PCN AGM

Thank you to everyone who attended our AGM on Monday. It was great to see you all come out to see us and we hope that you enjoyed the AGM. If anyone wishes to read the booklet/report that was handed out to attendees, please let me know and I will send you a digital copy.

PCN Forums

You may well have received a survey from us last week regarding the setting up of some smaller subject focussed forums in Preston. This is still in the planning stage and so would love our members input. Please fill out the following survey, it should only take a few minutes: https://forms.office.com/e/mMFJkcwdK5

NI Contributions

You will probably be aware by now that there was extreme disappointment in the VCFSE sector following the announcement in the recent Budget that no exemptions would be provided for charities to the 1.2 per cent increase in employers’ National Insurance.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has estimated this decision could cost the voluntary sector £1.4bn per year.

There was further disappointment when efforts by the sector to lobby the Government to change the decision were unfortunately rejected when the Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP advised that the decision would not be reviewed.

A copy of her letter to the NCVO and ACEVO is attached.

If there are any further developments, we will advise but there does not appear to be any immediate prospect of the situation changing.

Safety First Project

The above project, which has seen some fantastic work done by the team at Disability Equality NW, came to a close at the end of November.

At PCN, we have been kept informed of the Safety First work and it’s clear it has made a real difference and helped so many people, and we’d like to add our own thanks and a ‘well done’ to all concerned.

Please find attached a full update regarding the project from the team and some useful numbers for the future.

And if you have had cause to contact the group for any reason or if you have been assisted, they would be very grateful if you could complete a short survey which you can access here.

Happy Birthday to Community Futures
The above group held their 90^th birthday celebrations last week and it proved to be a memorable day.
The group gave a series of displays on their work and were delighted with the reception they received, and they have thanked everyone who attended.
Community Futures plan to build on the success of the event by launching a quarterly news bulletin to keep everyone up to date with their work.
If you are on their subscriber list, you will receive the first edition shortly.

Lancashire Mind – Youth Advisory Group

Lancashire Mind are now recruiting Preston young people for their Youth Advisory Group, so please tell any young people aged 14-18 you are working with to get involved.

The aim is for the Youth Advisors to lead with the feedback and evaluation of our services for young people as well as be a part of focus groups within the organisation. Young people will be given practical training to build key skills in mental health, leadership, and will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of coproduction and service design in a leading mental health charity.

Who can apply: 14 -18-year-olds living in Lancashire with an interest or lived experience in mental health. No previous experience is necessary, just bring a positive attitude and a willingness to contribute.

How to apply: Find the recruitment pack and application form on our website – https://www.lancashiremind.org.uk/project/youth-advisory-group/

Game Plan – PNECET

Game Plan is a new mental health intervention we have here at PNECET called Game Plan, which aims to support 18-to-25-year-olds in Preston and its surrounding area who are struggling with their mental health. We offer weekly one to one support, as well as the opportunity to hold workshops and external activities.

Make it Big with Pathway Fund 
Make It Big with Pathway Fund will provide eight selected charities and social enterprises with £25,000 in grant funding, along with tailored support and capacity-building resources.

Their goal is to help your organisation strengthen its financial resilience and operational capacity, paving the way for future social investment. 

Click here to find out more. 

Weston Charity Awards
The Garfield Weston Foundation, in partnership with Pilotlight, is offering the Weston Charity Awards aimed at charities working in youth, welfare, environment, and community sectors.

Each award finalist will receive over £22,000 worth of support, including a fully funded year of strategic guidance from Pilotlight and an unrestricted cash grant of £6,500.

Click here for more details.

Thomas Wall Trust
Charities can now apply for grants of up to £5,000 to support projects aimed at improving communication skills for disadvantaged adults and helping NEET individuals into employment.

Projects should enable beneficiaries to achieve at least one accredited vocational qualification and focus on groups facing significant barriers to employment, such as women, refugees, and people with disabilities.

Priority will be given to match-funded or self-sustaining initiatives. Grants cannot cover capital costs, and there is a two-stage application process.

For more details, click here

LGBTQ+ mental health transformation

See link below from Lancashire LGBT for a CPD accredited training package informed by the lived experience of LGBTQ+ people in Lancashire who have accessed mental health services. The session will be conducted online on December 12^th, 1pm-5pm. https://lancslgbt.org.uk/nhs-mental-health-transformation-project/

Training for Organisational Staff

There are a number of excellent training opportunities for organisational staff in the VCFSE sector in Preston available in the next few weeks and they are summarised on the attached document.

Our thanks to Marc Dunne from Preston City Council’s Community Engagement team for advising these details.

Civil Society Covenant
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Orgnisations (ACEVO) are working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to engage the wider sector to develop a ‘Civil Society Covenant’.
This will be a new agreement to improve the relationship between civil society and government.
Since the General Election, the two bodies have engaged more than 50 voluntary infrastructure bodies and worked with DCMS to develop a draft covenant.
They are looking for as much feedback as possible as they work to finalise the document and if you would like to help, you can view the draft here and scroll down to access the feedback form.
Please complete by December 12.

Disability Equality North West Festive Get Together

Join DENW for a Festive Get Together & Unveiling of the Arts Project Banner on

Tuesday 10th December 2024 at 1-3pm – Plungington Community Centre, Brook St, Preston, PR1 7HB. Full details on the attached poster. Please email Matthew@disability-equality.org.uk to discuss any access or dietary requirements. Booking is not essential but helps for catering purposes and to guarantee food.

Plungington Community Centre

There are a couple of events on at the above venue within the next few days, see the below for more details:

5^th December 12pm-2pm Rebuild with Hope Marks and Spencer, high street goods discounted charity Sale

6^th December 7.45pm Eccleston Brass Band Christmas Concert

7^th December 1pm-4.30pm Plungington Table Top Sale

Also, starting on January 6th, they will be running a weekly guitar lessons social club 12pm – 1:30pm on Mondays.

DCA Christmas Shopping Event

Irfan and his hard working team at Deepdale Community Association have organised a Christmas shopping event which takes place on the next two Tuesdays, December 10 and 17. Bargains galore. See attached flyer for details.