On 24/10/11, first day back to school after half term, activities as follows: I would like schools/pupils to come and join in our Cultural Diwali Workshop activities event ie make their own Clay divas, create & design Diwali cards, make Diwali envelopes and colour rangoli patterns for only £2.50 each. The City Mayor – Peter Soulsby will be attending to plants bulbs in our gardens at Newarke Houses Museum on the day with school children, and present will be the Press ie Leicester Mercury, FACE magazine, East Midlands Weather Team so that the Children can  have ago at forecasting the weather on the day, there is also an Asian Kathak dance teacher who will teach traditional dance with musical instruments tabla and sitar players.

This will give an opportunity for the pupils take part and awareness in the traditional culture event and also plant in our gardens with the City Mayor.

I would appreciate if you could kindly display the attached poster on your notice boards.

To book your reservations on 0116 2254980 or email: priti.narshi@leicester.gov.uk

Dear Friends and Colleagues

HIGHFIELDS FESTIVAL: Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th July 2011

It gives us great pleasure to invite you to the very first Highfields Festival which will be taking place next month at the Highfields Centre and in the adjacent car park over the weekend of 23rd & 24th July.

The Festival is for all the local communities in the area and we would like in particular, to attract families from the newer communities who have arrived in Highfields. The Festival will consist of a Community Fair and a Jobs Fair (being organised by Highfields Multi-Access Centre), children’s activities and taster workshops in arts & sports activities, as well as a large scale youth event and an adult and families concert. The daytime activities will be free and there will be a charge for the evening activities as follows:

Celebration of Diversity & Unity in the Community & Mango Studios Showcase youth event on Saturday 23rd July 6-9pm admission £2 which includes free food and a CD Adult & Families concert with local Asian & African-Caribbean artists & special guests on Sunday 24th July 7-10pm admission £5 which includes a 3 course meal

As part of the Community Fair which will be in the adjacent car park, we are offering groups and individuals an opportunity to hire a stall. All bookings will be on a first come, first served basis and get a booking form, containing all the relevant details and this needs to be completed and returned to the Centre by 15th July – all stalls will have to be booked by this date, as we have a limited number of spaces in the car park.

We have a number of partners who have been helping to plan the event over the last few months, including Leicester Print Shop, Highfields Library, Moat Community College, Highfields Multi-Access Centre, Bethany Hostel, Akwaaba Ayeh, Police, Shama Women’s Centre and many others.

If you or your organisation wish to be involved in helping to organise the event, please attend our next meeting which is on Tuesday 5th July at 6pm at this Centre. If you wish to volunteer in a personal capacity, I enclose a volunteer application form which needs to be returned to Jay Patel at the Centre by the above meeting date, after which we will call a meeting with the volunteers who will form part of that weekend’s festival team.

With your support we hope to make this a successful first event and are looking ahead to have the festival in Spinney Hills Park next year. Please get involved – a flyer is enclosed and a programme for the event will be shortly available. If you require any further information, please contact Saqib Deshmukh at Highfields Centre.

Yours sincerely

Priya Thamotheram

on behalf of Highfields Festival Planning Group
Highfields Community Association
Highfields Centre
96 Melbourne Road
Leicester, LE2 0DS

Tel: 0116 253 1053

Pam Inder has been Chair of Leicester City of Sanctuary since August 2011. Before that, she had been volunteering with City of Sanctuary for a couple of years, mostly with the Voucher Exchange Scheme and then, later, as Volunteer Coordinator in which role she interviewed new volunteers and found them roles within the organisation.

In her working life, she was a museum curator for over 20 years and then a university lecturer before retiring in 2006.

Citizens’ Eye spoke to her about Leicester City of Sanctuary and the drop-in centre the organisation launched in May of this year:

Read more here

Tuesday, 8^th March 2011

4:30pm-6:00pm

Clocktower, Leicester

For further information visit: http//leicester.amnesty.org.uk
E-mail: jonnyure@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 07929187500

To deliver the Near Neighbours programme, the Church Urban Fund and the Church of England are setting up a new charity providing national oversight, called Near Neighbours, who will administer the scheme. Locally, the programme will make use of the parish network of the Diocese of Leicester, and administer the programme through the St Philip’s Centre (other parts of the programme will focus on centres in Bradford, Birmingham and London).

Near Neighbours has two key objectives:

1. social interaction – to develop positive relationships in multi-faith areas
2. social action – to encourage people of different faiths, or no faith, to come together to act for the improvement of their local neighbourhood

The programme will see grants from £250-£5,000 being made available to groups from the Christian faith and other faiths, and those from no faith, who meet the programmes objectives in bringing people together to build relationships and strengthen local communities. The first grants will be released towards the end of 2011.

In announcing the programme in a press release today, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, said “religious organisations play an enormous pastoral role in our neighbourhoods and have excellent networks within our communities – no more so than the Church of England… Near Neighbours will build on this and bring folks from different backgrounds together for the good of the community that surrounds them – be it a sports event or working together to improve a local park.’

In welcoming the news that Leicester will be a focus for this new work, the Bishop of Leicester, the Right Reverend Tim Stevens, said “I am very glad that Leicester has been chosen to be part of the Near Neighbours project. We have a long track record of working together as faith communities to strengthen our community. With partners right across the city and county, we will now be able to continue this work, and ensure we all work together for the common good ”.

The project has support from the Inter faith Network for the UK, the Christian Muslim Forum, the Council for Christians and Jews and the Hindu Christian Forum. Dr Musharraf Hussain of the Christian Muslim Forum said, ‘We are hugely grateful to the Department of Communities and Local Government for supporting this work’, and Ramesh Pattni, of the Hindu Christian Forum echoed this message with support of his own, ‘The Near Neighbours project has a real resonance with the Hindu ethos of the Universal family… We are confident of the positive outcome of greater understanding and local change with the implementation of this project.’

Rev. Canon Dr John Hall, Director of the St Philip’s Centre, said, ‘After several months of careful planning and conversations behind the scenes, it is excellent news that from today we can go public and begin further strengthening the bridges already in place between different faiths and neighbours in Leicester. To be able to have funds to facilitate this will mean a great deal to local people who want to strengthen the association and relationships locally, and of course give practical expression to this through social action. This will enable the Good Samaritan story to live time and time again!’

We had our first successful opening on January 19^th and we will open every Wednesday between 12 noon and 4.00 p.m. from now on.

Our new centre contains a computer room with desks and chairs, 5 (maybe 6) computers and 3 printers. We are working on the problem of setting up internet connections. There is a room with large tables where we plan to hold craft groups of various kinds and we are hoping to have sewing machines available for use. There is a small kitchen area where we can make tea and coffee or soft drinks, and a therapy room where two of our volunteers can carry out therapeutic massage sessions.

Up a few steps there is access to a large sitting area with comfortable furniture where people can read, play board games, work on jigsaws or just sit and chat. Off that room there is a children’s playroom with toys.

Downstairs there are rooms to play table tennis and darts and there are two offices where Refugee Action and Red Cross can talk to clients in private when necessary.

One of the main aims of Leicester City of Sanctuary (registered Charity Number 11380170) is to make asylum seekers and new refugees feel welcome in our city and county. In order to achieve this we work with many other organisations, and some of them will use the centre too.

We believe that the drop-in centre will contribute a good deal to the lives of asylum seekers and refugees, some of whom will provide ideas and help us to run it. If you are an asylum seeker, have recently had leave to remain, or have come to the end of the asylum process, you will be made welcome at the centre.

Pam Inder Chair of Leicester City of Sanctuary writes:

2011 sees the City of Sanctuary starting on a new and exciting venture with the opening of our new drop-in centre in the Barclays Bank building in Town Hall Square in Leicester. The centre is now fully furnished and will open to asylum seekers on January 19^th for one day a week. We shall have a formal opening on February 16^th with a speaker and a performance from the Zimbabwean Association choir. We had originally planned a formal opening by the Lord Mayor on January 19^th, but on the night of December 28^th a pipe burst in the roof. Our rooms were undamaged but the water and power had to be turned off and we feared there might be a long delay in getting repairs done, but these have been carried out speedily and efficiently.

Part of our remit is to help asylum seekers and refugees integrate into our community and to encourage other organisations to welcome them. This requires us to have contact with members of the asylum seeking community in order to take up the offers being made by our partners. Similarly, any outings or events we run ourselves, even the FANs circles, are only viable if we can contact potential clients. A drop-in seemed the obvious solution, but without premises it could only ever be a pipe dream. Then we got lucky.

Healthy Planet is a London-based charity (charity registration no 1122475, www.healthyplanet.org ). Stephen Fry is one of its sponsors.  Part of Healthy Planet’s strategy to get its brand and activities better known by  taking over empty buildings in different parts of the UK and using them to showcase its activities and also to promote one of the charity’s local schemes which is a free book exchange.

Taking over empty properties is possible because full business rates are payable on business premises even when they are empty. However, if a charity takes over the building it is exempt from paying rates – hence it is in owners’ interests to lease their empty properties to a charity. Each building has a designated local key-holder who sets up displays of Healthy Planet’s publicity materials, runs the book exchange and can allow other organisations to use the building, subject to their agreement so long as those organisations conform to the profile they lay down – that is, organisations concerned in some way with healthy living and ecological issues.

The charity has recently taken over the old Barclays Bank complex on the corner of Town Hall Square. Julia Farley, one of our volunteers and a keen supporter of City of Sanctuary, and Dr Andrew Merrills of Leicester University, are now the official key-holders and they have persuaded Healthy Planet to allow City of Sanctuary to run a drop-in centre for asylum seekers in the building. We have the premises free of charge and are not liable for fuel bills or other charges.

UCCF has recently relocated their office to Oxford and to do so had to dispose of a huge amount of office furniture and equipment. We were fortunate enough to acquire a considerable amount of this, including five quite new laptops, several printers, a table tennis table, desks, chairs, tables and bookcases – even some plants and a cupboard full of computer paper. Supporters have made other donations – kettles, cushions, crockery and cutlery, for example. We also purchased some sofas and easy chairs at ‘mates’ rates’ from the British Heart Foundation and some heaters (the central heating would be too expensive to run) from B&Q. We even persuaded them to donate one!

Our centre contains a computer room, a room with large tables in which we plan to hold craft groups and have sewing machines available for use. There is a large chill-out area where people can have cups of tea, read magazines, play board games, do jigsaws, watch TV or just sit and chat. There is a kitchen, a children’s play room with toys, a table tennis room, a therapy room (two of our volunteers do therapeutic massage) and office space where clients can talk to us in private – Refugee Action plans to send a worker to some of our drop-ins.

Initially we plan to open one day a week – Wednesdays 10- 4. We have a team of volunteers who are keen to work in the centre – but further offers of help would be most welcome!

No scheme is without its disadvantages and the main difficulty with this one is that Healthy Planet – and City of Sanctuary – would have a month’s notice to vacate the building if a buyer, or someone willing to rent the building, is found. However, in the present financial climate this is not likely to happen, but if it does, Healthy Planet undertake to try to re-house us in another of the properties they are managing under the same scheme.

• Resham Singh Sandhu, Chair of the Leicestershire Inter Faith Forum
• Pam Inder, Chair of Leicester – City of Sanctuary
• Barbara Butler from Christians Aware (Leicester)
• Catherine Stevenson from the British Red Cross (Leicester)
• Salma Ravat from the Islamic Society of Britain (Leicester)
• Dave Smith from the The Boaz Project (Manchester)

The service is designed to enhance the lives of the Deaf, hard of hearing, deafened and deafblind job seekers in the wider community.  Employment brings growth and personal development with increasing self-esteem which in turn gives people the confidence and ability to transform their lives.  Deaf, hard of hearing, deafened and deafblind people can often feel isolated in the workplace and Action Deafness Employment is committed to working with employees to give them the understanding and tools to help all individuals reach their full potential and to communicate fully in the workplace.

Action Deafness Employment offers a ‘getting into work’ service. We are currently delivering Future Jobs Fund and we are embarking on other programmes such as Work Choice and Work Programme from the welfare to work services via collaboration/partnership opportunities with Prime Contractors, adding value for money and outcomes-focused provision to assist to train, find and keep employment for the D/deaf community.

If you are interested in this new service or would like any additional information then please do not hesitate to get in contact Stuart Harrison on 0844 593 8443 (voice) or SMS 07947 714 040 or email Stuart at stuartharrison@actiondeafness.org.uk

Action Deafness Employment: 0844 593 8440 (voice); 8441 (fax); 8442 (minicom);

website: www.actiondeafness.org.uk

The events, which will take place in Fulham, Leicester and Sheffield, will feature panel discussions, presentations, awards ceremonies and advice on funding, volunteering and running football activities.

On Thursday 14th October, One Game Fulham takes place at the Trophy Room at Fulham FC from 6pm-9pm.

The event is backed by Fulham FC and London County FA, and the panel will include former England international Earl Barrett, FA Disability Manager Jeff Davis and England cerebal palsy player Sam Watling.

On Wednesday 20th October, Leicester City FC will host One Game Leicester at the Sep Smith Lounge at the Walkers Stadium from 6pm-9pm.

This event also has the support of Leicestershire County FA, and alongside Earl Barrett on the panel will be representatives from the local grassroots football community and an awards ceremony for local projects.

And on Wednesday 27th October, Sheffield Wednesday FC, Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA and Football Unites, Racism Divides will all get behind One Game Sheffield, which will be held at the 1867 Lounge at Hillsborough.

Earl Barrett, formerly of Wednesday, will once more be on the panel, along with representatives from Sheffield County FA and other special guests.

Refreshments will be provided at all three events, and you can book your free place by contacting Kevin Coleman on 020 7684 4884 or kevin@kickitout.org

To download flyers for all three events please click below.

One Game Fulham

One Game Leicester

One Game Sheffield