Action Newsletter - 26/03/11
Posted under Action News by Ben Fisher on Saturday 26th March 2011 (10:15am)
We’ve got a lot of news for you, so here’s a slightly longer newsletter! Our mailing list is a bit broken at the moment so here it is in blog form..
Meet the new Exec!
After an amazing year, it’s time for our current Exec to say goodbye – so say hello to your new Action committee!
President – Natalie Tiu
Treasurer – Gemma Atkinson
Secretary – Louise Togher
Residential Project Support – Louis Swain
Weekend Project Support – Katie Scott
Weekday Project Support – (to be confirmed)
Older People’s Project Support – Natasha Bechman
Training – Claudia MacLean
Events – Jess Edwards, Justin Webb
Publicity – Natasha Lummes
Equality and Diversity – Jenny Millman
They’ll be taking over from after Easter, and they’ll do an amazing job!
Action Bound needs Men!
Action Bound is going out this Sunday and needs two male volunteers to run. They will be going swimming and bowling, giving a group of child carers an amazing day out. You can sign up here: http://www.leedsaction.co.uk/index.php/event/fun-swim-and-bowling/472
Pre-Easter Social
Our pre-Easter social will take place this Wednesday (30th March) at 8pm in Terrace bar in the Union. Loads of our old Exec and project coordinators will be there, as well as the new Exec and project coordinators, all ready to celebrate a very successful year for Action. We’ll probably be heading somewhere exciting later in the night, so come on down! Look out for the Action signs in a corner of Terrace.
Child Protection Training
There will be a child protection training session this Tuesday, 5.15 – 9pm in the Volunteering and Community Office. The event will go on the website at midday on Friday. There will be more sessions after Easter, we’re just struggling to find space at the moment! If there are any problems with sign-ups or you really need the training and can’t make it, please e-mail president@leedsaction.co.uk.
Do you want to be part of Action’s training team?
Are you interested in getting some experience in training? We are looking for a team of 3-4 volunteers, who will be responsible for giving child protection training to all of our volunteers. You will work with our new training coordinator Claudia, who will also be trained to give the training.
You will be fully trained externally to give the three hour training to our volunteers, the training day to teach you how to do it will be on May 10th.
It is a fantastic opportunity, and both Ben and Eleanor have really enjoyed delivering the training this year, it really helps to build confidence, and you are often the first person a lot of new people to action will meet. It also really helps to develop skills essential to getting a job or applying for a postgrad course.
If you are interested email at training@leedsaction.co.uk
Dropping out from Projects
Recently several of our projects have had people dropping out very last minute without any notice, meaning that the coordinators have struggled to run full sessions. We’d like to remind everyone that part of the responsibilities of Action volunteers is to turn up for the events that they have signed up for. If you can’t make a session, please let a project coordinator know as soon as possible. We rely on our volunteers to make events happen, and if people don’t turn up and don’t let us know, it could mean that we have to cancel and the people we work with won’t benefit from the fantastic things we’ve organised from them.
Windsurfing Project
The Windsurfing project is into its third week and is going very well! If you want to get involved there will be two more sessions, going up on the website this Monday and the following Monday. No experience is necessary, you just need to be able to swim and feel confident in the water! More information can be found here: http://www.leedsaction.co.uk/index.php/project/action-windsurfing/26
Bridge the Gap Give it a Go session
On Monday 28th March Bridge the Gap are having a Give it a Go session at Mecca Bingo in town. This is a great chance to get involved in the fast-paced, glamorous world of Bingo and will give you a chance to find out about our extremely popular older people’s project. You can book a place here: http://www.leedsuniversityunion.org.uk/ents/event/2774/
Green Streets Sorting Session
There will be a Green Streets sorting session this Wednesday (30th March) between 2.30 and 4.30pm. We’re trying to clear out our stockroom so we need as much help as possible! You can sign up here: http://www.leedsaction.co.uk/index.php/event/donations-sorting/476
Green Streets Coordinator Roles
Leave Leeds Tidy is currently recruiting for 2 enthusiastic and passionate Volunteers to be part of the Green Streets Project Team.
Green Streets is a multi-award winning student led project with an aim of reducing the environmental impact of the student changeover period. We coordinate with all of the University Halls of Residence and over 8000 homes in the local community to collect, sort and redistribute their unwanted items. We collect bedding, clothing, crockery, pots, pans, books etc and redistribute them to students and local communities through Free Shops and directly to homeless shelters, hostels, refugee centres & charity shops. 8 tonnes of reusable materials were donated last year! We are restructuring the Project this year to encourage more volunteers to get involved.
The 2 roles that Green Streets has on offer are:
1. Creative Coordinator
2. Donations Coordinator
We are looking for volunteers who would be able to commit to between 4-8 hours a week. We hope to fill these roles as soon as possible, so we can get on with planning for the 2011 Student Changeover period in June/July. If you are interested Email unilltv@leeds.ac.uk for the Role Description.
Looking for work experience? Passionate about educational disadvantage? Become a Teach First Brand Manager…
Would you like to gain some valuable work experience, and develop those key skills that graduate employers look for whilst helping promote Teach First at your university? Becoming a Teach First Brand Manager will not only provide all of these but is flexible and part time so you can easily fit it around your studies. If you’re interested, read on…
Become a Brand Manager…
Teach First is looking for enthusiastic, committed and innovative individuals to act as Teach First Brand Managers at various universities nationwide. If you are passionate about addressing educational disadvantage, a creative thinker and an effective communicator with strong levels of initiative and organisational skills, interested in developing your marketing skills, whilst studying, then this role may suit you. The position will provide exposure and develop key skills in marketing, promotion and advertising and will suit people looking to apply for the Teach First Leadership Development Pogramme or business-minded students interested in gaining experience within this area. Brand Managers help to raise the profile of Teach First on campus and will be involved in presentations, recruitment events, flyering, working with different departments, writing articles and lots of social events. You can find out more about the role in the attached flyer.
The ideal candidate will be sociable and well connected within their university and must be able to work within a team as well as independently.
Teach First is a unique and powerful social initiative, with a two year Leadership Development Programme addressing educational disadvantage in some of the UK’s most challenging schools. The programme will transform participants into effective and inspirational teachers and ultimately into effective and inspirational leaders in all fields.
How do I apply?
Download and complete the application form at http://graduates.teachfirst.org.uk/recruitment/brand-managers.html and email it back to brandmanagers@teachfirst.org.uk before April 8th. Early applications are encouraged.
Email brandmanagers@teachfirst.org.uk if you have any further questions.
The deadline for applications is the end of Friday 8th April.
Assessment days will be held in May.
PwC and Teach First Drop-in Drinks
You are all invited to an informal drop in drinks event that Teach First & PwC are holding with PwC on Wednesday 30th March, 5-7pm at the Terrace Bar in the Union at Leeds University. This is a great opportunity for you to talk to our graduate recruiters, current participants of Teach First and to other offeree’s on campus of their experiences, of how they’ve made a difference to educational disadvantage and what advice they can give you on your application form in an informal setting. It is also a great opportunity for you to talk to PWC recruiters and staff and find out more about their tax, assurance, consultancy, advisory, legal and actuarial roles. PwC is a powerhouse of a commercial enterprise that does the right thing for their clients, people and communities and one of the “Big Four” accountancy firms and are one of our largest supporters and one of our 5 deferred entry partners. This means if you are interested in working for both of our organizations after successfully completing both their individual selection process and ours, you can defer your start with PwC for two years while you take up the challenge of our Programme. That means if you start with Teach First in 2011, you will automatically join your target employer in 2013. In addition, you’ll benefit from close contact and support from them throughout your Teach First journey. The reason PwC does this is because they “recognise these attributes as being critical to our success as a firm. Teach First is an incredible opportunity to give something back and inspire others at the start of your career.”
You are not expected to come and talk with us for 2 hours but just drop in at the time slot at the best time for you however it is essential you could email Shelly Masters to let her know if you are attending this great opportunity that is appreciated as there is limited spaces. Her e-mail is SMasters@teachfirst.org.uk
Summer Festival Steward volunteering opportunity
Childreach International, a charity that supports community education, health and child protection projects around the world, enabling young people to unlock their full potential, is collaborating with 15 festivals around the UK to offer opportunities for individuals to volunteer. They have just 200 spaces available for people to steward at some amazing festivals right through June-Sept 2011. In return for lovely volunteers having a wicked summer of going to festivals for free the festivals will donate to our charity! Win win for everyone!
So if you are interested they just need to fill out this application form - http://www.jotform.com/form/10400943987 - and tick the dates you’re available. You’ll then get contacted when they’re recruiting for festivals on that date and once your application has been successful. The deadline is mid April for most of the festivals but it is first come first served!
More info is available at this link – not all the festival names have been released just yet but some very exciting ones are in the pipeline!: http://www.childreach.org.uk/get-involved/festivals
Thanks for reading, and see you on project soon,
From Action x