Wednesday 25 October / 10:00am to 1:00pm / The Green House, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9DA

If you work in the VCSE sector, you know how unpredictable and unstable funding can be. By diversifying your income streams, organisations can increase their financial sustainability & flexibility.This half day session will cover:

• Different forms of funding
• Crowdfunding
• The Contracts and Commissioning process in Tower Hamlets
• Building Connections with Corporates

Tuesday 14 November / 11.00am to 2.00pm / Online

This session will be Led by Jason Pollard from Community Impact CIC and Sam Crosby, Development Manager at THCVS. This training will help organisations to demonstrate it's impact and how that can help when accessing further funding.

The Limehouse Project and Women Inclusive Team are jointly working to develop and coordinate the first ever Ethnic Minority Network in Tower Hamlets. The Aim of the Network is to raise the profile of the local BAME communities, share ideas and explore current issues.We aim to build a strong and supportive Network and become a resource for local BAME communities.

If you would like to join the Tower Hamlets Ethnic Minority Network, attend meetings and receive regular newsletters please complete the form here.

The Equalities Hub is key to the new direction for the Council’s equalities provision, providing a central strategic focus, responding to the community’s needs and issues. The Hub will be vital to bringing about a more coordinated approach to equalities in the borough. If you want to find out more on how to get involved or if you have information you would like to share with the networks please get in touch.

Wednesday 25 October, 10.30am to 1.00pm / Zoom

Do you sometimes have to handle tricky or uncomfortable situations with your volunteers? Do you want to prevent or deal with problems more effectively? Whether your organisation has an established volunteer programme or is starting up, this training is for you.

This practical training will cover:

• Identifying common problem areas and considering underlying causes
• How to prevent problems, including what policies and procedures to put in place
• Practical approaches to dealing assertively with problems when they do happen, including effective use of supervision sessions
• Preparing for and having difficult conversations
• Making decisions about when/whether/how to ask a volunteer to leave

This session is suitable for experienced Volunteer Managers as well as those who are new to managing volunteers. Priority will be given to voluntary sector organisations with a base/office in Tower Hamlets, or that have services aimed at Tower Hamlets residents.

Multiple dates available: Monday 6 November / Tuesday 28 November / Wednesday 13 December / Online

The Training Hub has introduced new dates for this two-hour introductory course on delivering compassionate support to people seeking sanctuary in NEL. They are keen to invite local health and care teams to enhance awareness and understanding of the challenges encountered by people seeking sanctuary. With new dispersal accommodations being opened all around London, this training will equip staff with the necessary tools and knowledge to support the integration of asylum seekers into the community. The training will be delivered in collaboration with REAP (Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership).

Multiple dates available: Wednesday 22 November  / Friday 15 December / Online

NEL Training Hub is pleased to announce new dates for the popular Introduction to Trans Awareness programme, designed for all staff working across North East London. This introductory session, delivered by Gendered Intelligence covers the following areas to develop understanding and empathy for those interacting with Trans identities:

• Setting the wider context for Trans identities - how sex, gender, and sexual orientation interact
• Exploring key terms and the use of language
• Providing a basic grounding in the legislation surrounding the rights and responsibilities related to Trans identities
• Initiating discussions on how organisations can ensure they are trans-inclusive
• Offering links to a wide range of resources

The council are developing a new strategy for community engagement and they need your help to develop it! One of Tower Hamlets Councils priorities is to create a council that listens and works for everyone. Strong community engagement is vital to this.

The council are working with the community and partners to agree on a vision for community engagement and a plan for how we will achieve it. To develop the strategy, they are engaging with communities and partners from all sections of Tower Hamlets, especially residents and the voluntary and community sector.

Between 12 October to 24 November 2023, they are involving the community in the following ways:

• Partner workshops: 2 workshops for partners from the voluntary and community sector, public sectors services, and local businesses. One will be held online: Wednesday 7 November,10am to 12pm (click here to book) and one in-person: Thursday 16 November, 10am to 12pm, lunch provided (click here to book).

• Filling in a survey: the survey asks questions and will take around 10 minutes to fill in. Click here to fill in the survey

• Drop-in sessions: the council are organising 2 conversations with residents at Idea Stores in different locations in the borough. To take part you can simply turn up: Tuesday 24 October 2.30pm to 5.00pm / Whitechapel Ideas Store and Thursday 26 October 10.30am to 3.00pm / Bow Ideas Store 

They are also organising workshops with residents, council officers and councillors.

How will my involvement be used? After the engagement process the council will go through the information collected from the survey, drop-in sessions and workshops to identify what people have said.

They will use the information to write a draft strategy. Following the development of the strategy they will contact the people who have taken part to share the impact their involvement has had.

If you have any questions or would like to talk to a member of the team leading the work, please contact engagement@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Toynbee Hall and Thrive LDN are looking for people to join them to investigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on young people and their emotional support needs. The purpose of this research is to explore the impact the cost-of-living crisis has had on young people, particularly their family relationships and the emotional support young people are able to receive.

You must be 19-22 years old and living in Tower Hamlets to participate, or be a carer or parent for someone currently aged 19-22 and living in Tower Hamlets. You will receive £30 for participating in a workshop.

October 26 & 27 / 10.00am to 2.00pm / Bromley By Bow Centre, St Leonard's St, E3 3BS 

Calling all child adventurers! Join Soul UK and Bromley By Bow Centre for their half term sports camp filled with exciting indoor activities, creative arts and crafts, sports and endless fun. Don't miss this fun to create lasting memories. Free hot lunch provided. For more information, email info@souluk.co.uk or call 07950 414 288.

Thursday 7 December / 1.30 to 3.00pm / Online

The time has come again to join Tower Hamlets Together to celebrate the 2nd annual Tower Hamlets Together ‘Integrated Care’ Awards. This virtual event aims to celebrate the fantastic work accomplished over the last year which has not gone unnoticed. What do you need to do?

• Nominate an individual or team (one form per nomination).
• Please ensure that you submit nominations by 5pm Monday 6 November
• Please make sure that you register your place on Eventbrite 

Please click here for Award Categories and the nomination form.

Wednesday 8 November 2.00 to 3.00pm

Teen mothering was identified as a social and public health problem in the US beginning in the late 1970s as advocacy groups, policy makers, and researchers responded with alarm to the rise in ‘unwed’ teen pregnancies and births. Public and professional alarm intensified as study after study suggested that an early birth, in and of itself, derails the future of mother and child. Although this characterization was problematic from the start, an alarmist paradigm remains firmly entrenched in US professional and policy discourse.

This presentation provides an overview of the author’s 7-wave, 28-year, multigenerational study of teen mothers, and their parents and children. 

Build Hollywood TH have built a space near Shoreditch Station servicing their clients for pop-up events. In between these events they are able to offer the space for community / arts related events that benefit the local community. They are particularly looking to help grass roots projects that may have been priced out of the area. Please get in touch with any ideas you may have or for more information: damon@buildhollywood.co.uk

Deadline: Tuesday 7 November

Organisations can apply for up to £40,000 for local projects. What are the grants for?

Community Hub grants - this is for £1-10k grants, for projects that bring people together to learn about the food system and take action together. This could fund things like workshops in schools, growing/composting/cookery courses, supper clubs, conversation clubs, talks and screenings, food festivals, local campaigns, and more. Where funding goes is decided through a community voting process.
 
Community Lab grants - this is for £10-40k grants, for larger community-driven that help reduce carbon emissions from our food system. It could be things like increasing the productivity of food growing spaces, projects looking at more sustainable supply chains and transport, supporting food social enterprises, increasing sustainable processing of food waste, circular economy projects, increasing access to plant-based foods and more. It can build on something that's happening already. Where funding goes is decided by a panel. 

Deadline 16 November @ 5pm

‘Make it Big With Pathway Fund’ is a collaboration between Pathway Fund and social enterprise, Do it Now Now, aimed at empowering Black and Global Majority-led charities and social enterprises in the UK.

With a strong focus on climate and racial equity, as well as poverty alleviation and racial equity, this initiative will provide 12 deserving organisations with a £30,000 grant and tailored support. Together, we can be a catalyst for positive change.
Applications for the fund are now open.

Deadline: Friday 24 November @ 12 noon

This funding is for organisations to give extra support to young people in areas where they may be at risk of anti-social behaviour. The National Lottery Community Fund want to fund extra hours of youth work for additional activities that give these young people more places to go and positive things to do. This programme is funded by the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund. They can fund work with young people aged: 11 to 18 / 
up to 25 if they have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Funding size £30,000 to £100,000

Deadline: Thursday 30 November

Think & Do began supporting local Camden residents in 2021 by establishing ‘Sharing Spaces’ – turning under-used spaces on local estates into community hubs for climate action. Local residents were inspired to participate in refuse, reuse and recycling initiatives. Activities included clothes swaps and sharing surplus food meals, fix it sessions, energy saving advise, craftivism, and much more.  

The collaboration with Ashden will support more Sharing Spaces to be established around London. Organisations applying for the grant need to be a registered charity, voluntary group, not-for-profit organisation with the support of a local authority.  

Participating groups will receive a grant of £5,760, with additional small amounts of funding available to support ongoing projects.