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Charity and Voluntary Sector
MoD: The equipment they use to fight the enemy costs £bns to develop and incorporates the very latest technology – but now troops serving on Afghanistan’s front line are about to see their down time made brighter ,with the provision of modern consumer gadgets.
A range of items including portable DVD players, games consoles and solar-powered chargers for MP3 players and other personal equipment, are to be supplied to Afghanistan’s Forward Operating Bases as an initial project to get a new type of charity fund – the Operational Welfare Fund - under way. Thanks to sponsorship, the scheme has received a valuable kick-start and will be able to start shipping these gadgets out to Theatre in a matter of days.
One of the key aims behind the new fund is to give members of the public - who have consistently demonstrated their generosity towards service personnel - a genuine alternative to sending their own parcels to operational theatre in the run-up to Christmas. Although it is recognised & appreciated that people have the best of intentions when they send festive gifts out to troops, the MoD is stressing that donating to the Operational Welfare Fund represents a much more effective way of supporting the troops.
Press release ~ MoD – Operational Welfare Fund ~ SSAFA Forces Help ~ Online fund raising ~ Public support for our Service personnel
BIG: An England-wide scheme to provide a listening ear to adults who suffered trauma in their childhood is amongst 40 projects receiving funding from the Big Lottery Fund as part of £11m from BIG’s Reaching Communities programme. The money has beenawarded to organisations working with some of the most vulnerable & socially excluded people across the country.
The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) received £495,210 to increase the capacity of their national freephone support line for adults who suffered abuse as children. Volunteers are trained to offer a sympathetic ear, allowing callers the opportunity to discuss their experiences with a non-judgmental listener and be signposted to other organisations that can help them deal with past issues face-to-face.
Press release ~ National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) ~ The Lowe Syndrome Trust ~ Action for Blind People ~ Reaching Communities
Cabinet Office: The Office of the Third Sector, in association with Ipsos MORI and Guidestar, is working with local groups in Gloucestershire, Bury and Hackney to conduct a pilot survey of local third sector organisations including charities, voluntary groups, community-led organisations and social enterprises.
These 3 pilot surveys will help develop understanding of the needs of local & national third sector organisations and their local relationships. The pilot surveys will be targeted at smaller & unregistered organisations in each area. The data gathered will supplement the results of the National Survey carried out earlier this year.
Press release ~ National Survey of Third Sector Organisations ~ Office of the Third Sector ~ GuideStar UK
CO: Dame Mary Marsh, Director of the Clore Social Leadership Programme, a new initiative to identify & develop emerging talent in the third sector, has announced the names of the first Fellows, who will start their programme in January 2010.
The programme is modelled on the influential Clore Leadership Programme for the cultural sector, which was founded in 2004, with the aim of helping to train & develop a new generation of leaders in the arts in the UK. Fellows have been selected annually from the cultural sector & beyond, to undertake an individually tailored programme of tuition, research, mentoring & secondment designed to develop their leadership skills, knowledge and experience.
ScotGov: Small charitable organisations are set to benefit from improvements to the Scottish Government's Water Services Charges Exemption Scheme, which will help ensure that registered charities with a small income will continue to be eligible for exemption from water & sewerage charges from 2010 to 2015.
BIG: 6 of the UK’s much-loved parks are celebrating a boost of over £18m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund (BIG). This cash injection from the joint Parks for People programme brings the total invested in public parks & the environment by the two Lottery good cause distributors to well over £1bn.
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