Hi everyone,

We are taking a few small steps to move towards some face to face work with our clients.

You may see the Briscoe Lane shutters up on Wednesday and Thursday this week. We have an appointment system in place and are making sure that we can safely see a few people for a couple of days each week.

We Love Mcr Charity celebrates 10 weeks of Covid19 Community Response Fund
with powerful video, whilst calling for new donations.

Local charities and celebrities have joined together to celebrate the first 10 weeks of We Love
Manchester Covid19 Community Response Fund. They appear in a new video showcasing some of
the great work being done, and launching the campaign #supportourMCR

The video, featuring well known locals including Gordon Burns, Jenny Powell and Stacey Forsey plus a number of local Manchester charities, can be viewed here –

https://youtu.be/PLJwFgvuPFY

In just 10 weeks, We Love MCR Response Fund has already awarded £750,000 in Grants to over 220 Manchester groups and charities tackling the impact of Covid19 on our local communities.

Charities can apply for urgent grant funding today through We Love MCR website:

www.welovemcrcharity.org

Crucially, decisions on grant award applications are taken by We Love MCR Trustees in less than a
week, so charities never have to wait long to know about their funding, Charities already benefiting from grant funding, and featured in the video, include –

– The Bread and Butter Thing – tackling hunger and food poverty caused by the pandemic and
Isolation.

– MCR Womens Aid – providing safe new homes for families in domestic violence refuges, so
they can release urgently needed refuge places to more women and children fleeing violence
and abuse in Lockdown.

– Manchester Youth Zone – creating personalised one-to-one support programmes for young
people with additional needs, to help them with the greater mental health challenges caused
by Lockdown.

– Gtr Manchester Law Centre – funding a Solicitor for 6 months, to fight illegal attempts to evict
tenants during the pandemic. Without this free, expert support, many tenants face eviction by
aggressive landlords with deep pockets.

Local broadcasting legend and We Love MCR supporter Gordon Burns said on the launch of the video “We Love MCRs Response Fund is a lifeline to Manchester’s frontline charities fighting Covid
impacts. I’m pleased to add my voice to this appeal”

But the Response Fund is now running out of money.
Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Abid Latif Chohan, Chair of We Love MCR Charity says “After
awarding £750,000 in vital grants already, our Response Fund is almost exhausted. The impacts of
Covid19 will be with us in Manchester for many months to come. If you can afford to, please help us
to carry on tackling the huge challenges created by this awful disease. Please, make a donation
today”

Donations can be made at the We Love Manchester website www.welovemcrcharity.org or at this
Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mcr-response-fund

You can text MANCHESTER 10 to 70470 to donate £10
Or to discuss how you can help, call We Love MCR Charity on 0161 459 9950

Volunteer Stories for Volunteers Week 2020

27 May 2020 – 11:18 by barkery.jammeh – Manchester Community Central

Hi it’s Volunteers Week again, doesn’t time fly?!

Volunteers Week 2020 (June 1 – 7) is so different this year due to the Covid-19 outbreak. First of all, all of us here at Macc would like to send our best wishes to all of you out there and we hope that you stay well and continue to look after yourself and those close to you in these anxious and uncertain times.

Every year Volunteer Centre Manchester (VCM) enjoy celebrating Volunteers Week with a number of different activities to help highlight some of the fantastic work that volunteers do in and around Manchester. This year even with the Corona virus it has been no different and the amount of volunteers that have wanted to get involved and help people through this terrible time has been amazing.

Usually VCM are involved with or facilitate lots of different activities or projects throughout the week but this year has been slightly different. We (for obvious reasons) can’t hold our traditional Volunteer Fair where volunteer organisations and volunteers can come together to make those connections and build relationships for example. However because of the wonders of technology we can still do some of the things to celebrate and recognise volunteers and our Volunteer stories are just one of those.

Each year we ask organisations and volunteers to share their stories of how volunteering has made a difference to them. All the stories we receive are showcased all week, to celebrate, to inspire, and to spread the positive message of the good things that happen around us each day. Our first story (below) for Volunteers week 2020 comes from Yes Manchester and Northwards Housing for their Digital Champions and is a great place to start. 

Thanks for reading and enjoy.

Volunteer name:

Digital Champions North Manchester

Volunteer ages:

25 – 66

What organisation are you from:

Yes Manchester

What are the volunteer roles and what do they do in that role:

Digital Champions are a group of volunteers supported by Yes Manchester and Northwards Housing helping people to learn skills on how to use the internet, to understand which device to buy and the best broadband deals. We help to run drop-in Online Support sessions throughout North Manchester helping people to job search effectively as well as help with the following: housing applications, Universal credit, online basics computer course, email, help with online forms, school applications and online safety. We also help people to pay rent online and to report repairs to their property by using the Northwards Housing website.

How long have they been volunteering for:

The project has been running for these last 2 years.

How do they get involved with volunteering:

When the Digital Champions project was introduced at the Yes Manchester centre, the service users were very interested to learn more about it and get involved. Once we advertised the project, a considerable amount of people applied to become our Digital Champions volunteers. The main aim of the project is to offer our local clients the chance to do voluntary work and become active within the community. We work with digital champions volunteers that have been out of work for a long time and looking for work. The project gives them the opportunity to gain work experience and get back on track. We have noticed that volunteers find the project as a confidence booster which in turns allows them to believe in themselves.

Why did they get involved in volunteering:

Our project welcomes volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. Some of our volunteers suffer from some mental health issues, and getting involved in this project is helping them to socialise and do something new for themselves. We also have volunteers that want to learn new skills, improve their verbal communication,work experience and meet new people. A group of our volunteers are retired and usually we find that these people want to give something back to the community and this programme allows them to do that.

What do they enjoy most about volunteering:

We all have our best moment when we support people but the most special moments that digital champions enjoy are when they see a change and success in their customer’s circumstances.

What difference has volunteering made to their life:

This project is giving people the opportunity to change their lives by boosting or building up their life skills. It is a pathway of filling those gaps in their knowledge. Our digital champions volunteers are learning something new every day which is giving them the motivation to share their knowledge when supporting people.

How does volunteering make them feel:

Some of our volunteers have built their confidence and started to believe in themselves. We have volunteers that have shown that their mental health issues have improved after joining the volunteering programme. In addition, a number of volunteers say that they feel that them meeting new people has changed their lives for the better.

What would they say to someone thinking about volunteering:

Volunteering gives you the opportunity to find your hidden skills, improve their knowledge and to help people around you!

What’s your favourite volunteering memory:

One of my favourite volunteering memories was that one of our volunteers was looking for a job because she had financial issues. All the digital champions got together and were doing some job search and sending her job adverts and applications forms. After some time she has secured a job and we were all happy for her success.

To see more about Volunteers week and read more stories. Please click on this link to Manchester Community Central website:

https://www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/volunteer-stories-volunteers-week-2020

Would you like a chance to win one of 3 x £50 supermarket shopping vouchers!?

Transport for Greater Manchester are asking people to fill out a survey about their service and how it could be improved during COVID-19.

Please follow link below –

https://surveys.tfgm.com/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=158986718538&site=4

Are you 18-25 years old, living in the UK and available to volunteer full-time, plus one of the following:

● a student looking for a placement year
● a graduate aiming to accelerate your career
● or looking for an alternative to university while making a real difference to children’s lives? Then City Year UK wants to hear from you!

We’re looking for the next generation of changemakers who want to be inspirational role models,
mentors and tutors to children who need it the most. Join our year-long leadership development programme and contribute to tackling educational inequality, from August 2020 – July 2021.

You could really make a difference to children’s lives, while
accelerating your own career prospects and gaining the confidence to lead from the front – it’s your
chance to #BeTheChange.

We’re currently recruiting for our Greater Manchester, London, Birmingham and Coventry
programmes, for full-time school hours during term time. Read on for more information on how you
can get involved.

About us

Our vision is of a society where all children are inspired to believe in themselves and supported to
excel by a generation of young people whose commitment to a year of voluntary service is universally respected. We are dedicated to empowering 18-25 year olds across London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester to help children from disadvantaged communities succeed in school. But we can’t do it without our committed Volunteer Mentors – and that’s where you come in.

What will you be doing?

You’ll become a volunteer mentor based in a school in a low-income area, improving your own career prospects through challenging work experience and personal and professional development
workshops. This includes:

● Being integral to the school day and work as part of a team
● Acting as a role model, mentor and coach to help struggling pupils succeed, providing 1:1 and
small group support in class
● Leading clubs, projects and events to promote a positive school culture
● Supporting pupils’ academic and emotional wellbeing, creating a positive learning
environment.

This is a full-time volunteering opportunity, so you must be available during school hours in term time
(from August 2020 to July 2021) in order to apply.

What will you get?

As part of your City Year experience, you’ll receive:
● Day-to-day experience of working in schools and with children
● Bespoke training sessions on Fridays, to develop leadership and employability skills
● A designated professional mentor from our corporate partners
● Access to accredited leadership courses
● £90-£100 living expenses per week, dependent on region, plus all travel expenses reimbursed

● One of our iconic red jackets

93% of our volunteer mentors go on to full-time employment or education after completing their City
Year, having laid the crucial foundations to take the next steps in their careers.
Ready to join the City Year UK movement?

Our volunteer mentors come from a wide range of backgrounds but are united in one common goal:

to better themselves and to better the lives of pupils facing barriers to success. Nearly 1,300 people
have served with City Year UK since 2010 – and they’ve progressed into careers within education,
social work, law enforcement, finance, engineering, marketing and many others, as well as launching
their own businesses.

Interested in learning more, or want to apply to become part of our 2020/2021 cohort?

Visit cityyear.org.uk/join for more info – and if you have any questions, call Ciara on 07834122919 or email crafter@cityyear.org.uk and we’ll be happy to help.

Start your journey. Give a year. Be The Change.

Please visit https://www.thinkemployment.com/courses to start your new career path!