Catch up on news and see what's planned over the next couple of months. No Images? Click here #safeTALK training by Action to Prevent Suicide : Can we do more? I had the huge privilege of attending a half-day workshop hosted by Chukes Maxwell and his colleagues from Action to Prevent Suicide recently. #SafeTALK is alertness training that prepares anyone aged 14 or over to become a suicide-alert helper. I learned that most people thinking of suicide want help to stay alive and, indeed, often invite help from others. BUT, those invitations are often missed, dismissed or avoided. Avoiding direct and open talk about suicide is not helpful and could be dangerous. The best way to find out if someone is thinking of suicide is to ask directly. This workshop shows you how to do just that, and also provides delegates with various resources if ever you need to connect someone with a suicide first-aid intervention caregiver. I would urge anyone and everyone to attend one of these courses, to help us all raise levels of alertness, help change the language we all use when talking about suicide (or those who have died by suicide), and to appreciate how talking openly about suicide can help prevent it. As PAs, we are often the eyes and ears of the organisation. It has been well documented how PAs tend to have high levels of emotional intelligence and can often spot what's going on with people they work with well before others, and therefore this course could provide some valuable tips and tools to help you help those around you, both at work and at home. Next course: Tu 09.07. / 9.00am - 1pm / Mercure Rougemont Exeter tickets: £35 Monthly Business Breakfast / Th 18.04. / 7.30amSarah Mansbridge of Ashfords LLP will talk to us about the importance of having and reviewing our Wills, and what could happen if we don't have one! Easy Car Maintenance Class ★ Special offer: free event ★ / Th 30.05. / 7pmLearn how to check levels, understand dashboard warning lights, how to check your tyre tread and change a wheel at this fun - and free- workshop! Outlook Masterclass with Paul Pennant / We 10.07. / 9.00amA repeat of the Masterclass we held in February by popular demand. Spaces are very limited. This course will deliver 156 productivity hacks to save you an hour a day! Check out the Eventbrite page by following link below to see the amazing testimonials from our February cohort. Email Management Masterclass / We 07.08. / 5:00pm-8:00pmJoin us at Froginwell Vineyard with Dr Monica Seeley for this interactive masterclass for PAs and EAs who want to save time dealing with email to improve their own and their organisation's productivity. Cost £25. Word, Excel & Powerpoint Masterclass with Paul Pennant / We 25.09. / 9.00amAs with all computer-based office tools, we tend to use familiar features and functions and ignore the rest. You will learn how to really use these effectively to produce amazing professional documents, spreadsheets and presentations, and with the use of Paul's breath-taking shortcuts, it needn’t take you hours! He'll share 420+ time saving tips with you. Other events: EPAA Fellow Training Day: various dates in May at different locations, with the amazing Anel Martin (amongst others) Today's PA Conference ★ Special offer: 15% off ★ quote "EPAN member" in the notes field when booking online to get a discount. A fresh approach to charity Make the most out of the £750 and £5k grant offers! Law firms aren’t strangers to charity, and more and more are waking up to the opportunities on offer if they pursue charitable initiatives. But the upcoming start of the new financial year offers an opportunity for a fresh approach to charity, perhaps exploring what is relatively uncharted territory for law firms: a fully-independent charitable foundation. The Ashfords Foundation has been established with very clearly defined objectives to support smaller charities and community organisations through two grant programmes: Grant A ➔ SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES • £750 • One-off Grant B ➔ PRESERVING COMMUNITIES • Up to £5,000 per year • 1 to 3 years The first offers one off grants of up to £750 while the second supports established charities and not-for-profit organisations develop a solid foundation for the future, helping them build sustainability for the long term. After establishing a ‘Community Matters’ CSR programme almost a decade ago, Ashfords startedto understand how it could make a real difference in the communities in which its partners and staff live and work. They saw the opportunity in a Foundation to bring together all of Ashfords' charitable giving in one place and build a sense of common purpose among its people. In each case, both Applicants and the project they are seeking funding for, should be local to one of Ashfords’ offices in Bristol, Exeter, London, Tiverton and Taunton. Women Can: Challenges 2019 3 women only challenges / Full, Half and Quarter Marathon / 3 different starts, 1 finishChoose your distance, run, jog or walk alone or with your friends. This takes place in the floral town of Sidmouth at the heart of the Jurassic coast, providing off road multi-terrain routes in stunning East Devon countryside. Local technology firm Lightfoot is launching a bold community initiative, Breathe Exeter, with the aim of creating a “cleaner, greener Exeter by the end of 2019.” Focusing on community action rather than governmental policy, Breathe Exeter will help Exeter’s drivers to adopt smoother, more efficient driving habits in an effort to protect the city from air pollution. With the business investing £500,000 in the initiative, they have extended a special invitation to members of the Exeter PA Network for the official launch event on 25 April. The event will see the best and brightest of the Exeter business community come together for an evening of good cheer, community spirit, and pledging to protect our fantastic city for generations to come. See you on the night! Special EPAN members invitation: Special launch event / Th 25.4. / St. James Park Join the Breathe Exeter movement: purchase your Lightfoot device ★ Get £10 off with the EPANBREATHE139 code ★ • Save on fuel • Reduce emissions • Be safer on the roads Stay tuned in for the latest info: Watch out for our next newsletterIn the meantime, please do share ♥ this newsletter with colleagues and contacts who you think would enjoy being part of our network - or encourage them to subscribe to our updates through our website (www.exeterpanetwork.com). Take care y'all and hope to see you at an event soon! Kim Glover |