week horticulture programme, with wellbeing in nature activities, a Level 1 City and Guilds qualification, and work experience with a land management employer. Clients that have attended the scheme have reported increased wellbeing and confidence as a result, and the programme has now supported two people into paid employment.

Groups run two days a week, for 6 hours, with lunch provided. Full kit is also provided, with steel toe cap boots and Plumpton College uniform. Travel costs can also be covered, if required.

Don’t let your clients miss out on this great opportunity! We have limited spaces in both locations. Refer today, and a member of the team will be in touch with you to discuss your client’s support needs. https://forms.office.com/r/EZDMX05zQE

Our Eastbourne based charity WayfinderWoman is running a year project to help women learn digital skills.
We are currently still looking for volunteers to join the project and learn how to be DAs as at the moment we only have one DA who has completed her training and ready to offer the service out to the public. We are now 4 months into the project so please can you help us with finding more volunteers willing to train up (for free!) as our DAs? (Women only)
Here is a little more information on the Digital Ambassadors (DA) program: This is a year long project.

-All DA's will study the Digital Champions essentials foundation course.
-Further learning modules are to be chosen based on your areas of interest.
-DA's will develop the teaching skills to pass this knowledge on to others.
-During the year, we expect our DAs will help on average 4 or more women across East Sussex to safely access digital platforms in order to build their confidence, skills and motivation.
-Our trained DAs will be working virtually from home, and also face to face with women learners in the WayfinderWoman Hub in Eastbourne.
-All volunteer DAs will be asked to sign a confidentiality form due to GDPR.
-WayfinderWoman is paying for the training program, so it is free for our DA's!

Email:info@wayfinderwoman.com

For more information

I’m Speech & Language Therapist and Churchill Fellow.
In response to the impact of lockdowns on speech/language delays in toddlers/preschoolers, The Churchill Fellowship Covid-19 Action Fund is generously supporting the provision of free online speech and language stimulation education sessions UK-wide to
parents/carers/guardians/educators.

Please only choose one date. Each week is a repeat of previous week.

First Words (supporting children to say their first sounds/words):
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/first-words-supporting-children-to-say-their-first-wordstickets-253858867707

Phrases and Sentences (supporting children to develop speech and language):
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/phrases-and-sentences-supporting-children-to-developspeech-and-language-tickets-25595508755

Social Isolation Awareness Training – 10 minute online module

Social isolation awareness training (zerosuicidealliance.com)

Suicide Awareness Training – 20 minutes online module

20 minute suicide awareness training (zerosuicidealliance.com)

Working with people with mental health needs – online

The AIM Group - Working with People with Mental Health Needs - Free Qualification Course

A free one-day multi-agency training opportunity to help staff work more effectively with people with a diagnosis (or traits) of ‘personality disorder’ is on offer. It is open to any community/voluntary service or staff who may benefit from a better understanding of personality difficulties.

If you are interested in booking for you or your team, please email the KUF Hub Training Coordinator.

Free Active Bystanders training sessions delivered by Survivors Network are now available to book online using this link.

The sessions last about 90 minutes and aim to help participants #DotheRightThing by:

• Recognising sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour and understanding how it contributes to unsafe public spaces for certain groups of people.
• Understanding the impact of sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour.
• Learning and practising tools and techniques to challenge this behaviour in a safe way.

The sessions are open to everyone.

Deadline for applications: 25 March 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 25 March 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 31 March 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 31 March 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 1April 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 4 April 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 22 April 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 31 March 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 30 April 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 1 July 2022 at 12am

Deadline for applications: 31 December 2022 at 12am