Date: Saturday 18th February 2023 at 10am to 4pm
Venue: Peepul Centre, Orchardson Avenue, Leicester LE4 6DP

We hope you will come along and join us to find out about diabetes, from getting your feet checked to losing weight, healthy diet and keeping active!

We will be sharing information about services in Leicester and really want to engage with patients and families to hear about their experience and challenges around managing their diabetes.

A consultation session will be held at 1pm where you will get the chance to share your views and help shape the future of diabetes care in Leicester. Lunch will be provided.

This is a drop-in event open to all. For those who wish to take part in the consultation session please register online https://DiabetesHealthFestLeicester.eventbrite.co.uk or call 01902 916444.

Leicestershire County Council is running a consultation on sexual health services, which is now live and will run until midnight on 12 March.

Residents of Leicestershire and Rutland who have used or tried to access current sexual health services, staff who provide sexual health services and partner organisations are particularly encouraged to complete this consultation. If they are able, individuals should fill it out online www.leicestershire.gov.uk/sexual-health-consultation

If you need a paper copy or an easy-read version of the questionnaire, please email phconsultations@leics.gov.uk   

This includes,

• Integrated Sexual Health Clinical Services
• Community Based Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) Services
• Community Based Emergency Hormonal Contraception Services
• Online Sexual Health Services

The current contracts for these services end 31 March 2024. New services are required to commence 01 April 2024.

You can find the soft market test materials here.

Responses will inform our future commissioning intentions and the development/refinement of the service specification.

With the goal of making Leicestershire a net zero carbon county by 2045, Leicestershire County Council has approved the blueprint for residents, businesses and other groups to work together on an updated Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan.

After almost 1,400 people had their say during a consultation, the Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan sets out the approach to delivering the council’s ambitious desire to work with residents, partners and businesses to achieve net zero carbon emissions in Leicestershire by 2045 or before.

Week 1 – 16th January – Buildings and Energy
Week 2 – 23rd January – Resources and Waste
Week 3 – 30th January – Transport
Week 4 – 6th February – Business and Economy
Week 5 – 13th February – Communities
Week 6 – 20th February – Nature and Land Use
The six week campaign is set to be a fantastic showcase of net zero activity, with a range of initiatives for residents and stakeholders to get involved in ranging from e-bike training to educational talks, tree giveaways to energy efficiency competitions.

Further information here.

An easy-read, practical guide for everyone in the voluntary sector who is looking to acquire and manage premises successfully for their organisation. Each section is self-contained, written by an experienced property adviser and offering practical tips, quizzes, case studies, resources plus a short webinar.
https://propertyhelp.org/weston-property-manual/

Contact the VAL Helpline on 0116 257 5050 if you would like support with any bids related to property.

As we all continue to feel the financial pinch, introducing fundraising ideas that are free and easy to maintain are a must. That’s why we encourage our voluntary groups, charities, and CICs to join easyfundraising.

easyfundraising is passionate about local groups and communities accessing vital funds, which is why they partner with over 7,000 online retail brands that want to give back. It’s simple – when someone shops online, a small percentage of what they spend transforms into a monetary donation for your organisation. It’s free for your organisation and the online shopper – the retailer donates the money, not the shopper.

Anything from a weekly grocery shop to a family holiday can generate a free donation because over 7,000 retailers are involved, including Amazon, eBay, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Screwfix, Waitrose, Argos, Moonpig, Tesco, Boots, trainline and more.

With 24% of people shopping online twice a week these days – and everyone watching how they spend their pennies – this is a way you can ask for support without needing to ask for money.

For example, a weekly online food shop at ASDA raises £1 for your organisation. 5 people shopping weekly = £5 a week in donations and over £250 in a year.

All you need to do to start receiving these donations is register your organisation here:

And don’t worry, the easyfundraising team will help you get started and give you lots of free support to help you get your volunteers, supporters and staff involved.

National Apprenticeship Week is your chance to discover exciting opportunities to boost your career. Schools, colleges, employers, career advisers and thousands of students come together online to celebrate Apprenticeships in support of the Government-run National Apprenticeship Week.

National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) 2023 is the 16th annual celebration of apprenticeships. The week brings together businesses and apprentices across the country to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy. It provides a fantastic opportunity to help students to think about their future and raise awareness of the options available after school.

Skills for life

The theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2023 is ‘Skills for Life’. The week will reflect on how apprenticeships can help individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career and help businesses to develop a talented workforce that is equipped with skills for the future.

Throughout the week, top employers and organisations come together to showcase their opportunities to thousands of attendees, who are actively seeking an apprenticeship.

National Apprenticeship week have an exclusive and dedicated portal where anyone can subscribe to be enrolled in seminars, events, Q & A and job opportunities.

The benefits of becoming a VCSE Alliance member include receiving a monthly newsletter, being able to bid for local NHS funding opportunities, invitations to events and webinars, and access to the VCSE Alliance Forum.

Current funding opportunity only available to VCSE Alliance members:

Focused geographical communities work to support winter pressures (deadline 5 February 2023)
Voluntary and community sector organisations based in Leicester City are invited to bid for funding to reach out to people and communities who have used A&E at Leicester Royal Infirmary, but could have been more appropriately seen and treated elsewhere. The contract term will run from February 2023 to end of April 2023 and the ICB will award maximum of £5,500 per VCSE organisation. More information, including the specification, can be found on the Alliance and Opportunities Hub on the VCSE Alliance webspace (accessible to members via: https://leicesterleicestershireandrutland.icb.nhs.uk/be-involved/vcse-introduction/)

Bosom Friends is a group of ladies who have had, or are having, treatment for breast cancer.  The group was formed in 1987 by breast cancer patients at Glenfield Hospital who wanted to give ladies the chance to talk to each other and to share their feelings about how to cope with the effects of breast cancer.  Nurses at Glenfield Hospital helped to set up the group and continue to support it by displaying flyers and providing information for new members. 

The group has been meeting ever since and continues to provide a friendly environment where the ladies can have some fun, relax and make friends within the safety of their common bond to one another.

Some of the meetings are “Coffee and Chat” which provide the chance for the group members to talk and get to know one another.  At others, they may have a guest speaker or demonstration.  The group sometimes arranges social activities such as skittles evenings, boat trips and meals out.

The group have helped many women and their families over the last 35 years.

In the past 15 years alone 159 different ladies have come to meetings.
One lady has been attending the group regularly for 31 years, two others for 30 years.  They still enjoy the friendship and support which Bosom Friends provides.
Another lady who joined the group this year said “I just wanted to say thank you for your meeting last week.  I had lots of questions when I came.  I found chatting to those around me very helpful. A lot of my fears were calmed.  It’s great what you do!”
Over the years the group have fundraised to enable it to contribute to charities such as LOROS and to provide much needed hospital equipment.  More recently, during the Covid pandemic the group donated money to purchase comfort packs for hospital staff and have contributed to the Secret Garden at Glenfield Hospital, where patients and staff can relax.  Hospital gowns for the Breast Care Unit at the hospital have also been provided by Bosom Friends.

The group celebrated their 35th birthday this year with a pub skittles evening.  The finale to their 2022 programme was a Festive Evening, attended by Janet Till, one of the founding members of the group.  The Bosom Friends look forward to sharing many future years together.

The group meets on the last Thursday of each month (excluding December) from 7.30pm at Sue Young Cancer Support, Helen Webb House, 35 Westleigh Road, Leicester. LE3 0HH.  Further details about the group can be found on their website: www.bosomfriendsleicestershire.com

A 12-week fully funded course aimed at senior leaders and owners of SME businesses is launching in January at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU). The Help to Grow: Management Course is aimed to help companies access the very best advice on how to innovate, reach new customers and boost profits and it will not cost businesses a penny. People will get 12 weeks of in-depth training, tailored around work, 1:1 business mentoring and access to a peer network of other SME owners. It is taught online and face-to-face at DMU.

It covers strategies for growth and innovation, leading high-performance teams and digital adoption, as well as financial management and responsible business practices. You will hear from inspirational business leaders and learn alongside local peers. By the end of the course you will be able to take away a tailor-made plan and have the confidence in how to grow your business.

For more details, visit: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/business/grow-your-business/help-to-grow-management.aspx.