I don’t know if every school did this but I remember being asked to fill in a multiple choice questionnaire when I was about 15 or so, the answers to which provided a guidance to the type of job I should be aiming towards. I think I got something like ‘procurement officer’ or ‘supply chain manager’ which put paid to my ambitions of being an astronaut or an Oscar winning actor.
Why does this occur to me now? Because weirdly, lockdown has enabled me to try out some different careers to ‘sales and marketing manager’. I now know, for example, that I would be an appalling teacher or nursery worker, I should have nothing to do with anything that involves a drill or hammer but that I could be a quite successful window cleaner. I just need to get a better ladder.
Enjoy the news…
Covid-19 support
- Barclays have launched the 100 x 100 Community Fund, offering charities with a turnover of £1m+ that are supporting Covid-related efforts. Grants of up to £100k are available, the deadline to apply is Friday 22 May, 2020. Apply here.
- Has COVID-19 impacted your social enterprise? Do you need support to solve a challenge but don’t have the time, skills or resources? The School for Social Entrepreneurs is piloting a virtual volunteer platform, connecting skilled corporate volunteers with social entrepreneurs who need support. Would you like to be a part of this pilot and receive business support from home?
- Take part in a 15 minute introductory call where we’ll find out more about what you’re looking for in terms of remote support
- You will get to sign up to the platform, post volunteer opportunities requesting the skills you need and decide which applicant you would like to work with
- We’ll then check in with you to find out about your experience of the platform and working with your volunteer
All you need to do is complete this quick expression of interest by Wednesday (13th May) and we’ll be in touch.
- The third part of our series of blogs examining how SSE fellows & students are adapting to the Covid-19 crisis is live. It features a video chat between Nathan Hopkins from Woodshed Workshop and Sue Osborne, SSE Yorkshire and North East CEO. Josh Turner of Stand For Socks and Jacqueline Hollows of Beyond Recovery also share how they are working in the current climate. You can read the blog here.
- An extremely useful ‘Coronavirus Continuity Planning for Social Businesses and Charities’ document created by ventures from the Year Here network is available here. It covers everything from Key Regularly-Updated Resources to Webinars/ Online Meet-ups and Business Planning.
- Grants Online are regularly updating their list of funders offering support to projects and organisations responding to Covid-19. There is a lot of good information.
- SSE Fellow Shaun Fox has launched a ‘Sporting Age Stay At Home Challenge’ to help parents get young people active and develop movement skills. It’s free to take part and combines fun, easy set-up skills tests with expert scientific analysis to work out if your child’s level of ability at skills such as running, jumping and throwing is on track with their age. Find out more here.
- If, like me, you’ve been struggling to get your kids to engage in a Zoom call for anything longer than five minutes then SSE Fellow Charlotte Whittaker could have the answer. Her social enterprise InCommon, which brings generations together, is sharing some games and activities around a different theme that families can try with older friends and relatives over the phone or video call. All the activities so far are available here.
- Social Enterprise The Sewing Rooms have capacity to make 10,000 face masks for the general public and are currently running a crowdfunding campaign to go into full production and bring our furloughed staff members back to work. £10 will get you a re-usable and virus-resistant mask. You can back the campaign here.
- If you are struggling with anxiety, stress or depression during lockdown, SSE Fellow Chris Fleet can offer qualified talking therapy through The Devon Clinic CIC. His team are volunteering 9am – 9pm Monday to Saturday. Details are at www.devonclinic.co.uk or you can call 01803 500300.
Other news
- We have just a few places left on Creative Leadership – offering £2,00 grant, learning and peer support. It’s for people early on in careers in arts & culture (including freelancers), committed to creating social impact through their work. The last places are available on a first-come, first-served basis. They are rolex replica reserved for people who are both: based in England but *outside* of London; AND from a so-called “diverse background” (by which we mean you are any of the following: BAME; D/deaf and disabled people; have caring responsibilities; LGBTQ+; from an economically disadvantaged background). Apply in under 30 minutes.
- SSE Fellow Isabel Emerson is delivering a series of interactive music sessions for wellbeing and social inclusion online through her organisation Open Strings Music. Sessions include Workplace Harmony, Musical Windows (including ukelele lessons) and a Musical Box Scheme which features a virtual visit from one of Open Strings’ musicians. All the details you need are here.
- FotoAwrds, a social enterprise founded by SSE Fellow Nina Emett, have launched the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award. £2000 is available to ‘ a professional woman photographer towards the completion of a compelling and cohesive documentary photo essay, which addresses an important social, environmental, economic or cultural issue, whether local or global’. You can find out more here.
