Fresh Start is Lothian Buses charity of the year

Fresh Start

FRESH START, the Pilton-based charity that helps people who have been homeless get established in their new home, has been announced as Lothian Buses’ Charity of the Year for 2015. 

Throughout 2015, Lothian Buses and Fresh Start will work together on a number of projects including a special bus wrap advertising the work the charity do, visits for the charity’s families to the bus depots, fundraising through staff events and the opportunity for the company’s 2000+ staff to volunteer with the charity.

Tony Depledge, Chair of Lothian Buses said: “Supporting a local charity every year is really important to us. This year we decided to choose a charity that was significantly different to previous years and Fresh Start is exactly that.

“Homelessness can affect anyone and its great that we can highlight the important work that they do. 

“We look forward to working with the Fresh Start team over the course of 2015, helping to raise the profile of the charity in our local community whilst having fun raising funds for this fantastic cause.”

Since 2012, Lothian Buses has appointed a Charity of the Year in order to help the organisation benefit from focused fundraising and awareness activities. The Yard, another project based in North Edinburgh, was Lothian Buses’ chosen charity last year and previous recipients include It’s Good 2 Give and Lothian Austistic Society.

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Keith Robertson, Fresh Start’s Managing Director said: “This is a great opportunity for us. For a local charity like ours working in the Edinburgh & Lothian area, it will raise awareness of what we do and what homelessness means.  Being homeless can have a devastating effect on families and individuals. They lose not only their belongings, but their confidence and self-esteem.  We help them to settle in their new home and back into the community.  This partnership with Lothian Buses will enable us to reach more people than ever before.”

For more information visit:

http://www.freshstartweb.org.uk

www.lothianbuses.com

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May date set for Spartans’ sports day

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Hundreds of local primary school children will be taking part in a major sports event being organised by Spartans Community Football Academy Event at Ainslie Park in May.

SCFA Youth and Community Worker Jamie Tomkinson said: “The Spartans Community Football Academy Sports Day will be held on the 20th of May. Eight local primary schools are involved – we reckon that will be around 350 P7s over the course of the day!”

Twelve different sporting activities will be delivered by local agencies on the day: Kabo boxing, Edinburgh Judo, Edinburgh Leisure, Fet-Lor, Granton Youth Centre and MY Adventure will all be supporting the programme – and Keith Cook, who is a five-time Commonwealth Games medallist, will share his fencing skills. NEN, North Edinburgh’s community newspaper, has been invited to cover the event.

“Lorna Cruikshank, one of our young volunteers, will deliver a hockey station and we have a local samba band coming along to create an atmosphere and do a show for the opening ceremony!” Jamie added. “Many organisations have come on board to support the day – Ainslie Park Leisure Centre are letting us use one lane of their pool for the triathlon and Nike, who were a major part of last year’s success, will be volunteering throughout the event.

“There’s a lot of organising to be done and we are putting the finishing touches to the programme but the Sports Day is going to be a lot of fun – we’re all really looking forward to it and I’m sure the P7s are too!”

 

 

Get involved in GYC’s Big Obstacle

I am getting in touch to tell you about ‘The Big Obstacle’, an event being organised by three young people from Granton Youth Centre.

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‘The Big Obstacle’ is a 5k fun run with obstacles. It will be held on Sunday 29 March 10am-1.30pm at Cramond Promenade.

This event is being planned and organised by 3 young people from North Edinburgh, who have worked hard to secure funding from Starbucks for their event.

The aim of the fun run is to give local youth organisations a platform to fundraise, raise the profile of the great youth work that goes on in North Edinburgh and also to encourage local young people to participate in physical activity.

There will be two races on the day, one for 11-17 year olds and one for 18+. We will also have a fun day event at the same time, where we would like youth organisations to have a stall to promote their work.

We are looking for young people and adults to enter our fun run and organisations entering the run will get a free stall at the fun day.

All participants signed up to the run will have the opportunity to take part in a 4 week running club in preparation for the event. Places are limited and will be on a first come basis.

If you would like to find out more about the event and how you can get involved please get in touch at thebigobstacle@grantonyouth.com.

I will look forward to hearing from you!

Kerry Shand
Youth Volunteer Coordinator
Granton Youth Centre
3-11 West Granton Road
Edinburgh
EH5 1HG
0131 467 5854

Support your local Fire Fighters!

The national car wash takes place on Saturday 14 March

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Firefighters across Scotland are preparing to roll up their sleeves to take part in the National Car Wash this weekend, raising vital funds for The Fire Fighters Charity.

Crewe Toll and McDonald Road are among the dozens of community fire stations where  firefighters will be on hand to make your car sparkle – and as you drive away in your gleaming car, your donation to The Fire Fighters Charity will help thousands of serving and retired fire service personnel and their families!

Regional Fundraiser for Scotland Margaret Barnes-Smith said: “Monies raised through national fundraising initiatives provide a real boost to The Fire Fighters Charity and we are delighted that so many of our fire stations are getting involved.

“Firefighting can be dangerous, stressful and traumatic.  When fire fighters are injured, they can be in pain and unable to work for months. Dealing with life or death situations every day often takes its toll emotionally too.

“The Fire Fighters Charity is here for every one of the UK’s serving members of fire and rescue staff – and their families. No other organisation provides such a full package of high quality support, exactly tailored to the needs of fire fighters.

“We also give lifetime support to retired fire fighters and their families. They’ve risked so much for us and in return, we provide help and support when they are in real need.

“It costs £9million a year to keep our charity running. With no government funding, we rely completely on donations and goodwill. Please come along to your local fire station and support us.”

Chief Executive of The Fire Fighters Charity, Jill Tolfrey, said: “The National Car Wash provides a vital source of income for the Charity, as well as being a fun and popular event. It costs over £8million a year to keep The Fire Fighters Charity running – and with no regular government funding, we rely completely on your donations and goodwill. You can show your support to our firefighting heroes by visiting your local fire station on Saturday 14 March – and afterwards drive away safely, in a clean car!”

As well as being a fun fundraising event for The Fire Fighters Charity, the firefighters want to share a very serious message about fire safety in the home. Each year fire destroys lives, something firefighters see regularly and by taking some precautions this risk can be minimised.

While your car is being pampered you’ll have the chance book a FREE home fire safety visit with SFRS – as part of the service’s commitment to building a safer Scotland everyone in Scotland can have a free home fire safety visit – smoke alarms can also be fitted free of charge if your home requires them.

You can arrange a free home fire safety visit by calling SFRS on the freephone number 0800 0731 999 or by texting ‘FIRE’ to 80800. You can also fill out a form at www.firescotland.gov.uk or contact your local community fire station.

East area fire stations taking part this Saturday:

Bathgate Fire Station
Crewe Toll Fire Station
Dalkeith Fire Station
Eyemouth Fire Station
Galashiels Fire Station
Hawick Fire Station
Innerleithen Fire Station
Liberton Fire Station
Livingston Fire Station
McDonald Road Fire Station
Newcraighall Fire Station
Peebles Fire Station
Selkirk Fire Station
Sighthill Fire Station
Tollcross Fire Station
West Calder Fire Station
Callander Fire Station
Denny Fire Station
Falkirk Fire Station
Larbert Fire Station
Stirling Fire Station
Auchtermuchty Fire Station
Cupar Fire Station
Dunfermline Fire Station
Glenrothes Fire Station
Kirkcaldy Fire Station
Lochgelly Fire Station
Methil Fire Station
Newburgh Fire Station
St Andrews Fire Station

Goldenacre Fairtrade: helping the third world, helping your neighbours

We make it easy for you to buy fairtrade in north Edinburgh, and we make it easy for you to help low income families in north Edinburgh.

Help the third world, and help your neighbours!

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Today (Sunday 8 Mar 2015) marks the end of Fairtrade Fortnight. What can you do, and how can you make a difference year round?

If you live in north Edinburgh, did you know that you have an award-winning fairtrade stall on your doorstep? We won two awards at the Lord Provost awards on Monday.

We’re at 280 Ferry Road, EH5 3NP http://inverleithsaintserfs.org.uk/

We sold £7,000 fairtrade products last year from our stall. We would like to do even more for third world producers, so would love if you visited our stall. We run every second Sunday, year round. Come to the 10.30 church service at Inverleith St Serf’s Church or visit afterwards (11.30-12.30) via the Clark Road entrance.

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A major reason that we won the awards however, is that we are more than a fairtrade stall.

We also work with Tenants & Residents In Muirhouse (TRIM), who run a community shop and food bank in a neighbouring community. We accept food donations at every stall, and take these to the shop in Muirhouse. You can bring donations, or buy items from our stall.

So please come along today: stock up, donate, get ready for Easter with eggs and cards. All are welcome!

Benji’s coming to North Edinburgh!

Benji the PlayTalkRead bus is coming to North Edinburgh next week:

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You can catch Benji at

West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on MONDAY 9 March

Muirhouse Library on TUESDAY 10 March

Pennywell Road Shops THURSDAY 12 March

Don’t miss the bus!

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General Election 2015: your questions matter!

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Come along and ask candidates the questions that matter to you! Pilton Community Health Project will be holding hustings in each of the two constituencies in the area.

Candidates for Edinburgh North and Leith have been invited to attend hustings on Thursday 19 March from 6.30 – 8pm at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre.  A light soup supper will be available from 6 with questions starting from 6.30.  The event will be Chaired by the very able Harry Woodward.

Candidates for Edinburgh West have been invited to attend hustings on Thursday 26 March from 6.30 -8pm at Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre.  A light soup supper will be available from 6 with questions starting from 6.30.  The event will be Chaired by the very able Harry Woodward.

Get in touch if you would like some help with childcare or have any questions – contact Anita on 0131 551 1671.

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Craigroyston initiative tackles bullying and violence

‘Law enforcement agencies and governments can only take things so far. The way to change attitudes is to identify and build on the assets you have in your communities. You guys – the students and young people – are the assets’ – Justice Secretary Michael Matheson

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Craigroyston Community High School pupils who have learned how to tackle violence and bullying through a training initiatve shared their experiences with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson yesterday.

The Justice Secretary watched a presentation on the Mentors in Violence Prevention(MVP) initiative and listened to the experiences of participants before chatting informally with students about their participation in the groundbreaking project.

Craigroyston staff and students explained that the Mentors in Violence Prevention(MVP) scheme is already having some success in changing unacceptable behaviour – early feedback suggests improved attitudes amongst those who have taken part.

MVP Scotland trains senior pupils to become mentors who, in turn, equip younger students in ways in which to intervene and prevent incidents that could lead to gender violence, which can be domestic abuse, sexting, assault or homophobia. Pupils are taught to challenge their own friends and peers about their behaviour if and when it’s appropriate.

It was first piloted in Portobello High by the Violence Reduction Unit in 2011 and has since been rolled out to 11 secondary schools in the Capital. The unit’s Chief Inspector Graham Goulden spoke to pupils during the morning’s visit about its work.

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Chief Inspector Goulden (above) said: “The MVP programme is emerging as a great way to continue to safely discuss many issues that contribute towards abuse and violence in Scotland. It provides schools with an approach that supports learning, as young people are faced with a range of external influences that impact on their resilience, such as online media. Bullying is still an issue in our schools and also strips young people of control.

“At the heart of violence and abuse is a breakdown in relationships. Let’s use relationships in the form of friendships to counter all of these issues allowing young people to do their best at an important time in their academic lives.”

Forth Councillor Cammy Day – who is also Edinburgh’s Community Safety Convener – also attended the event and spoke about how MVP is an important part of the local anti-crime  #StrongerNorth campaign.

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He said: “MVP is a key feature of the #StrongerNorth initiative as it really engages young people by helping them to recognise unacceptable behaviour, and gives them the power to face up to it. These skills are helping them to change attitudes whether it’s in school, in their homes or when they’re with their friends.

“Most school children have a great attitude and are involved in many positive schemes, but we know that the bad attitude of even just a few can have a real impact on communities. 

“#StrongerNorth and projects like MVP and Total Craigroyston are aimed at nipping unacceptable behaviour in the bud before it escalates into something worse, and it was fantastic to hear first hand today about how these schemes are really working.”

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Justice Secretary Michael Matheson (above) said: “I was delighted to be invited along to Craigroyston Community High School to see the excellent work ongoing to tackle the issues of violence and bullying in schools.

“Since 2008, incidents of violence among young people have halved across Scotland, but it is crucial we are not complacent and education is key to ensuring our young people change the culture of violence in our society.

“The work being done through the Mentors in Violence programme by the Violence Reduction Unit to train these young people to deliver their own training is having a huge impact not only within the school but also throughout the wider community.

“The programme empowers young people by bringing issues such as bullying and violence out into the open to allow for full, frank and informed discussions around the risks and consequences.

“Most importantly, it’s giving our young people a confidence and sense of responsibility that will benefit them throughout their lives.”

Some images from the Craigroyston event (also on Facebook):

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Lazarowicz anger over broadband ‘notspots’

Mark Lazarowicz MP attacks buck passing by Government and providers

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Mark Lazarowicz MP has attacked the buck passing by Government and broadband providers that is denying numerous properties access to superfast broadband that is vital to Edinburgh’s economic future. 

Speaking after a Westminster debate on the subject, Mr Lazarowicz said: “I am repeatedly contacted by constituents living in different parts of my constituency ranging from the City Centre to North Edinburgh and the waterfront area who can’t get access to superfast broadband.

“It’s a vital part of economic infrastructure for businesses, the many people working from home as well as for anyone to access information and government services.

“Sometimes, developers may not install cable when converting or building properties but then the broadband provider won’t connect them either because of the cost.

“The Government says it won’t provide public funding where superfast broadband can be provided commercially but broadband providers won’t do it because they say it is not commercial for them to do so.

“It’s high time broadband providers and the UK and Scottish Governments took action: if private providers won’t tackle the notspots Government must act because it is too important to Edinburgh’s economy to leave people in our city unable to access superfast broadband.”

Mr Lazarowicz has raised this issue in Parliament on a number of occasions but the Government has simply pointed to the funding it is providing with the Scottish Government following suit in highlighting its partnership with BT in rolling out access.

The UK Government’s target is superfast broadband should be available to 95% of properties by 2017 – but there is no statutory obligation for developers to install broadband cable in new build properties let alone converted buildings.

The North & Leith MP’s speech can be found here.

EVOC: ‘Localities’ thinkSpace events dates

More and more local and national governments have come to the view that engaging with citizens and planning, purchasing and delivering services at a ‘sub-local’ or ‘localities’ level is the way to add value. 

In Edinburgh the City of Edinburgh Council has agreed a localities way of working, with the city divided into four quadrants, or localities, as described in the Council’s ‘Organise to Deliver’ reports.

Simultaneously, there is a drive within the legislation covering the integration of Adult Health with Social Care that services will be designed and delivered closer to communities.

What does this mean for Edinburgh? What does this mean for the city’s Voluntary Organisations? What are your hopes and your fears? What are your expectations of EVOC? 

EVOC intends to bring organisations together to consider current plans, and their implications for our communities, by means of a series of four thinkSpace events spread across the city.

This comes out to you as a request to ‘save the date’ to attend the event within the locality most relevant to your service provision: 

SOUTH WEST

Tuesday 21 April 2 – 4.30pm, WHALE Arts

NORTH EAST

Thursday 30 April 10am – 12.30pm, The Halls

SOUTH EAST/CENTRAL

Wednesday 6 May 10am – 12.30pm, Methodist Church

NORTH WEST

Monday 11 May 2 – 4.30pm, Royston/Wardieburn Community Centre. 

If you have any comments or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact Dianne Morrison on 0131 555 9100 in the first instance.

EVOC will continue to publish relevant documents on its ‘Organise To Deliver’ page:http://www.evoc.org.uk/information/organise-deliver-bold-initiatives/

Milind Kolhatkar

senior development officer – community planning

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