South East region update

South East veterans return to Far East

Our Heroes Return 2 programme continues to be very popular in the South East. This month I am pleased to announce that 58 veterans will be making a commemorative trip to mark the British Pacific and East Indies Fleets Operations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

One of the veterans is Alfred Lonsdale from West Sussex who was only 17 when he joined the Navy. He served in operations throughout the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and towards the end of the war served as part of the British Pacific Fleet. Alfred says: “I think it is important to make the trip back and we will be holding memorial services including a service at Georgetown in Penang, Malaysia. We lost lots of shipmates and friends out there and it is important that we remember them.”

We have also produced a Heroes Return booklet which captures the amazing stories of our veterans. We have it available to download but we also have some hard copies in our office. If you would like a hard copy please email southeastevents@biglotteryfund.org.uk with your name and address and ‘Heroes Return’ in the subject line. Find out more about the Heroes Return programme and read our Heroes Return blog

Alison Rowe

Head of Region, South East

Support for young people leaving care

The transition towards independent living can be difficult for young people leaving care. But a group called Buddywisers is providing a solution through a £7,793 Awards for All grant.


Buddywisers, based in Brighton, is setting up a new drop-in service where care leavers can socialise and access support and advice. The service is an exciting innovation as the mentors will be people who have already left care and have a lot of experience about the issues facing young people.

Co-facilitator Karen Bemrose said: “This grant will enable young people to use their expertise to support others leaving foster care, to navigate the complex issues facing them and provide a social network to help carer leavers combat loneliness and isolation. The project’s services will include organising social events, a regular newsletter and a helpline.

“Not only will the project assist those emerging from the care system by providing peer support, but the mentors themselves will learn new skills in counselling, active listening, team work, newsletter production and organising for example. This award has given us an added boost of confidence and belief in what we can achieve.”

Find out if Awards for All is right for you

Fun and games in Kent

Children in Tonbridge are excited about the expansion of a fun club.

Tonbridge and District Mencap are going to use their £5,000 grant

to run two fun clubs for children. By having two fun clubs, the group can finally offer age-related activities including trips to the cinema and music workshops.

Chief Executive Chris Burton said: “The grant we have received will enable us to improve our services for children with learning and physical disabilities.

“This grant will allow us to split our children into two age-related groups, 8-13 and 14-17, where we can cater more to their individual interests.  It will also enable us to increase the number of children using our services. We and our children are very grateful for the support we have received from The Big Lottery Fund.”

In all £289,992 Awards for All funding was shared with 36 groups across the South East. Here are some other projects which received grants this month:

Bower Grove School in Maidstone will use £10,000 to purchase outdoor play equipment which is suitable for children with autism and other disabilities.

The Education Training Consortium Sussex will use their grant of £10,000 to offer courses in confidence building, personal development, assertiveness and conflict resolution.

QueenSpark Books Limited in Brighton plan to use £9,840 to train volunteers to research the history of the area and document stories of local people. The volunteers will be able to enhance their literacy skills as well as preserving community heritage.

Find out how to apply to Awards for All

Playday is on the way

Do you work with children and young people? If so, why not get involved in Playday 2010.

Playday is the annual celebration of children’s right to play and this year it is being held on Wednesday 4 August 2010. Across the UK thousands of children, young people and communities are expected to get out to play at hundreds of locally organised events.

Last year’s Playday saw hundreds of events taking place on village greens and in open spaces across the South East region. We visited Wealden District Council’s event in Hailsham and saw firsthand the fun to be had by the 300 local children that turned up. The activities on offer got children and parents playing together whether it was in a drama workshop, playing tug of war, testing out the BMX ramps or learning to cook healthy meals.

If you are interested in running such an event, please visit the Playday website to sign up for regular updates and to receive promotional postcards, event posters and the Get Organised! guide to help you on your way.

It’s good to talk

A Reaching Communities grant gives a listening ear to vulnerable communities in the Romney Marsh area.

New Romney Counselling Services Limited (NRCS) will use their grant of £379,982 to give support to adults and children who are suffering from mental distress.

Their service has been running for nine years and is staffed by volunteer counsellors. They also have three outreach posts for teenagers and a mobile counselling facility for isolated areas.

Director Rosalind Russell said: “We were founded due to the need for a free, or by donation, counselling service for people not able to afford private therapy. We now have over 40 volunteer counsellors offering in excess of 130 sessions per week.

“The demand for our service continues to grow and now, with the grant from the Big Lottery Fund, we will be able to accommodate expansion efficiently and effectively. We can introduce more counsellors and increase the number of counselling sessions on offer, thus eliminating the need for a ‘waiting list’ and ensuring that distressed people get help when they need it most. We are delighted that our service has been recognised as a valued part of the community and are extremely grateful to the Big Lottery Fund for supporting us.”  

Find out more about our Reaching Communities programme which funds projects that help people and communities who are most in need, and can really make a difference.

It’s here again - National Family Week

It’s official. National Family Week will be back and it is planning to be bigger and better than ever.

This year National Family Week will take place between Monday 31 May and Sunday 6 June 2010. It offers a great opportunity for charities, sports clubs, schools and community groups to celebrate the work they do with families. Why not hold an event, run a competition or publish a magazine to showcase the work your organisation does to support families or it can even help you to raise money, recruit more members or simply provide fun activities for the community.

For more ideas on what you can do and how to get involved visit the National Family Week website.

Upcoming events and other news

Participation Works is holding a series of training courses to help organisations involve young people more fully in their work and promote a culture of participation among all the services that affect young people.

Here are some of the courses on offer in the South East and London:

• Safeguarding in Youth Participation, London, 24 Feb 2010
• Ready Steady Change, London, 25 Feb 2010
• South East Youth Partnership Regional Seminar: Participation, Woking, 25 Feb 2010

Participation works is a consortium of six national children and young people agencies. Please visit the Participation Works website for more details on the courses and how to register.

New closing date for Ecominds small grant applicants

Owing to the large number of applications Ecominds has received, the closing date for small grants has been brought forward to 12 noon, Friday 30 April 2010. No late applications will be considered. Visit the Ecominds website for further information.

New pictures on Facebook

If you are on Facebook take a look at our South East page. To get you inspired this new year and help you stick to your resolutions we have put up some pictures of people getting active in Crawley while sitting in their chairs.