Month: April 2021

Edinburgh charities unite to help local carers

EMMS International and VOCAL (Voice of Carers across Lothian) have announced an exciting new partnership to support Edinburgh families to access much-needed breaks from caring routines.

EMMS International is donating its Hawthorn Brae Fund to VOCAL to purchase a property to provide short breaks for unpaid carers and people with life-limiting conditions, and of limited means, living in Edinburgh.

Funding for the Hawthorn Brae breaks project originally came from Margaret Sanson (nee Laing), who left her house – Hawthorn Brae in Duddingston – in her will to the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society (later to become EMMS International).

After the house was donated it became a place of care and respite. After selling it in 1998, EMMS International used income from the fund to provide respite holidays for people with life limiting conditions living in Edinburgh.

By donating this fund to VOCAL, EMMS International will double the number of people benefiting and ensure carers and those they care for can enjoy a high-quality short break in Scotland. The donation enhances VOCAL’s existing short breaks offer to carers which includes support to create, fund and take regular short breaks.

Sebastian Fischer, Chief Executive of VOCAL said: “EMMS International and VOCAL share a vision to work globally and locally for better health and wellbeing for people with care needs and their carers. This is a great partnership to help those in greatest need and builds on the best of our traditions in Scotland.

“A big thank you to EMMS International for their generous investment which will provide more families with an opportunity to take time out, recharge their energy and support their physical and mental wellbeing.”

Dr Cathy Ratcliff, CEO of EMMS said: “We’re delighted to gift this historic Hawthorn Brae fund to VOCAL as we embark on a new partnership which will double the number of people who will benefit from much needed short breaks.”

Invisible Cities: 500 miles, 5 cities, celebrating 5 years of helping those affected by homelessness

To celebrate 5 years of Invisible Cities, the team are inviting all supporters, friends, partners and customers to take part in a virtual mile-covering challenge, whilst raising vital funds for their social enterprise  

Invisible Cities, the social enterprise operating in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and York, trains people who have previously  experienced  homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.

The social enterprise is now inviting supporters, friends, customers and partners to take part in a virtual mile-covering challenge, to celebrate Invisible Cities turning 5.  

From April – July there are 4 legs (one per month) that collectively make-up 500 miles as participants virtually move between Invisible Cities locations. Participants are invited to sign up for one leg, or all 4 and the challenge is to complete the number of miles required for that leg, within the month.   

Each leg varies in distance, so there’s something for everyone, from absolute beginners to fitness enthusiasts alike. The challenge can also be enjoyed as individual or in teams of up to 6, to reach the target miles. People can also choose between walking, running, cycling and swimming when it comes to how they decide to cover the mile target.     

The purpose of Invisible Cities’ virtual fundraiser is to connect individuals with other like-minded people all over the UK to raise money for those affected by homelessness.   

Zakia Moulaoui Guery, Founder & CEO of Invisible Cities said: “After a full year of being stuck indoors, getting outside to exercise is more important for our mental health than ever before.

“As COVID-19 has had a huge impact on homelessness, we thought we’d combine the benefits of outdoor activity with the effort to help support those experiencing homelessness through the pandemic. We really don’t think we could have found a better way to celebrate our 5th birthday!”  

To be part of the latest Invisible Cities initiative participants simply need to fill the form which can be found on the social enterprise’s official website, pay the £10 entry (100% of which will support their work to help combat homelessness) and all details for the challenge will then be emailed directly to them.  

As part of the initiative, Invisible Cities will also set up a personal Go Fund Me account for all ‘challengers’ to share and collect sponsorship and much-needed encouragement from friends and family, and the team will share fun updates about history and homelessness organisations depending on the point reached on the virtual journey.  

They will also receive access to the official Invisible Cities Strava group to track miles and become part of their community as well as receiving virtual updates showing where they are on their journey.   

For more information and to register for the virtual miles-covering challenge visit:   

https://invisible-cities.org/news/2021/500-miles-5-cities-celebrating-5-years-of-invisible-cities

Morrisons supermarket launches first own-brand shampoo bars

– Part of the Nutmeg range, the bars are plastic-free and the packaging is fully recyclable –

– They last for 30 washes and cost £3 each, five times cheaper than similar branded options –

Morrisons has become the first UK supermarket to launch an own-brand range of shampoo and conditioner bars into its permanent haircare range.

The Morrisons bars, which are part of the Nutmeg range, can last up to 30 washes and cost a pocket-friendly £3 – making them five times cheaper than some other branded options available, which can cost over £15.  

They are also vegan, 100% plastic-free and packaged in fully recyclable cardboard cartons. 

Shampoo bars use less water to manufacture than traditional haircare products and are lighter to transport, so have a smaller carbon footprint than a standard shampoo bottle. An average family can use multiple shampoo and conditioner plastic bottles per month – making the shampoo bars a more eco-friendly option.

Celebrities including Holly Willoughby, Davina McCall, Lily James and Kirsten Scott Thomas are all fans of shampoo bars. 

The Nutmeg Shampoo and Conditioner Bars are formulated with a high natural origin content and include ingredients such as Organic Argan Oil, Wheat Germ Oil and Coconut Oil – renowned for their ability to cleanse and nourish, restore damaged hair and tame frizz. 

Karena Hung, Health & Beauty Development Manager at Morrisons, said: “Our customers are telling us they want more sustainable options, not only for their groceries, but for their beauty products too.

“We’re excited to launch these new shampoo and conditioner bars under our own brand, so customers can pick them up as easily as they would regular bottles of shampoo and conditioner, with their weekly shop.”

Made in Scotland, Morrisons Nutmeg Shampoo & Conditioner Bars are available in-store now for £3 each. 

A number of sustainable healthcare products are available in Morrisons Nutmeg range including organic sustainable sanitary protection, cotton buds in paper boxes, along with wooden nail and bath brushes.

Volunteer Edinburgh offers free MAP course for women

Volunteer Edinburgh are running a women only MAP (Motivation, Aspirations & Progression) programme adapted from our employability course, focusing on skills, confidence & wellbeing.

It will be a blended Zoom course in small groups over 4 weeks, from 28th April. For more information: Christine.Meldrum@volunteeredinburgh.org.uk.

Looking to get into work?

Changing career?

Returning to work after a break?

Struggling to sustain existing work?

We have adapted our bespoke Employability MAP (Motivation, Aspirations, Progression) course, which is now a free blended online course which will run over four weeks.

You will have access to an online portal where you can work at your own pace, and there will be online exercises and weekly meetings in small groups of a maximum of four via Zoom™.

In the fourth week we will meet at an outdoor location and transport and refreshments will be provided.

There will be a choice of times that you can book, and you will meet with other participants and the facilitators to discuss and share.

Topics will include

  • What I’ve got going for me (assessing your skills)
  • New directions and transferrable skills
  • Confidence and Mindful Wellbeing
  • Volunteering, resilience and questions and answer session

Post course options

  • Individual one-to-one employability coaching
  • CV workshop
  • Help to secure volunteering and/or employment

If you can identify with or are curious about any of this and would like to find out more about the course or the facilitator, please contact Christine Meldrum by email at christine.meldrum@volunteeredinburgh.org.uk or alternatively you can call or text on 0131 561 8322 or 07505 446 024 for more information.

One in seven Scots suffers data poverty, says Nesta report

The pandemic has shown that access to the internet is essential for individuals and communities. Vital services such as education, social security, health and work are now online meaning data poverty affects opportunities and deepens existing inequalities.

By data poverty, we mean those individuals, households or communities who cannot afford sufficient, private and secure mobile or broadband data to meet their essential needs.

We heard of many people who were struggling to get online, but we found a lack of detailed information to quantify the scale and depth of data poverty.

This report seeks to fill that gap.

With the help of Survation, Nesta commissioned demographically representative polling of over 2,000 people in Scotland and Wales in late January 2021.

Using telephone interviews, we asked a representative sample of adults in each nation about barriers to going online and whether they were experiencing data poverty.

We then interviewed people in Wales and Scotland struggling to afford the data access they needed, adding the human story to the survey findings in a series of case studies.

This is the first study that we know of to attempt to describe the depth and extent of data poverty.

Key Findings

  • One in seven adults in Scotland and Wales are experiencing data poverty: Nearly a million adults in Scotland and Wales struggle to afford sufficient, private and secure access to the internet.
  • Data poverty widens inequalities: Not going online impedes life chances, increases social isolation, impacts on wellbeing and limits economic opportunities.
  • Connected but compromised: Individuals’ and families’ needs for data are often not adequately met. One in ten people with monthly mobile contracts regularly run out of data before the end of the month and larger households struggle to meet very high data needs.
  • Financial and data literacy compounds data poverty: Only about half of the people we spoke to felt they were able to shop around for the best data deals. People with low digital and financial literacy and weak purchasing power may not realise that better deals are available to them. Our case studies highlight the high costs of exceeding contract allowances.
data-poverty-in-scotland-and-WalesDownload

Call for Holyrood candidates to commit to protection of Scotland’s local parks and green spaces

Green space charity Fields in Trust Scotland is calling on candidates in May’s Parliamentary elections to recognise the importance of our local parks and green spaces and sign a pledge committing to protect them from development if elected.

The Parks Protector Pledge contains six key points which set out how elected policymakers can work to protect, support and champion green spaces for good, both locally and nationally. Candidates standing for election to the Scottish Parliament are invited to make a public commitment to the Pledge.

Following a year in which we have valued our local parks more than ever before, the Fields in Trust charity is calling on candidates to demonstrate support for green spaces by joining 40 members of the Westminster Parliament, representing five different parties, who signed the Parks Protector Pledge at the 2019 General Election.

Fields in Trust is also encouraging electors to ask their candidates how they will support local parks and green spaces if elected.

Fields in Trust is an independent, UK-wide charity which has been legally protecting parks and green spaces since 1925 and currently protects 297 spaces covering nearly 2,300 hectares in Scotland. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh served as President of the charity for 64 years.

Chair of Fields in Trust Scotland, Brian Samson said: “Parks and green spaces have been vital lifelines for communities across Scotland over the last twelve months; they will continue to be an essential element of our pandemic recovery.

“Yet 2.7 million people across Britain, including 318,355 people in Scotland, already live more than a ten-minute walk from a public park and this is set to increase in the next five years.

“MSP’s can play a significant role in delivering the health, wellbeing, environmental and community benefits that parks and green spaces provide, by ensuring they are protected for future generations to enjoy”.

Fields in Trust has published original research demonstrating parks and green spaces contribute to community health and wellbeing and can address multiple policy challenges, including health improvement; tackling loneliness; addressing childhood obesity; benefitting the environment and delivering volunteer opportunities.

Protecting these public assets is not something that is politically contested and by building cross-party support in championing the value of local parks, future legislative reform can protect local green spaces that matter to constituents.

National summit to address the future of Scotland’s streets

Scotland’s Active Nation Commissioner, local government leaders and transport experts will come together this morning to discuss how to get more children in Scotland walking to school at Living Streets Scotland’s Walking Summit.

Currently just over half of pupils (51%) travel to school in an active way – either walking, scooting or cycling – with 23 per cent being driven the whole way.

However, in schools that run WOW – the year-round walk to school initiative from Living Streets Scotland, that nearly halves, with just 12 per cent being driven the whole way to school.

The Scotland Walking Summit will look at how to engage more schools and local authorities with behaviour change initiatives, such as WOW, along with wider changes that need to be made to allow children to travel to school in healthier and more sustainable ways, including initiatives such as School Streets, play streets, and Spaces for People.

Joining Lee Craigie, Scotland’s Active Nation Commissioner, will be Councillor Anna Richardson (Glasgow City Council), Professor Alison Stenning (Newcastle University and PlayMeetStreet North Tyneside) and former UK Shadow Transport Secretary and Living Streets’ Chief Executive, Mary Creagh, amongst others.

Stuart Hay, Director, Living Streets Scotland said: “With pupils now back at school, continuing to enable families to choose healthy ways to make the journey there will be an important part of ensuring roads aren’t overwhelmed with cars. 

“We know from our work with schools across Scotland that families are put off walking to school by traffic, road danger and air pollution. Our Walking Summit is chance to come together and talk about how we can remove these barriers so more families can experience the benefits and joy of walking to school.”

Programme

  • 09:30 – 10:00: optional networking time
  • 10:00 – 10:10: welcome and introduction
  • 10:10 – 11:10: the joy of moving to school – with Lee Craigie, Scotland’s Active Nation Commissioner, Chris Thompson, Living Streets Scotland, Fiona Paterson, Daily Mile Nation.
  • 11:30 – 12:25: spaces for young people – with Councillor Anna Richardson (Glasgow City Council), Janet Macdonald (Moray Council) and Professor Alison Stenning (Newcastle University).
  • 12:25 – 12:30: plenary and close.

Full programme, speaker and registration at: livingstreets.org.uk/ScotlandWalkingSummit

The 2021 Scotland Walking Summit is supported by Transport Scotland.

Scottish Education needs radical overhaul, argues Jimmy Reid Foundation paper

The Jimmy Reid Foundation has released a new paper, Liberal education in a neo-liberal world: re-culturing and recalibrating, to coincide with the first day of the 2021 STUC annual congress.

The full paper can be found here: JRFeducationpaperfinal-3Download

Summarising the paper, Boyd, Kelly and Maitles argue: ‘Whilst there are some strong positive aspects to Scottish education and which can be improved with some relatively small alterations, the key negative factors operating within our education system — a neo-liberal agenda and inequality of attainment and achievement, stemming from too many of our population living in poverty — mean that a radical overhaul is needed’.

The authors say: ‘Neo-liberalism – the idea that choice and markets and testing can deal with the problems – has failed and, indeed, exacerbated the problems.  Marketisation of education, de-skilling and lack of trust in our teachers, the growth of managerialism and the politicisation of education all need to be challenged’.

Instead, they argue that: ‘The development of well-rounded human beings, knowledgeable of values, human rights and citizenship, should be the aim of education.

‘All pupils should have the opportunity to become independent learners and creativity should be at the heart of education and this requires a radical student-centred approach. Parents, pupils/students, communities and society as a whole should have a role in designing an education system for all.’

The authors suggest the closing of the achievement gap is related to poverty and will require macro-intervention but positive attempts to tackle it should begin in Early Years education.

They say: ‘We need to intervene early, postpone the age of formal education, ensure that early years are based on play and outdoor learning and raise staffing levels and funding in our nurseries and primaries’.

They add: ‘Secondary schools should never again be in thrall to an examination system which distorts learning and teaching and institutionalises failure for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

‘Nor should internal selection in schools, supported by Universities’ ever increasing entrance requirements, be continued. Further and Higher Education need to become much more student and community focused’.

Boyd, Kelly and Maitles lay out a blueprint for radical change, putting Scottish culture and history and the decolonising of the curriculum at the core and whereby all students should have the opportunity to become independent learners with creativity being at the heart of learning. 

Also part of this blueprint is that all of the sectors of education should find common cause and create a coherent system with manifest choices being presented to learners with parents, pupils/students, communities and society as a whole having a role in designing an education system for all.

Details about authors: Brian Boyd, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Strathclyde, John Kelly, Lecturer in Business, West College Scotland, and Henry Maitles, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of West of Scotland.

JRFeducationpaperfinal-3Download

Local business leader to chair Young Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothians team

Local businessman, Peter McLean, has been appointed to head up the Young Enterprise Scotland team in Edinburgh and the Lothians and drive forward the charity’s mission to give all local school children access to enterprise learning.

As Chair of the volunteer group, Pete will co-ordinate efforts to introduce more schools and more students to entrepreneurial skills development through the Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) Company Programme.

With his team of business advisers, as well as fundraising and organising events, the role includes working directly with senior school students who set up their own commercial ventures as part of the Company Programme.

Last year, more than 300 students across Scotland achieved an SCQF level six accredited qualification for the Company Programme, which is recognised by UCAS for university entry.

Many sixth formers take the experience of the Company Programme further by setting up their own businesses outside school, while for others, the skills for teamworking, communication and making ideas a reality provide them with a competitive advantage in the jobs market.

In 2019/20, the Edinburgh & Lothians Area Team helped to inspire nearly 300 students and supported 32 YES companies to go through the Company Programme.

Having taken part in the Company Programme himself while at school in Edinburgh, Pete has been involved with YES for over two decades.

A successful serial entrepreneur in his own right, he now acts as a business growth adviser with Napier University, where he helps students, staff and alumni grow and launch businesses.

Pete said: “I have been involved with Young Enterprise for over 20 years, from being part of a team at School, judging, running workshops, a local Board member and now Lothians Chair.

“I am passionate about enterprise for all at every age but especially in education and look forward to helping Young Enterprise achieve its goals. 

“I launched my own food and drinks business whilst at University and grew it to 36 staff over 13 years. There were many highlights over the years, but an equal number of failures and lessons learnt.

“It is these valuable lessons that has led to my current role as Business Growth Adviser at Edinburgh Napier University. I have a passion for the start-up community and hope that in my new role with YES I can steer others down this path and achieve their goals.”

Morrisons to give away half a million free postcards to spread positivity and combat loneliness

Morrisons will be giving away half a million free postcards for children to spread messages of hope this week in a nationwide initiative to help tackle loneliness within communities.

Children of Morrisons colleagues will be colouring postcards and writing messages for the supermarket to distribute to its Doorstep Delivery customers who are continuing to shield while lockdown restrictions are eased. 

Morrisons Community Champions will also be working in partnership with local primary schools to give children postcards illustrated with sunflowers and positive messages that they can colour in.

The school children can post their cards to grandparents, neighbours and friends who they may not have seen recently due to lockdown or give them back to Morrisons to distribute to care homes and via its Doorstep Delivery service. 

According to recent data from the Office of National Statistics, nearly half (47 percent) of adults in England reported that their wellbeing had been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Further research by Morrisons has revealed that 46 percent of Brits are feeling more isolated and alone than they normally would. Two thirds (67 per cent) said a simple act of kindness could help them feel reconnected with their community and three quarters (77 per cent) said it would positively change their entire outlook for the day.

David Potts, CEO at Morrisons, said: “Although lockdown is easing across the UK we know that many people in the community are still shielding and therefore unable to meet up with family and friends.

“Customers write to me weekly to let me know that Morrisons Doorstep Delivery service has been a lifeline to them and  express their gratitude and we wanted to let them know we will continue to be here for them. We hope these messages will put a smile on people’s faces up and down the country.”

Every Morrisons store will receive 1500 postcards to give away locally.

The initiative is the latest from Morrisons which aims to make good things happen and bring hope to the nation.

Last week, Morrisons gave away 25 million sunflower seeds to customers to grow at home and launched its ‘Little Sunshine’ award – to recognise those who have gone above and beyond in their local community throughout the pandemic.