During these challenging times, we are issuing weekly bulletins with updates for Harrogate district. Please bear in mind that information may change due to new guidance or circumstances. If you have any news about your services or anything you read that would be helpful to share with our HADCA networks please submit a news story on our website. 

If you have any comments or suggestions, we always welcome feedback. This will help us to share information which is interesting and helpful to you in your role in our local community. Please email us at hadca@hadca.org.uk    

If you haven’t received this bulletin direct from HADCA, you may wish to subscribe to receive future issues of our newsletters in your inbox.

We hope you are all staying safe and well and thank everybody joining together to help others in our Harrogate district communities.

Coronavirus Community Support in Harrogate District  

1.  Community Support organisations 

North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council are working with 6 community support organisations  which are the point of contact for those who are alone and isolated by the pandemic and who have no other local support available.
These 6 organisations are working with local voluntary sector groups and trusted volunteers to arrange: shopping for food and essential items, collecting prescriptions, a friendly listening ear, information & signposting to someone who can help, if they can’t.

HADCA and our front-line HELP team is the Community Support Organisation for Harrogate and surrounding villages. 
This helpful guide to local support in and around Harrogate has been delivered to thousands of homes.
In Ripon our team is working closely with Ripon Community House – support details are listed on this leaflet  

People who have additional needs can contact the County Council’s customer service centre on 01609 780780 (every day between 8am and 5:30pm ). There is information about the help and support available on the NYCC website

2. Food and essential delivery services in Harrogate District 

You can find listings of local services, businesses and information updated weekly  on our website 

For anyone struggling to make ends meet during these uncertain times in the Ripon area there is food support available from Ripon Community House

Our HELP Ripon & Rural team is working with Ripon Community House colleagues to offer food boxes to older and vulnerable people in and around the Ripon area struggling to get hold of essentials.

NYCC have details on their website of supermarket special openings hours and deliveries and information on how to safely pay volunteers or other suppliers including Volunteer shopping cards / E-gift cards which can be purchased online and transferred to a specific person for them to buy shopping at supermarkets.

North Yorkshire Buy Local enables North Yorkshire businesses and tradespeople who can work under Covid-19 restrictions to share what they offer with people who need their services.
Knaresborough Delivers is supported by Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and brings together local shops and small businesses delivering to HG5 and HG2 postcodes.

3. Community Information in Harrogate District: HADCA  Where To Turn Directory

There are hundreds of charity services offering support listed in our searchable community information directory. Many have had to change the way they work but are still offering email, telephone and online support, with a lot of information and guidance on their websites.

TIP: If you use the word coronavirus in your key word search your results will show services which are new or have been updated during the Covid-19 outbreak.

To help people find the support they need, p lease let us know about changes to your charity services and any new services you are providing. Add your details  or request a form to update your entry  or simply email us the details of any local support you know about. 

We will also continue to add updates to these regular bulletins and please Follow us on twitter for the latest news.     

4.  If you need volunteers remember we can help!
HADCA Volunteering Directory 

You can add new roles and update existing opportunities to reflect current changes using our HADCA Volunteering Directory for Harrogate District
Please log in or sign up to share the opportunities you have, so we can help promote these.
If you have any questions please email us  volunteer@hadca.org.uk  and we will be happy to help.

FUNDING

5. Coronavirus Community Fund 

•             In Phase 2 Two Ridings Community Foundation offers larger grants of up to £10,000
•             Larger partnership bids are also welcomed from groups that are seeking to come together to provide a strategic solution to a particular issue. For example food provision in a particular geographical area or support for people affected by homelessness
•             The needs of key community organisations that have a wide reach and a strong track record of supporting communities will be prioritised to continue to deliver a crisis response and/or to maintain their existing services
•             In addition, work that meets the needs of the most marginalised and underrepresented groups in our community will be prioritised

Small grants up to £2,000 continue to be available to support community groups with a small amount of emergency funding to respond to their immediate needs and those of the communities they work with.

Applications to this fund will be assessed on an ongoing basis subject to available funds.

6.  Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme

The Energy Saving Trust has £13 million of funding available for charities that support vulnerable energy consumers or have innovative ideas that will benefit energy customers. The bulk of the funding (up to £10 million) is being distributed as part of the scheme’s new Covid-19 Crisis Fund. Grants of between £20,000 and £300,000 are available under this part of the scheme

7. Nidderdale Walk

Last Sunday would have been the 27th annual Rotary Club of Harrogate Nidderdale Walk
This year you’ve got until the end of May to walk where you can, record your distances & raise funds for your favourite charity.
When you have reached your target, email HarrogateRotary@gmail.com , stating your First Name, Surname, Distance Walked and Charity Supported and you’ll be emailed your certificate!

8.  North Yorkshire County Council Locality Budgets

The 2020/21 County Councillor Locality Budget scheme is open now until 31 January 2021. If you have a project which could be supported by a local County Councillor, contact your councillor direct with the details. Find your local councillor here 

9. DEFRA Food Charities Grant Fund

Front-line food aid charities, who started receiving food from FareShare before 23 March, can apply for a grant from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of up to £100,000 to help continue to provide food to vulnerable people. The grant scheme will close on Monday 6 July.

10.  The West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health Inequalities Grant Fund

Funding of up to £450,000 is available for voluntary and community organisations to help tackle the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on people’s health and  help reduce the gap in health equalities.  This grant funding is intended to provide innovative and sustainable support for people who are worst affected by the impact of coronavirus. This includes people who live alone and cannot access social activities, and those whose mental health and financial circumstances have changed significantly due to the pandemic.
Six grants worth between £25,000 and £50,000, and six grants worth up to £25,000 will be available. The deadline to apply is 8 June 2020.

Dewi Winkle, VCS Health Partnership Manager at Community First Yorkshire, is holding a meeting today by Zoom, to explore opportunities to collaborate on a Harrogate District bid to as part of a collective effort to tackle health inequalities locally. We didn’t receive the information in time to include in the bulletin, but Karen is attending from HADCA and we will share any updates. If you are interested in finding out more you can contact Dewi by email

11. The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF)

A £6.5m COVID-19 grant round to support vulnerable children at risk of youth violence in England and Wales.
The fund encourages applications from PCCs, police, local authorities and the third sector.
Deadline is 12:00pm Wednesday 3 June 2020

12.  Emergency funding for frontline Armed Forces charities working with Armed Forces communities

The Government has announced £6M in funding for Armed Forces charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) who are delivering services to veterans, Armed Forces families and others from the Armed Forces community. Grants of up to £60,000 are available. In exceptional circumstances, then grants of up to £125,000 or more are available.
The closing date for the programme is 29 May 2020, but applicants can apply at any time through our online grants portal.

13. £5 million Loneliness Covid-19 Grant Fund

The Government has launched a £5m fund to tackle loneliness resulting from the coronavirus outbreak and period of social distancing. It is open to national organisations working to tackle loneliness and build social connections. The closing date for applications is Friday 29 May.

If your organisation helps people that are experiencing loneliness, you can use the #LetsTalkLoneliness campaign toolkit

14. Funding for domestic abuse safe accommodation
The fund will help ensure that:

1. Safe accommodation services can continue operating and keep bedspaces open for victims and their children fleeing from abuse during COVID-19 emergency.
2. Safe accommodation services can help more victims access these life-saving services.

 Deadline extended to 21 May 2020.

15. The Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust

Understanding the hardships being caused to many as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trust is accepting applications specifically linked to the Coronavirus crisis, as well as applications for its current round of funding, the closing date for which is Monday, 8 June.

Applications made from causes or groups within the DDCT areas of north Derbyshire, the Bolton Abbey area and Eastbourne may be given a priority.

16. Strengthening Civil Society programme

The Baring Foundation has introduced three new funding streams to support civil society to undertake legal action related to COVID-19.

Funding is available to support legal action in all its forms – empowering, persuading, challenging – that seeks to protect vulnerable individuals and communities from the impact of Covid-19 and the response to the pandemic from public authorities, businesses, and communities. This funding will run throughout 2020 and represents a commitment of up to £1m to supporting civil society at this time.
The first deadline is 28 May with more deadlines outlined in the application form

17.  NCVO demands transparency and speed in distribution of £750m to charities

Writing in a blog on NCVO’s website, Chief Executive Karl Wilding outlines the state of play with government support for charities during the pandemic, and demands that government: 1) explain how £160m of departmental funding is being allocated 2) set out the process and criteria for allocating funding and 3) provide immediate clarity on how the £370m funds to be distributed via the National Lottery Community Fund will be made available

18. The LOCAL LOTTO for the Harrogate district

If you are a good cause or community group you can sign up to use the LOCAL LOTTO to generate funds.

As an individual you can continue to support local voluntary and community groups from home by joining the LOCAL LOTTO.  All the good causes have had to change the way in which they work, and with reduced funds.  If you’ve not already signed up as a player now is a great time to do so. 60p from every £1 ticket goes direct to local charities, voluntary organisations and community groups.

NEWS, INFORMATION & RESOURCES

19.  Mental Health Awareness Week
18-24 May 2020

The theme this year is kindness. Protecting our mental health is going to be central to us coping with and recovering from the coronavirus pandemic – with the psychological and social impacts likely to outlast the physical symptoms of the virus. Read more

20.  Government publishes plan to ‘rebuild’ after COVID19

This week the government published a 50 page document outlining how the country will move out of the current crisis into a recovery phase.  You can find the full document here, as well as a summary by our colleagues at NCVO about implications for charities here.
Working from home should continue, wherever possible.

The Government also published information for people using transport or working in the transport sector during the coronavirus outbreak.

Safety guidance manuals have been issued for those workplaces which are allowed to be open. These cover activities such as distancing, deliveries and visitors and working in offices and other people’s homes.

21. Workplace re-opening guidance from the Charity Retail Association

The CRA, the umbrella body for charity shops, has published a ‘reopening pack’ offering guidance on opening charity shops which has been reviewed by health and safety experts. This might not all apply to your charity, but lots of it will be a useful reference point for decision-making as we hopefully move out of lockdown. The CRA will issue updated versions as the situation changes.

22. Government funding support for employees’ salaries extended to the end of October

The Job Retention Scheme will continue in its current form until the end of July, offering 80% of salary up to £2,500 a month. Changes to the scheme will be effective from August, with furloughed workers able to return to work part-time and employers making a greater contribution to salaries, but further details will be known at the end of May.  The government will explore ways through which furloughed workers who wish to do additional training or learn new skills are supported during this period.

This step by step guide explains the information that employers need to provide to HMRC to make a claim through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

23. Boots’ plan for COVID19 test volunteers attracts strong reaction

Local voluntary organisations across England have reacted strongly to the news that Boots is to recruit up to 1,000 volunteers to carry out COVID-19 swab tests, with a time commitment from each volunteer of around 32 hours each week.

Jane Ide, CEO of the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA), said:
“It’s so important that when people come forward as volunteers they are given the appropriate support, training and encouragement, and feel their contribution is recognised for what it is – a gift. Volunteers donate their time and energy, free of charge, to help charities and community organisations.
“There are clearly some questions about whether delivering this particular programme through volunteer effort is appropriate, and it is disappointing to say the least that the wealth of expertise in volunteer management readily available through local infrastructure organisations is not being used in this context.

Read Jane’s full statement here  

24. Jobs Fuse is a new service in North Yorkshire providing free support on managing workforce matters

Providing employers with a named contact, expert support and information on training and potential funding, Jobs Fuse brings together the National Careers Service, Department for Work and Pensions and the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub.

Jobs Fuse can also offer free, impartial and professional advice – including exploring careers, skills assessments, finding courses/training and help people to get a job.

25. Dementia Action Week 

Alzheimer’s Society is moving the date from May to later in the year.
The Society is there to support anyone affected by dementia through this difficult time. If you need advice, please call the national Dementia Connect support line on 0333 150 3456 (open every day)
The support line and online forum, Talking Point, is there if you need help or advice or would like to chat to people in a similar situation online.

26.  HostPresto! Free Hosting For Registered Charities

Recommended by one of our member charities for a WordPress website.

27.  Take Five: this week’s most useful charity digital articles from Catalyst, a charitable network which helps the voluntary sector strengthen its digital capabilities.

28.  My Mind Matters…..
Tuesday 19 May at 7:30pm

A webinar which explores your mental health and discusses the role of physical activity in managing your mental health.  Hosted by North Yorkshire Sport the event will feature a panel consisting of individuals with lived experience of mental health issues alongside professionals working in the field of mental health.
More information and booking link details here

29. Debt and coronavirus advice

The debt charity, Step Change, has produced some helpful advice about what you should do, and where you can get support, if you are concerned about money.

30. Local Heroes: How to sustain community spirit beyond Covid-19

The wave of social solidarity we have seen sweep across the country in recent weeks now needs to be rooted in local community organisations. In their latest report, Local Heroes: How to sustain community spirit beyond COVID-19, Vidhya Alakeson and Will Brett examine how community organisations can play a key role in harnessing all the goodwill that has been unleashed.

HAVE YOUR SAY

31. Digital Survey

Poor or limited technology has come up again and again as a challenge for the VCS during the COVID-19 response. The recent survey Community First Yorkshire (CFY) undertook, confirmed this challenge.

This digital survey is issued by CFY on behalf of West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership working with the Digital Programme Lead. The aim is to gather details from VCS organisations delivering services in the Harrogate area, for health colleagues to plan the provision of resources as part of the HPOC (Harnessing the Power of Communities) Programme.

The survey is to identify what support can be offered to VCS organisations who are finding a lack of good technology (lap tops, smart phones, tablets etc) and internet access a barrier to communication and to delivering support and services during this time of remote working and social distancing.

Please complete the short survey for organisations providing support. This will increase the understanding of the issues you face and if your organisation would benefit from digital support : https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WPVWYT3

The deadline for completion is Thursday 21 May.

The focus is on VCS organisations finding it most difficult to communicate and to deliver core services and support on line and by phone. It is an opportunity for those organisations who do not have modern and reliable technology to access equipment that works efficiently and will make a significant difference to how they communicate and deliver support. Any equipment will be retained by the organisation beyond COVID-19. This is part of building the capacity of the sector and longer term sustainability.

32. Impact of coronavirus on the charity sector 

The Institute of Fundraising, along with NCVO and Charity Finance Group, and supported by PwC, are working together to understand the current and future financial impact of coronavirus on the charity sector. They are asking for information on the direct financial impact and updated financial forecasts for the year ahead, as well as insight on how much Government support your charity has been able to access.

You can complete the survey here

33. Wake Up North Yorkshire alcohol campaign

The current situation with Covid-19 has led to many far-reaching impacts. North Yorkshire County Council has commissioned an independent research agency, Hitch Marketing, to conduct a short survey with residents about alcohol use during lock-down. The results will inform the council’s approach to support residents with their health and wellbeing both during and post Covid-19.

The survey will take around 10 minutes and as a thank you for your time, you have the chance to be entered into a prize draw to win a £25 voucher.

LOCAL NEWS & SERVICES

34.  KeyRing Living Support Networks

The KeyRing self-advocacy service works across the Harrogate area supporting adults with a learning disability and/ or autism.  Keyring is funded by NHS England for a project to approach and make contact with vulnerable people with neurodiverse conditions to stay safe, well and connected at this time.

Keyring would like to make contact with vulnerable people who have neurodiverse conditions in the Harrogate area including Autism, ADHD and mild learning disabilities.  This service is free and available now for people who are not routinely known to services or are not currently connected during the COVID19 crisis.  Contact Karen Murray  on 07833 309 693 karen.murray@keyring.org and download a flier here

35. Hickory Dickory Dock

Watch this moving short film highlighting the physical strain and mental health impact of loneliness on an older or vulnerable person, especially if living in a care home or on their own.

It’s made by an independent film maker, Natasha Marburger, who is Director of the London and Los Angeles Independent Film Festivals, and stars Paul Barber (Denzil from Only Fools and Horses!) and Carolyn Lyster, and supports the work of local charities, specifically Supporting Older People in Harrogate.

In the midst of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, two lifelong friends Irene and Winston discuss their hopes and fears during their daily virtual chats. As time ticks on, will the clock finally run down to reveal their true feelings and aspirations for the future?

36. Harrogate Borough Council latest information – Coronavirus  

The HBC website is updated with the latest information about waste and recycling collections, claiming benefits, rent and council tax, housing options advice and support for businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

37.  Alcoholics Anonymous (Harrogate Area) Coronavirus Update

Harrogate Alcoholics Anonymous members continue to meet and support each other on Zoom. The difficulties facing alcoholics in isolation will likely be compounded by economic hardship in the coming weeks and months. At AA there are friendly faces, who’ve struggled themselves, to share problems with.

Harrogate AA Zoom Meetings can be found at www.harrogate-recovery.org (For anonymity purposes, a password is required to log on to meetings but this can be provided by emailing the link on the website)

The National Helpline is 0800 9177650 and further information can be found on the national AA website https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/

38.  Dementia Forward: remember the Helpline is open and enjoy and share the fun video!

The helpline (03300 578592) is open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm with a team of Dementia Support Advisors available for telephone consultations, for all matters relating to dementia.
This video shares an important message.

39. Keeping fit online with Brimhams gyms

Free, live, workouts via Facebook and Zoom so you can keep up your exercise regime.
Details of all the classes are on the Brimhams Facebook page.  You can also watch previous workouts and catch up on your exercise.

40. Cheer for the Volunteers!

People giving time across Harrogate District are providing vital support keeping people safe, well and connected during  COVID-19

Thursdays at 8pm as you #ClapForTheNHS and key workers, please also #CheerForTheVolunteers

41. Jennyruth Workshops Online Shop

You can get the lovely Jennyruth products delivered to your door, so why not support this Ripon charity and take a look at some of the lovely bird boxes, children’s gifts and other original wooden products.

Local voluntary and community sector job opportunities

Opportunities to work with HADCA member organisations and our partners will appear on our HADCA website  

If you would like your opportunity to appear you can  Add a Job to our website. This is a free service for HADCA full member organisations.