News

Forth Environment Link (FEL) are offering free “Festive Foodie” workshops for community groups and organisations to attend online, via Zoom, at times and dates that suit. The workshops are designed to be fun, relaxed, and informative, providing participants with the opportunity to learn new recipes and tips on how to reduce food waste. They aim to demonstrate how to create cost-effective meals which are also healthy and nutritious. The sessions can be one-off, or tailor-made to fit your group or organisation’s needs; with either option, participants should leave the session(s) with new ideas they can continue to use at home.

Falkirk Council is continuing its programme of updating its Supplementary Guidance, in association with the Falkirk Local Development Plan 2 (LDP2), which was adopted in August. They are now consulting on the following draft Supplementary Guidance notes: SG01 – Development in the Countryside; SG06 – Affordable Housing; SG07 – Biodiversity and Development; SG13 – Developer Contributions. The deadline for responses is Thursday 26th November.

As part of their support around Scottish Government’s free Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, Home Energy Scotland (HES) is hosting a series of online workshops to provide an overview of the support available, and how partners can refer clients, on: Thursday 5th November at 2pm, Tuesday 10th November at 11am, and Thursday 12th November at 11am.

In June, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Carers Centre conducted a survey asking carers to express their views on the organisation’s service provision before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this, they are asking carers to join the online conversations, or get in touch with the centre, to let them know about their experiences and ideas as a carer, to help the Centre plan and shape their support. The conversations take place on: Wednesday 28th October: 11 am – 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm – 3 pm; Thursday 29th October:  6pm – 7:30pm.

The team at Falkirk’s Cancer Research charity shop has extended their 2020 Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) online fundraising campaign to Saturday 14th November. Instead of physical collection buckets, they have launched an online platform to provide people the opportunity to raise money for vital research through A Bucket for Change, which runs until Monday 26th October. They are also inviting people to post a picture, or piece of music, representing a loved one affected by cancer, to their Facebook page.

This week’s Funding Insight Bulletin is now live! The insight bulletin is generated by the Grantsonline Funding Portal, the UK’s most comprehensive and up to date UK grant funding information service. Features include a range of funding opportunities and sources, which groups and organisations in Falkirk can apply for.

As many of you know, last month we said goodbye to Jennifer Robertson, who has moved on to become the new Director of the Glasgow Social Enterprise Network (GSEN). In her 7 years at CVS Falkirk, Jennifer achieved incredible things for social enterprise in Falkirk, and across the Forth Valley. We know she’ll continue this level of excellence in Glasgow, and wish her all the best at GSEN. We’re delighted to have welcomed Katrina MacPherson to the team as our #SocialEnterprise Support Consultant! Katrina’s worked with SENs in Tayside, and she’s already told us she’s excited to get involved with Forth Valley SEN and our local social enterprises.

Scottish Government has made £350,000 available nationally for projects aimed at increasing the uptake of cancer screening programmes in those experiencing deprivation and health inequalities. They are now inviting proposal submissions. Proposal should be ready to start by the end of this calendar year, and should be expected to complete by April 2021. The deadline for applications is Thursday 5th November.