Funding to Tackle Fuel Poverty - deadline 26 August 2014

The Scottish Power Energy People Trust has announced that its grants programme is open for applications. The Trust provides grants to registered charities for projects that address fuel poverty. Organisations can apply for grants of up to £50,000 for projects that: Improve home energy efficiency through draught proofing, insulating and or other practical measures; Support front line charities who carry out benefits advice to households missing out on financial help that they are entitled to; Provide assistance to reduce or cancel debts for household electricity or gas supply, where such assistance is provided as part of a package of measures aimed at providing customers with long-term relief from fuel poverty. Applications are particularly welcome from charities who work with children, young people and families.
http://www.energypeopletrust.com/content/default.asp?page=home

Woodward Charitable Trust - Summer Playscheme Grants Programme - deadline 1 April 2014

The Woodward Charitable Trust has announced that its Summer Playscheme Grants Programme has re-opened for applications. Grants of between £500 and £1,000 are available to registered charities for the provision of children's summer playschemes for children between the ages of 5 and 16 years. The charities annual income should be under £100,000. Approximately 35 grants are awarded each year. The Trustees favour small-scale, locally based initiatives. Funding is primarily for one-off projects, but the Trustees are willing to consider funding running costs (including core cost and salaries).  The deadline for receipt of applications for the Summer Playschemes is 12 noon on the 1st April 2014.
http://www.woodwardcharitabletrust.org.uk/guidelines.html

Latest stats on benefits sanctions

 

The total number of sanctions imposed on benefit claimants in the year to September 2013 was 897,690 – the highest figure for any 12-month period since jobseeker's allowance was introduced in 1996 – according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions.

 

Read more http://www.poverty.ac.uk/editorial/record-sanctions-benefits-claimants

 

    and you wonder why food bank usage has rocketed..

Welfare and poverty: why are church leaders out of step with their flocks?

 

Greg Smith (Honorary Senior Research Fellow, William Temple Foundation) writes about the gap between the bishops and ordinary Christians on welfare issues

http://www.christiansontheleft.org.uk/welfare_and_poverty_why_are_church_leaders_out_of_step_with_their_flocks

Bishop to lead Parliamentary Inquiry into Foodbanks and Food Poverty

News from Church of England

Bishop to lead Parliamentary Inquiry into Foodbanks and Food Poverty

http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2014/02/bishop-to-lead-parliamentary-inquiry-into-foodbanks-and-food-poverty.aspx

 

Mark Yaconelli in Preston - 11 May 2014

 

 

Mark Yaconelli is hosting a one-day taster session of his Radical Compassion Course in Preston this May.

In 2012, two Greenbelters Rev Bryony Davis and Andy Pratt joined Mark in California at the Claremont School of Theology to take part in the full course, which seeks to heal broken people and communities through contemplation, creativity and compassion.

The one-day taster session starts with a church service, featuring a talk from Mark, followed by lunch, and then a series of exercises to "help participants develop their capacity to be radically compassionate".

Here's more on the workshop:

The workshop is ideal for ministers, organisational leaders, social justice activists, teachers, parents, and anyone who seeks practical training in compassionate living. Individuals who attend the workshop will: Develop skills for self-compassion; Learn how to identify and transform difficult emotions; Develop techniques for relating to colleagues, clients, friends, family members, and even enemies with genuine compassion; Understand how to participate in social actions that confront injustice from a grounded place of truth rather than reactive anger.

The cost of the day is £25, including food and refreshments. For more information and to book a place, contact Andrew Pratt at andrewpratt1@btinternet.com

Distributing large quantities of food around the county

Dear Food Poverty network people....... sorry if you get this from multiple sources

 

Last week I got this email from Sandra Royle who is already doing lots of good work sourcing and distributing wholesale quantities of good food for free around Blackpool and the Fylde coast... She has had temporary use of a vehicle but this is coming to an end.. We've been talking to Sandra as together lancashire and via the Blackpool Food Partnership as how best to support and get involved in the valuable work she is doing.. However, as she is not yet organised as a company or as a charity it's not easy to help her access grant funding...  But we think it is valuable work.. and that there must be other ways and deals that could be done to get her van on the road.. maybe delivering food to your food bank for free or at knockdown prices... 

 

If you have any ideas... or a pot of gold under your nearest rainbow please get in touch direct with

Sandra Royle 

07597 855837

Sandra Royle <sandra.royle@fccr.org.uk>

 

Hi Guys,

I need your help!

Please could you make a donation towards the purchase of a van so that I can continue to run the wholesale food bank?

I have been offered a really good van at a reduced price and therefore urgently need to raise £2000 to cover the cost of the van, insurance and breakdown cover.

I have to return my current vehicle by the end of the month!

On a brighter note I have now secured a contract with Kelloggs to collect cereals and snacks in bulk from their Manchester factory - which will enable me to supply all the soup kitchens and food banks on my data base with heaps of goodies!

Thank you for your support.

Donations can be paid direct into my bank account - please contact me for further details.

Thanks

Sandra Royle 

07597 855837

Sandra Royle <sandra.royle@fccr.org.uk>

 

 

 

 

 

Shalom

Greg Smith

Development Co-ordinator Together Lancashire / Preston Christian Action Network

Phone - Mobile 07726177044

Together Lancashire, registered office Church House, Blackburn BB1 5AA

Registered Charity no 1147848 Registered company no 07966145

Together Lancashire Website http://www.cuf.org.uk/together-lancashire

See also PCAN Website www.pcan.org.uk or and

BLOG http://prestonchristianactionnetwork.blogspot.com/ (you can sign up there to receive news and information updates by email)

Funded by 

Archbishop of York launches Together Grants

This is a new funding stream from Church Urban Fund..... for ecumenical projects  that need more funds than our Together Lancashire Mustard seed grants can supply...

 

 

Last week, the Archbishop of York visited Handcrafted in Durham with Paul Hackwood to launch Church Urban Fund's new Together Grants.

The Archbishop said: "The Church of England can be very proud of the Church Urban Fund and the work that is done to support the poorest in our society. I am delighted to launch this new £1m Together Grants programme. We are called to bring good news to the poor and the Church Urban Fund helps make this a reality."

There's a report on the visit on the Christian Today website, and more information about Together Grants on the CUF website.

One of the new criteria for Together Grants is the need for applicants to be working together with another church or organisation.

 

For more information about Together Grants, please contact Andrew Mathews, CUF's Grants officer.  Or

 

 

greg.smith@together-lancashire.org.uk

Greg Smith 

Development Co-ordinator Together Lancashire / Preston Christian Action Network

Phone - Mobile 07726177044

Government report on food bank growth published at last.

In case you haven't seen it.. this is the Guardian's coverage of the report published today

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/20/food-bank-review-undermines-ministers-claim

Leeds Poverty Truth Challenge

Some interesting and inmportant work going on in Leeds....a model for Fairness Commission agendas elswehere,

 

 

http://leedspovertytruth.wordpress.com/

 

The principle of the Leeds Poverty Truth Challenge is that decisions about poverty must involve people who have directly faced poverty. 

 

 

Shalom

Greg Smith

Development Co-ordinator Together Lancashire / Preston Christian Action Network

Phone - Mobile 07726177044

Together Lancashire, registered office Church House, Blackburn BB1 5AA

Registered Charity no 1147848 Registered company no 07966145

Together Lancashire Website http://www.cuf.org.uk/together-lancashire

See also PCAN Website www.pcan.org.uk or and

BLOG http://prestonchristianactionnetwork.blogspot.com/ (you can sign up there to receive news and information updates by email)

Funded by 

Help over Welfare Reforms..

 

Please find below a link that you may find invaluable,  it offers free support to organisations like ours that are dealing with benefit entitlements and appeals:

 

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/2600-free-support-on-offer-to-organisations-dealing-with-esa-dla-or-pip-claims-reconsiderations-or-appeals?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Benefits%20and%20Work&utm_content=A+Jan+2014+newsletter

 

I hope you find this useful in some way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Unite: Spring Online

 

Spring Online is our award-winning initiative that makes it possible for thousands of people, often older people, to try out using computers and tablets and the internet, many for the first time. This year, between 31 March - 4 April 2014, thousands of free taster events and sessions will be held by volunteers and organisations across the UK to help and inspire local people achieve a lasting use of the internet. So why don't you get involved and hold a Spring Online event? Whether you have access to one computer or tablet or a whole room full of them, Spring Online is a fantastic opportunity to help others in your area to get online.
http://digitalunite.com/spring-online-2014

Listening Skills Training Course Revised dates.

For anyone interested in doing Acorn Listening Skills training the revised dates are

 

Tuesday Evenings - April 29^th, May 6^th, 13^th and 20^th 

 

^{Venue Central Methodist Church Preston}

 

^{Contact for more info..} 

Rev Sue Griffiths
E-mail Address(es):
suegriffiths@mybroadbandmail.com
Phone: (01772) 774285

 

Fw: Tackling Poverty Together February 2014

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Church Urban Fund

To: greg.smith@together-lancashire.org.uk

Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 12:48 PM

Subject: Tackling Poverty Together February 2014

If you are having problems reading this e-mail please click here

Just Love Lent - Church Urban Fund lent resources Everyone longs for love. Who could possibly be against it? It seems uncontroversial. Jesus was the only human to love perfectly. The response of his fellow humans was to execute him brutally. Love is more controversial – more disruptive – than we realise.   This Lent we have a range of resources based around a new book written by Angus Ritchie of the Contextual Theology Centre and our Chair Paul Hackwood.   Just Love uses the Gospel readings for Lent to explore how Jesus loved, and why this love led him to the cross. It draws out the implications of his transforming love – both for our individual lives and for our social and economic order.   The book is available to order on line at Amazon here and the kindle version is also available. Resources will be available shortly for individuals, small groups, children / young people and a sermon outline. Register here. Training Event on Asset-Based Community Development Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is an approach that challenges the way poverty is often understood. In contrast to needs-based approaches, it uses the skills and capacities of local people to build strong and sustainable communities - not 'solving what's wrong' but 'building on what's strong'. We are holding a training day that will introduce the main principles of ABCD and provide suggestions about how it can be put into practice by churches. The event: 10am – 4pm, Thursday 10 April in Birmingham. Book your place here. Latest research report: building support for credit unions Following Archbishop Justin's comments on credit unions last summer, our latest research report aims to shed light on how best to encourage churchgoers to engage with this sector. The report makes recommendations about the steps that need to be taken to significantly increase membership of credit unions amongst churchgoers. Download the report here.  The findings will be discussed at a General Synod fringe event: 1.15pm, Weds 12 February. If you would like to come along please email bethany.eckley@cuf.org.uk  Note for your diaries - Sunday 22 June is Poverty Sunday. An ideal time to raise awareness of the issues and update people about the work of Church Urban Fund and the Together Network. We will be developing resources in due course and remember churches can hold a poverty Sunday at any time that is suitable during the year. Forward this email to someone else Bookmark with: Facebook Twitter Google+ Follow us on Twitter    Become a friend on Facebook    Visit our Youtube page    Church Urban Fund, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ T 020 7898 1647    F 020 7898 1601    E enquiries@cuf.org.uk    W www.cuf.org.uk Registered Charity number 297483. Want to unsubscribe?

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