Social Action training and support 2022

We are excited to be able to offer a programme of funded Social Action training and mentoring over the next few months, thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

All the Small Things is a Social Action Hub. We help people to listen, be powerful and take action for change, both locally and nationally.
We are committed to positive social change and working  for a more socially just, caring and cooperative society.

As members of the National Academy of Community Organising we offer training in the practice and principles of community organising.

Community Organising is the work of bringing people together to take action around their common concerns and overcome social injustice.
Community Organisers reach out and listen, connect and motivate people to build their collective power. When people are organised, communities get heard and power begins to shift creating real change for good.

Training:

Community Organising Taster Session
Wednesday 15th June 2022, 10am-12 noon, online

This short, free course is a two-hour online taster session that gives a broad overview of community organising. It is also an opportunity to meet and connect with others interested in learning more about community organising.

Listening Skills for Community Organising
Thursdays 23rd, 30th June and 7th July, 1-4.30pm online

This community organising course will help you to develop the skills and confidence to start listening to people in your community. It’s run over 3 session and there is the opportunity for some supported, practical listening experience in the community.

Building Power through Community Organising
Tuesdays 26th July, 2nd and 9th August, 1-4.30pm online

On this course you will explore and develop your understanding of power, which is what drives community organising: what power means and how power can be built in community to overcome social injustice and create change.

Action for change through Community Organising
Mondays 12th, 19th and 26th September, 1-4.30pm online

On this course you will explore how you can make change for good through collective action. You’ll learn how to develop a strategy for change based on listening, building people power and leadership and picking tactics and methods for action.

Support

Monthly Peer Support for Community Helpers
Next one, Thursday 16th June 1-3pm online

It is important that community helpers have support for their own wellbeing. We give people time to stop, think and share tips for looking after ourselves.

• We connect people together who are busy supporting people in their communities.
• We help people share their experiences and ideas, share information and resources.
• We work with local partner organisations to make sure people know where to get support and how to make a difference in their communities.

Small group mentoring sessions
Monthly, 1.5 hour session between June and September, online (spaces are limited).

Led by an experienced mentor, these sessions will:

• support you to develop your skills and confidence
• identify and reflect on your strengths
• help you to decide your own focus and set goals
• provide space to explore ways of dealing with community challenges

Connecting:

Online Tea Party
Tuesday 28th June, 2-3.30pm

An opportunity to gather with others to celebrate successes, encourage each other and highlight future training or support needs. This is a session for anyone connected to All the Small Things. It’s an opportunity to check in and network with one another. You might be a volunteer, community worker, previous course/event participant or partner organisation representative – all are welcome!

Local Organising Group for North Staffs

The Local Organising Group is for people who have done the Community Organising training and other people who are interested in taking action together.

The Local Organising Group has an Action Plan which is about supporting our communities with the challenges of COVID-19, poverty and loneliness.

If you would like to join or link with us please email: localorganisingnstaffs@gmail.com

Celebration Event

Late September 2022.
More details to follow soon!

Visit our Eventbrite home page which has all the courses and sessions listed for you to book your place.

To find out more and show your interest email us at allthesmallthingscic@gmail.com

We look forward to learning and working with you!

Penny, Carmel, Sarah, Cath, Lynne and Ros – the Social Action Hub team

all-the-small-things-current-sah-opportunitiesDownload

Download our All the Small Things Social Action Hub current opportunities information.

all-the-small-things-sah-booklet-21-c397-29.7cmDownload

Download our All the Small Things Social Action Hub booklet

Advertisement

Celebrate Volunteers Week 2021!

Join the Big Workshop Day on the 2nd June 2021!

If you are a community helper, volunteer or support communities, or you are interested in volunteering or taking community action in North Staffordshire, this event is for you.

At the event you will –

• get to know each other
• take part in workshops of your choice, on a range of topics linked to volunteering and community action including wellbeing.
• celebrate volunteering
• develop skills, knowledge and confidence

Please book your place at the event. It is free to take part.

The event is organised by 1000 Lives Network, All the Small Things CiC, Expert Citizens CiC and VOICES of Stoke, with support from VAST.

Our aims are to:

• Bring people together to learn from each other’s experience,
• increase diversity and inclusion, connections, peer support, volunteering opportunities.

Have you got a short workshop you would like to run? There will be two workshop slots during the morning one of 30 and the other lasting 50 minutes.

Please email us with your offer! 1000livesnetwork@gmail.com

Take part in the Big Thank You – a Celebration of all the brilliant people who volunteer to help others in their communities across North Staffordshire.

Do you know someone who you would like to say thank you to for helping and supporting you in the COVID pandemic? Someone who has gone the extra mile. Your lifeline.

It could be a community group or team. Maybe the person who brought your prescription? The person who phoned to check how you were?

The Big Thank You event on Friday 4th June is to celebrate and thank the community helpers in North Staffordshire.

Please book your place and invite other people to come.

Put someone forward for a Big Thank you –

• fill in this form
• email allthesmallthingscic@gmail.com
• phone Lynne from 1000 Lives on 0751 881 3131
• send in a 1 minute video to say who you are nominating and why you want to say thank you to them

Everyone who is put forward for a thank you will be recognised. It it not a competition.

James Davies has volunteered to help you tell your story about the person you want to thank and why.

James says “Hello, my background is in journalism. If you’re looking for a little help or inspiration with putting your thoughts into words, I’m your guy.  Whether it’s through words, pictures, or video, I’m here to help you tell your story the way you want it to be told”.

Please ask for help when you contact us to nominate someone.

At the event we will –

• watch videos and hear stories about the people we are celebrating.
• be entertained by performances of music and poetry.

The event is organised by 1000 Lives Network, All the Small Things CiC, Expert Citizens CiC and VOICES of Stoke, with support from VAST.

We aim to:

• bring people together to reflect on, share and learn from each other’s experience,
• increase diversity and inclusion, connections, peer support, volunteering opportunities.
• celebrate everything volunteers have done in the city particularly over the past 12 months

The event is for anyone interested in volunteering or community action in North Staffordshire.

Please book your place and invite other people to come. Don’t forget to tell the people you nominate for a thank you!

Volunteers’ Week – Volunteers’ Week is a chance to say thank you for the fantastic contribution volunteers make. (volunteersweek.org)

Caring for our community helpers

Are you helping people in your community to cope with Coronavirus?

Have you felt stressed? Anxious? Depressed? Overwhelmed?

Have you been juggling work? volunteering? furlough? homeschooling? supporting and caring for others?

Then you are amazing and need to be recognised and valued for your kindness.

We have now been experiencing the pandemic for 12 months and all that it brings.

Thanks to a grant from the Local Connections Fund we are running two creative wellbeing workshops for community helpers and a celebration event to say a big thank you to people from community groups, charities, individual volunteers and kind neighbours.

The COVID Community Helpers Creative Wellbeing Workshops are on

Tuesday 2nd March 2021 from 10.30am till 12.30pm

Friday 12th March 2021 from 10.30am till 12.30pm

At the workshops will focus on our own self care … a time of reflection, relaxation and restoration for our mental and emotional well being. Each session will include a hands-on creative activity. We will post out the materials to you before the session, once you have booked on.

We also have funding for Celebration event on the 24th March from 1-4pm.

The event will include

• wellbeing workshops,
• time to reflect on what we have learned from our experience of community helping in the pandemic
• a big thank you to community helpers in North Staffordshire

You can sign up for our free sessions here at Eventbrite.

We will email you with information and the link to join the online sessions on Zoom.

All the Small Things CiC is a Social Action Hub. We have signed up to the Community Action Response for COVID-19.

We are working in partnership with the Community Organisers Local Organising Group to facilitate regular peer support sessions. We are working with local partner organisations to make sure people know where to get support and how to make a difference in their communities.

As a Social Action Hub we bring people taking social action together to help us all to share experiences and learn together. One of the ways we do this is with Peer Mentoring. Peer Mentoring Groups last up to two hours when we:

• have time to meet each other
• hear what we are all doing in our communities,
• talk about concerns and questions we would like help with
• suggest places we can go for guidance, advice and more support

If you have any questions please email Penny or Sarah:

allthesmallthingscic@gmail.com

Thank You for all of the hard work you are doing in your workplaces and communities at this time.