Interested in your wellbeing? Then join us for our weekly wellbeing sessions and start your wellbeing journey today.

Are you a patient, a carer, are you bereaved? Has life changed, leaving you feeling demotivated, isolated or struggling to cope? Are you someone looking for new ways to achieve a healthy balance in your life? Then our Virtual Wellbeing Programme may be for you.

If you would like relaxed conversation over a virtual cuppa and to meet others in similar situations, then please join us and kickstart your wellbeing journey. We would love to see you.

The virtual programme will run every Tuesday from 2.00pm – 3.00pm starting the 21st July 2020 

For more information or to register for the Wellbeing Programme, please e-mail: Jo Gregory, Counsellor & Support Worker, at: joanne.gregory@ashgatehospicecare.org.uk.

The Wellbeing Programme is a virtual weekly meeting held on Zoom. Members will receive weekly zoom link invitations via e-mail to join the Wellbeing meetings.

Shelagh’s Sewing Circle is a group of 150+ volunteers based in Dronfield/S.Sheffield area who are currently making & distributing free face masks to a wide range of health, voluntary & charity organisation.

Our initial priorities have been surgeries, care homes & health professionals, but as capacity grew, we broadened out to nurseries & other priority key workers, like charities in contact with vulnerable groups & 3rd sector organisations needing to supplement their PPE. 

As of last night we have made and distributed nearly 30.000 masks, mostly to the Dronfield, South Sheffield, Chesterfield, S.Yorkshire & NE Derbyshire areas, but word of mouth, appearances on local radio & TV (Look North & Calender News) & support from Patrick Grant of Sewing Bee has resulted in orders from wider care homes & key workers across the country, including London, Norwich, Liverpool & Scotland!! 

The masks are completely free and are being made from donated goods. They were originally produced in consultation with local health professionals and are washable for cleansing, although steaming with a hot iron can sterilises them between contacts.

 You can find more information by looking at our website Shelaghssewingcircle.org.uk. People who are interested in getting some of these free masks can order them via this website.

Tell us about your experience of the last few extraordinary months, and what support you need – and win a £25 supermarket voucher!

Closing date 31 July 2020

We want to hear community groups, voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises of all kinds and all sizes, from all parts of Derby City and Derbyshire.

This includes established organisations (whether or not you have been able to provide services during the lockdown), as well as new informal mutual aid / neighbourhood groups; and faith organisations, parish councils and food banks responding to the crisis.

All completed surveys will be entered into a draw to win 1 of 3 x £25 supermarket vouchers!

We want to find out, capture and share:

• All the good work that you have been doing to make sure that people affected by COVID, especially the most vulnerable, have been supported.
• What you have learned and experienced
• What the impact has been on your organisation
• Crucially, we also want to know what support and resources you will need in future, so that we can make sure that you get this

The survey should take about 20 minutes, and will ask questions about:

• Your organisation (what you do, where you work, who you support and your annual income)
• What you have been doing (if anything) to support people during COVID (including the kinds of support you have provided, the numbers of people you have helped and the number of volunteers who have been involved).
• The impact of COVID on your organisation, including your income, staff (if any), volunteer numbers, levels of demand, needs and geographical differences.
• Your experience of COVID – what the challenges have been, what you have learned – and what support you will need going forward.

Click here to start the survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3D2020

This survey is being carried out by the 3D (Third Sector Support for Derbyshire) network of local CVS, Volunteer Centres and other local voluntary sector support organisations working in partnership with public sector colleagues.

If you have any questions, or if would rather complete the survey on paper or as a Word document, or if you need someone to help you fill it in please email 3derbyshire@gmail.com 

Connex would like to tell you about a new idea their wonderful Dales team has started! Here’s more from Sarah……

‘Here over in the Dales we have started a Connex Pen Pals project, whereby youngsters are writing letters and drawing pictures for our older and more vulnerable residents of the Derbyshire Dales.

If you are working with any children or your own children or grandchildren would enjoy writing an occasional letter to help send to someone who is isolated, please drop me an email for more details. We are accepting children pen pals from all over, to prove to our clients they are never alone!’

You can contact Sarah on sarahc@connex.org.uk

Derwent Rural Counselling Service are still operating and have been throughout the epidemic, offering telephone and video counselling sessions to Derby and Derbyshire residents. They have been taking referrals by phone, email and web form. Their therapists are offering a lot of additional appointments and therefore their waiting times are very short, as soon as the assessment is completed an appointment to begin treatment will be offered straight away.

Rural Action Derbyshire has launched a Rural Hardship Support Fund to help people in rural areas of Derbyshire suffering extreme hardship as a result of Covid-19.

The fund will provide regular food parcels and assistance with some critical household expenses. People will also be able to access information on other support available to them relative to their specific needs.

In response to the current crisis, the Co-operative have made some changes to their Community Dividend Fund to provide immediate financial support for local good causes, community groups and charities who are responding to some of the most worrying impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Many charities and organisations are suffering financial hardship due to the pandemic – incomes have fallen, demand has risen. 

In particular, they know that providing the basics including food has become a challenge for many people.  Isolation and lack of access to normal services means that mental health and wellbeing is a growing concern. 

The Community Dividend Fund particularly welcome applications from organisations that are meeting needs in these areas.

To find out more and apply visit: https://www.centralengland.coop/community-covid/

Closing date 31^st July 2020

Life in Lockdown: a Time Capsule in Print

The story begins with lockdown and the question…

‘how was our organisation, whose ethos is the importance of connecting communities, now going to provide support to people who needed it now more than ever’?

My name is Charlotte and not long after lockdown I hit on an idea that was met with excited whoops from my colleague Rachel, fully embraced by colleagues Natalie and Bryony and the rest of the Derbyshire Voluntary Action team.

As an organisation Derbyshire Voluntary Action proudly supports hundreds of voluntary sector organisations and community groups. We are passionate about championing the work of the community and its volunteers. We are incredibly proud of our strong working relationship with Public Health, NHS, local businesses, and our funders. With this in mind we feel truly able to make a powerful book that represents how our community has responded to the Covid-19 Coronavirus Crisis.

Through our work as Derbyshire Voluntary Action we have built relationships with some amazingly creative and talented people. We are lucky enough to have these people join us on this journey, please continue reading, and we hope you decide to become a part of this amazing project.  

As the weeks passed the death toll rose, fear in people’s voices evident and the mood increasingly sombre, communities took to social media to express themselves in the most creative of ways; drawing and painting for the first time since they were at school, song writing and performing to raise money, writing reflective pieces and generally chatting about how they were feeling, asking ‘does anyone else feel like I do’?

It struck me that our materialistic somewhat selfish ‘I’m alright Jack’ complacency had given way to a deep sense of responsibility towards others, an overwhelming need to feel connected, not forgotten and cared about. From this, the idea of a book was born, a place to capture that depth of feeling through art, crafting, photography, poetry and story-telling, giving us all a purpose, a reason to stay connected and a common goal.

The young, the elderly, volunteers, health care workers, survivors of Covid-19 and the bereaved… everyone has their own unique story that deserves to be told and preserved for future generations. Volunteers can put in to words why they felt compelled to give their time, how attitudes have changed towards the community they live in and what next? How small businesses have adapted and been hugely resourceful in order to survive but in many cases became a crucial life line for local people. Photographs capturing special moments of hand clapping, rainbows in the windows, VE day celebrations on the drive, emotional reunions and exhausted masked care workers. The first-hand accounts of Covid-19 survivors and the agony of relatives unable to bring comfort to loved ones. 

‘Giving back to those who have given so much’

We aim to publish a book titled ‘Life in Lockdown’ documenting the Covid-19 Pandemic as seen through the eyes of residents of Chesterfield and surrounding areas.

The 200 page coffee table style book will be for sale to the public with the proceeds going towards support local charities or the community.

“It’s our way of giving back to the community whilst singing the praises of those unsung heroes”

We aim to sell the book online, in local shops and museums. If you were interested in submitting to the book please read the guidance on our website https://dva.org.uk/covid-19-book-project/

To make this a reality we are hoping to raise £10,000 to cover our publishing, marketing and distribution costs for the initial run of 500 copies.   

You can help by:

1. Donating £1 or what you can afford at https://www.gofundme.com/f/life-in-lockdown-a-time-capsule-in-print

2. Sharing on social media #lifeinlockdownchesterfield

3. Emailing this page https://www.gofundme.com/f/life-in-lockdown-a-time-capsule-in-print to family and friends

Don’t forget the proceeds of this book will go to our local community.

Be instrumental in not only preserving history for future generations, but at this time of need, help provide a therapeutic outlet and something for us all to look forward to… EVERYONE can be a part of this journey.

Charlotte Higgins
Community Coordinator
charlotte@dva.org.uk
07907 484835

Do you want the opportunity to work for a successful, dynamic and innovative organisation that champions the work and changing needs of the health related Voluntary and Community Sector in Derbyshire? 

So why not work for Us!

Derbyshire Voluntary Action is an independent charity and specialist infrastructure organisation for the health and social care voluntary and community sector.

COMMuniTY CHESTERFIELD is an exciting 3-year initiative, which is 18 months in and has already developed innovative opportunities for the University of Derby and Chesterfield’s Voluntary and Community Sector to work collaboratively together in ways that will strengthen Chesterfield communities.

We are seeking to recruit a maternity cover Project Manager to lead the COMMuniTY CHESTERFIELD team, over the next nine months building on the current achievements and developing the project further.

Project Manager (Maternity Leave)
30 hours per week – 0.8 FTE
£29,909 FTE + 5% pension contribution

Will guide the project further, building on current achievements, exploring new opportunities, building and maintaining new and existing relationships with the University of Derby and the Community Groups. Will head up an extremely collaborative and passionate team of three. The role will also have an eye to the future and work with colleagues on funding to see the project continue beyond its current funding period.

Closing date for applications: Sunday 26^th July 2020

Interview dates: provisional date 11 August 2020

For an application pack please call 01246 555908 or email info@dva.org.uk , alternatively visit https://dva.org.uk/job-vacancies/