Follow the links in the notes above to be taken to each notice section, or see below for events coming soon!
ON THE HORIZON
The Big Lunch 2024 is an annual get-together for neighbours and communities around the UK to share a few hours of friendship, food and fun. It is taking place from Saturday 1st – Sunday 2nd June. There are lots of tips & advice on how to organise your own community Big Lunch and lots of resources available to download to help you, Sign up for your Free Pack today. Why not add your event to the Big Lunch Map to help promote your community lunch. For more information visit The Big Lunch website
The Great Get Together 2024 is an annual community event that aims to bring people together to build stronger communities. It is taking place this year between the Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd June. Sign up for email updates to be notified on the launch and availability of their toolkit and resources. Click on the image below and scroll down the page to watch the video of The Great Get Together story.
Sunset Walk Challenge The St Nicholas Hospice are holding a new festival themed ‘Sunset Walk’ in Bury St Edmunds on 22nd June with a lively atmosphere of local musicians entertaining you along the way. A choice of a 10km or 15km walks starting at 6pm at the Abbey Gardens after a musical warm up. To find out more about the event and how to sign up click on the image below.
- Tell Us Once is a service that enables you to report a death to most government organisations all in one go. When you register a death the registrar will advise you of this service and may help to complete this with you or will provide you with a unique reference number so that you can do this by yourself online or by phone. Click on the image below for the easy read guide that explains how to use the service. If you are a British Sign Language (BSL) user, there is a vide relay service available.
Confidential Benefits Calculator To make sure you are claiming all the benefits that you may be entitled to, try the The Turn2Us Benefit Calculator, it is free and confidential. To get started click on the image below which will take you to the Turn2Us website calculator.
Mildenhall Men’s Shed – Every Tuesday between 10am – 12pm the group meets at the Mildenhall Social Club, Recreation Way, Mildenhall, IP28 7HG and it is a good opportunity to meet & talk with others and play games. There is a workshop where you can build items for the local community. Tjere os a cost of £2 per session for tea & biscuits. For more information on the group contact Colin Daultrey: colin.daultrey@gmail.com.
The International Women#s Day “Women’s Forum” is taking place at Gunton Estate Community Hall, Hollingsworth Road ,Lowestoft, NR32 4AY on Friday, 8th March. The event is happening from 9am – 4pm and will include live performances, information stalls and stallholders. For more information and to find out how you can get involved contact Lowestoft Town Council by email at: admin@lowestofttowncouncil.gov.uk
- Strut Safe is a free telephone service that you can call if you are uneasy walking home alone at night. You can speak with a friendly volunteer who will chat to you until you get safely home. The service is available by calling 0333 335 0026 on Fridays & Saturdays from 7pm – 3am and Sundays from 7pm – 1am.
Communities Together East Anglia – Tea & Tech Communities Together East Anglia offer two projects to help people gain the skills and knowledge to use digital technology to support their daily lives:
Six week “tablet courses”, teaching people aged 55+, in a small group setting, how to use an Amazon Fire tablet – right from the basics through to using the device to book health appointments, shop and keep in touch with family and friends.
Also – monthly “Tea & Tech” sessions in community spaces across the county where individuals who may have a question or problem with a digital device, and would like to have some support from one of our digital Champion volunteers can go along and get it, over a cuppa and cake!
Call 01449 707030 for more information, or visit their website.
Cheaper broadband for families and households on lower incomes Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits. They’re delivered in the same way as normal packages, just at a lower price. Amid rising living costs, Ofcom is encouraging companies to offer social tariffs to help customers on low income. To find out more information on how a social tariff may help you and for a list of available tariffs click on the image below.
IT Services at CAS have assembled a ‘Cost of Living’ pack of free or low cost IT resources and software tools that can be accessed by individuals, charities or even small businesses. They also off great value IT Support packages especially designed for charities, small businesses and community groups.
Community Catalysts Suffolk are offering support and care to help you with getting started on a self employed basis. To find out more email suffolkmicros@communitycatalysts.co.uk or visit their Facebook page.
Cost of Living Support Leaflet Suffolk County Council have created a leaflet with lots of information, help and advice to support families with the rising cost of living. Click on the image below to access the leaflet. For more information on what support is available in your local community visit the Infolink Community Directory
Wednesdays with Wellbeing Roadshow 2024 will be taking place at a variety of locations across Suffolk throughout the year. For more information and venue details visit the ‘Community Events’ page on the NHS Wellbeing Suffolk website or email: Suffolk.CommunityTeams@nsft.nhs.uk.
Free Money Advice Drop-in A new weekly drop-in service has been launched in Bungay for people who are in need of confidential financial advice and guidance on how to save and manage money, reducing bills, increasing income, applying for grants, and dealing with debt, as well as ID document replacement, applying benefits for childcare and school uniform. The sessions will be running every Thursday, from 10am – 12pm and will be held at 28 Wingfield Street, Bungay NR35 1EZ. To find out more, visit the East Suffolk Council’s Ease the Squeeze programme page, or call the customer services team on 0333 016 2000.
East Suffolk Council Digital Champions East Suffolk residents who need extra support to use online services can receive help from East Suffolk Council’s dedicated Digital Champions. They can provide help with both council and some non-council related services.
Appointments are available at:- The Marina Centre, Lowestoft, on Tuesdays and Thursdays (10am – 4pm)
- Halesworth Library on Tuesdays (10am – 4pm)
- Aldeburgh, Woodbridge and Saxmundham Libraries on Wednesdays (10am – 4pm)
- Felixstowe and Leiston Library on Fridays (10am – 4pm
To make an appointment at any of these locations, call 0333 016 2000 and for more information on the service click on the image below.
Home Library Service if you or someone you know likes to read but is not able to get to the library due to health or mobility issues, Suffolk Libraries are now running a ‘Home Library Service‘ where their volunteers will order books for you and bring them to your door. For more information on the service you can contact your local library, email hls@suffolklibraries.co.uk or visit the Suffolk Libraries website
NHS Free Food Scanner App The app gives you an easy way to scan your family favourite foods so you can find a what healthier options are available, so you can swap them next time you shop. The app is available to download for free from the Apple Store or Google Play. Find out more about how the app works on the NHS website where you can view the video.
- Do you work in or are you planning to work in Health and Social Care? This is an opportunity for you to complete a range of fully funded accredited course units from levels 1 to 4. Alongside this, a free mentor service for help and support, providing: • Advice, guidance and learning opportunities • Help with overcoming challenges • Career progression • Training and future funding • Applying for roles and confidence building. For more information, contact developingskills@suffolk.gov.uk
Phab Club Framlingham College ‘Phab’ Club offers a fun within a safe environment where teenagers disabled and nondisabled can get creative and socialise with a variety of activities included. Taking place fortnightly on Wednesdays from 4.15-5.30pm. For more information contact contact Adrian Bloore: abloore@framlinghamcollege.co.uk or Janine Williams, National Development Manager on 01825 749826 or 07910 556588
Multiply Suffolk is a new FREE scheme from Suffolk County Council providing adults who don’t already have a GCSE Grade C/4 or higher in Maths or equivalent with the opportunity to improve their numeracy skills. The courses including Money Management and Numeracy for Parents/Carers and is available on either a part-time or intensive basis and are flexible to fit around people’s lives. For more information and to sign up via the Learn Suffolk website
Groups for families around Suffolk Families Together Suffolk groups are happening around the county in Bildeston, Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Honington, Stowmarket, Wattisham and Woodbridge. All sessions are free to attend and each session will have a different theme to enable activities change weekly. The groups offer a relaxed and supportive meeting place. For more information call 01379 678552 or email info@familiestogethersuffolk.org.uk
Men’s Sheds Project is a network of community spaces at a wide range of venues across the county from Community Action Suffolk. The sessions help to build friendships and encourage positive wellbeing through social interaction by sharing practical skills to repair and restore items for your local community, To find out more information on how you can get involved contact Community Officer, Colin Burcombe, on 01473 345373 or email colin.burcombe@communityactionsuffolk.org.uk
Work Well Suffolk Drop In Service Do you need support with education, training, employment, self-employment and wellbeing? Work Well Suffolk are running a regular drop in service at the Chantry Library – every Wednesday 10.30 to 12.30pm and Gainsborough Library – fortnightly on Thursdays 10am to 1pm. Support is available if you are: 18 + years old ♦ Unemployed / economically inactive ♦ Have a long-term health condition ♦ Have barriers to learning / employment ♦ Have poor mental health/autism/learning disabilities. For more information contact Wendy Frost on 07784 360831 or email: wendy.frost@suffolk.gov.uk
With the frequent news headlines about the rise in energy and food prices, its not hard to recognise that the coming winter is going to be very difficult for many people, more people in all probability, than last year. Keeping connected to neighbours family and friends is vital as we go through these tough times and we work hard on this as you know, with our village visits, our MeetUpMondays network and our c-a-f-e network. With the best will in the world though, these wont pay the bills!
If you are in a position to help financially, we would like to suggest three ways this can be done:1. Winter Fuel Allowance. If you don’t need yours, you can donate it to Suffolk Community Foundation ‘Rebuilding Local Lives appeal’ and they will redistribute the funds to households that need help.2. Sign up to 500 Suffolk Reasons and donate £1 a week to create a pot of kindness for a household struggling to cope. At the moment these awards can only be made once a month but as the membership grows so will the number of beneficiaries. 500suffolkreasons.org for more info.All of these ways to help mean that your gift stays local, something we know can mean a lot.We are all in the same storm but not necessarily in the same boat…so if you can help, you won’t change the world but you will make the world of change to someone who needs this kindness. Plus in our experience, kindness begets kindness and we know that beneficiaries in the past have ‘paid it forward’ , so its really a win win situation.Any questions, do please get in touch by calling 01379 855338, or by emailing us, or via our social media.Thank you.No Cold Callers Door Sticker Suffolk Trading Standares are offering a free of charge ‘No Cold Callers’s sticker. If you would like one fro your front door, just email your address to tradingstandards@suffolk.gov.uk
