Week 6 and we are still in lockdown! I hope you and your families are well and keeping each other safe.
My team and I are doing our best to provide you with as much information as we can about Coronavirus. We know the importance of having access to relevant information, support and resources in a timely fashion. We update our Covid-19 Resource Hub with important developments and funding opportunities on a daily basis. We are active on social media - If you don’t already, please follow us on Facebook or Twitter. We want to keep you quickly updated with relevant information as quickly as possible. Thanks once again to my team for pulling this together!
Volunteering during Coronavirus
Thank you! - There has been an incredible public response to the Coronavirus pandemic. We have been blown away by the huge numbers of people that have volunteered to help out and we want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has come forward. Over 1,100 local people responding to the Scotland Cares Campaign already. Over 100 individuals have signed up with us directly and 1,000 have signed-up via Volunteer Scotland offering to help out – and this number is increasing daily!
We have a created a dedicated Volunteer Register with details of all individuals who have come forward. However, there are many more volunteers not associated with one of the large umbrella volunteering networks. People are working together to support their neighbours in every local community. Faith groups, community councils and community development trusts are all doing their bit. We have added a dedicated area on our website featuring formal and informal groups that have come together to help.
If you are one of the many third sector organisations helping out during the crisis and in need of more volunteers, please let us know by email vsg@vsgwl.org. Alternatively, you can complete this short survey and we'll add your details to our Directory of Services.
As a reminder, it's really important that volunteers carry ID badges or other forms of identification whenever possible when carrying out volunteering duties, especially when working with vulnerable groups. Volunteer Scotland is providing practical guidance for organisations managing volunteers during the coronavirus crisis. Specific guidance on PVG and Covid-19 is also available on their website. There is also helpful information for community groups about volunteering during the crisis on the Ready Scotland website.
Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help.
Stay safe!
Alan McCloskey
CEO
Latest COVID-19 Updates
Expanding testing to key workers- Important development about the expansion of testing for key workers, including staff working for third sector organisations supporting people and children who are vulnerable and staff involved in volunteering. Framework for Decision Making - Last week Scottish Government published COVID-19 A Framework for decision making. It sets out some of the challenges we face and outlines the approach & principles that will guide us as we make decisions about transitioning out of lockdown Personal protective equipment (PPE) - The UK Government has produced new guidance on the use of PPE equipment for health and social care staff.
Third Sector Resilence Fund - The Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) is a £20m emergency fund for charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations working in Scotland. The fund supports organisations that already deliver services and products but find themselves in financial difficulties directly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The primary intention of the fund is to help third sector organisations to stabilise and manage cash flows over this difficult period. The Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund- The Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund has been open for applications since the 26th of March 2020 and to date we have distributed over £1.3 million in grants to organisations working to address immediate needs in their communities. In order to ensure we have enough funds to continue to meet these needs and taking into consideration other funding that is now available we have updated our eligibility criteria. From the 20th of April 2020 only organisations with an income of less than £125,000 will be eligible to apply. Wellbeing Fund-The Scottish Government recognises and is thankful for the crucial work third sector organisations are doing across the country to support people and communities most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the additional Government funding being made available, we are inviting applications from third sector organisations to provide vital wellbeing support to at risk groups. The Wellbeing Fund is currently paused to allow for the assessment of applications made in the first round. The fund will open for expressions of interest again on 7th May 2020. Independent Grant Funding- The funds listed here are specifically for supporting Scotland’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
If you would like to make a submission to our eBulletin/Website/Social Media then please email vsg@vsgwl.org
Voluntary Sector Gateway West Lothian is a Registered Company in Scotland No. SC244154 and is a Registered Scottish Charity No. SC027612.
