June 2017
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If you would like to use any of our news articles in your own newsletters then please feel free.If you could acknowledge that it originally came from Community Lincs it would be much appreciated.
Chief Executive - Job Vacancy
Community Lincs is aninety year old organisation based in Sleaford inLincolnshire.We work with the county’s rural communities helping them develop programmes and find ways toimprove the lives of their residents.
After several successful years in the organisation our CEO is moving onto pastures new. Yourmission will be to become the CEO that can help us take Community Lincs forward to meet the newchallenges that now face our communities and our organisation alike. Interested? Find out more
News in the Community
John Barker Trophy 2017 - Recognising Community Building Volunteers
We would like to invite your village and community hall committee to nominate one or more persons who volunteer their time to the 2017 competition under the following categories:
- Active Long Service Award
- Inspirational Leadership Award
- Unsung Hero
- Building Project Award
Save and Warm
OurSave and Warmproject, funded by The Scottish Power Energy People Trust, is delivering an extensive programme of outreach to vulnerable consumers.
The project provides free information sessions and follow up 1:1 support around saving money and keeping warm in winter.
- Save and Warmprovides specially trained advisers who can run bespoke events for families in East and West Lindsey from July 2017 until March 2018
- Save and Warmwill come to where you meet. We run relaxed group workshops with games and activities
- Save and Warmprovides impartial advice and support on suitable tariffs, the cheapest way to pay bills, and how to reduce the amount of energy you use
- Save and Warmcan help you take control and get the best deal to suit you and your needs
- Save and Warmprovides information about schemes offered by the Government or energy suppliers that could help with your energy costs
- Save and Warmbe Energy Wise!
If your organisation has contact with vulnerable consumers and you would like to learn more about how Save and Warmcan work with you please contact:
Janet Clark or Samantha Smith at Community Lincs
Telephone:01529 301962 / 301960
E-mail:
West Lindsey Community Grant Schemes Funding Available
Contact us with your project idea.
The Small Grant Programme is open to all groups across the district large or small; we can even help new groups set up so they can access start-up funding. If you are new to completing funding applications then do not worry as we are here to help.
We have funded sports groups, arts groups, village halls, parish councils, litter picking groups and many more. You can apply for £50 up to a maximum of £500 from this programme.
Access our Google map to see the awards we have made for this scheme and the West Lindsey Large Community Grant:
You can apply at any time for this scheme.
Large Community Grant Programme
If you are thinking of applying to the Large Community Grant the next deadline for applications is Friday 29th September 2017.
Application packs are only available from Community Lincs. However, if you are interested in applying we recommend reading the guidance notes in the first instance. These can be downloaded from:
Community Lincs are happy to look over your draft application in advance of the deadline dates so please get in touch.
Top Tip When completing the finance section of the application form make sure your figures add up.
For application packs contact the grant administrators at Community Lincs:
Email:
Tel: 01529 301951 / 01529 301962
Helping women start their own business in Lincolnshire
Are you a woman in Lincolnshire who has been out of work for a while? Maybe you have been looking after young children or an elderly relative. Or maybe you have had been ill or been made redundant.
Have you thought about setting up your own business but don’t know where to start? Then the Succeeding Together Project could be for you.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a business idea or not, the aim of the project is to help you decide whether setting up your own business is right for you and to show you what you need to do to set up and run a successful business.
We run a series of 5 workshops at various venues across the county. Initially there is a 2 hour 1 to 1 session to help identify what support you need. Find out more
Good Neighbour Schemes are run by local volunteers who provide day to daysupport for other residents who may need help on an occasional or regular basis.For older people, this support may enable them to live independently in their ownhomes and communities for longer and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Would you or your community like to get involved with this initiative?
What help is available?
Community Lincs can provide initial information, advice, training and set-up supportincluding help to identify sources of funding and shared learning from best practice. Find out more
Completed Challenges for Cats Protection
Congratulations to two of our fearless staff, Samantha Smith and Tracy Ingram, for successfully completing their challenges and raising a total of £640.00 for Sleaford Cats Protection!
On Sunday 21st May 2017 Samantha abseiled, freefall style, 165ft with a soft landing on thesandy beach below fromthe iconic Forth Rail Bridge and on Sunday 4th June 2017 Tracy ran the Woodhall Spa 10km in 56 mins 28 seconds.
A big thank you to all of their supporters.
County Heating Oil Scheme Continues to Deliver Competitive Oil Prices for its Members
Our Community Oil Buying Scheme is continuing to achieve very competitive oil prices for its members. Take the hassle out of ordering your heating oil and register free today! If you haven't yet taken the plunge you can register via our websitehere.
The price secured for members of our Community Oil Buying Scheme for Junewas a very competitive price of35.00 pence per litre,comparing well against the market high of 37.5 pence per litre.
NBAll our prices are exclusive of VAT which is currently at 5% for domestic heating oil.
Register for the scheme before our next order deadline of 12 Noon onWednesday 12th July 2017.
Visit our oil web pageto find out moreat
Photographic Competition
Community Lincs’ Photographic Competition, kindly sponsored by theSleaford and District Lions Club, is getting ready to receive entries for the next round.
The first round, with the theme "Things that make me smile in my community"has now closed. Thewinningentry, seen below,was sent in by John Thorndike and is entitled "I believe I can fly!"
The second round will run from 1st July 2017 to 30th September 2017 and the entry theme for this roundwill be:“Lincolnshire’s Big Skies from Dawn to Dusk”.
The prizefor the winneris an £80.00 Love to Shop Gift Voucher and a winners certificate.
So get those cameras snapping in the coming months and who knows you may be the winner!!
You can find out more and upload your entry via our website at contact the Competition Organiser, Tracy Ingram at or telephone 01529 301952.
Happy snapping!
Dates for your Diary
For details of events coming up throughout the year visit our Events Page.
Welcome To Our Regular Recipe Feature From Rachel Green
Rachel’s recipes have graced the pages of many a newspaper and magazine, including Hello! Magazine, The Journal, Lincolnshire Pride as well as People’s Friend and numerous national and regional newspapers.
Rachel Greenis an award-winning chef, food writer, food campaigner, and TV presenter andis a regular on the food festival circuit; her cookery demonstrations are lively, with plenty of interaction with the audience. Last year she appeared at The CLA Game Fair, Foodies Festivals, Melton Mowbray and Spalding, to name a few. Rachel is a judge for the British Pie Awards. Great Taste Awards and the World Bread Awards.
Rachel is a farmer’s daughter from Lincolnshire and her family have farmed in the county for 14 generations. Rachel has cooked for Her Majesty the Queen and 800 guests at the Savoy Hotel, London, and her TV appearances include The One Show, Countryfile, Sunday Brunch, World on a Plate, Kill It, Cook It, Eat It, Farm of Fussy Eaters, and Flying Dishes. Rachel is also featured in an 8-page spread in the July edition of Lincolnshire Pride.
Rachel can be seen on The Local Kitchen, a cookery show dedicated to bringing the finest food and drink from our local producers to your kitchen - Local Kitchen is created and produced by East Coast Pictures and can be viewed at
Scrambled Eggs with Mashed Avocado and Tomato Salsa
Makes 2
5 eggs
A knob of butter
1 tbsp. whole milk or cream
Sea salt and black pepper
1 ripe avocado
1 large vine tomato
1 lime, juiced
2 slices of sourdough bread
A small handful of chopped coriander
Method:
Chop the tomato into chunks and in a small bowl mix with the lime juice and coriander.
Mash the avocado in a small bowl.
Beat the eggs together with the milk or cream and season with salt. Heat a heavy based non-stick frying pan over a low heat and melt the butter. Swirl around the pan to evenly coat. Add the eggs, and cook very slowly gently stirring with a wooden spatula till the eggs are soft and still wobbly. Remove from the heat and add another small knob of butter into the mixture and stir in. This will make the eggs creamy and rich in flavour.
Toast the bread and top both slices with the mashed avocado and then with the creamy scrambled eggs. Spoon on the tomato salsa and a finally a little freshly ground black pepper.
Community Facility News
Lincolnshire Village and Community Halls Conference 2017
We are now taking bookings for this year’s event. The event will be held on:
Date: Saturday 7th October 2017
Venue:Digby War Memorial Hall,Beck Street, Digby, LN4 3LY
Time: 9.30am until 4.00pm
The conference will be an informative and interactive event with top speakers, two very relevant case studies, a networking lunch and market place.
For more information and how to book, please visit:
Thank you, we look forward to welcoming you to our conference. If you have any queries about the event, please do not hesitate to contact Samantha on 01529 301960, or email
Routine Playground Inspection Training
Community Lincs are pleased to be able to bring you our ever popular play training. Our trainer, a member of the Register of Play Inspectors International Ltd (RPII), will lead this session to enable your organisation or business to carry out routine visual playground inspections safely and to take appropriate follow up actions. Please visit our news page for more information.
Date: Tuesday 17th October 2017,
Time: Registration from 9.00am, session time: 9.30am - 3.00pm
Venue: Billinghay Village Hall, Ringmoor Close, Billinghay, LN4 4EX
Cost: Members £74 + VAT; Non-members £84 + VAT
To reserve your place(s) please contact our event’s organiser Jenny Stone on 01529 302466 or email .
Village Hall Research Project
Through the ACRE Network, we have been asked if we can forward information to you from Hester Thorneycroft, who is completing her Master’s degreeat the VrijeUniversiteit, Amsterdam. Hester is completing her thesis in organisational strategy and is researching charities instead, specifically village halls.
Hester is asking for replies to her survey and is happy to share her results with ACRE in a few months. If you have a few moments to spare, could you or a member of your committee please complete the survey at the following link:
Survey Link:
Hester’s Bio:
Community Venue Finder Website
Are you looking for a local venue to hire? Visit the Community Lincs community venue finder website at
This website is unique as it lists some 420 community buildings across Lincolnshire. Our site helps event organisers, businesses, families and individuals looking to hire a venue for their activities and events.
The Voice of Village Halls
Bulletin 7, June 2017
In this month’s news….
Building relationships with MPs
It is important for us all for village halls to be at the forefront of rural government policy. ACRE’s manifesto supports rural community buildings. Read more here.
Please fly your flag; engage with your local constituency MPs by email, letter or on social media – get them involved. Find your MP here.
Insurance Premium Tax
The Charity Tax Group, of which ACRE is a member, is still campaigning on behalf of all charities regarding IPT. If you haven’t already completed their Survey please complete the IPT survey
VAT and funding
A submission has been sent to HMRC to highlight what could be done for village halls and similar rural community buildings in relation to VAT. It has been acknowledged which is a start! Thank you once again to Louise Beaton for her input to the submission. Read the submission here.
Big Lottery Funding
A letter was sent by ACRE to the BIG Lottery explaining the funding problem that has been caused with the closure of the BIG Lottery Reaching Communities Community Buildings Programme. As a result of the letter ACRE’s Chief Executive has been invited to meet with BIG Lottery at the end of the month.
NationalVillage and Community Halls Network
Please continue to send us any thoughts and comments and we will share them with the other village halls and interested organisations that have signed up. For now please use this email address.
If your village hall committee uses Twitter to share information within your community and with other hall committees then please follow ACRE @acre_nationaland use #villagehalls when tweeting.
CommunityFacilitiesMembership Scheme
If you manage a community building or play facility we would like to invite your committee to become members. Our membership fee is £45 per year or £110 for 3 years.
Contact the Facilities News Editor and Community Facilities Adviser, Samantha Smith:
T: 01529 301960
E:
W:
Other News
Land Management Advice Training from the RSPB
The RSPB's land management advice unit has worked with a range of organisations over the last 10 years to develop bespoke courses to meet their needs. These courses are a cost-effective way of delivering training and can be held on your sites and can cover the species, habitats and topics that are most important to you. The RSPB primarily cover management of wildlife in wetlands, woodland, scrub and the urban environment. However, they are also able to offer courses and workshops about heathland, arable and pastoral habitats, uplands and minerals site restoration. Find out more
Basic First Aid Apps
The British Red Cross have developed two free apps to help equip people with basic first aid skills. One is adult based and the other is for treating babies and children. The apps contain advice, videos, quizzes and information about the nearest Accident and Emergency (particularly useful if you are away from home).
The information is all hosted on the app itself, meaning no internet connection is needed, making it fast and easy to access.
More information about the apps can be found on the Redcross website at
Where appropriate please feel free to share this with friends, family and colleagues.
Please be aware that this is not a replacement of First Aid at Work or any such training.
Forces for Warmth
Energy advice for veterans, service personnel and their families
Do you ever go without heating to save energy?
Are you worried about the cost of your fuel bills?
If so, then National Energy Action (NEA) may be able to help if you are struggling with fuel debt or understanding your fuel bills; your home is cold or damp; you don’t understand your heating controls; you are looking for ways to save money and make your home warmer or you would like advice on heating, switching energy suppliers or budgeting in our home.
Call the Royal British Legion on 0808 802 8080 (calls are free from UK landlines and main mobile networks).
Boston Grant Scheme Re-opened
Boston Town Area Committee (BTAC), which operates as a town council for Boston, has reopened its small grant scheme to help worthwhile projects.