placement, Author at Midlothian Third Sector Interface

Leap into the New Year with our 2024 Volunteer Recruitment Fair!

placement on 6 February, 2024

Volunteer Midlothian is thrilled to announce the return of their Volunteer Recruitment Fair! Following the success of last year’s event, 2024’s fair promises to be even more engaging and impactful. The event will take place on Thursday 29 February, from 10am to 2:30pm, at the St John’s and Kings Park Church in Dalkeith. It guarantees to be an unmissable opportunity for aspiring volunteers.

It’s not too late to make volunteering your New Year resolution

As this leap year grants us an extra day, Volunteer Midlothian urges everyone to harness this extra time to leap into action and consider the benefits of volunteering.

Personal Growth: Engaging in volunteering encourages you to step out of your comfort zone, fostering personal development, and have fun in the process!

Community Connection: Volunteering brings people together, nurturing a sense of belonging and unity within communities. It can help you create strong bonds and make friends from all walks of life. It is a great way to gain confidence and social skills by meeting new people.

Mental and Physical Well-being: Research consistently shows that volunteering can positively impact mental health by reducing stress and enhancing overall well-being. It also encourages an active lifestyle, benefiting your physical health too!

Professional Development: Volunteering is a prime source for gaining hands-on experience, honing existing skills, and broadening your professional network. It can significantly boost your CV or applications to further education.

Making a Meaningful Impact: The opportunity to contribute to causes you care about is one of the most compelling reasons to volunteer. It’s a chance to effect positive change and feel good about how you spend your time.

What opportunities are there?

Whether it’s mentoring, environmental work, or community outreach, there’s a place for everyone to make an impact. At the Volunteer Recruitment Fair, there will be a variety of organisations with information stalls displaying a range of volunteering opportunities.

Some participating organisations include Equal Futures, Forth Rivers Trust, VoiceAbility, NHS, Girlguiding Midlothian, and many more!

Join Us!

Whether you’re a seasoned volunteer looking for your next venture or an aspiring volunteer with no clue where to start, mark your calendar for Thursday 29 February, from 10am to 2:30pm. Spend your extra day of this leap year making positive change!

Take the leap, make a change, and kick start your volunteer journey this year.

Applications open for CMHWB Micro Grant

placement on 30 January, 2024

Are you a community group looking for funding?

Year 3 of Midlothian Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults launched in the end of September 2023 distributing over £246 thousand to third organisations and community groups. It has already seen many successful applications for larger projects. There is a small fund of £7800 to support micro grant applications, to be distributed by the end of March 2024. The Fund aims to support people’s good mental health and wellbeing and to provide opportunities to connect with others in local community.

Local groups are invited to apply for funding from £200 up to £2500.

Known as “the Sunflower Fund” the funding has a strong emphasis on collaboration, partnerships, capacity building and the development of creative projects that can work at a grassroots level, together with local people. All these to ensure outcomes are inclusive and have maximum impact on a local level. In Midlothian the fund had been overseen by a team of staff and volunteers from the TSI, Midlothian Council, Health in Mind, and Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership. The Lived Experience Working Group from Health in Mind will be assessing the funding applications.

Fund enquiries should be directed to Magda Clark magda@volunteermidlothian.org.uk by 26 February 2024.

Read more about the Midlothian Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund here.

Success for a Midlothian Climate Action Hub

placement on 9 November, 2023

Members of the Midlothian Climate Action Network are thrilled and making plans to celebrate after the Scottish Government confirmed that their application for grant funding for a staffed Climate Action Hub in the county had been successful. The Hub will support a collaborative effort focused on community-led climate action and adaptation within the region.

Funding Success

Funding of nearly £75,000 has been secured for the remainder of 2023-24 while more significant grant support for 2024-25 is agreed in principle only at this stage pending final agreement on the Scottish Government budgets for that year. However, the Scottish Government’s advice has been to recruit staff for both this year and next with that caveat. The application was made by a partnership involving Network members and Midlothian Voluntary Action, the local Third Sector Interface based in Dalkeith. The Network seek to obtain incorporated charitable status for the Hub during 2024-25. In the meantime, it is very happy with the partnership with MVA.

Ian Malcolm, who has been acting as coordinator of the Midlothian Climate Action Network since June, said:

“This is very welcome and exciting news for Midlothian and its communities. The Hub is a community-led initiative to encourage local community groups to achieve their climate action ambitions, through training and sharing and learning from each other through events and collaborative projects.
Climate action takes many forms; in environmental protection, community gardening and food growing, encouraging and protecting green spaces and increasing biodiversity. It encourages walking and cycling, helps reduce food and fuel bills in times of need, encourages community wellbeing and provides positive and inclusive opportunities for the local population. It’s all good.”

Lesley Kelly, Chief Officer of Midlothian TSI was equally delighted:

“The application to the Scottish Government had to come from an incorporated body such as our own and we were only too pleased to offer our support. So much of what is planned chimes with our goals to create positive opportunities and outcomes for the people of Midlothian, particularly those on low incomes and suffering most from the cost of living and energy crises. The more we can do to help communities support each other through these difficult times, the better.”

Councillor Dianne Alexander, Midlothian Council said:

“Midlothian Council fully endorses the community-focused funding received for a Midlothian climate change action hub. The hub will be immensely important to bring our communities and people together to work with us as we move forward on our journey towards net zero.”

The Hub will employ three members of staff in the first instance: the Hub Manager, and two part-time Community Engagement Officers working directly with and encouraging local community groups. The staff will be based in the MVA office in Dalkeith. The employing body will be MVA while the strategic direction for the Hub will be provided by a Hub Steering Group to be elected from the Network’s community groups.

Early actions by the Hub will include opening the first round of a communities’ seed funding grant programme and delivery of four roadshow events across the county region. These and other workstreams will increase awareness and understanding of climate change, provide sharing and learning opportunities and showcase and promote positive community efforts.

The application to the Scottish Government was supported by our local MP and MSPs, Midlothian Council and the Midlothian Community Planning Partnership. The partnership is grateful to SCCAN (Scottish Community Climate Action Network) and to the Scottish Government for their support.

Apply to join the cause!

The jobs are currently being advertised on Goodmoves:

Community Engagement Officer

Climate Action Hub Manager

This is an exciting time to be involved in community-led climate action and for the successful applicants to make their mark at local and regional levels and to influence policy and decision-making at national level.

For further information about the jobs please contact Lesley Kelly at lesley.kelly@mvacvs.org.uk, or call 0131 663 9471.

The Midlothian Hub is one of a number of regional hubs being supported by the Scottish Government across the country. In addition to their work in Midlothian, the Hub Manager will play an active part in the Scotland-wide Hub network, attending monthly meetings, quarterly Stakeholder Working Group meetings and enabling opportunities for learning across the regions.

Learn More About the Hubs Initiative

Challenge Poverty Week: Uniting Against Poverty In Midlothian

placement on 5 October, 2023

We are more than halfway through Challenge Poverty Week and we want to highlight what’s been happening in Midlothian to unite against poverty and what we are doing at MVA and across Midlothian in the longer term to tackle poverty in the community.

In the face of the Cost-of-Living Crisis and with councils facing budget challenges, it seems appropriate that we introduce Challenge Poverty Week (CPW) and what it stands for.

What is Challenge Poverty Week?

Challenge Poverty Week was launched in 2013 by the Poverty Alliance. It serves as a platform to raise awareness about the persistence of poverty in Scotland and its impact on people’s daily lives. Every October, Scottish organizations come together to stand against injustice and poverty. This year’s themes revolve around communities, volunteers, housing, adequate incomes, transport, and food.

The Cost-of-Living Crisis and Its Impact

The Cost-of-living crisis is affecting people across Scotland and is having an impact on the everyday lives of people. 70% of people in a recent Poverty Alliance Survey said that poverty in Scotland is very real today. In Midlothian specifically, households earning £40,000 or less are said to be feeling a more significant impact from the increased living costs. The number of crises grant applications and acceptances has almost doubled since 2013/14 with a rapid increase in 2021/22.

Challenge Poverty Week in Midlothian

There have been a number of events in Midlothian for 2023 Challenge Poverty Week. At MVA Lesley Kelly, our Chief Officer, spoke at a breakfast briefing on Monday talking about communities and volunteers, offering insight into fairer funding, policy asks and the impact the Cost-of-living crisis is having on organizations across Midlothian. Read more about the policy briefing here. We also offered extra volunteer drop-in sessions for people to find out more about volunteering opportunities. This is all part of the confidence experience to help people into employment. Organizations we work alongside with such as Dalkeith Citizens Advice Bureau and Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust have also run events.

Click here for upcoming events across Midlothian and Scotland

Our Long Term Goals

Under our longer term goals to eradicate and tackle poverty, we want to let you know that under the 2023-2027 Single Midlothian Plan MVA & Volunteer Midlothian alongside other organizations are working towards ensuring no child or household is living in poverty by 2027. Also, that individuals and communities in Midlothian can have improved skills and health for work and general happiness in their everyday life.

Alongside this, we are making a commitment towards net zero carbon emissions by 2030 which goes hand in hand with poverty eradication according to a report published by the Climate Environment Programme in 2015.

Discovering the Kelpies with our Conversation Café

placement on 4 October, 2023

At our beloved Conversation Café, the world comes alive through the magic of words. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning we gather together to discuss travels, explore geography, share cultural traditions, and immerse ourselves in local customs.

This week, on the 2nd of October, a spirited group of learners embarked on an adventure to The Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel. The Kelpies beckoned us with their mythical charm, pulling us away from our usual gathering spot at The Salon. We also had a chance to take a closer look at the magnificent piece of engineering at the Falkirk Wheel, whilst sipping tea and keeping the conversation going.

What awaited us was a day of pure delight, where laughter became our common language.

On the journey, we introduced ‘travel bingo’ to keep the conversation flowing and played ‘spot the beetle’. Was it the elusive Volkswagen Beetle or a creature of the insect world?

The best part is that the adventure doesn’t end here. Our learners are already planning another exciting day trip in the coming year. Let’s see where our conversations take us next…

A special thanks to our generous funders, UK Shared Prosperity Fund, for covering all expenses. And, of course to Lothian Community Transport Service (LCTS) for ensuring our safe and comfortable travel.

Drop in from 10am-11.30am on a Tuesday or Thursday at the Conversation Café to be a part of our journeys of discovery, connection and laughter.

See more of our adventures on our social media pages: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

Author: placement