Newsletter, November 2017
27th Nov 2017
We will be recruiting new trustees in 2018
Following our recruitment drive early this year we are delighted to welcome Lynne Newbitt to our board.
We are always looking for dynamic people to join our board and will be doing another recruitment drive early 2018. Justin O’Brien, Chair, says: “We have been through an exciting year with a review of our work and overall governance. This has included changing our name and rebranding. Our aims are to work towards eliminating discrimination, campaigning for equality of opportunity and promoting good relations among all persons in the Borough of Charnwood. We are looking forward to welcoming new recruits to our Board who will help us achieve our ambitious goals.”
We are keen to recruit people with backgrounds in organisational leadership and development, finance, fundraising and income generation, business development, and community development. Previous experience of charity involvement is not essential.
For more information or for an informal chat about becoming a Director/Trustee, please call Varsha Parmar on 01509 261651 or email to contact@equalityaction.org.uk We will send you a pack with more information to help you decide.
English My Way classes
We are currently delivering a short term project teaching pre ESOL English to over 40 women at local community venues (Fearon Hall and Bangladeshi Social Association) This is funded by Good Things Foundation “English My Way” programme. The classes will end by March 2018.
Improving Lives Project
Dementia Friendly Community event: This event was held on 18th July at Fearon Hall in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society, which helped to raise awareness about dementia, how to help others and what support is available locally.
Men-only swimming sessions: Sessions took place at Charnwood College from 2nd July to 27th August. Beneficiaries appreciated the friendly atmosphere, transport facility and overall experience, where they had the opportunity to meet other local men of different backgrounds. Most appreciated the health benefits in terms of exercise and some brought their young sons with them giving them father/son time. They found these sessions very useful as they had the opportunity to learn from a Level 2 instructor and were able to improve their swimming skills. Our next sessions will start in January, 2018 and if anyone is interested please contact us.
Buckingham Palace trip: A joint trip with men and women of BAME background took place on 23rd August. We had 3 coaches with 150 people from the local community go on this trip to see Buckingham Palace. Most have never been sightseeing in London and were delighted to see this and other historical sites.
7-A Side football tournament: Our 2nd football tournament took place on Sunday 17th September at Loughborough College with 6 teams of young local men coming together for a friendly 7 A side football tournament. The winner of the tournament were team LCS Zindabad and the runners up were team Bullet. The Mayor Cllr Pauline Ranson and her Consort attended and handed out he trophies.
1-2-1 IT, English and Driving Theory Lessons: Ongoing 1-2-1 sessions have been running from 12th April. So far 5 beneficiaries are benefiting from these sessions, we design the lesson plans to cater to their learning needs and commitments.
CV Writing and Interviewing skills workshop: This workshop was held at Equality Action on 31st October. Bill Redhead, Careers Adviser at LJC, ran the 2-hour session. People who attended found the workshop very helpful, giving them information to improve their employability skills.
Chances for All Project
Our 5-years Chances For All Project working with women of South Asian background came to an end in October 2017. A full report on the 5 years achievements is being prepared and will be available shortly on our website. From the work over the 5 years it is evident that more needs to be done around raising awareness of mental health particularly in Black & Minority Ethnic communities.
We have put in for a 3 year project building on the achievements of our CFA project and are pleased to say we have got through Stage 1 and have been invited to submit Stage 2.
Debt & Money
We continue to deliver short term debt and money work funded by Charnwood Borough Council under their Specialist Debt & Money Management Programme. The main aim of this work is to help identify people facing debt who require specialist support. Our caseworkers offer 5 appointments per week and refer such cases to the Loughborough Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Where support is required for language barriers or if the client requires moral support our caseworker accompanies them to the appointments.
Prevent Problem or Solution?
In the light of the most recent terrorist attacks in the UK, Equality Action organised a conference on 13th September at Rosebery Saint Peters Community Centre in partnership with Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough Council of Faith. This event was open to all people aged 16+. There were speakers from Police, Prevent team and Channel Project. Over 60 people attended this event. A full report on this conference is available from our office.
Loughborough Mela
People in Loughborough came together to celebrate this year’s Mela where there was delicious food , amazing acts, stalls and a wide range to activities. The Mayor of Charnwood, Cllr Pauline Ranson and her Consort, took to the stage to open this popular multicultural event. We have a date for next year’s Mela Sunday 19th August 2018.
For information please email loughboroughmela@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/LoughboroughMela
Coffee Morning
You are invited to our annual coffee morning on Tuesday 19th December 2017 10.30am to 12noon. The Mayor of Charnwood, Cllr Pauline Ranson will be joining us.
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