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

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Raise Voices, Change Lives, End Poverty

This is your call to action!

The Raising Voices project needs your help.

We all know that poverty is wrong.
There is too much of a gap between the rich and those with the least money.

The Raising Voices project is trying to change that.

No matter how much time you have got there is something YOU can do!

We need your voice and your time to tackle poverty in Stoke on Trent.

5 minutes

Share your ideas for what needs to be done to end poverty in Stoke on Trent. Fill in this short survey, to help write a manifesto for change. There are just 3 questions.

Follow, Like and Share our Raising Voices social media messages.

Facebook Get talking Hardship

Twitter Hardship Stoke

10 minutes

Share your poem about poverty.

Send in a postcard to share your stories, views and thoughts about poverty in Stoke on Trent.

Order a free postcard from Raising Voices. The postcard comes in a pack with instructions and a free return envelope for you to use to send your completed postcard(s) back to us.

1 hour

Give away what you can spare. Donate to the Food Bank, or Hygiene Bank while you are shopping. Donate to a Charity Shop when you are having a clear out.

Watch and listen to the 2022 report on poverty in the UK, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation or read it on their website.

2 hours

Get tips for taking great photos that show what poverty is like in Stoke on Trent at our free online photography workshop on 17^th February 2022 1 til 3pm. Please book on eventbrite.

Make a podcast with Community Cast, by telling the story of your experience of food poverty and hardship.

yourcommunitycast@gmail.com 07931553787

4 hours

Chat with others about what has helped you and needs to happen in the city in order to make things better for peoples wellness. Join the free wellness workshop on 8th March 10am to 2pm at the Dudson Centre, Hanley, Stoke on Trent. Lunch is included. Please book on eventbrite.

Write about how you feel and think about poverty in our city. Come to a free poetry workshop on 9th March 10am to 2pm at Staffordshire University. Lunch in included. Please book on eventbrite.

1 day

Make your own clay tile, to help show the story of poverty in Stoke on Trent, in a free creative hands-on clay workshop on Saturday 12th March from 10 am – 4 pm. Chat and share ideas. Make a clay tile based on your experiences of and thoughts towards Hardship in the local area.

There are only 15 places. Please email Lynne for information lynne@allthesmallthingscic.co.uk

Regular time to give?

Join with other people to take action.

Join the Raising Voices steering group to shape the project and our future local action together.

The meetings are friendly and informal, you can take part face to face or online. There is always food.

Contact Ryan Fox or Lynne Ball if you want to come along – email ryan.fox@staffs.ac.uk phone Lynne 0751 881 3131.

Join the APLE Collective, the national collective of people who experience of poverty, working together with organisations that support us to take positive action to eradicate poverty. All the Small Things and Expert Citizens in Stoke on Trent are already members. We can support you to join and take part.

Meetings are only one hour long. There are two main meetings each month on Tuesdays, one to share information from all the members and catch up, and the other to hear back from sub-groups. The sub-groups each meet twice a month for one hour. The sub-group topics are:

• Campaigns and Communications, on Wednesdays
• Learning Together on Thursdays
• Governance on Thursdays

If you would like to go to a meeting to find out more, please email Lynne at All the Small Things and she will support you. allthesmallthings @ gmail.com

Are you worried about the rises in fuel costs?

Join the conversation about how we tackle fuel poverty together.

Community Organisers Ltd are focussing on people on prepayment meters and people who are hit the hardest by these increases.

We invite you to join the conversation to decide where to focus our campaign

There is a meeting on Thursday 10th February at 1pm.
Book your place on eventbrite here.

If you want to join the campaign but are not free on the 10th, please email Dot Kirk DotKirk-Adams@corganisers.org.uk

VAST can match you with a volunteer role that suit you.

From Charity Shops, to CAB advice worker, family support, volunteer driver, digital buddy or telephone befriender, there is a role for everyone. VAST will help you find a way to share your gifts, time and interests with others, at times to suit you. There will be training, support and expenses so you can get experience and develop your skills and knowledge. Volunteers make a BIG difference to the lives of people living in poverty and to the community as a whole. It’s good for you too – volunteering is good for wellbeing and confidence and can help you get paid work if that’s what you are looking for.

Join the North Staffs Local Organising Group to take social action on poverty!
Email 1000livesnetwork @ gmail.com or phone Lynne on 0751 881 3131.

Get help

Food prices, fuel costs and COVID have all made it harder for most of us to get by easily. If you are having problems with money, don’t struggle alone. There is no shame in asking for support.

CAB (Citizens Advice) Staffordshire North and Stoke on Trent can help you manage your money, apply for benefits, deal with debt, housing, immigration and a wide range of other problems.

Help with food

Stoke on Trent Food Bank call for advice, get a voucher from a referral organisation then go and collect your food parcel, a cuppa and a chat.

YMCA Pantry Pay a small weekly fee of £3.50, then choose at least ten items of quality food.

Big Workshop Day 2021

We had 11 great workshops on the 2nd June 2021 in Volunteers Week.

On the 1000 Lives website you can

• read the notes from the day,
• see what people offered and asked for on the Got It Want It wall
• download presentations and information from workshops

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.

COVID, Loneliness, Community Action

On Thursday 21st January from 1-3pm on zoom we held a peer support session for community helpers. The theme was COVID, Loneliness and Community Action.

We heard from 5 people each sharing their experiences of different communities and how they have reached and supported people to help them deal with COVID lockdown and isolation.

We looked at the Community Organising framework to help us think about what action we can take together.

We are planning a follow up session in March 2021.

understanding_loneliness_toolkit_-_great_winter_get_togetherDownload

You can read the notes here.

loneliness-peer-support-21.01.2021-meeting-notesDownload

Here is a video of the zoom session – click this link to view.

Introduction to Community Organising

Do you want to learn how to organise in your community and make a difference to where you live?

Would you like to be part of a local and national network of Community Organisers leading social change?

The Introduction to Community Organising course is a starting point for anybody who is interested in community organising.

The course is in two parts. You need to do both sessions. There are three opportunities to do the course – December 2020, January and March 2021.

Monday 14th and Monday 21st December from 9.30am to 1pm.

Tuesday 19th and Tuesday 26th January 2021 from 9.30am to 1pm.

Wednesday 3rd and Wednesday 10th March 2021 from 9.30am to 1pm.

This free training is part of “It’s Not as Simple as Black and White” project to raise awareness of what brings us together rather than what divides us.

In this course we will explore

• the importance of listening to build relationships and uncover issues

• power in communities and why it matters

• how to motivate people to take action

• how to take your next steps in community organising & social action

The course will be on Zoom online. There are 15 places on the training.

All participants receive a Certificate of Participation if you attend both workshops.

Please book so that we can send you the link to the Zoom training sessions.

Click here for the eventbrite booking link for December 2020.

Click here for the eventbrite booking link for January 2021.

Click here for the eventbrite booking link for March 2021.

The course will be run three times between December and March so if you cannot come in December please let us know and we will send you information about the other dates.

Further one-day courses are available focusing on practical aspects of community organising, plus longer courses for those who want to train as fully qualified community organisers.