What we've been doing!

February so far has been busy behind the scenes with the grant applications for round two of the Community Grant, following up from the first Youth Council meeting and planning the second, and planning new projects and activities.  We have a new grants officer starting at the beginning of March who will be working with Claire Betts. More about all of these things next month!

Harborough District Council Grants

Last call for March grants surgeries!

Four grants surgeries have been arranged for the beginning of March and beginning of April. These are for anyone to talk to us about a potential project for the Community Grant or advice about other funding, and where parish and town councils and parish meetings can talk to us about how they can encourage applications from their areas. Feedback was positive from previous surgeries and has resulted in applications as it gives people the chance to talk to a grants officer face-to-face.

The surgery dates and locations are:

• 5 March 9.30-12.30 at Kibworth Community Hub
• 6 March 13.00-16.00 at Broughton Astley Village Hall
• 3 April 13.00-16.00 at Churchgate Community Centre, Lutterworth
• 4 April 9.30-12.30 at The Council Chamber, The Symington Building, Market Harborough

People can come to any of the dates that suit them, and there will be an opportunity to talk about section 106 funding at Kibworth, Lutterworth and Market Harborough.

Please book in advance for a slot so that you don't need to wait.

New Round Opens for Environmental Grant

• Reduce the carbon footprint of the community: projects that actively contribute to lowering the carbon footprint of the community.
• Reduce the waste produced in the community: communities striving to reduce the amount of waste produced within their boundaries, fostering a culture of responsible waste management.
• Create, or protect and enhance, biodiversity or environmental assets such as green spaces and waterways: initiatives focused on creating, protecting, and enhancing biodiversity, as well as safeguarding environmental assets such as green spaces and waterways.
• Educate and/or raise awareness of climate change that will result in one of the above outcomes: proposals that aim to educate and raise awareness about climate change, ultimately leading to one or more of the above outcomes, will be considered as part of this scheme.

Please see the guidance document for full information.

Organisations are encouraged to discuss their project with the Grants Officers in advance of their application by contacting communitygrants@harborough.gov.uk

£49,000 has been won in prize money whilst raising £201,993 for good causes in the local area.

How to sign up

Harborough District Council will support you with advertising campaigns, a dedicated telephone number and email address, bespoke marketing materials that are regularly updated, a Harborough Lotto website and informative emails packed with top tips.

Youth Council report from first meeting

Why do young people want to be involved?

We asked young people what their motivation was for being part of the Youth Council and they shared some great reasons for wanting to get involved:

"I would like young people to be more informed about politics and how you make change."  

"To give my view/learn about what and how things could be improved." 

"I’d like to be part of a youth council to make a change to the community."

"I want to get more involved and gain a better understanding of Harborough and its potential issues it's facing."

“It will be interesting to see how councils and decision-making bodies function while being a part of it.”

"I think we need more things to do in Harborough if you are young e.g. cinema, bowling."

"I’m here to make useful additions to Harborough and would like to make it easier to get to Harborough and to add more entertainment in the town."

"I would greatly like to make Harborough a greener area and anything that can contribute to that would appeal to me greatly."

Youth Council reasons for involvement

Analysing the reasons that young people gave for wanting to be involved leads to three main strands of work:

1. Getting young people more involved in councils and decision making.

2. Gaining skills and personal development.

3. Work around specific areas to make a difference to Harborough District for young people and the wider community - see the section below for their ideas.

Contributing to the Corporate Plan consultation

We then looked at the some of the priorities in Harborough District Council's corporate plan, making the language young people friendly. Each attendee had eight votes to allocate across ten priorities, allocating more votes to those they thought were most important.

4. Ensuring that there is a range of housing to meet people’s needs, including affordable housing for people to rent and buy, and reducing the potential for homelessness.

5. Protecting nature by looking after green spaces, making them easier to enjoy, and helping wildlife to thrive.

We are now looking at how the Youth Council can get involved with what’s going on in the areas that are important to them. It was great to hear their views and ideas and gain a better understanding of what actually matters to them.

February Youth Council meeting

The second Youth Council meeting has just been held on Thursday 27 February in Lutterworth. The agenda included starting to think about some of the practicalities about how the Harborough District Youth Council will work, as well as getting feedback on discussions from the themed groups that were held last time and identifying specific projects to take forward from the priorities that the young people chose.

Environment and climate change

As the environment was a key topic for attendees, we had our Environment Coordinator joining us for the second meeting to talk about Harborough District Council’s environmental plans, what has been done and what we are planning to do.

Ongoing topics

We will explore the other top priorities over the coming months and look at different areas in the council where young people can have some involvement, these include young people's skills, understanding elections, and being part of the consultation on the draft Local Plan (subject to Council on Monday 3 March agreeing that the public consultation phase can start).

Could your area deliver a Chatty Chairs session?

Funding for equipment and facilities for activities

If you need funding for equipment or to improve facilities to deliver activities such as Chatty Chairs, you may be eligible for our Community Grant or other funding - there is a suggestion in this newsletter for a grants programme and around community fundraising.

Community spotlight: sharing your stories

This section shares successes and good practice across the district to inspire others. If you would like to feature, you can complete this form or contact us by email.

Community Awards winner - Edith Townsend

Volunteer of the Year 60+

The Community Awards panel was impressed because Edith’s volunteer work is spread across many activities and organisations including Torch Trust for the Blind, Guide Dogs, Technology Association of Visually Impaired Persons, Fleckney WI and the Baptist Church.

Here we focus on just one volunteer role that Edith picked up and kept going when the group was at risk of closing, inspiration for anyone who is involved in community action.

Can you tell me some background to the challenges that were facing the Fleckney WI group and how you came to be President?

How did you set about attracting more members of the community to attend and volunteers to run the Committee?

We always mention volunteers at every meeting and two members have come forward since I’ve been President. In terms of new members, some join after being invited to come to a talk. For example, if we are having a speaker on a particular topic, we invite local, relevant groups who might be interested. We advertise in the Co-op and word of mouth is also very effective.

What do you think attendees want / gain from being involved in the WI?

It meets a vital social need for friendship, with the opportunity to chat and have tea and biscuits after a talk. Increasing knowledge is also key, as we have speakers on many interesting subjects, ranging from crafts, police and fire talks to how to make sausages. Members themselves are also encouraged to share a skill, such as quilting for example.

How does the committee find speakers? What other events take place?

We ask members at meetings for any ideas for speakers and this always seems to produce plenty of ideas. The WI also arranges meals out together, such as the training taster lunches made by students at Leicester College, which is very popular. We hold Fashion Shows, with members as models, and have 2-3 day trips per year, for example to see snowdrops.

What are the challenges voluntary-run organisations like WIs face?

It can be a challenge to attract people and keep them interested.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about taking on a role like this, but perhaps worried about the commitment?

I would be honest about the level of commitment needed and explain what is involved. It doesn’t have to be too demanding being a President – you can just chair meetings and keep minutes, but equally you can get more involved if you want to. Anyone should be encouraged to help – they just need to be keen and bring plenty of ideas!

What motivates you to get involved in all your various volunteering activities?

When my husband was alive, I was his PA for a Computer Consultancy and we were both very busy. As a blind person himself, he always had a massive interest in including people with all disabilities. After he died, I suddenly didn’t have a job. Determined not to sit and stagnate, I wanted to get involved in things he would want me to do and became very busy with organisations such as the Torch Trust, Guide Dogs for the Blind, WI, Baptist Church and with the Technology Association of Visually Impaired People.

What is the most rewarding part?

Helping all people, and especially those with a disability, to realise that they are not useless and to use the gifts they have. Before I retired, I helped with young blind people too, enabling them to live an independent life and save for a home.

Find your local WI by list or map, there are groups all over the district.

Phoebe Tomes, Heartwize Community Awards

Young Person of the Year Runner Up

Phoebe started when she was just nine years old and has been volunteering for almost nine years. She is now at college studying drama and theatre production, photography and a BTech creative media course but still finds the time to volunteer in her spare time, at events when she can or during the holidays. Phoebe supports the lead trainer to deliver training to many schools across Leicestershire as well as sports and community groups.

Encouraging younger volunteers

Volunteering for Heartwize doesn’t come without its challenges; Phoebe shared with us that starting at such a young age was difficult and she started training people at 11 years old but found it challenging to learn the terminology and curriculum and sometimes felt she wasn’t taken seriously because of her age. The main demographic of volunteers at Heartwize are retired doctors, paramedics and first responders, but Phoebe believes younger volunteers help with training the younger generation, being a great role model for them.

Phoebe would encourage people to get involved in volunteering because it’s important to do something for the community, she says it’s so rewarding seeing the impact of volunteering and feeling a strong sense of pride. Phoebe shared that her family and friends are proud and impressed by her too, which is no surprise!

Awards and recognition for Heartwize

Whilst it may come with challenges it also comes with a great sense of achievement and when Phoebe was asked what her proudest achievement was, she shared that they received the King’s Award for Voluntary Service and she was involved in collecting the award, what a fantastic accomplishment! Heartwize was chosen as Leicester City Football Club’s nominated charity of the year, recognsing and supporting their incredible work. Phoebe credits their success to Julie Young, the Programme Coordinator at Heartwize who keeps everything running smoothly with her organisation and passion for the important, lifesaving work they carry out.

What does getting the award mean to Phoebe?

Phoebe was our runner up for the Young Person of the Year award (11-18 years) at the Community Awards in December 2024. She told us that she couldn’t believe it as she was up against other young people doing such amazing work, she was really surprised and thrilled to even have been nominated, let alone get the place of runner up. We were so pleased to be able to recognise her fantastic work in the community.

Young people getting involved in volunteering

Anyone interested in becoming a Heartwize volunteer can fill in a form on their website.

Young people (11-18) may also be interested in getting involved in our Youth Council.

There are other volunteering opportunities open to young people, Voluntary Action LeicesterShire provides information and support to get involved, and can advertise opportunities for groups.

Funding and resources from other organisations

This section contains a selection of grants outside HDC that community groups can apply for.

While HDC provides community grants and other grants, groups often need to find further funding to complete projects. Here are some suggestions of other funders that have come across our radar this month that groups may be able to apply for.

National Lottery Heritage Fund: funding opportunities and tips for success

The presentation stressed the importance that heritage can be subjective, and so encourage applications to explain what heritage means to them. Because of this, they fund a wide range of projects from cultural projects, archives, buildings, nature (for example old wetlands or ancient forests) and crafts.

They describe themselves as a ‘project’ funder and fund both capital and revenue projects. Applicants can apply many times for funding, but if they’ve already received funding they need to evidence growth, development and creating resilience since the previous award of money - a useful tip for any repeat funding applications.

They have two categories: £10k - £250k and then £250k - £10m; larger amounts have longer assessment times, and there is guidance online about the process and what they fund.

They host bi-monthly webinars for applicants to join to go through any Q&As/sharing best practice, and there are contact details for the local office.

They acknowledge that some groups may have formed relatively recently when applying, so have to provide a minimum of one year bank statement.

Home Instead Charities - activities for older people

If you would like a small grant to deliver a Chatty Chairs session or other activity for older people, Home Instead Charities may be an option. They open applications for funding four times per year: January; April; July and October, and award grants up to £500 or £1,500 depending on group size.

Want to try community fundraising? | Small Charity Week

If you're a charity with an annual income between £5,000 and £1 million, the Big Give, Global’s Make Some Noise and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Small Charity Week match funding campaign may interest you.

This might be a good place to start if you would like to try to raise income from your local community, members and businesses, as it provides the infrastructure to make requests, and campaign and marketing guidance and resources.

The campaign will run during Small Charity Week (Monday 23 June to Monday 30 June). Charities can aim to raise £500, £1,000, £2,500, £5,000, or £10,000 (up to 10% of their annual income) in public donations, which will be doubled by the match funds.

To access some or all of that funding the charity has to secure public donations via Big Give’s online fundraising platform during the week of the campaign.

The first stage application is to be accepted onto the programme. Closing date is Wednesday 2 April 2025.

If you are successful, let us know, we'd be interested to know how it goes and whether you'd recommend it to other charities.

Getting further support

VAL Volunteering Network and Learn Event in Lutterworth

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) runs quarterly Network and Learn Events for Volunteer Managers in Leicestershire, looking at volunteer recruitment, management and retention. Harborough District Network & Learn will focus on volunteering.

Harborough District Council will be there, including talking about how our community grants scheme can help volunteers with capital items for their volunteering, VAL will be sharing tips on creating engaging volunteering opportunities, and VASL will be sharing their volunteer recruitment and retention best practice.

VAL will also be promoting the new VAL Volunteering Website, which is free to use, and helps connect volunteer involving organisations with potential volunteers. Organisations can add their opportunities to this website and be available for members of the public to view and apply online.

There is a VAL newsletter that goes out monthly, with various local updates, which will give you information about VAL's events in Harborough plus events in other parts of Leicester and Leicestershire that Harborough groups can attend.

Market Harborough Building Society Charity Connect

Event details

Theme:   Bring a charity friend and grow the conversation.

Date:       Friday 14 March 2025

Location: Newcombe House, The Point, Market Harborough LE16 7QU

Timings

Arrival:               9.15am – 9.50am

Welcome:          10:00am

Speaker:            10.15am

Refreshments:  10.45pm – 12.00pm  

Lucy and Ruth from Bodie Hodges Foundation will join the event. Starting in 2013, they have been supporting families bereaved of a child of any age and promoting organ donation. They will share their experiences and knowledge on how they raise their funds.

Followed by tea, coffee and pastries whilst networking with other charity colleagues.

Everyone is welcome and they would love for you to bring a new colleague from another local good cause to help us grow our community.

To RSVP, please email thrive@mhbs.co.uk with your name, organisation and your guests’ details.

Get in touch

Let us know what you're doing! We welcome information that is relevant to community action and voluntary and community groups

communities@harborough.gov.uk | communitygrants@harborough.uk youthvoice@harborough.gov.uk

Case study form to contribute good practice to us

Newsletter sign up form if you got this newsletter online or via a colleague and want your own copy

You can also sign up to HDC residents' monthly e-newsletter