Tag Archives: Volunteers

Guest blog post – Help Portrait East London

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Hi, I’m Ingrid, a professional photographer from Hackney. I’d like to tell you about a fantastic event I’m organising in December 2013 called ‘Help Portrait East London’.

Help Portrait is a charity which tries to make a real difference to people by using photography. On ‘Help Portrait Day’, Saturday 7th December 2013, photographers all over the world will be taking photographs of people who would not normally be able to access professional photography.

I registered with Help Portrait in February and created a group called Help Portrait East London: www.facebook.com/HelpPortraitEastLondon and we will be taking and printing photographs for community groups and their service users free of charge on Help Portrait Day, Saturday 7th December 2013.

The East London event will be a charity fun day with performers, caterers, and make-up artists from the local area, and I’d love to hear from you if you’d like to get involved!

If you’re a community group or a volunteer interested in helping out in any way (we’re looking for photographers, help with admin, press and media – there’s lots to do!), please do get in touch at the contact details below, ideally before the end of May 2013.

Looking forward to hearing from you to see how we can use photography to bring together and support the local community of East London.

Ingrid (Help Portrait East London)

Click here to read more about Help Portrait events taking place in other areas.

Help Portrait 2013 (2)

Contact Help Portrait East London:

Email: info@candidcreativity.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HelpPortraitEastLondon

Twitter: @HelpPortraitEL

Are you Backing Britain’s Charities?

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Last week we met with CAF and NCVO to learn more about their Back Britain’s Charities campaign. In these difficult times, they aim to encourage our nation – the Government, businesses and individuals – to rally together and take practical steps to support British charities.

To ensure that local charities can continue their essential work at the heart of society, the campaign proposes the following action:

  1. Individuals should support charities by giving as regularly as they can, whether that’s time or money, and regardless of how much or little they are able to give.
  2. The Government should modernise and promote Gift Aid and Payroll Giving, so that every pound given to charity goes even further.
  3. The Government should ensure that public bodies do not cut funding for charities disproportionately when making spending reductions.
  4. Businesses should maintain or increase their support for charities – whether this is financial or practical help for good causes.
  5. Charities should work together with the Government to modernise and improve fundraising and to enhance their impact.

Backing Britain's Charities (larger)

There are a variety of ways you can support the campaign, both as an individual or a charity. Please click here to read more.

The easiest way to get involved is to pledge your support online by clicking here. You can also follow @backingcharity on Twitter and use the campaign hash tag #backingcharity to join in the conversation around the campaign.

On hearing about the campaign, our founder Marcelle Speller, OBE said:

“When charitable giving declines, it is the small, local charities and community groups that suffer the most. Many of these vital services operate on a knife edge and any loss of funding can mean the difference between surviving and going under. As a society, we can’t afford to lose them! That’s why Localgiving.com supports the Back Britain’s Charities campaign.”

Charity Begins at Home, so let’s work together to help secure the future for Britain’s charities! Click here to find out more about local charities in your area.

Have something to say? We’d love to hear from you! Please leave us a comment here, write on our Facebook wall, or send us a Tweet!

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Cause of the Month: Voluntary Services

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Across the UK many people give their time and skills on a voluntary basis, working in fields such as medicine, education, social care and emergency rescue. Operating alongside the public and private sectors, voluntary services are essential to the overall health of the community and rely on financial support through volunteers, grants and charitable giving.

Derby based project, Money Power Respect is run by volunteers from Global Education Derby and uses hip hop music, graffiti and street dance to re-engage disaffected young people in learning and positive social action.

Watch it on Youtube

If you’re interested in volunteering, it’s easy to find a charity or community group that needs your support on Your Square Mile. Simply enter your postcode and view search results from both Localgiving.com and Do-it for your local area via an interactive map.

Last month we launched our new Direct Sign up feature making it even easier for charities and community groups like Global Education Derby to sign up to Localgiving.com. If you run a local voluntary organisation and would like to learn more about fundraising on Localgiving.com, please click here.

Giving time for others in East London

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Donating on Localgiving.com is just one way you can make a difference in your community. The concept of “giving locally” also highlights the opportunity for individuals to give their time locally to really help their community thrive.

The Lord Mayor of Redbridge, Cllr Muhammed Javed, recently held a voluntary day in the Town Hall, where groups reached out to the public to showcase their work in Redbridge, and to prove how everyone can help in their own way.

There are lots of Redbridge based groups fundraising and looking for volunteers on Localgiving.com. Learn more about them here!

Fifty local groups spent the day hosting stalls amongst cakes, samosas, Albanian Folk dancing and Frankie the Lion! Vajiha, Charity Engagement intern at Localgiving.com, and East London Community Foundation were lucky enough to be one of those stalls and meet some of the wonderful individuals who give their time locally.

How do you give your time locally? Let us know by posting a comment on our Facebook wall or writing to us on Twitter!

Vajiha, Charity Engagement

Give your time and make a difference!

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Matt Goldsmith

Charity Engagement Assistant at Localgiving.com and London Ambassador

This August our very own Matthew Goldsmith will be welcoming visitors to the Capital during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of his volunteering role as a London Ambassador!

We caught up with him to find out what it’s like to be one of the 8,000 ambassadors representing London during the Games.

What made you decide to become a London Ambassador?

I have always been really passionate about supporting my local community, as in addition to my role at Localgiving.com, I also volunteer at a youth club in my local area of Barnet. I saw the London Ambassador role as a great opportunity to show visitors from around the world, a positive and friendly experience of our great city. Hopefully our role of welcoming visitors to London will contribute to London 2012 Olympics being a huge success!

When you found out you had been accepted to become a London Ambassador how did you feel?

Really excited and proud to be involved in such a prestigious sporting event, and in my home town of London too!

Why do you think volunteering is important?

Volunteering is crucial in strengthening local communities and brings people who may not usually meet, together in a positive and engaging way. This is especially true of being a London Ambassador, as it has already opened up an exciting network of people and experiences, as well as offering the opportunity to acquire new skills. Although the London 2012 Olympics are already underway, it’s not too late to start volunteering in your local community…go Team GB!

To keep up to date with Matt’s experiences as a London Ambassador follow him @LocalgivingMatt.

If you would like to make a difference by volunteering your time, visit www.Localgiving.com to find a local charity or community group.