Charity and Voluntary Sector
MoJ: The Ministry of Justice and the Corston Independent Funders’ Coalition have established a joint grant fund (each contributing £1m) to help transform the way women are treated by the criminal justice system.
The Women’s Diversionary Fund will be used to provide grants to third sector organisations to support further growth in community services for women and contribute to building the confidence of courts in alternatives to custody.
The Women’s Diversionary Fund will be used to provide grants to third sector organisations to support further growth in community services for women and contribute to building the confidence of courts in alternatives to custody.
Press release ~ Corston Independent Funders' Coalition ~ Previous allocation of £10m funding to third sector providers to divert vulnerable women from custody ~
MoD: The MoD and Hampshire County Council have joined forces to launch the Armed Forces Community (AFC) Welfare Pathway initiative in Hampshire to enable serving personnel, their families & veterans to receive the help, advice & support they need from the people best-placed to provide it.
Members of the AFC will be able to access advice on their entitlements by calling Hantsdirect, the County Council’s contact centre, on 0845 603 5630. They will be able to get advice on everything from priority healthcare to housing & education, as well as link with Service & veterans’ charities and the Citizens Advice Bureau.
This is all supported by a single free national telephone number – 08000 223366 – that provides automated options for both in-Service and ex-Service personnel, their families & widows to use as an initial port of call, if uncertain of who to contact. It’s not intended to replace existing sources of advice, but it provides a safety net for those who are completely unaware of what is available.
Press release ~ Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen’s Families Association (SAFA) – Forces Help ~
VSO: Kathy Lette, best-selling author of Mad Cows and Foetal Attraction, has joined forces with VSO to launch Walk for Tabita, a series of UK walks designed to raise over £50,000 for women’s health care in developing countries. The Walk happens on Sunday 7 March 2010 - just before International Women’s Day - and honours Tabita, a Sierra Leonean women who lost her baby because she did not have access to a trained midwife.
Tabita is just one of thousands of women that VSO health workers see each year. Like Tabita, many are forced to walk for days to reach a trained midwife - often without medication or assistance - and sadly often too late to save the unborn child.
Willing participants can either join 1 of 15 organised walks, beginning at a gentle 5km, or organise one of their own with friends, families & colleagues. The walks are designed to be a social, fun day out. Participants are asked to fundraise & raise awareness of Tabita’s story.
BIG: The Government has completed the roll-out of grants from its Community Assets scheme with £1m awarded to Herefordshire Council to transform Leominster’s historic Grange Court into a new facility for local charities & community groups. The award will see the carved black & white timber building (built in 1633 by the King's carpenter John Abel) continue to be used by & for the community.
This final Community Assets grant sees a total investment of close to £30m from the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office’s initiative to create, refurbish & expand local facilities for VCS organisations. Herefordshire Council will transfer the freehold of the building to Leominster Area Regeneration Company Limited (LARC) leaving it in the hands of the local community.
