How the sector is responding to the pandemic #NeverMoreNeeded
Hundreds of books delivered to families
Families with vulnerable children who are shielding at home in Edinburgh are having hundreds of books delivered to their doorsteps thanks to a new charity partnership.
Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) – which supports the Royal Hospital for Sick Children - has teamed up with Edinburgh City Libraries to help children and their siblings feed their imaginations while shielding for 12 weeks.
With libraries currently closed, Edinburgh City Libraries and Information Services has made available a Book Bus filled with around 1800 books for children and young people to ECHC. The bus is stationed at the charity’s office, where volunteer delivery drivers collect book packages and deliver them to local families who are known to the Sick Kids hospital on a regular basis. Through the book deliveries, the charity aims to bring fun and distraction to children and to help improve their mental wellbeing during lockdown.
The book delivery service has also been made possible thanks to generous sponsorship from Baillie Gifford.
Vital support made available
ACOSVO has announced support for voluntary sector leaders whose organisations have seen a significant decline in their income as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
From this week, ACOSVO is utilising its reserves to offer a limited number of free memberships of both ACOSVO and the Chairs Network Scotland.
This offer is applicable to both current and non-members whose income has been significantly impacted, due to the pandemic.
Guiding at Hame
To support young people and their parents while at home, Girlguiding Scotland has launched the Guiding at Hame challenge. The weekly challenge will provide activities for children and adults alike to get stuck into.
With face to face meetings no longer taking place, Girlguiding Scotland is delivering its unique programme in new and innovative ways. It issued a challenge on 1 May, with activities suitable for anyone from age five and up. New activities are released every Friday, and the whole challenge reflects the six themes of Girlguiding’s programme: Know Myself, Express Myself, Be Well, Have Adventures, Take Action and Skills For My Future. In true guiding style, anyone who takes part in the challenge can earn the Guiding at Hame badge.
The challenge is open to everyone – you don’t need to be a member –just download the activities from Girlguiding Scotland’s website to take part.
Hospitality training programme goes one
Award-winning employability programme, Diageo Learning for Life, has launched on a new Virtual Hospitality Academy, created and delivered by The Springboard Charity, to ensure its hospitality training can continue during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new Diageo Learning for Life: Virtual Academy is open to new applicants who are looking to develop key skills in hospitality and improve their future employability, as well as over 2,000 individuals who have previously taken part in the Diageo Learning for Life programme across the UK.
With the majority of the UK hospitality sector currently not operational due to lockdown, the academy aims to encourage those at home to improve their skills and earn new certificates, which will help them to be at the front line of the recovery process.
The programme launched in the UK in 2014 and has supported over 2,000 unemployed people, globally it has supported over 140,000 individuals.
