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Quarterly Newsletter - February 2024

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Preston Community Network

Quarterly Newsletter No. 9 – December 2023

WHERE WE ARE AT – AN UPDATE ON PCN

We’d like to kick off our latest update on PCN’s efforts by thanking everyone who attended our networking event at St Cuthbert’s Church Centre earlier this month.

There was a fantastic turnout, a series of varied but equally interesting speakers and plenty time for the relaxed, informal networking which has become a hallmark of such events.

It was great to hear from PC Jimmy Roxby on a groundbreaking initiative to combat Anti-Social Behaviour, David Parker of Preston Masonic Group on the history and charitable functions of the Masons, Kate Lee of the new Preston Volunteers group and Denise Hayhurst and Lisa Rawcliffe from the LOCAL project.

If you were there and enjoyed it, please tell your friends and contacts, and if not, don’t worry as we’ll be holding another event early in the New Year.

OUR AGM

Don’t forget our Annual General Meeting is taking place at 10am on Wednesday, December 13 in Room A at Preston Town Hall, when all members are invited.

Please note the AGM will be followed by a networking event which we are delighted to say will be addressed by no less than three keynote speakers in the shape of Preston City Council leader Cllr Matthew Brown, the council’s Deputy Chief Executive Sarah Threlfall and LOCAL Project Co-ordinator Greg Mitten.

You can RSVP to our AGM by clicking here.

OUR DEVELOPMENTS

Development and Communications Office Tony Dawber and Project Officer Glenn McDonnell have been further developing our website at www.prestoncn.org, and Glenn has also been increasing on our social media profile to the extent that we now have a significant presence on Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Emails, website contacts or social media comments to PCN continue to be read daily and actioned/responded to promptly, and we feel we are also making progress in our aim of offering support to our members on a range of issues other issues.

In addition, we also continue to offer individual support when time and resources permit.

OUR NEWS UPDATES

The quarterly digital newsletter which you are now reading was launched in November 2021 as a response to a survey of members’ needs, and we hope to continue using it as a way of updating you fully on PCN’s progress.

However, it is the weekly news update which is absolutely key to our efforts.

From local newspapers and radio being virtually the sole organs for publicising info and events, the scene has become fragmented with traditional news sources declining steeply and being superseded by multiple smaller news outlets and sources.

This has meant that for many groups within our sector, especially the smaller and newer organisations, publicising their own events has become that much harder.

We are therefore making every effort to make the PCN weekly news update a central, reliable and trustworthy source for all news of interest to our sector, from events and training resources to funding opportunities and general appeals for assistance.

We are delighted that the update continues to grow and flourish, and we are continuing to work on and improve both the content and presentation of the resource.

OUR FUTURE

Looking ahead, and our immediate aims can be summed up as follows:

Deliver regular themed networking events for members at least once every three months.
Continue to develop weekly news update and other info sources.
Consolidate contacts with local authorities and other bodies.
Continue to develop the PCN website as a resource.
Continue to work with and assist individual members whenever possible, including assisting on their own projects and offering advice and assistance with ‘one-off’ issues.
Host further grant/funding advice sessions in conjunction with various bodies.
Deliver regular surveys to our members in order to be fully aware of their needs and to help monitor PCN’s effectiveness.

We hope you agree with these aims, but if you have any suggestions as to anything else we can do or can think of any way we can carry out our existing work differently and more effectively, please let us know.

PCN exists purely to serve its members, and we hope we are doing as much as we can to help.

Since we revived PCN as an active organisation in September 2001, membership has increased from 31 organisations to our current total membership of 127, a more than fourfold increase, and we are optimistic we will see further growth in the coming months.

So as you can see, PCN is getting bigger and stronger all the time, so let’s head into 2024 together and make sure we work with each other to help the sector make Preston a better place.

CONTACT DETAILS

A message to all our members, new and old.

Have you changed your phone number, website or social media addresses?

Is there a new main contact?

Has your group changed or expanded your range of activities?

If so, please let us know.

Just email tonyd@prestoncn.org or glennm@prestoncn.org or call 07526 786795/07510 617984 and we will update your details on our records and on our new website.

OUR NEXT QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

We hope you have enjoyed this quarterly newsletter.

The next newsletter will be due out in February so just a heads up that we are already looking for material for this and will be continuing to accept any contributions right up to publication day.

In addition, if there is anything you feel we should include in the newsletter which we are not currently doing, please let us know.

Additionally, if you have any other contributions, ie event details, help offers, volunteer opportunities or even a blog you think may be suitable for publication, please let us know.

It is always great to hear from any of our members. so please feel free to get in touch about anything you wish.

Preston Community Network
Quarterly Newsletter No. 8 – August 2023

Hello to all our members, friends and contacts and welcome to our latest quarterly newsletter.
When PCN came back into full operation in September 2021, we asked you what services and support you would like to see from us and a regular quarterly newsletter was one of the features you felt would be useful.
We hope you have found the previous newsletters useful and informative and that you will find this edition similarly helpful.
It has in some ways been superseded by our weekly news update which has proved extremely popular and is going from strength to strength.
However, as many of you know, we have decided to continue with the quarterly newsletter for now as it gives us a chance provide a more
general overview on PCN’s progress along with a few additions more suitable to a quarterly than weekly update.
If there’s anything you want including or that you feel we can improve on, please let us know.

WHERE WE ARE AT – AN UPDATE ON PCN
You may well recall that when we published our last Quarterly Newsletter in May, we reported on how our new recruit, Project Officer Glenn McDonnell, had settled in well and was already making a big impact.
We’re pleased to say Glenn has continued the good work and with the PCN office now staffed five days a week through office hours, we feel we are really making big progress in our aim of offering support to our members on a range of issues.
Glenn has worked on making our weekly news update a more attractively presented, user friendly publication, and feedback from members is that he has succeeded in this aim.

In addition, we have extensively revamped the PCN website, vastly improving its appearance and making listings of events and vacancies much easier to access, and also improved our social media presence across a range of platforms including Twitter, or ‘X’ as it is of course now known as, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Since we revived PCN as an active organisation in September 2001, membership has increased from 31 organisations to
113, and we are optimistic we will see further growth in the coming months.

PCN has continued to promote membership through attending community activities and making links with key community stakeholders and gatekeepers.
We are also very pleased to report that member engagement has grown due to our efforts on a number of fronts. We have now established a rhythm of three monthly networking events and
attendance at these events is steadily growing. Our aim at each of these events is to engage at least one speaker who will address the meeting on a topic of relevance, but also to allow plentiful time for relaxed, informal networking.
PCN also hope to organise further ‘funding info days’ in which members can have an informal one-to-one chat with officers from groups such as the National Lottery Community Fund and Lancashire County Council.
More generally, PCN has made efforts to steadily increase engagement with members using a variety of approaches. Emails, website contacts or social media comments to PCN continue to be read daily and actioned/responded to promptly.
The effect of this has been that more and more of our members have been in
touch directly asking us to publicise their own events and also the feedback
we have received tells us their events have had increased patronage and attendance due directly to it being featured.

Several members also commented that they feel PCN has become more approachable and also that they can reach out to us if required. As far as engagement with individual projects goes, we
are continuing to work on these where time permits. Examples include assisting Embrace Lancashire, a small friendship group for those with disabilities,
particularly the visually impaired. We closely worked with them as we jointly formulated an application for renewed funding, which ultimately proved successful.
PCN were also contacted by Pukar Disability Resource Centre who we assisted in several areas, such as rewriting, rebadging and updating the group’s policy files, which have now been approved by their Trustees.

The quarterly digital newsletter which you are now reading, which was launched in November 2021, is continuing as it gives us a chance not only to update you fully on PCN’s progress, but to offer a focus on a new member and other longer form pieces.
And as previously mentioned, the weekly news update continues to grow and flourish, and in case you don’t know already, all weekly and quarterly news updates are archived on our website so you can look up any info you may have seen in the past and pick that info up.
We are continuing to work on and improve both the content and presentation of these news sources, which we know are sorely needed as many of our groups have advised that they have recently experienced severe issues in obtaining info on a range of issues.
We believe this final point is worth emphasising in terms of impact as the whole communications field has been transformed in recent years.
From local newspapers and radio being virtually the sole organs for publicising info and events, the scene has become fragmented with traditional news sources declining steeply and being superseded by multiple smaller news outlets and sources.

It is therefore very difficult for our members, particularly smaller groups, to get their publicity out effectively, but we feel the news update has had a significant impact in becoming a central source for sector info and has helped alleviate this problem.
Our website is also, as we have noted, growing all the time and thanks to Glenn’s input, is now a well resourced and well presented site which also includes some useful fact sheets which can be used as the basis for members to upskill. Looking ahead, and our immediate aims can be summed up as follows:

Deliver regular themed networking events for members at least once every three months.

Continue to develop weekly news update and other info sources.
Consolidate contacts with local authorities and other bodies.

Continue to develop the PCN website as a resource.

Continue to work with and assist individual members whenever
possible, including assisting on their own projects and offering advice and assistance with ‘one-off’ issues.

Host further grant/funding advice sessions in conjunction with various bodies.

Deliver regular surveys to our members in order to be fully aware of their needs and to help monitor PCN’s effectiveness.

There are periods when due to various issues, the organisation was ticking over rather than developing to a significant degree, but we feel this difficult period is now behind us, and PCN is now looking ahead to developing further with real and we feel fully justified optimism.

PCN NETWORKING EVENTS
As mentioned in the update above, our networking events are now
taking place on a three monthly basis, with the next one due to be held in early October.
We hope to see as many of you as possible there and full details of date and venue will follow as soon as possible.
However, we would like to ask if there is any particular theme you wish to be covered, or would you prefer an open event where everyone can
make a short presentation letting those attending know what they do and how they do it?
What do you think?
Let us know via our usual email contacts ie tonyd@prestoncn.org or
glenn@prestoncn.org

FOCUS
In this section, we look at one of our member groups in more detail and in this
edition, it is the turn of Preston Masonic Group.
One of our newer PCN members, they are a unique organisation that has thrived for more than 300 years.
Having no political or religious affiliations, they comprise members of all ages,
races, religions, cultures and backgrounds.
Masonic members meet in their individual Lodges throughout the country where they have ceremonial traditions which encourage them both to be more tolerant and respectful and actively to fulfil civic and charitable responsibilities. The group also make time to eat, drink and meet together, and form lifelong friendships. Importantly, kindness and charitable giving are deeply ingrained within the
principles of Freemasonry.
The organisation provides a support structure that helps members make positive contributions to communities and worthwhile causes through fundraising events or volunteer work. The Preston group is based at Preston Masonic Hall which is centrally located
in Saul Street, just by the Court Buildings.
The building has been the group’s home since World War Two when they moved over from their previous base at the Bull & Royal public house. It has a sizeable main function room with adjoining bar and lounge and a number of other well appointed rooms including one which is licenced to hold wedding ceremonies. All these rooms are available for hire and importantly, the group say they particularly welcome charity organisations and offer heavily discounted rates for
such groups.
The group also administer a significant charity fund and are keen to increase their contacts within the local community. Click this link to their Facebook Page.
The contact for the Preston group is David Parker who is Group Publicity Officer and you
can get in touch with him on
david.parker90@btinternet.com

JOINT NETWORKING EVENT
A host of community focused networks in Preston are getting together to host
a joint networking event on Tuesday, September 19.
Organised in partnership with Preston Wellfest, Preston Community
Network, Preston Youth Forum, Preston Community Action Forum and Preston Food Hubs Network, the event will be held in the Mobile Event Tent,
which will be located on University Square, 43 Fylde Road, Preston PR1 7DP.
Between 10am and Noon, there will be an opportunity for community organisations to network together. There will then be a break for lunch between Noon and 1pm with light refreshments provided. Between 1pm and 3pm the tent will open to the public, so they can find out more about the fantastic community groups and organisations we have across the city and how they can get involved or access support.
During this time, a ‘speaker’s corner’ will operate for any group wishing to spend a few minutes saying something about what they do. This will be bookable on the day.
If you would like to attend please email your name and organisation
to rosie.paterson@lancashire.gov.uk as soon as possible, as places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
If you would like to have a stall or banner space at the event please state this
in your email, indicating whether you will be attending all the event or just the am or pm slots.
You can also book via this link

CONTACT DETAILS
A message to all our members, new and old.
Have you changed your phone number, website or social media addresses?
Is there a new main contact?
Has your group changed or expanded your range of activities?
If so, please let us know.
Just email tonyd@prestoncn.org or glennm@prestoncn.org or call 07526
786795/07510 617984 and we will update your details on our records and on our new website.

OUR NEXT QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
We hope you have enjoyed this quarterly newsletter.
The next newsletter will be due out in November so just a heads up that
we are already looking for material for this and will be continuing to
accept any contributions right up to publication day.
In addition, if there is anything you feel we should include in the
newsletter which we are not currently doing, please let us know.
Additionally, if you have any other contributions, ie event details, help offers, volunteer opportunities or even a blog you think may be suitable for publication, please let us know.
It is always great to hear from any of our members. so please feel free to get in touch about anything you wish.

Preston Community Network Quarterly Newsletter No. 7 – May 2023

Hello to all our members, friends and contacts and welcome to our latest quarterly newsletter.

When PCN came back into full operation in September 2021, we asked you what services and support you would like to see from us and a regular quarterly newsletter was one of the features you felt would be useful.

We hope you have found the previous newsletters useful and informative and that you will find this edition similarly helpful.

It has in some ways been superseded by our weekly news update which has proved extremely popular and is going from strength to strength.

However, as many of you know, we have decided to continue with the quarterly newsletter for now as it gives us a chance provide a more general overview on PCN’s progress along with a few additions more suitable to a quarterly than weekly update.

If there’s anything you want including or that you feel we can improve on, please let us know.

WHERE WE ARE AT – AN UPDATE ON PCN

We’ll start by confirming, if you hadn’t already heard, that we have now been strengthened by the addition of a new project officer in the shape of Glenn McDonnell.

Glenn joined us in March and has already made a big impact here at PCN.

Not only does he have experienced in the sector as he has looked after our member group ICANN’s social media output for some time, but Glenn also has excellent IT and administration skills which he has already put to good use by upgrading PCN’s own social media output and revising our website to make it clearer, more attractive and more informative.

In other areas, we have been continuing to make every effort to develop PCN’s role and activities.

We are now working on progressing our training programme for members and we are basing our efforts on the vision of a three step training resource outlined in our previous quarterly newsletter.

Step One is a basic, easily accessible fact sheet available to all our members, via the website or via a hard copy, on a number of areas vital to groups within the sector such as fundraising, reportage, recruitment of trustees and legal requirements and procedures with regard to volunteers.

Step Two will involve access to a series of more detailed courses on the above subjects, either via a website resource where the course is permanently accessible to members at a time of their convenience, or is delivered in person at a training event arranged on a regular basis.

Finally, Step Three will involve the provision of a series of links to more advanced courses or info sources available from external providers.

We hope the training programme will prove a useful resource for all our members and help them develop and flourish in these difficult times.

In addition, the quarterly digital newsletter you are now reading, which was launched in November 2021, will be continued in its present form and we hope you think this is a sensible decision.

The weekly news update, which was launched in January 2022, has continued to develop and become more popular and we will of course continue to progress it.

The new PCN website, which was launched in February 2022, is also developing well and now includes:

An Events section detailing upcoming events being run by or that may be of interest to our members. This is divided into a ‘one-off’ events section and a second section of weekly events and is updated daily.
A Job Vacancies section where members can advertise to recruit paid staff and volunteers. This is also proving very successful and there is an average of around a dozen vacancies displayed at any one time.
A Members’ section with full details of every member, the activities of the group and full contact details.
A News section which includes updates on any developments at PCN and any news submitted by our members.

PCN’s social media channels, in particular our Facebook and Twitter accounts, are now updated regularly, and their profile is growing.

The Twitter feed, for example, had just 135 followers prior to relaunch but this has now risen to 888.

We have continued to grow the membership which has, we are delighted to say, now smashed through the 100 barrier.

From less than 35 when PCN was effectively revived in September 2022, our current total at the time of the publication of this newsletter stands at 106 and we are focusing on growing this figure further with a particular emphasis on bringing on board more groups operating in the BAME community.

As far as events go, the original plan was to hold regular networking and info events with different themes with the PCN relaunch event as a starting point, and this strategy is now in operation.

It was hoped to hold such events on a roughly bi-monthly basis but while this has so far not been possible due to pressure of work and staffing issues, the networking events we have held proved very successful and plans are now in place to hold themed networking events at least once every three months.

We have also held two very successful funding info day for members with officers from the National Lottery Community Fund and Lancashire County Council in attendance.

We have now established via a series of meetings good contacts with Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council and are meeting further with them to discuss a range of issues within the next few weeks.

To summarise, significant progress has been made on many fronts during the year.

Two factors in particular, namely the move to Preston Town Hall in early January 2023, which has also resulted in a close working relationship with the PCC community engagement team, and the recruitment of Glenn in late March 2023 have provided significant boosts to PCN’s work and profile.

From a period of virtual dormancy up to September 2021, it has been a gradual and often difficult process to get things moving again and re-establish PCN as a force within the VCFSE community and beyond in Preston.

There are periods when due to various issues, the organisation was ticking over rather than developing to a significant degree, but we feel this difficult period has now been surmounted and with the two factors mentioned above have been hugely positive, PCN is now looking ahead to developing further with real and we feel fully justified optimism.

PCN Networking Events

Many of you will recall our two free PCN funding information event which we hosted in conjunction with representatives of the National Lottery Community Fund in December and March.

We followed this up with a very successful networking event in April at St Cuthbert’s Parish Centre.

We plan for this to be the first of regular three monthly networking events, each with a broad theme but with a chance for general networking too, and the next event is planned for early July. Please keep an eye on our weekly news update as more details will follow very shortly.

FOCUS

In this section, we look at one of our member groups in more detail. In this edition, we look at Dance Syndrome.

Jen Blackwell has Down’s syndrome and is the inspiration behind multi award winning charity, DanceSyndrome.

Jen’s dream was to be a community dance leader providing accessible dance for everyone.

Her challenge to find appropriate inclusive dance opportunities, dance leadership and performance training led to Jen and her Mum setting up their own organisation.

DanceSyndrome now has over ten years’ experience and an established, unique approach and methodology for co-designed and co-led delivery of inclusive dance sessions and provides dance training in the community and online – both in the form of inclusive technique classes and open creative sessions.

The charity offers a broad programme of innovative dance, leadership and inclusion workshops and training to people with learning disabilities whilst addressing health inequalities, social inclusion, prevention, and transformation.

Their contact details are below:

Julie Nicholson, Managing Director, julie@dancesyndrome.co.uk

Facebook – @dancesyndromeUK

Twitter – @DanceSyndromeUK

Instagram – @dancesyndromegallery

LinkedIn – @DanceSyndrome

CONTACT DETAILS

A message to all our members, new and old.

Have you changed your phone number, website or social media addresses?

Is there a new main contact?

Has your group changed or expanded your range of activities?

If so, please let us know.

Just email tonyd@prestoncn.org or glennM@prestoncn.org or call 07526 786795/07510 617984 and we will update your details on our records and on our new website.

OUR NEXT QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

We hope you have enjoyed this quarterly newsletter.

The next newsletter will be due out in August so just a heads up that we are already looking for material for this and will be continuing to accept any contributions right up to publication day.

In addition, if there is anything you feel we should include in the newsletter which we are not currently doing, please let us know.

Additionally, if you have any other contributions, ie event details, help offers, volunteer opportunities or even a blog you think may be suitable for publication, please let us know.

It is always great to hear from any of our members. so please feel free to get in touch about anything you wish.

Preston Community Network

Quarterly Newsletter No. 6

– February 2023

Hello to all our members, friends and contacts and welcome to our latest quarterly newsletter.

We hope you have found the previous newsletters useful and informative and that you will find this edition similarly helpful.

It has in some ways been superseded by our weekly news update which has proved extremely popular and is going from strength to strength.

However, we have decided to continue with the quarterly newsletter for now as it gives us a chance provide a more general overview on PCN’s progress along with a few additions more suitable to a quarterly than weekly update.

If there’s anything you want including or that you feel we can improve on, please let us know.

WHERE WE ARE AT – AN UPDATE ON PCN

We’ll start by confirming, if you hadn’t already heard, that since our last quarterly update in November we have sadly had to say goodbye to Ashley Dalton, one of our development and communications officers.

Ashley left us in December to pursue a career in the political field and last week, after a successful campaign, she was elected as the new MP for West Lancashire.

We are sure you will join us in congratulating Ashley on her new role and wish her every success.

Ashley was only with us for a short period, joining us early last year, but in that time she made a big impact, playing a key role in organising our networking events and setting up a the framework of a training programme which we hope will soon become fully operational.

We are currently working on recruiting her successor at the moment and hope to have further news on this shortly.

In the mean time, we have been continuing to make every effort to develop PCN’s role and activities.

With regards to the training programme Ashley has formulated, we are progressing this and envisage it to eventually consist of a three step training resource.

Finally, Step Three will involve the provision of a series of links to more advanced courses or info sources available from external providers.

We hope the training programme will prove a useful resource for all our members and help them develop and flourish in these difficult times.

In addition, the quarterly digital newsletter you are now reading, which was launched in November 2021, will be continued in its present form and we hope you think this is a sensible decision.

The weekly news update, which was launched in January 2022, will of course also continue.

It’s developing all the time and going from strength to strength, and we know from your feedback that it is proving a very useful resource for you.

The new PCN website, which was launched in February 2022, is also developing well and now includes:

An Events section detailing upcoming events being run by or that may be of interest to our members. This is divided into a ‘one-off’ events section and a second section of weekly events and is updated daily.
A Job Vacancies sectionwhere members can advertise to recruit paid staff and volunteers. This is also proving very successful and there is an average of around a dozen vacancies displayed at any one time.
A Members’ section with full details of every member, the activities of the group and full contact details.
A News section which includes updates on any developments at PCN and any news submitted by our members.

PCN’s social media channels, in particular our Facebook and Twitter accounts, are now updated regularly, and their profile is growing.

The Twitter feed, for example, had just 135 followers prior to relaunch but this has now risen to 830.

We have also continued to attend member organisations’ events such as the launch of the new Windrush CIC Community Centre, Disability Equality NW’s AGM and presentation afternoon, a Soundskills Project Community Open Mic night and a meeting of Embrace Lancashire when they hosted an NHS mental health team.

Officers have also undertaken informal meetings with members to understand better the support they require and let members know what services we are able to offer.

A scene from the Soundskills Open Mic event

We have continued to grow the membership which has risen from less than 35 when PCN was effectively revived in September 2022 to a current total of 84 and we are focusing on growing this figure further with a particular emphasis on bringing on board more groups operating in the BAME community.

As far as events go, the original plan was to hold regular networking and info events with different themes with the PCN relaunch event as a starting point, and this strategy is now in operation.

We also held a very successful funding info day for members with officers from the National Lottery Community Fund and Lancashire County Council in attendance, and another similar event will be held next month.

Finally, as you may know, PCN operated out of ICANN offices in Penwortham until the end of 2022.

However, we have now secured office space within Preston Town Hall and PCN are now operating from these premises.

This new arrangement is already proving invaluable in terms of mutual support and the development of PCN as a keystone for the VCF sector within the city.

Looking ahead, we are now confident that the organisation has now moved on from the ‘start-up’ stage and has gradually moved into more consistent and direct delivery.

PCN’s profile is rising in the city and though clearly there is more work to be done, staff and Trustees are optimistic the organisation will flourish in the coming months and are looking to the future with confidence.

COST OF LIVING CRISIS

This issue is continuing to affect the area badly and it is having a particularly harsh effect both on groups operating in the voluntary, community and faith sectors and on their service users and contacts.

But the good news is the concerted effort to provide help across the Preston area is continuing.

Preston City Council’s Cost of Living Support Hub has gathered all these resources in one place and you can access it via this link https://www.helpinpreston.com/article/5968/Cost-of-living-support-hub

And Lancashire County Council have continued their Lancashire Warm Space’s online directory, to complement the small grants scheme and Warm Spaces Charter.

Members of the public can now search the directory to find nearby Warm Spaces and what they have to offer.

As a registered Warm Space, organisations will also have access to LCC’s package of support, which includes a e-support pack, promotional materials and access to a feedback forum.

Please also note all libraries in Lancashire have been designated as warm and welcome spaces where people can find a warm drink, a space to sit, free computers and Wi-Fi, charging points for digital equipment, events and activities and help from staff to find further information about what support is available.

The small grant scheme aimed at helping organisations in the community to run warm spaces through the winter and beyond is also continuing.

Grants of up to £500 are available through a simple application process. More information can be found on https://lancashire.gov.uk/costofliving/ On a more general basis, we are trying to update you with any news on how you can find help in facing the Cost of Living Crisis in general and the energy cost issue in particular.

We will continue to do so via our website and our weekly news update and send out individual emails to everyone on our contact list if anything more urgent needs to be distributed.

PCN Funding Info Event

Many of you will recall our free PCN funding information event which we hosted in conjunction with representatives of the National Lottery Community Fund in December.

Despite the terrible weather on the day, the event proved to be a huge success with all our one-to-one slots filled and the feedback telling us that those who attended found it really useful.

We are delighted to advise that we are now arranging a further event with exactly the same format and this has been provisionally now booked for Friday, March 17, 2023 at the same venue ie the Pukar Disability Resource Centre in central Preston.

We are now taking bookings for the half hour one to one slots, with times running from 9.30am through to 3.30pm.

So if you want to grab the chance to speak on a one to one basis with Clare Compton of the NL Community Fund, a colleague who specialises in the Awards for All scheme for smaller grants under £10,000 or Rosie Paterson from Lancashire County Council, please email tonyd@prestoncn.org to book a slot.

And remember, if you cannot make it down in person, please let us know and we can arrange a Teams/Zoom call at your preferred time on the day.

We look forward to hearing from you and helping you.

FOCUS

In this section, we look at one of our member groups in more detail. In this edition, we take a look at Strive 2 Thrive.

One of our newer members is Strive 2 Thrive, a group headed by a familiar face in the local VCF sector in the shape of Tasha Cowperthwaite.

Tasha is a very experienced and popular figure and while relative newcomers on the scene, the group is already going from strength to strength

Strive 2 Thrive’s mission is to empower, inspire and support young people to break down barriers, access opportunities and raise their voices on issues that directly impact them in society.

They also strive to end Youth Criminal Exploitation and tackle the stigma of young people who have experienced the criminal justice system, and to enable all young people to reach their full potential regardless of their circumstances, leading to thriving young adults who positively contribute toward society.

The group’s current activities centre around three main fields, Employment
& Skills, Community Projects & Activities and Training, Workshops & Development.

More specifically, that involves a range of activities including:

Delivering youth focused job clubs.
Hosting job fairs, inviting partners and employers from all industries to increase access to a wide variety of career paths.
1:1 support to job search, complete applications, create or build CV’s and hold interview preparation workshops.
Delivering tailored pre-employment programmes, providing all the skills to successfully sustain employment.
Offering work placements with #TeamStrive2Thrive
Supporting children and young people to develop and lead on projects in their local area to bring positive changes.
Focusing on projects that promote improving health and wellbeing, making neighbourhoods safer, supporting other organisations and local charities, and increasing the time young people spend accessing green spaces.
Delivering a variety of projects to tackle ASB, build community cohesion and create a sense of belonging.
Developing and deliver a variety of accredited courses and workshops.
Empowering young people to use their lived experience to help us shape peer-led support.
Supporting young people to access funding streams, allowing them to explore new ideas and personal development.
Creating leadership opportunities for young people with experience of the justice system, breaking barriers and tackling the stigma in society.

For more details on Strive 2 Thrive’s work, hit the link to their website at https://www.strive2thrivelancs.co.uk/

Job Opportunity

Our member group Intact (Ingol & Tanterton Community Trust) are looking to fill a vacancy for an Energy and Fuel Poverty Advisor as soon as possible.

For an application pack, contact pearl.cooper@intact-preston.org.uk, call 01772 760760 or visit the group’s website at www.intact-preston.org.uk. CVs are welcome.

For an informal discussion about the post please contact Intact Chief Executive Denise Hartley on 01772 760760.

Closing Date is February 27 and proposed interview date March 8 with a start date of April 3.

For more details of this opportunity and a range of other vacancies including one here at PCN, please visit our website at https://prestoncn.org/job-vacancies/

CONTACT DETAILS

A message to all our members, new and old.

Have you changed your phone number, website or social media addresses?

Is there a new main contact?

Has your group changed or expanded your range of activities?

If so, please let us know.

Just email tonyd@prestoncn.org or call 07526 786795 and we will update your details on our records and on our new website.

OUR NEXT QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

We hope you have enjoyed this quarterly newsletter.

The next newsletter will be due out in May so just a heads up that we are already looking for material for this and will be continuing to accept any contributions right up to publication day.

In addition, if there is anything you feel we should include in the newsletter which we are not currently doing, please let us know by contacting us on tonyd@prestoncn.org by calling 07526 786795.

Additionally, if you have any other contributions, ie event details, help offers, volunteer opportunities or even a blog you think may be suitable for publication, please let us know.

It is always great to hear from any of our members. so please feel free to get in touch about anything you wish.

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Quarterly Newsletters

Quarterly Newsletter - February 2024

The group’s current activities centre around three main fields, Employment& Skills, Community Projects & Activities and Training, Workshops & Development.

The group’s current activities centre around three main fields, Employment
& Skills, Community Projects & Activities and Training, Workshops & Development.