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Richmond Council is committed to supporting the voluntary and community sector in Richmond. You are receiving this email as you have opted-in to receive these mailings. To stop receiving these emails please follow the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email. |
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Voluntary Sector News and Updates Bulletin
May 2025 |
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Welcome to the May edition of the Voluntary and Community Sector Newsletter. Please find information below on a range of funding and training opportunities, as well as local updates and events from across the borough.
Please email voluntarysector@richmond.gov.uk with any newsletter feedback or comments.
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Funding Opportunities
Grants available to support Refugee Week events and activities
As part of our ongoing commitment to being a Borough of Sanctuary, we are offering grants of up to £2,000 to help local groups and organisations host activities during Refugee Week this June (16-22).
Refugee Week is a UK-wide celebration recognising the contributions and resilience of those seeking sanctuary. These grants are designed to empower initiatives that promote understanding, inclusion and support of sanctuary seekers, in line with this year’s theme “Community as a Superpower”.
2025 Richmond Climate Action Microgrants Now Live!
Our climate action microgrants will award between £100 and £500 to community groups, schools, individuals or non-profits to run events, activities and initiatives that promote positive behaviours in the community around climate change and sustainability.
Please email ClimateChange@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk if you have any questions.
Challenge and Innovation Fund
The Challenge and Innovation Fund aims to support small scale projects that help diversify the funded cultural activity in the borough.
We are looking to fund projects that engage underrepresented communities, focus on young people, or test new ways of working.
If you think you have a project that offers innovation and challenge to the existing cultural activity of the borough we want to hear from you.
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Training Opportunities
Free training to help identify and refer domestic abuse cases
MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) is a confidential information sharing and risk management process for high-risk domestic abuse cases.
Training is available for the voluntary and community sector to support those affected by domestic abuse and reduce pressure on professionals. The training covers the MARAC process, referral criteria, identifying high-risk cases, and how to refer.
The training is available on the following dates, each online via Teams from 10am – 1pm on:
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29/05/2025
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26/06/2025
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10/07/2025
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28/08/2025
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30/09/2025
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23/10/2025
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19/11/2025
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01/12/2025
To attend, email RichmondMARAC@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk for an invitation.
Talk PANTS Campaign to keep children safe from sexual abuse
Our local Safeguarding Children Partnership have teamed up with the NSPCC to roll out their Talk PANTS London campaign. Talk PANTS promotes simple conversations with young children to keep children safe from sexual abuse.
There will be free information sessions taking place during June and July to enable organisations to participate in the campaign. Please sign up by clicking a link below:
To sign up to the Talk PANTS campaign and inform us of your activities, please click on this Teams Forms link.
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Richmond Council Updates
Community Safety Consultation Launched
Our Community Safety team would like to hear your views, concerns, and ideas regarding crime and community safety in the borough. The team are particularly interested in your thoughts on the priorities for the Richmond Community Safety Strategy, as well as your experiences and perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour in your local area.
The insights gathered from this consultation will help reassess the priorities of the Strategy and will inform local action plans aimed at enhancing safety and improving the quality of life for communities. The consultation will close on June 30, 2025.
Register as a Cool Space this summer
Richmond Council wants to ensure that everyone has access to a Cool Space in the event of extreme heat this summer.
Cool Spaces are indoor spaces for Londoners to shelter, cool down, and rest on hot days, and will appear on the GLA Cool spaces map, live from 1 June to 30 September.
If you think that you could provide a Cool Space for people to shelter we would really appreciate if you could register your venue through the GLA Cool spaces form.
Have your say on the future of local pharmacy services
Richmond Council is reviewing local pharmacy services through the 2025 Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment. The Health and Wellbeing Board is seeking feedback from residents to understand current service use, satisfaction, and unmet needs. The results will help shape decisions about future pharmacy provision and commissioning. Please encourage your networks to complete the short survey.
Residents can find out more below and take the quick survey before 1 June.
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Events
Richmond CVS Volunteer Fair
On Wednesday 21 May from 2-6pm, the annual Richmond Volunteer Fair will be taking place at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.
This free-to-join event offers the chance to informally meet a fantastic range of local organisations and learn about their work, their services, their volunteer roles, and how you can get involved in supporting them.
It’s free to attend but advance booking is requested.
Sexual and Reproductive Health Partnership Strategy 2025-30 Launch
Public Health are pleased to invite partners to the launch of the new 2025 to 2030 Sexual and Reproductive Health Partnership Strategies for Richmond and Wandsworth, from 9am on Thursday 26 June.
The event will be used to celebrate collective achievements, hear about the new strategies, and explore ways we can effectively work together to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes. The highlight of the event will be a showcase of Loudmouth Theatre production of ‘Trust Me’.
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Spotlights
Call for Volunteers: Gardens Without Borders
Created by Nutkhut, a locally based organisation with a long track record of engagement across generations and communities, this project builds on our borough’s rich environmental legacy - from RBG Kew to our Royal Parks.
Nukhtut are looking for 120 volunteers and would appreciate help in encouraging residents to take part, ensuring that Gardens Without Borders becomes a shining example of local community action with a lasting impact.
Free Child Safety Week Resources and Survey
Child Safety Week, run by the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), will take place from 2 to 8 June. The theme for this year is ‘Safety is for Sharing’, encouraging the promotion of child safety messages using free resources across a range of settings.
We ask for your support in promoting this campaign. CAPT have launched downloadable campaign resources, which can be accessed here, and a quick survey to help track your involvement and plans, which you can respond to here.
You can sign up to receive information about the campaign directly on the CAPT website, and please feel free to forward links to your networks – safety is for sharing!
Kingston and Richmond Proactive Anticipatory Care Programme
The Kingston and Richmond Proactive Anticipatory Care (PAC) programme supports individuals aged 18+ with escalating health or care challenges. This includes people with multiple conditions, frailty, mental health issues, or those struggling with social care needs.
PAC offers support through a multidisciplinary team and involves developing a patient-centred care plan. Referrals are encouraged for patients experiencing increased health risks, frequent health service use, or complex needs.
To refer, contact the Richmond PAC Manager, Robert Mitchell at robert.mitchell@yourhealthcare.org
For more information, view the PAC video and attached patient leaflet.
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Useful Information
If your organisation has some news or an event you'd like to share with residents on the Council's community news pages, via our social media accounts or in the weekly community e-newsletter, tell us about it as a Community News Story.
The e-newsletter is distributed to over 43,000 individual contacts and is a great way to promote your services and increase awareness of local news and issues.
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