In this issue:
- Events coming up
- Consultations on Health services
- Latest sources for Funding, Training and other support
Shaping our Autumn programmeThis can be a tricky time of year – lots of people are away, or otherwise trying to keep their kids entertained, or trying to keep other people’s kids entertained at various holiday projects. Yet things don’t stop, deadlines come round remorselessly, and all the while we attempt to plan for the Autumn months – or dare we say – Christmas. So this bulletin contains at least as many events and links as ever!
We are pleased to report that we managed to strengthen the Forum’s committee at our Annual General Meeting last month, so our thanks to Hiba, Lara, Adrian, Jason and Joe for joining the team. We have also had our core funding renewed from the Lambeth Forum Network, so we are returning to a cycle of an open Forum meeting at least quarterly, with the committee meeting monthly in between.The next open meeting has been set for Thursday 25 October at 7 pm, at the Advocacy Academy in Vining Street, SW9.
If you want to bring a project or issue to a Forum meeting for comment, please contact the Secretary, Alan Piper, at apiperbrix@aol.com or leave a message on 020 7207 0347. Remember too that small-scale meetings can be set up at International House if you want to chat in person. Or your organisation may be willing to host a Forum meeting? (We do have a small budget now to cover the cost of room hire.)
Local Events coming up
Art in the Park – Sunday 14 August Between 1 pm and 5 pm in Windmill Gardens, off Blenheim Gardens, Brixton Hill SW2. An afternoon of creative art & craft activities for grown-ups and children. Try badge-making, craft upcycling, design your own T-shirt, or just draw or paint the windmill.The windmill will also be open for tours on both Saturday (13th) and Sunday – see www.brixtonwindmill.org
Events in Myatt’s Fields ParkPoetry Express, Saturday 13 August, 1 pm to 4 pm at the bandstand. Entries welcome – e-mail to N.Henry68@yahoo.co.uk or phone Nadz on 07 398 004 608.
Myatt’s Fields Park Dog Show, Saturday 27 August on the main field, registration from 11 am onwards, then judging between 1 pm and 3 pm. Follow on instagram @myatts_field_dog_show
Talking ’bout Gentrification The Advocacy Academy in Vining Street will be hosting a discussion on the local impact of Gentrification on Wednesday evening, 17 August, between 7 pm and 9 pm. Free but please book via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-advocacy-academy-open-house-the-g-word-development-for-who-tickets-387007157827
Finding Food around Myatt’s Fields
Incredible Edible Lambeth are organising an evening walk linking food-growing projects, community cafes, health facilities and community centres. Starts at 6 pm from Rossiter Grove, 341-355 Brixton Road, SW9 7DA – please book via Eventbrite.
Creative Activities with Art4Space Summer Scrap Club for children between 5 and 16 years continues on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 10 am and 1 pm until Friday 26 August. Priority for children who receive free school meals or with special educational needs/ disabilities. Donations welcome. Max. 12 per workshop so please book in advance – enquiries to jewels@art4space.co.uk
Creative Remedies – a new class will run on Tuesdays, 10 am to 12-30 pm for 10 weeks from 20 September (except 25 October), a series of clay-based projects for refugees.
Creative Enterprise – a new class starting on 21 September, Wednesdays 10 am to 12-30 pm for 10 weeks (except 26 October) based on upcycled denim bean bags and making crafts to sell at local Christmas markets.Both these courses are funded by Reaching Communities and all materials provided. Only 12 places per course, enquiries to jewels@art4space.co.uk All above courses held at 31 Jeffreys Road, SW4.
Lambeth Heritage Festival next monthA busy programme of events will run through the whole month of September at various locations across the borough. You should be able to pick up a printed programme from your local library.
And on home ground, we should at least mention:
Olive Morris House – gone but not forgotten: Thursday 8th September at 6 pm, Brixton Tate Library, Brixton Oval SW2, illustrated talk by Nicholas Weedon, recording the origin, life and early demolition of the Council office block on Brixton Hill. Organised by the Brixton Society, free but please book via bit.ly/OMHouse
StoryTrails at Brixton Tate Library, Saturday 10 September open 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. Untold stories from the past brought to life through augmented or virtual reality, featuring voices from the local community. See also www.story-trails.com
There are several guided walks on offer too, though this next one was confirmed too late for the printed programme:
Brixton Riots Walking Tour, Saturday 17 September. Following a photo exhibition at the Carnegie Library Hub last September, Blue Badge guide Angela Morgan will lead a walking tour around the key points of the 1981 Brixton Riots between 11 am and 1 pm. Meeting point by the David Bowie mural on the side of Morleys, in Tunstall Road opposite the Tube Station. Tickets £5, enquiries to 07 510 917 517 or see www.learningthroughthearts.co.uk
Become a Lambeth Tour Guide Could you lead your own guided walks around familiar territory, or share your local knowledge? After the first batch of tour guides passed their course at Morley College this summer, another evening course is now being offered, to start in September. Enquiries to info@lambethtourguides.org or see their website, www.lambethtourguides.org
Health and Social Care
Health & Wellbeing Strategy
Lambeth is writing a new Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Several themes have already been identified for improvement, but the next step is to examine them more closely to refine the plans. An on-line engagement workshop has been arranged for charities, community groups and social enterprises on Monday 22 August at 10 am via Zoom. To reserve a place, please contact eoin.heffernan@integrateagency.co.uk
Pharmacy Services in LambethLambeth’s Public Health Team is currently consulting on provision of Pharmacy services within the borough. Are there gaps in provision, or pharmacies which are too far apart? Does the local pharmacy have eccentric opening times, so that you can rarely get there?Please refer to the Consultation pages on the Lambeth Council website, and follow the links. Closing date for comments is 4th September.
Help for Pensioners Age UK Lambeth has linked up with the Rothesay Foundation to offer a £30 Iceland voucher to old age pensioners (65+) who rely solely on a state pension. To check if your local Iceland store accepts these vouchers, see www.iceland.co.uk/store-finder To apply for a voucher for yourself or a relative, phone 0800 098 7877 between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday only. You must apply before 16 September.
Jobs Fair on 18 August Although strictly outside our area, we realise that people often have to range further afield for worthwhile employment opportunities, so we should mention a Jobs Fair to be held at the London Bridge Jobcentre, 63-67 Newington Causeway, SE1 6LS. It will run between 10-30 and 3 pm. Potential applicants should contact their work coach first and bring a CV on the day, ready for interview.
Green News
Gardening Workshops
Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses are to launch a series of monthly Sunday morning gardening workshops. There will be 4 strands, on a different Sunday of the month, covering the Kitchen Garden, the Productive Garden, the Border Workshop and the Composting Workshop. Each will run from October to July, to take you through the gardening year. Places are limited and bookings have already opened – see their website, https://www.brockwellgreenhouses.org.uk
Loughborough Farm is hosting a series of workshops on different gardening topics through August and September. Places must be booked in advance via Eventbrite, see https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/summer-workshops-at-loughborough-farm-927139 Sessions are on Saturday mornings from 11 August, or on some evenings. Fees range from £5 to £15, but some free spaces are available. Enquiries to Emily (project leader) at loughboroughfarm@gmail.com
Platform Cafe re-opens on 22 SeptemberAt the Loughborough Road end of Wyck Gardens, this popular cafe will re-open next month. More details expected in our next bulletin.
Recycling and Waste servicesIn case you missed their stall on the fringe of the Lambeth Country Show, Lambeth’s Environmental Services Team are trying to make known a number of changes to recycling and waste services that have been made in recent years, particularly since Serco took over the main responsibility from Veolia. There is now an A-Z list of what can and cannot be recycled on Lambeth’s website (with a few surprises) but if you have a question that doesn’t seem to be covered, you can also contact the team by e-mail at streetcarecallcentre@lambeth.gov.uk
Don’t forget street trees: While we are on the kerbside, can we remind you to water any street trees near you if they are looking thirsty or already have leaves turning brown? This is particularly important for younger trees, or those planted in the past year or two – most of these will have a short stub of pipe at the base so that water can go direct to the root zone.
Winter is Coming!
Property owners can now get recommendations from a Government website about the most effective home improvements to make their house warmer or better-insulated. The more detail you can provide, the more relevant the advice will be. For example if you bought your house or flat in recent years, there would have been an Energy Performance Certificate giving a rough idea of its present efficiency. See https://www.gov.uk/browse/housing-local-services/household-energy We will be happy to share other sources of advice in future bulletins.
Funding, Training and Support
Comparing on-line fund-raising platforms. Charity Digital published a review of 15 on-line fund-raising services at the end of June. They compared subscriptions, processing fees, other service fees, and any provision for Gift Aid on donations. Crucially, they compared how much a charity would actually receive from a £10 donation, and this ranged from £9-50 to £12-50. The best deal for your organisation will depend on what you want to do, and how often you expect to make Crowdfunder-type appeals. We can send you a pdf file of the summary sheet, but we also advise that you speak to a couple of other organisations who have used this method before you commit to any particular provider.
Training Opportunities
Integrate Agency have some upcoming on-line sessions for community groups and social enterprises:- 5 September at 10 am – Elevated Minds CIC, one of the Meet the Founder series to share lessons for start-up enterprises.- 26 September at 10 am – Websites for Charities and Social Enterprises;- 13 October at 11 am – How to make your Charity Premises green, accessible and energy efficient.Booking enquiries to eoin.heffernan@integrateagency.co.uk
Training with Brixton BID: If you are in business in Brixton, you should have access to the free training sessions arranged by the BID. Upcoming sessions include:- 25 August – Health and Safety;- 14 September – Personal Licences;- 11 October – Team building;- 15 November – Diversity and Inclusion.To book your employees onto a course, e-mail to Chantel at chantel.facey@brixtonbid.co.uk
Support for Small or Start-up BusinessesWomen in Business: Female business founders can struggle to attract funding, so based on the Wintrade Global Talks series, there is now a free funding checklist available at https://talks.wintradeglobal.com/fundraising-fundamentals For other upcoming on-line events, see https://bit.ly/wintrade-zoom-events-landing-page
Information supplied by 7 Traits Leadership Learning Ltd., Trinity Gardens SW9
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Impact Brixton has made available recordings of several of the Masterclass talks that they have hosted over the past year. See https://exceptional-teacher-2462.ck.page/legacy.library
IT Support Clear Community Web are continuing to run their drop-in support sessions for computers, tablets and mobile phones on Thursday mornings (11 am to 1 pm) at the Moorland Estate Community Centre, 50a Corry Drive (off Somerleyton Road) SW9 8QT.
They are now also offering similar sessions monthly on Fridays from 2 pm to 4 pm nearby at Southwyck Coding & Arts Centre, off Moorland Road, SW9 8UR. This venue is wheelchair accessible and the sessions are dyslexia-friendly and ADHD-aware. The next session will be on Friday 26 August. If you want to check future dates for either venue, call 07 523 646 277 or e-mail info@clearcommunityweb.co.uk
Tekgia continue to offer mainstream software at discount prices to charities, churches, schools and their staff or volunteers. For example, their latest price for MS Office 2021 Standard is £169.20 inc. VAT (free delivery on disc or as a download). Enquiries to 0161 821 8977 or see their website, https://www.tekgia.com
Arts Funding Streams
The Paul Mellon Foundation has launched its Autumn round of grant funding, for events, research, publications, exhibitions and on-line events. Closing date for all applications in this round is 30 September – see their website https://paulmelloncentre.ac.uk/fellowships-and-grants
Grant deadlines reminderOnce again, a reminder of imminent deadlines for various grants previously announced by Integrate. If you missed the original e-mails, contact eoin.heffernan@integrateagency.co.uk for further details or links.
The Toy Trust: deadline 14 August, grants to support disabled and disadvantaged children.
Future 100 Growth Fund: deadline Saturday 20 August, to support Black entrepreneurs to launch and grow their own businesses.
Tideway Community Fund: deadline Friday 2nd September but note that Integrate are also hosting a Meet the Funder session on-line on Monday 15 August at 10 am.
Hedley Foundation: effective deadline 18 September, to improve quality of life for disadvantaged or or vulnerable people.
Powering Up Programme from Power to Change: deadline 19 September, provides community groups with tailored support to enhance their digital skills or environmental sustainability.
Disability Justice Fund from the Trust for London,with City Bridge Trust: deadline Monday 3rd October, to support organisations working with deaf or disabled people.
And Finally…News reached us of two opportunities to get yourself on TV:
TwoFour is an award winning TV production company which is developing a new series for a mainstream channel, where groups across the UK will be helped to transform community spaces. If you have a community garden, estate corner or other facility that needs help, contact Greg Goff on 07 932 048 442. It helps if planning permission or other consents are already in place. Information received via Locality.
Curve Media are the TV production company behind “Kew Gardens – a year in bloom” and “Salvage Hunters”, among others. They are making a new series for Channel 4, called the Greatest Auction. They are looking for a range of astonishing and unexpected items that people are willing to put up for auction, with the aim of bringing together the most incredible items with the best collectors and dealers. For more information, contact Sophie Howard on 07 757 745 214 or at sophiehoward@curvemedia.com Information received via the Brixton Society.
Keep in touch
It’s all in the timing!
We aim to publish this bulletin monthly, but because it’s put together on a very part-time basis, there will always be a gap of a few days between sifting all the news and reports received and your reading the final version. Remember that normally we need to hear from you before the 5th of the month, to ensure we can publish around the 10th.
Contact us Please continue to send your news to apiperbrix@aol.com for the time being. Also use for any queries or suggestions about future Forum events.
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