You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>AVA</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
<strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
• Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund •<br />
• Member Spotlights • New Year Forums
the ava<br />
website<br />
bringing you more of the<br />
resources you need...<br />
H<br />
<strong>AVA</strong><br />
will close<br />
for the holidays<br />
on 23rd Dec and<br />
reopen on<br />
5th Jan 2022<br />
Funding search<br />
We have teamed up<br />
with Funding Scotland<br />
to bring you a fantastic<br />
new funding search<br />
engine - from small<br />
grants to funding for big<br />
capital projects, we can<br />
help you track down the<br />
funding you need. It’s so<br />
easy to use, and you can<br />
also subscribe to the new<br />
weekly funding bulletin<br />
there too.<br />
Organisation search<br />
Search for Third Sector<br />
groups and organisations<br />
across Aberdeenshire.<br />
Our search engine will<br />
show you a range of<br />
information for each<br />
organisation as well<br />
as any volunteering<br />
opportunities they have<br />
on offer.<br />
Our Magpie Online Shop<br />
Shop online with<br />
Magpie! Magpie is<br />
also on Facebook and<br />
Instagram, so give us a<br />
follow.<br />
A-Z of <strong>AVA</strong> Members<br />
Our A-Z of <strong>AVA</strong> Members<br />
has links to their websites,<br />
or social media – get an<br />
overview of the scope of<br />
our membership, as well<br />
as useful links with fellow<br />
members.<br />
Volunteering Forms<br />
Let us know if your<br />
organisation has any<br />
volunteering roles and<br />
we can upload them to<br />
our system for sharing.<br />
Subscribe to our new<br />
Volunteering Bulletin<br />
published every 2<br />
months with the latest<br />
opportunities across<br />
Aberdeenshire.<br />
Nominate a volunteer for<br />
an <strong>AVA</strong> Award<br />
Use our nomination<br />
form to recognise<br />
individual commitment<br />
to volunteering for 1,<br />
5, 10 and 15 years and<br />
for volunteers who<br />
have given 20 years<br />
or more there is a<br />
Lifetime Volunteering<br />
Achievement Award.<br />
Support Request Form<br />
Get in touch with us via<br />
our Support Request Form<br />
and we’ll make sure the<br />
right person gets back to<br />
you.<br />
Volunteering<br />
Opportunities<br />
Use our search engine<br />
to search for local and<br />
national volunteering<br />
opportunities.<br />
Resources<br />
Find a range of useful<br />
links – and Quick Guides<br />
for new groups. See the<br />
latest Covid guidance,<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Office Services for<br />
members, and past and<br />
present newsletters/blogs.<br />
Training<br />
We’ve partnered with<br />
Highland Third Secor<br />
Interface to provide<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> members with a<br />
discounted extensive<br />
training programme,<br />
including over 30<br />
e-courses in a range of<br />
subjects.<br />
www.avashire.org.uk
<strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 3<br />
A Year of Change<br />
Dan Shaw<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> CEO<br />
Welcome to the final <strong>AVA</strong> magazine of<br />
<strong>2021</strong>. We were delighted to present our<br />
Annual Report at our recent AGM; a<br />
copy of which can be found here. Our Directors/<br />
Trustees all stood down as they were required<br />
to do, and each was re-elected for a period of<br />
three years. At a subsequent Directors’ meeting<br />
on the same day, Chris White was elected to<br />
replace Mike Adams as Chairperson, and Fiona<br />
Smith was elected to continue in the role she<br />
held last year as Treasurer.<br />
It has been a year of considerable change at<br />
<strong>AVA</strong>, as it has for many organisations. We made<br />
a conscious decision to learn from the pandemic<br />
and we adapted our services so that we could<br />
deliver even more for the Community, Voluntary,<br />
and Third Sectors across Aberdeenshire. We have<br />
built upon our relationships with public sector<br />
organisations and we continue to advocate for<br />
the inclusion of our sectors in more places where<br />
decisions are made, for more positive outcomes.<br />
It has been my privilege<br />
to work alongside <strong>AVA</strong>’s<br />
dedicated team of staff<br />
over the last year, and<br />
I would like to publicly<br />
acknowledge the role<br />
that each has played<br />
in turning <strong>AVA</strong> into the<br />
organisation it is today. It<br />
is however very hard (in<br />
the nicest possible way!)<br />
to say goodbye to Lorna<br />
Sandison who will be<br />
retiring in January. Many<br />
of you will know Lorna as our Development Officer<br />
specialising in Volunteering, but to us she is a friend<br />
who will be dearly missed.<br />
I also would like to acknowledge every single<br />
person who works or volunteers in the Community,<br />
Voluntary, and Third Sectors across Aberdeenshire;<br />
at this time of year, your kindness and dedication<br />
to supporting people are often a lifeline for the<br />
people who rely on your services. The only reason<br />
that <strong>AVA</strong> exists is to support you as you go about<br />
supporting people across our communities.<br />
I wish a Happy Christmas to those who celebrate<br />
it, and to everyone, I hope that your 2022 brings<br />
you what you are hoping for. With very best wishes<br />
from Dan and the entire <strong>AVA</strong> team.<br />
Contents<br />
4-5<br />
6-7<br />
Prepare To Volunteer events<br />
Community Mental Health<br />
& Wellbeing Fund<br />
14-15<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Forums<br />
Our latest Social Enterprise<br />
events and dates for 2022<br />
8-9<br />
Member Spotlight<br />
The Foggie Neuk<br />
16-17<br />
Member Spotlight<br />
Young @♥Deeside<br />
10-11<br />
Success Stories<br />
A snapshot of our thriving<br />
Aberdeenshire communities<br />
18<br />
Local & National Support<br />
Services<br />
12-13<br />
Member Spotlight<br />
Salvesen Mindroom Centre<br />
20<br />
Profile<br />
Our very own CEO, Dan<br />
Shaw
4 <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
<strong>AVA</strong>|<br />
Prepare to<br />
Volunteer<br />
Lorna Sandison<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Development Officer,<br />
specialising in Volunteering<br />
On Monday the 25th of October <strong>AVA</strong><br />
presented the first of many ‘Prepare<br />
to Volunteer’ events at the welcoming<br />
venue of Grampian Opportunities in Inverurie.<br />
We saw some kent faces there between the<br />
three of us, Lorna and Volunteering Admin,<br />
Aileen Keith representing the Volunteering<br />
side of things, and Sharon Francis in her role<br />
of Supported Living Development Officer. We<br />
were greeted by a full table of attendees which<br />
was lovely to see, showing the promotion of this<br />
event by <strong>AVA</strong> and GO staff had done the trick.<br />
My initial address to our group of potential<br />
volunteers explained who we are and how we<br />
could help them get into a Voluntary role in the<br />
community. The group proved to be very proactive<br />
and soon Aileen and Sharon had them all<br />
checking out various opportunities on our <strong>AVA</strong><br />
website. Not having the ability to look online from<br />
home is a distinct disadvantage, so it was great<br />
that our <strong>AVA</strong> team were able to give a website<br />
navigation taster session. The feedback from the<br />
group was great with everyone commenting<br />
that they would definitely make an effort to find<br />
a way to check the webpage for themselves, as<br />
none of them expected to see such a variety of<br />
opportunities.<br />
Everyone attending this session had their<br />
own reason for wanting to step out there and<br />
Volunteer, so to be able to match a client up<br />
with an organisation, or just see the spark of<br />
motivation that wasn’t there when they walked<br />
in, made it all worthwhile. Thank you to Grampian<br />
Opportunities for being such wonderful hosts.<br />
We have also been able to attend Gordon<br />
Schools in Huntly twice this year at their Careers<br />
events. Lorna and Sharon were treated with the<br />
best hospitality possible and really enjoyed the<br />
produce of the Home Economics Department<br />
upon arrival.<br />
Soon after setting up, the first group of students<br />
began to flow in and I have to say I was really<br />
impressed by them. They were so interactive<br />
with us, keen to know what we are bringing<br />
to them and overall a very good example for<br />
the school. We spoke about volunteering in the<br />
community and how some already are but want<br />
to do more. We went over how much they know<br />
and understand about volunteering and how<br />
prepared they need to be. We also spoke about<br />
accumulating Saltire Award points and how<br />
much it benefits their CVs and job application<br />
forms when they have a Saltire Award.<br />
Volunteering Opportunities for younger people<br />
can be few and far between which is the case<br />
in most areas. We often have to dig a little<br />
deeper to find organisations who may take<br />
on younger volunteers - so if your organisation<br />
is open minded and realises the potential of<br />
having school pupils as volunteers, please get in<br />
touch with us at <strong>AVA</strong>.
<strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 5<br />
“Everyone attending...<br />
had their own reason for<br />
wanting to step out there<br />
and Volunteer.”<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Membership | Join Us<br />
Community and third<br />
sector organisations are<br />
invited to join <strong>AVA</strong> as<br />
full members, and people who<br />
either work or volunteer for<br />
those organisations are invited<br />
to join as affiliated members.<br />
Volunteers are the lifeblood<br />
of our sector and those who<br />
volunteer on a regular basis<br />
are invited to join <strong>AVA</strong> as<br />
associate members.<br />
Apply here H<br />
www.avashire.org.uk/join-ava.html<br />
Become an <strong>AVA</strong> Member:<br />
• Enhanced communications<br />
through specialism networking<br />
and information mailing lists<br />
• Priority access to news, updates and<br />
information<br />
• Free and priority access to <strong>AVA</strong><br />
membership and specialist forum events<br />
• Priority access to <strong>AVA</strong> Training resources<br />
• Priority access to <strong>AVA</strong> services and facilities<br />
• Access to discounted rates for <strong>AVA</strong><br />
Office Support Services<br />
• Access to professional services offering<br />
discounted rates to members
6 <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
Funding|Community Mental<br />
Health & Wellbeing Fund<br />
Dan Shaw<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> CEO<br />
As the summer was coming to an end, the<br />
Scottish Government started discussing<br />
the idea of a Communities Mental Health<br />
& Wellbeing Fund with Integration Joint Boards<br />
(IJBs) and the TSI Scotland Network. It was to<br />
be a fund that would support local community<br />
groups and third sector organisations to deliver<br />
services that promote connections between<br />
people, facilitate positive mental health,<br />
and enable people to look after their own<br />
wellbeing. The Third Sector Interface in each<br />
local authority area is the lead partner, and in<br />
collaboration with the Aberdeenshire IJB, and a<br />
range of public and third sector partners, <strong>AVA</strong><br />
successfully launched our local £631,630 fund<br />
on 17th November. Unlike many funds, because<br />
this one is to encourage grass roots organisations<br />
to make applications for localised activities,<br />
unconstituted groups are able to apply, and the<br />
maximum funding application can be for up to<br />
£50,000 for larger organisations.<br />
We split our experienced team of development<br />
officers in half, with one half being involved in<br />
supporting groups and organisations, and the<br />
other half being involved in assessing applications.<br />
Since launching we have supported groups and<br />
organisations over 150 times with queries about<br />
the fund, including helping groups with little<br />
experience of completing funding applications<br />
to get to grips with what is required of them. As a<br />
result, we are also helping some of those smaller,<br />
unconstituted groups with governance matters<br />
to allow them to build their own capacity and<br />
develop themselves into more robust operations.<br />
The first phase of the fund closed on 7th<br />
<strong>December</strong>, and it’s fair to say that we were<br />
overwhelmed with applications, which ranged in<br />
size from £500 to £49,986. The range of activities<br />
and services that we have been reading about
<strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 7<br />
has been inspiring, and it really has highlighted<br />
the diversity that exists within Aberdeenshire’s<br />
Community, Voluntary, and Third sectors.<br />
At the time of writing this piece, we are in the<br />
midst of the assessment process for the first phase<br />
of applications. We are delighted to have been<br />
able to bring external colleagues for across a<br />
range of public and third sector organisations<br />
into the assessment team, including those with<br />
a mental health & wellbeing background,<br />
and some of the conversations around those<br />
applications have been really insightful for us all.<br />
All applicants will be receiving feedback from<br />
us before Christmas, regardless of whether their<br />
activities are being supported or not.<br />
For groups and organisations who have not<br />
had the chance to think about what their<br />
application for the fund will look like, or for those<br />
who just haven’t had the time to complete their<br />
application, the fund will re-open for applications<br />
on 5th January, and we’d encourage you to<br />
keep an eye on our social media channels and<br />
the website for any changes that we make to<br />
the fund which will be based on how much<br />
money we have remaining.<br />
For those who are thinking of making an<br />
application, our top tips would be:<br />
1. Even if you think it’s obvious, make it<br />
clear what you believe the mental<br />
health and wellbeing benefits of the<br />
activity(s) will be for service users.<br />
2. Be transparent about your costs and<br />
what each category of expenditure is<br />
for.<br />
3. Think carefully about what the legacy<br />
of the activity(s) will be for the service<br />
users, and what the benefit of the<br />
activity(s) will be for the community(s)<br />
that you serve.<br />
More information about the fund is available<br />
at: www.avashire.org.uk/cmhwfund.<br />
To access support for making an<br />
application (from 5th January onwards,<br />
until the money is fully allocated), visit:<br />
www.avashire.org.uk/development.html.
8 <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
Spotlight| Foggie Neuk<br />
Aileen Longino<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Development Officer<br />
specialising in Social Enterprise<br />
When our Development Officer,<br />
Aileen Longino, first heard about this<br />
organisation she was very confused! It<br />
is known locally as Foggie, but you might know<br />
it as Aberchirder, and it’s just 9 miles outside<br />
Huntly. A very pretty wee village with a real<br />
sense of community spirit. Kay Thomson took<br />
over an empty building in the centre square<br />
of the village and very quickly turned it into a<br />
community hub. The Foggie Neuk is a freshly<br />
decorated modern rentable space completed<br />
in a botanical theme which offers a wonderful,<br />
bright community space for group events and<br />
for hiring for all occasions. A place for folk to<br />
relax and connect with others helping with rural<br />
isolation and mental health and wellbeing all in<br />
one go!<br />
Kay and her team of volunteers have set about<br />
organising events including a very popular<br />
farmers market in the square as well as sewing<br />
groups and young parent groups.<br />
Looking to establish themselves as a Community<br />
Interest Company with an emphasis on social<br />
impact, this groups enthusiasm comes across<br />
in everything they do. They want to give back<br />
to the community and provide quite a unique<br />
venue for groups to use.<br />
If you want to find out more check out The<br />
Foggie Neuk on Facebook page, look at their<br />
website www.thefoggieneuk.co.uk or phone<br />
07918 102214 for a chat.
10 <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
Success Stories<br />
Donna Speed<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Funding Officer<br />
We love sharing success stories from our<br />
Aberdeenshire Third Sector, here are just<br />
a few:<br />
Meikle Carewe Windfarm Community Fund<br />
Last month, funding worth a total of £33,141.10<br />
was awarded to a range of local groups and<br />
projects. Successful applicants were:<br />
Drumotters Swim Club - £1230; Newtonhill,<br />
Muchalls & Cammachmore Community Council<br />
- £2209; Newtonhill Community Hall Association -<br />
£4518.66; Friends of Newtonhill School - £2560.74;<br />
Cookney Hall Baby & Toddler Group - £2323.10;<br />
Maryculter Driving for the Disabled - £3000;<br />
Portlethen Primary Together - £2750; Jubilee<br />
Hall - £1500; Hillside Parents Group - £4998;<br />
Kincardine & Mearns Citizens Advice Bureau -<br />
£2349.60; Stonehaven Community Radio - £1000;<br />
Stonehaven Horizon Project - £500; Mearns<br />
Singers - £1600 and Stonehaven Riding Club -<br />
£2602.<br />
A new community hub website and app for Alford<br />
and Donside is being delevloped with funding<br />
being provided from a number of sources<br />
including the Aberdeenshire Council’s Phoenix<br />
Fund for post-lockdown business recovery, an<br />
award from The National Lottery Community<br />
Fund, Aberdeenshire Council’s Area Committee<br />
budget and Aberdeenshire Charity Trust. The hub<br />
will enable community organisations, businesses<br />
and charities in the area to promote themselves<br />
to residents and prospective visitors to Alford<br />
and Donside.<br />
Methlick Community Council has been awarded<br />
a £250 grant for a Habitat Haven project. The<br />
funding from Action Earth and Nature Scot will<br />
enable the group to work with the school on<br />
a piece of land that is to become part of the<br />
village’s riverside revitalisation project.<br />
Aboyne Judo Club received £2,021 from the<br />
#ClubsinCrisis fund from Made By Sport to better<br />
the mental health of young people in their local<br />
area by providing free judo classes.<br />
Victoria and Albert Halls, Ballater received<br />
funding from the Aberdeenshire Council Town<br />
Centre Fund to refurbish the hall.
<strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 11<br />
Asda Community Champions kindly donated<br />
£200 to the Aberdeen FC Community Trust<br />
FraserDeen Project through their green token<br />
scheme. The project works to support children<br />
at Peterhead Academy struggling with the<br />
traditional school curriculum.<br />
The community farm at Greenmyres near Huntly<br />
has been officially launched by the development<br />
trust whose vision and drive led to its purchase.<br />
The Eco bothy which has given new life to the<br />
farmhouse with its transformation into a warm,<br />
bright, welcoming space was showcased at the<br />
end of October. Read more here.<br />
Stonehaven Men’s Shed took to their facebook<br />
page recently to thank local businesses for<br />
their ‘quiet contributions’ to the Shed. Mentions<br />
included Howdens in Spurryhillock who donated<br />
£200; The Bay Fish & Chips who donated £650<br />
from the revenue from the 10p takaway bag<br />
sales for July & August; and the Market Bar<br />
Stonehaven who gifted £250 to the Shed.<br />
After seven years of hard work by its 90 volunteer<br />
members, Peterhead Men’s Shed is now officially<br />
‘complete’ with its eighth and final unit in place<br />
offering more space and a wider selection of<br />
activities to its members. They have received<br />
funding from numerous supporters over the<br />
years including the Royal Voluntary Service’s<br />
Sheds Grant Fund, Your Voice Your Choice, the<br />
Suez Communities Trust, The Gordon and Ena<br />
Baxter Foundation and the National Lottery<br />
Community Fund. They have also had a huge<br />
amount of support and donations from the local<br />
community.<br />
River Dee Radio would like to thank the Co-op<br />
and its members for raising and donating nearly<br />
£1,400 to them.<br />
Marr Area Committee have awarded £2,000 to<br />
the Huntly Development Trust to help establish<br />
a new ‘remakery’ in the town to reduce the<br />
amount of waste going to landfill.<br />
Rotary clubs of Oldmeldrum and District and<br />
Ellon with Haddo were pleased to hand over a<br />
cheque for £3500 to the Scottish Air Ambulance<br />
charity. This was part of the proceeds from the<br />
Haddo Dino-Egg Hunt.<br />
SensationALL will now be able to expand their<br />
therapeutic play service and group support for<br />
young people affected by neurodevelopmental<br />
conditions across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire<br />
after an award of £200,000 from the National<br />
Lottery.<br />
Craigievar Community Hall and Association were<br />
also awarded £10,000 from the National Lottery<br />
to help improve the comfort of their community<br />
hall for user groups by installing better lighting,<br />
heating and insulation.<br />
This is just a small snapshot of the<br />
many amazing projects that are going<br />
on across Aberdeenshire - there are so<br />
many groups and volunteers doing<br />
fantastic work. Thank you all for making<br />
Aberdeenshire a better place to live!<br />
RNLI Stonehaven received £2,500 from The Old<br />
Pier who donated an entire days takings in<br />
October.<br />
Ellon Youth Football Team secured a £200<br />
boost from the G. Burgess Coop Funeralcare in<br />
September.<br />
Belhelvie Community Trust received £8,000<br />
from National Lottery Awards for All Scotland<br />
to install a double accessible swing as part of<br />
the playground of the Sand Bothy on Balmedie<br />
Beach.<br />
Gordon Woodworkers received £5,000 from<br />
National Lottery Awards for All Scotland to<br />
upgrade their woodturning workshop which is<br />
based in Leslie Aberdeenshire.<br />
Search for funding using our<br />
search engine and subscribe<br />
to our weekly funding bulletin<br />
on the <strong>AVA</strong> website at:<br />
www.avashire.org.uk/searchforfunding
12 <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
Spotlight|<br />
Jenny Collings<br />
Supporter Engagement Officer,<br />
Salvesen Mindroom Centre<br />
Salvesen Mindroom Centre is a Scottish<br />
national charity with a mission to create<br />
a world where no mind is left behind.<br />
Our work is focused on supporting children,<br />
young people and families through advice, 1:1<br />
support and advocacy; raising awareness of<br />
neurodiversity; and influencing reform in policy<br />
and practice.<br />
Currently, there are 226,838 children and young<br />
people with additional support needs (ASN)<br />
in Scotland – an average of 6 pupils in every<br />
mainstream classroom. Of those children with<br />
ASN, a high proportion are neurodivergent<br />
and need to be supported by adaptations to<br />
the school environment and the curriculum.<br />
Without the right support, children and young<br />
people with ASN can be at a significantly higher<br />
risk of school exclusion or poor mental health.<br />
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve<br />
seen a growing need for support and demand<br />
for our services is up 112% on last year. Most of<br />
our enquiries are about education and include<br />
parents, or young people themselves, seeking<br />
advice on their rights to education, school<br />
placement and exclusion. We help with these<br />
issues by providing emotional support, advice<br />
and information. We will listen and help families<br />
work with professionals to get the right support<br />
for their child and provide advocacy for young<br />
people under 25 to make sure their views are<br />
heard when decisions are being made about<br />
them.<br />
The transition from school to adult life is a key<br />
stage for young people, especially those with<br />
ASN. Building on our expertise gained from<br />
working in schools, we have created Future<br />
Me, my digital workbook that is available on our<br />
website and comes with a user guide. Moving<br />
school or returning to school after a break in<br />
education is also a very tricky time, and our Back<br />
to School Toolkit has a host of useful resources<br />
to help plan and reduce anxiety around getting<br />
back into school.<br />
These resources and support services are freely<br />
available and open for self-referral, or referral by<br />
professionals/agencies. We align our work with<br />
the UNCRC, the UNCRDP and The Promise, and<br />
we aim to take a person-centred approach to<br />
all our work.<br />
We also help professionals and organisations<br />
to build their knowledge of neurodiversity<br />
and strengthen the support they offer<br />
neurodivergent children and young people.<br />
Our training is delivered by staff with lived<br />
experience of neurodiversity and we offer<br />
webinars, workplace courses and bespoke<br />
training packages to help promote inclusion<br />
and acceptance. The full Training Programme<br />
is available on our website and you can also<br />
contact training@mindroom.org with any<br />
enquiries.<br />
For more information about Salvesen<br />
Mindroom Centre’s services and resources<br />
visit www.mindroom.org or contact our Direct<br />
Help and Support Team at directhelp@<br />
mindroom.org for advice.
<strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 13<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Office Services<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> members can access office services at very competitive rates.<br />
Payroll services<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> can provide<br />
monthly payroll services,<br />
including production of<br />
monthly payslips, HMRC<br />
submissions and end of<br />
year returns, assistance<br />
with auto enrolment<br />
compliance and pension<br />
file uploads.<br />
Independent<br />
examination<br />
of accounts<br />
Receipts and Payments<br />
Accounts examination<br />
is available for noncompany<br />
charities<br />
and groups with a<br />
gross annual income of<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 15<br />
<strong>AVA</strong>| Forums<br />
For more information on the Voluntary Code<br />
of Practice for Social Enterprises and the Terms<br />
of Reference for the Network look at our Social<br />
Enterprise page on the <strong>AVA</strong> website here.<br />
What better way to kick off 2022 than with our<br />
first Social Enterprise Forum on Wednesday 26th<br />
January from 10am -12 noon. We have some<br />
brilliant speakers from funders First Port and the<br />
National Lottery as well as Senscot and the<br />
Social Enterprise Academy. If you would like to<br />
join us please use the link here to register.<br />
Social Enterprise Network and Forum<br />
Our Development Officer, Aileen Longino,<br />
who specialises in Social Enterprises held<br />
her first Social Enterprise event recently<br />
where like-minded, established and start up<br />
organisations were able to network and think<br />
about the way forward to form an Aberdeenshire<br />
Social Enterprise Network. You can become a<br />
member of the network by using the link here.<br />
A super Steering Group has been formed with<br />
the hope of launching the network properly at<br />
the Social Enterprise Forum on Wednesday 26th<br />
January from 10-12 noon.<br />
For those of you out there who are unsure if you<br />
are a social enterprise, there are some basic<br />
requirements in order to qualify. These put simply<br />
are: -<br />
1. SEs are businesses operating in the market<br />
through production of goods or services with<br />
a primary objective to achieve either social<br />
or environmental impact.<br />
2. The constitution of an SE includes the legal<br />
requirement that profits are reinvested in<br />
the business or community (CICs and some<br />
cooperatives allowed limited payment of<br />
dividends)<br />
3. There will also be a clause to ensure that<br />
on dissolution, the assets of the SE must be<br />
redirected in accordance with the social or<br />
environmental objectives of the business. This<br />
is known as the Asset Lock.<br />
4. A SE can be the subsidiary of a registered<br />
charity (like our own SE, Magpie) – but not a<br />
public body or private company.<br />
Aileen Longino can be contacted at:<br />
aileen.longino@avashire.org.uk<br />
or 07824 096531 for advice and support.<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Events for 2022<br />
20th January, 10am<br />
Children & Families Network<br />
Meeting. Join here<br />
26th January<br />
10am - 12 noon<br />
Social Enterprise Forum.<br />
Register here<br />
29th March<br />
10.30am - 12 noon<br />
Governance Forum<br />
30th March<br />
10am - 12 noon<br />
Supported Living Forum<br />
Thursday 5th May<br />
10am -12pm<br />
Children & Families Forum
16 <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
Spotlight|<br />
Young@♥Deeside<br />
Aileen Longino<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Development Officer<br />
specialising in Social Enterprise<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> Member young@heart Deeside is a<br />
voluntary organisation run by our very own<br />
Development Officer, Aileen Longino and<br />
some friends in her spare time. It started a few<br />
years ago to help support older and vulnerable<br />
people living in the Aboyne, Ballater and<br />
Braemar areas and their surrounding villages.<br />
Their purpose is to support the mental health and<br />
wellbeing of older people who may be on their<br />
own or living in rurally isolated parts of Deeside.<br />
In normal times they have organised events and<br />
activities but covid restrictions have meant that<br />
they had to change tact in the last year or so.<br />
Worried about people on their own last<br />
Christmas, they launched their Wee Bundle<br />
of Christmas Cheer for people in the Howe<br />
of Cromar. They hand-delivered Christmas<br />
goody bags to over 100 residents. The goody<br />
bags contained Christmas treats to eat, spring<br />
bulbs, diaries, handwarmers, Cosie Bosies and<br />
handmade cards made by the local primary.<br />
Aileen and her friends hand-delivered the bags<br />
leading up to Christmas.<br />
This year they are going bigger and including<br />
the village of Aboyne as well as Tarland, as<br />
well as the care homes and sheltered housing<br />
in both villages. Aileen said, “We had such a<br />
positive response last year to this campaign with<br />
everyone being so grateful for their Christmas<br />
Cheer. We were able to have a good doorstep<br />
news with many of the recipients. It was a<br />
lovely thing to be involved with and we wanted<br />
to expand our delivery to reach even more<br />
people. We are aiming to deliver between 300-<br />
400 Christmas Cheer bags over the next few<br />
weeks. We are delighted that Aboyne Academy<br />
pupils will be helping us this year making it a truly<br />
intergenerational project.”<br />
You can see what they are up to on the<br />
youngatheartdeeside facebook page or<br />
website at: www.youngatheartdeeside.org.<br />
uk or you can email them at membership@<br />
youngatheartdeeside.org.uk.
Aberdeenshire & National Support Services<br />
Community Substance Misuse Service<br />
Call 01467 536700<br />
Closed 25th - 28th <strong>December</strong><br />
Open 29th - 31st <strong>December</strong><br />
Closed 1st - 4th January<br />
Re-open as normal on 5th January<br />
Out of Hours Number: 0345 6081206 Ext 2<br />
Alcohol & Drug Partnership<br />
Helpline (Freephone): 0333 3448 355<br />
or 01224 594700<br />
Mon - Fri 10.30 am - 1 pm, 2 - 5 pm<br />
Sat - Sun 2 - 5 pm<br />
Webchat open 12 - 1pm, 2 - 5pm daily<br />
Services and Helpline closed 25th - 28th<br />
<strong>December</strong> and 1st - 4th January<br />
Reopens as normal on 5th January 2022<br />
Visit: www.alcoholanddrugsaction.org.uk<br />
Networks of Wellbeing<br />
Clashmach Centre, Steven Road, Huntly<br />
Call 01466 793732 or 07821 301569<br />
Email: fiona@networksofwellbeing.org<br />
Closed 25th - 28th <strong>December</strong><br />
Open 29th - 31st <strong>December</strong>, 9.30am - 3pm<br />
Closed 1st - 4th January<br />
Reopen as normal on 5th January 2022<br />
AA National Helpline - 0800 9177 650<br />
Email: help@aamail.org<br />
To search for a meeting visit:<br />
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk<br />
National NA Helpline - 0300 999 1212<br />
10am - Midnight. There is also a<br />
Meetings Search facility on the UK NA<br />
website at: https://helpline.ukna.org/<br />
Talk to Frank<br />
(Honest information about drugs)<br />
Call: 0300 123 6600 anytime<br />
www.talktofrank.com SMS: 82111<br />
Drinkline - 0300 123 1110<br />
Weekdays 9am - 8pm Weekends 11am - 4pm<br />
Grampian Women’s Aid<br />
Call: 01224 593381<br />
Visit: www.grampian-womens-aid.com<br />
Samaritans - Freephone 116 123 anytime<br />
Breathing Space - 0800 83 85 87<br />
Open up when you’re feeling down<br />
Mon - Thurs 6pm - 2am & Fri 6pm - Mon 6am<br />
NHS 24 - Call free on 111 anytime<br />
for urgent health advice<br />
Call NHS Inform on: 0800 22 44 88 or visit:<br />
www.nhsinform.scot for health information<br />
National Domestic Abuse Helpline<br />
Free 24-hour Helpline: 0808 2000 247<br />
Childline - 0800 1111 anytime<br />
The Silver Line - Offering free information,<br />
friendship and advice to older people.<br />
24-hour helpline: 0800 470 80 90<br />
Visit: www.thesilverline.org.uk<br />
Job Centre Plus - festive closures<br />
Offices & phone lines closed on:<br />
25th - 28th Dec & 1st - 3rd Jan<br />
4th Jan - phone lines are open for<br />
missing or urgent payments only<br />
Rape Crisis Scotland<br />
Tel: 08088 01 03 02<br />
www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk<br />
The Mix - Essential support for under 25s<br />
Tel: 0808 808 4994 www.themix.org.uk<br />
Cruse bereavement helpline 0808 808 1677<br />
The Latest Scottish Government<br />
Covid Guidelines:<br />
www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19<br />
Aberdeenshire North Foodbank<br />
Festive Opening times:<br />
aberdeenshirenorth.foodbank.org.uk/<br />
locations<br />
Aberdeenshire South Foodbank<br />
Festive Opening Times:<br />
aberdeenshiresouth.foodbank.org.uk/<br />
locations
Scottish Charity Number: SC014223<br />
second hand<br />
furniture<br />
electricals<br />
homeware<br />
bric-a-brac<br />
white goods<br />
clothes<br />
vinyl & loads more...<br />
FESTIVE HOURS: SHOP CLOSED FROM 1PM ON 24TH DEC ‘21<br />
& OPEN AS NORMAL FROM 9.30AM ON 5TH JAN ‘22<br />
Tillybrake Industrial Estate, Banchory AB31 5UN<br />
Tel: 01330 823800<br />
SHOP ONLINE: www.magpieshops.org.uk<br />
magpieshops
20 <strong>AVA</strong> | <strong>December</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />
PROFILE |<br />
Getting to know those who work hard in your Third<br />
Sector Interface<br />
Who are you?<br />
Dan Shaw. Husband, dad,<br />
occasional runner (ok…<br />
shuffler), dog-father, and precovid<br />
a travel enthusiast.<br />
What is your job?<br />
Chief Executive Officer. I’m<br />
accountable to the Board for<br />
setting and delivering <strong>AVA</strong>’s<br />
strategic aims, delivering our<br />
annual workplan, and leading our team of incredible<br />
staff. I’m also responsible to my colleagues for making<br />
sure that they have the tools and resources they need<br />
to do their jobs in the best way they can.<br />
How did you end up working with <strong>AVA</strong>?<br />
After gaining an A-level in PE (just the one!), I started<br />
out as a sport scientist, working with world class athletes<br />
before taking up the role of Subject Leader in the higher<br />
education sector. After 12 years working in English and<br />
Scottish Universities, I decided to change my career<br />
path and went back to university as a student for a<br />
year. After a couple of short detours, I found myself<br />
working with the third sector, which is how I became<br />
aware of <strong>AVA</strong>.<br />
What does a typical day look like?<br />
There isn’t one, which is why I enjoy my job so much!<br />
I spend most of my time bouncing around in cyberspace<br />
going from meeting to meeting. I engage<br />
regularly with Aberdeenshire Council and Health &<br />
Social Care colleagues, as well as other TSI colleagues<br />
across Grampian, the North, and nationally. What I<br />
really enjoy though is when I get the chance to take<br />
part in our Forums programme because I get to hear<br />
about what so many brilliant organisations are doing to<br />
help people right across Aberdeenshire have a better<br />
life: That’s the part of my job that is the most inspiring.<br />
How has Covid-19 affected your job?<br />
The pandemic has made me far more aware of the real<br />
difficulties that many organisations have experienced,<br />
and that’s made me more determined that <strong>AVA</strong> will<br />
adapt when we need to so that we can deliver support<br />
and advice in a meaningful way. The really great thing<br />
though is that I’m not wasting any time on travelling<br />
from one side of Aberdeenshire to the other between<br />
meetings, as I can now get there with the click of a<br />
button and be more productive with the time I have.<br />
Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action is a<br />
charitable company limited by guarantee.<br />
Company number: SC137343.<br />
Scottish Charity Number: SC014223<br />
Registered office: 57 Station Road, Ellon,<br />
Aberdeenshire AB41 9AR<br />
Tel: 03718 110008<br />
Email: enquiries@avashire.org.uk<br />
Website: www.avashire.org.uk<br />
Follow us on Facebook<br />
AberdeenshireVoluntary Action1<br />
Twitter @<strong>AVA</strong>Shire<br />
Instagram @magpieshops<br />
YouTube <strong>AVA</strong> Shire<br />
We want to hear from you!<br />
Give us feedback, suggestions,<br />
whatever - fill in our form here.<br />
<strong>AVA</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> available in large print<br />
H<br />
Read previous editions<br />
Read previous editions<br />
of the <strong>AVA</strong> newsletters,<br />
bulletins and magazines<br />
on our website at:<br />
www.avashire.org.uk<br />
If you’re an <strong>AVA</strong> member and<br />
would like to contribute to future<br />
magazines, please get in touch<br />
with Lindsay Allardyce at:<br />
Lindsay.Allardyce@avashire.org.uk<br />
www.avashire.org.uk