News

Exhibition of work by Dunmow Art Group

Dunmow Art Group will be holding an autumn exhibition at St Mary’s Church, Great Dunmow, to “bring some colour” to the town

Dunmow Art Group will be holding an autumn exhibition at St Mary’s Church, Great Dunmow, to “bring some colour” to the town

The exhibition will be open to the public from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, October 15 and from midday to 3pm on Sunday, October 16.

There will be a range of artwork on sale in a broad range of styles – from original oil paintings, acrylics and watercolours to collages, mixed media, ceramics, prints and cards.

Entry to the exhibition is free, and there will refreshments available and a raffle.

Uttlesford Community Hub is open week days for you to enjoy

Did you know our community hub in Great Dunmow is open every Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm?

Did you know our community hub in Great Dunmow is open every Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm?

This cosy space is for all our community to relax and rest in the warm, read or share the books, play games and puzzles and flick on the kettle!

All ages, genders and abilities welcome 😊

We have lift access for those with additional access needs.

If you need help or support with things like foodbank, winter warmth advice or have need for a handyman then you can ask for a member of the UCAN team to come and have a chat with you. You can find out more about volunteering in the district, and we also host pop-up banks each week for TSB and Barclays customers.

Do drop in to see us and enjoy the space.

Gaming Bus Event

Do you attend HRS Senior School or attend another senior school but live in Great Dunmow? This exciting event could be for you!

Do you attend HRS Senior School or attend another senior school but live in Great Dunmow? This exciting event could be for you!

When: Wednesday 26th October 2022 1pm to 5pm

Where: Foakes Hall Car Park Great Dunmow

What: Gaming bus event for young people

Price: Free – but tickets must be booked in advance

Each bus has:

• 3 Xbox series X consoles• 3 Playstation 5’s• 2 Racing simulators• 2 Nintendo switches

Games available are the latest: Fifa 23, Fortnite, Gran Turismo, Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty, Minecraft, Gang Beasts, Halo, Star Wars Battle Front, Mortal Kombat, Spiderman Miles Morales, Need for Speed, Apex Legends, Street Fighter and more…

Outside of the buses there are other games which can be played which are not controlled by specific booked times. These games include:Mario Kart, Just Dance, Karaoke and VR.

Inside Foakes Hall there will be two additional arcade machines, each two player.

Refreshments will be provided in the Talberd Room – free of charge.

In the hall we are also hosting other organisations. 1Life will be arranging games of ‘Tennis Volley Challenge’ and ‘Football Tennis’ with lots of similar games on offer.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gaming-event-tickets-412292015517

Funding: ECC Arts and Cultural Fund

The Essex County Council Arts and Cultural fund has been designed to help organisations and practitioners to deliver a broad and exciting range of work and activity to engage with and bring communities together

The Essex County Council Arts and Cultural fund has been designed to help organisations and practitioners to deliver a broad and exciting range of work and activity to engage with and bring communities together

*Open for Expressions of Interest for 2023 from Saturday 1 October to Monday 31 October 2022*

The arts, cultural and creative projects, such as festivals and exhibitions, all contribute to helping communities recover from the pandemic and play an integral part in enabling the objectives of Essex County Council’s wider objectives as set out in Everyone’s Essex.

Creative and cultural sectors are at the forefront of economic and social regeneration in our region. One of the aims of the fund is to provide a boost for the creative and cultural sector which will enable organisations and practioners to develop long term and sustainable future for arts and culture in the county.

The ECC Arts and Cultural Fund will offer artists and cultural organisations grants from £2,500 to £30,000 to deliver projects to help support and rejuvenate the Essex arts and culture sector, as well as the county’s towns and city high streets.

The fund will support projects, which will contribute to ECC’s Everyone’s Essex: The Plan for Essex 2021-2025 within the music, theatre, dance, visual arts, literature, combined arts, including festivals and carnivals, museums and the wider creative sectors.

For further information and to apply visit: https://www.explore-essex.com/culture/arts-culture-fund

Get Online Week 2022

Get Online Week is an annual digital inclusion campaign run by charity Good Things Foundation

Get Online Week is an annual digital inclusion campaign run by charity Good Things Foundation

In the last 14 years, the campaign has helped hundreds of thousands of people to get online for the first time and improve their digital skills.

Get Online Week sees thousands of local events take place each year hosted by community organisations, giving everyone the chance to find the support they need to improve their digital skills and get motivated to learn more.

Last year, hundreds of community organisations in the UK held events for people with low or no digital skills, reaching over 30,000 people.

This year’s Get Online Week campaign will take place from 17 – 23 October 2021.

How to take part in the campaign:

Plan your event

People hold a variety of sessions during Get Online Week – from drop in sessions in their centres to sessions out and about in the community to engage new people.

Promote it in your local community.

Let’s us know if you are planning an event in Uttlesford and we will help to spread the word! You can also get resources from The Good Things Foundation. Visit: https://uk.getonlineweek.com/event-resources

UCAN Annual General Meeting 2022

You are cordially invited to join the UCAN trustees and team at our annual general meeting to celebrate our achievements over the past twelve months, and consider the state of the sector and the challenges facing us in the months and year ahead as the third sector community.

Our AGM will be held on Friday 25th November 2022 at Foakes Hall, Great Dunmow, starting at 10.00 a.m.

You are cordially invited to join the UCAN trustees and team at our annual general meeting to celebrate our achievements over the past twelve months, and consider the state of the sector and the challenges facing us in the months and year ahead as the third sector community.

When: Friday 25th November 10.00 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.

Where: Foakes Hall, Great Dunmow. There is parking on site and close by

Light refreshments will be provided.

Alongside our guest speak (to be announced shortly) we will also have representation from a number of Uttlesford voluntary organisations promoting their work and opportunities for the people of Uttlesford, and there will be a chance to network and connect with colleagues.

We do hope you can join us.

RSVP please to connect@ucan.org.uk

UCAN is now a National Databank Centre

We are delighted to share that UCAN have been successful in becoming part of the UK National Databank powered by Good Things Foundation and its partners Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three.

A lack of digital skills and access can have a huge negative impact on a person’s life, leading to poorer health outcomes and a lower life expectancy, increased loneliness and social isolation, less access to jobs and education

It can mean paying more for essentials, financial exclusion, an increased risk of experiencing poverty. People who are digitally excluded also lack a voice and visibility in the modern world, as government services and democracy increasingly move online.

What’s more, it’s those already at a disadvantage – through age, education, income, disability, or unemployment – who are most likely to be missing out, further widening the social inequality gap.

We are delighted to share that UCAN have been successful in becoming part of the UK National Databank powered by Good Things Foundation and its partners Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three.  This is to support individuals experiencing health inequalities and who are digitally excluded.  The Databank supports UCAN supplying SIM cards to vulnerable individuals who are experiencing lack of mobile connectivity and data.     

In particular, we are supporting the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine by offering support with mobile data to refugees also from other countries arriving in the UK who are escaping war and persecution. 

For more information contact our Digital project lead Ali Firth – email ali.firth@westessexcan.org or visit the digitalshare website to apply for a data donation www.digitalshare.org

Supported holiday for people living with dementia – departing 21st November 2022

Dementia Adventure have space on their supported holiday to Norfolk, leaving on 21st November for 5 days of rest and relaxation

Dementia Adventure have space on their supported holiday to Norfolk, leaving on 21st November for 5 days of rest and relaxation

Fakenham and North Norfolk are some of the last unspoilt parts of the UK with plenty of charming villages, excellent restaurants and, of course, the famous Norfolk coastline. From here you can enjoy delightful walks, great sandy beaches, fun days out, pine forests and some superb bird-watching opportunities. With its big skies, sprawling countryside and wild beaches, there really is something for everyone.

Please talk to us if the price is an issue, we will help to make your holiday possible.

Book the break you deserve today: https://dementiaadventure.org/holi…/holidays-2022/norfolk/

UCAN and Volunteer Uttlesford are coming together

We are delighted to announce that UCAN and Volunteer Uttlesford are joining forces. Together, we will be better able to support communities to thrive and to improve the quality of life of people in Uttlesford

We are delighted to announce that UCAN and Volunteer Uttlesford are joining forces. Together, we will be better able to support communities to thrive and to improve the quality of life of people in Uttlesford

As well as championing and supporting the local voluntary sector, and improving policy and service delivery, UCAN remain committed to Volunteer Uttlesford’s focus on the promotion, facilitation and development of volunteering across Uttlesford.

Susan and Tessa from Volunteer Uttlesford will now be running the Volunteer Centre at UCAN and are contactable by
emailing volunteer@ucan.org.uk. Our volunteering telephone number remains the same – 01799 510525.

Please follow us on social media to keep in touch on our exciting journey together

Facebook: @UttlesfordCAN

Twitter: @UttlesfordCAN

Wellbeing over 40 event for World Menopause Day – an evening of information and discussion

With the theme for World Menopause Day on Tuesday 18th October being ‘Cognition and Mood’, SWTC is delighted to be hosting an event to raise awareness and promote a positive message around the menopause.

Saffron Walden Town Council (SWTC) is pleased to announce its recently adopted policy on Menopause and guiding principles for Employees and Managers

With the theme for World Menopause Day on Tuesday 18th October being ‘Cognition and Mood’, SWTC is delighted to be hosting an event to raise awareness and promote a positive message around the menopause.  A relaxed evening to include information and discussion on nutrition, exercise, sleep, and mental wellbeing presented by guest speaker, Professor Joyce Harper.  She is head of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College London and is passionate about education and discussion of all aspects of women’s health but especially at three key stages: puberty, the fertile years, and the menopause.  Her talk at this event will focus on demystifying the menopause.

Town Clerk, Lisa Courtney will share ‘menopause in the workplace’; giving her own experiences and imparting good practice on how other local businesses can support their employees and adopt similar employee policies – And a selection of local wellbeing practitioners will also be on hand to offer additional information and guidance helping to empower women in their menopause journey;

  • Donna Richardson – Positively Menopausal; women’s wellness and menopause coach
  • Fiona O’Leary – Physiotherapy & Pilates
  • Kathy Ponter – Alexander Technique
  • Nikki Sammons – Wellbeing and relaxation therapist
  • Siobhan Kemp – Saffron Yoga
  • 1 Life – Lord Butler Fitness & Leisure Centre
  • Saffron Walden Library

Tickets are available in person from the Tourist Information Centre at ÂŁ5.00 each and will include a glass of bubbles on arrival and entry into a prize draw to be in with a chance to win a Saffron Grange wine tour and tasting for two!