SENScot December Newsletter
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December Newsletter
Dear ,
Welcome to the final newsletter of the year. For this newsletter we’ve banded together to share the activity and good news from across all the thematic SENs. This past year has been harder than usual for most of you and yet social enterprises across Scotland have a lot to celebrate- obstacles overcome, projects started and delivered, and a range of fabulous events.
We understand how hard you all work, and what a strange year it has been, and we want to thank you for continuing to work with us- finding time to attend events and meetings, feed into consultations and connecting to the national conversations. A lot has been achieved this year and it has been fantastic to see so many of you engaging with online sessions. We’re looking forward to seeing you all in 2022 for a fantastic New Year- you never know, we might even get to meet in person!
We hope you have a wonderful winter break, have opportunity to spend time with people you love most, find time for yourselves, and have a wonderful New Year.
See you in 2022!
Sarah, Mary, Jayne & Janice
Christmas News
Instant Neighbour are running their ‘The Giving Tree’ appeal again this year, which continues to be supported by many local businesses and the general public, to distribute new toys to children across Aberdeen City & Shire who otherwise would not receive a gift at Christmas. They’ve put together a great video which explains what it does and how you can support them.
Our Cultural SEN member, Edinburgh Palette, are holding their Christmas Makers’ Market & Art Exhbition on 11th and 12th December at their community space in St Margaret’s House, which offers affordable studio, exhibition and event spaces in Edinburgh.
Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE) have launched this year’s Christmas campaign, The Big Christmas Food Appeal 2021, in partnership with The Press and Journal, Original 106 FM and the Evening Express. The appeal ensures people don’t have to make the choice between eating or heating this Christmas. Read more here on how you can support the appeal.
The Larder have been praised recently for putting food on the table of struggling families. This Christmas they launched an online bakery shop to support their missions to create real solutions to poverty in Scotland. Read more.
As the Grassmarket Community Project reaches the last month of 2021, they are asking for support over the festive season with their Christmas Appeal so that they can continue to provide vital services for some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable citizens. You can simply donate online yourself or you can donate in someone’s name and have a gift certificate sent to you to show them the positive impact their donation has made.
Looking for a holiday gift that says you care? Not just about you, but about your community and the planet. Then the Edinburgh Tool Library have an upcoming Christmas holiday workshop weekend on December 18th and 19th, where you can make a one-of-a-kind gift for your loved ones. Read more.
As well as taking their ponies to various events including Leuchie House and Whitekirk Hill for Christmas pony rides, and providing some Christmas cheer to vulnerable communities at this time, Eat Sleep Ride are also offering vouchers this Christmas for all of their services, which will be valid for 6 months. See more here.
Over in Perth and Kinross, Giraffe has been providing more than 35000 free meals to people in need since April 2020. Last Christmas they raised more than £12,500 which enabled them to distribute almost 600 Christmas parcels (and continue to provide free meals well into the New Year!). This Christmas they’ve teamed up with other lovely local charities and voluntary groups with a simple aim – to give even more local families a great Christmas – a compassionate Christmas! Support here.
Member News
Last week Creative & Cultural Skills launched their Discover! Creative Careers Scotland online programme, which aims to inspire and inform Scotland’s young people about job roles and pathways into the creative and cultural industries, with a special focus on the cultural heritage sector. The online programme has free resources to demonstrate the breadth of roles including an Educator Toolkit which educators can use to support young people to learn about the industry.
Our new Cultural SEN member, Arkbound, recently published two books, the first one is entitled Writing Our Space, it is a collection of personal essays, short stories, poems, and scripts written by members of the LGBTQ+ community across the UK. The second is a book called Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change that looks at sustainable alternatives to the current model of extraction and exploitation. They're also currently looking for volunteer mentors for Writing Within Walls (a mentoring programme which inspires prisoners to build their confidence and gain access to the publishing industry). Email jenna@arkbound.org for more details.
The A Cinema Near You development Project is finally drawing to a close with December 31st 2021 as the last date to submit expressions of interest. This has been a fantastic programme that has improved access to screen and cinema provision in Scotland, targeting those communities where the need is greatest, and where the benefits may be most significant. If you are interested in developing a cinema offer then we highly recommend getting in touch.
Edinburgh Printmakers have their first members’ show at Castle Mills coming up. The exhibition, SOLACE, will reflect the solace their members have found in the arts over the past 18 months and is running up until the 24th December. Interest-free loans will be available through the Own Art scheme, which is designed to enable people to buy art.
Edinburgh Community Food have a variety of different sessions on next week, a list of which can be found here. The sessions range from Online Health talks to Fussy Eaters’ Workshops.
We’re delighted to share Grassmarket Community Project’s impact report that was published after their AGM last week, as well as their fantastic video that sums up what they’ve managed to achieve in the last year.
A great article was published on the Glasgow World site last month on Matt Fountain of Freedom Bakery - "Freedom Bakery’s sourdough bread and sweet treats are available across the city, but how did the social enterprise that supports ex-offenders begin?”
Our Sport SEN member, Morton in the Community, are due to start their ‘Get Started with Football’ programme in January. The programme is a 3-week course where young people are able to learn and experience the excitement of football in a unique setting. Read here.
A sports hub in Aberdeen has been twinned with the site of the famous World War One 1914 Christmas truce. A ceremony on 20th November saw Cruyff Court Denis Law, on Catherine Street in Aberdeen city centre, twinned with the Peace Field in Flanders, Belgium in a celebration of peace and the good that sport can bring to young people. The twinning is an initiative between Aberdeen City Council, Denis Law Legacy Trust, National Children’s Football Alliance and the Peace Fields and promotes the use of sport as a tool to bring people of all backgrounds and differences together. More info.
Strathmore Trust brings Visually Impaired (VI) rugby to Scotland. Read more.
Equi-Power has just launched a Christmas Crowd Fund to #StartSomethingSpecial and secure the long term future of Riding for the Disabled activities in Central Scotland. The project to bring Equi-Power home to Kildean will provide therapeutic, skills development and sporting opportunities for children and adults with additional support needs, as well as a safe and welcoming place for their families and carers to enjoy. Please support the campaign here.
Earlier in the year, Community Enterprise and Bold Studio launched the Social Enterprise Support Map with funding from the Scottish Government. It now lists over 80 organisations which provide support for social enterprises to #StartSustainGrow. There are now new social media channels to support the map on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. They're running a #AdventCalendar throughout December highlighting everyone who's already on the map. If you aren't, and would like to join, please email Community Enterprise's new Comms lead, Harold Raitt, at harold@communityenterprise.co.uk.
The last few months have seen a great deal of exciting changes at StudioFV - The recently revamped and rebranded ‘Fablevision Studios’. They have a new name, a new logo and a new place to find them online. To celebrate the season - and their swanky new look - they’re offering a 25% discount across all of their services (videography, photography, graphic design and branding) to other social enterprises through February 2022.
National News
Sarah attended an Outdoors Scotland Tourism Strategy Regional Workshop in Stirling. The strategy is collaborative approach for the sector to drive Scotland forward as a leading outdoors tourism destination for sustainable, and environmentally focussed marine, outdoor and wildlife activities. There are still opportunities to have your voice heard during this consultation- see more dates here.
The Scottish Tourism Two Year Recovery Recommendations have been published. The report provides an overview of the recovery planning process, highlights the findings from the consultation sessions which took place earlier in the year and outlines a package of proposals, identified by STERG to provide a pathway to recovery for industry and destinations, while at the same time delivering outcomes aligned to Scotland Outlook 2030.
Equal Pay Day fell on November 17 of this year, the day where women are effectively working for free until the end of the year because of Scotland’s gender pay gap. Close the Gap published an interesting blog that looked at BME women’s inequality at work. It highlighted that Equal Pay Day is much earlier in the year for BME women, due to the effects of intersecting inequalities, and the pandemic is likely to have exacerbated this trend.
Year Of Stories Events Programme will be launched on Tuesday 14th December live on YouTube at 11am.
Cross Party Group on Culture & Communities on Wednesday 19th January 2021, 7:00 pm – 8.30 pm.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have published an interesting report on Jobs that work: Paving the way for good jobs through participatory co-design.
Funding
Last week the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a new legal fund to tackle race discrimination and help victims seek justice. Through this fund we will provide vital support for court cases including funding and legal expertise. Legal practitioners will be able to apply from December for support towards their clients’ cases.
The Circular Future Fund: The Million Pound Challenge - In partnership with Hubbub, the John Lewis Partnership is launching a £1 million fund to support trailblazing ideas and innovations that can accelerate the transition towards a more circular economy. The Partnership would like to fund projects which will have a measurable impact (now or in the future), and a clear legacy. They are looking …Continue reading “The Circular Future Fund: The Million Pound Challenge”
Great news last week as Social Investment Scotland (SIS), in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS), launched its new £5M Net Zero Transition Fund - to help social enterprises, charities, and community organisations make the transition to carbon net zero. SIS will be running a workshop on Monday 13th Dec at 12.30 – providing further information on the fund and how to apply. Read more.
The communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund was established with £15 million allocated to support mental health & wellbeing in communities across Scotland. The fund aims to support adult community-based initiatives to help address the impact of distress and mental ill health caused by social isolation and loneliness, as well as addressing the mental health inequalities exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Apply before the closing date on Tuesday 21st December.
As we recover from the covid-19 pandemic, North Lanarkshire Council has a range of support in place to help local businesses move forward. This includes two funding streams that offer grants to support projects that will enhance the future development and growth of your business. The Back to Business Fund provides grants to allow companies to adapt their business model or premises to meet new challenges in their sector in response to covid-19. The Business Recovery and Growth Fund offers grants to micro, small or medium-sized businesses (up to 250 employees) for capital and infrastructure projects to support their strategic, longer-term sustainability and growth, as well as for consultancy, exhibition and training support.
Jobs
Grace Chocolates currently have various vacancies for mentoring co-ordinator and administrative and social media assistant. More info.
Catering social enterprise, The Scran Academy, are currently looking for a Chief Executive Officer. More info.
The Larder have four different vacancies right now that are well worth a look. More info.
Scarf are currently hiring Customer Service Advisors to be based (home/office hybrid working) in Aberdeen or Dundee. More info.
Raydale Community Partnership (RCP) have a brilliant opportunity as Facility Development Manager. More info.
Remember you can find and post more jobs on the Senscot website.
Over at P4P, their most recent blog on 'Collaborating to tackle inequality through creative engagement' by Neil Young was published this week.
In this P4P blog, Neil Young, Development and Partnerships Manager at Impact Arts, discusses the organisation’s experience of collaboration as well as its ambitions for developing new partnerships to help achieve its aims and objectives of tackling inequalities through creative engagement.
Tenders
P4P have released their Current and Future Tender Opportunities again this week, which are worth looking at. If you require any support with tendering or developing a consortium to bid for the opportunities contact P4P here or email us on info@p4p.org.uk.
One opportunity particularly worth highlighting is the Tender opportunity for Network of Employability Support and Training – Vocational Training Framework.
