Charities

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO TACKLE LONELINESS AFTER COVID RESTRICTIONS

A Sheffield charity providing support to isolated older people has been forced to pause its flagship antiloneliness service, due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Sheffield Churches Council for Community Care (SCCCC) still needs volunteers to provide remote support to help the thousands of older people now facing a long winter alone.

SCCCC will still be taking referrals for those needing additional support at home, as well as its Hospital to Home, and A&E to Home schemes which will continue

Barnsley College and Barnsley Sixth Form College are joining forces with charity Chilypep to make a brighter future for the community by donating the colour from the front of new course guides to raise awareness of both mental health and mindfulness.

Chilypep promote the rights, wellbeing and opportunities of all young people across South Yorkshire.

Emma Manser, participation project worker, said: “We put the children and young people we work for at the to run as normal.

CEO Mark Storey said: “It is with a heavy heart we need to pause our Good Neighbours Scheme once more, but the priority remains to keep our service users and volunteers safe.

“We also, like previously, still need to deliver our key services and reduce isolation and loneliness in our older community. Whilst our telephone service isn’t the same as face-to-face visits, a friendly phone call and pen pal letters and cards should provide a welcome comfort in these ever-changing times. heart of everything we do. We have had the privilege to work with staff and students from Barnsley College over the SHEFFIELD CHURCHES COUNCIL PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR OLDER PEOPLE

“We will restart our service once the government and local authority deems it is last five years thanks to our funding from Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group.”

Yiannis Koursis, Principal safe. But in the meantime, we are still here for support for those who need it.”

Make Your Mark UK to team up with Mums In Need

as Charity of the Year a tough job for the judging Make Your Mark UK has abusive relationships who are small charity where we could chosen Sheffield-based looking to rebuild their lives. really help make a difference.” charity Mums In Need as the Make Your Mark UK is Laura Riley, founder and consultancy’s charity of the a training, coaching and CEO of Mums In Need said: year. consultancy helping businesses “This really is amazing. We

Mums In Need (MIN) and charities to be better. haven’t ever been nominated works on confronting coercive Mark Smith of Make Your as a charity of the year before control by supporting mums and their children who have Mark UK said: “We had a great response to our call out for MARK SMITH and so we are absolutely delighted to work with Make left emotionally or mentally nominations which made it Your Mark UK.”

Barnsley College joins forces to build a brighter future

panel. We wanted to choose a and Chief Executive at Barnsley College, added: “We believe good health and wellbeing is essential for anyone to achieve their goals. We have a dedicated and award-winning team of people who make sure students are supported to lead healthy and happy lives.

“Our aim is to make a brighter future for our community. We have taken a small step by donating the colour from the front cover of our course guides to raise awareness of both mental health and mindfulness.”

ALTERNATIVE WINTER WANDERINGS This year has not been the easiest, and the opportunity to celebrate Christmas as fully as we can and get out and about – or online – for events during the winter months, despite the current circumstances, is one that few will turn down. unLTD’s Allie Dransfield, Sasha Mossman and Jill Theobald spoke to a number of organisations to see how they will be welcoming guests and customers in a COVID safe way as the year draws to a close

SHEFFIELD CATHEDRAL

Although this winter seems to be a particularly tough one, there will still plenty of opportunities to celebrate the festive period in the Sheffield City Region.

Starting December 1, the Christmas Tree Festival is a chance to visit the Cathedral with your loved ones from your household (within goverment COVID guidelines), to see a range of different Christmas trees, lovingly decorated by local charities, schools and businesses.

In the spirit of giving, the trees will all be sponsored by local businesses – including unLTD! Visitors can vote for their favourite decorated tree, in which two winners will be chosen from the not-for-profit and corporate sponsors. The winners of the not-for-profit category will receive a cash prize, and the corporate winner will receive a donation to a charity of their choice.

The festival will take the current situation into great consideration, with social distancing and the usual COVID restrictions to apply for the duration of the events.

Ben Rossi, development manager at the Cathedral, said: “For us, we see the festival as something for the local community – from businesses and non-profits to schools and the general public. It’s an excuse to come together in a place of reflection and tranquility and it’s an opportunity to spend time on yourself.

“It’s the first year the Cathedral has hosted a festival like this, and provided this year goes well, we’re hoping to make it an annual tradition. We want to bring Christmas joy and cheer to people’s lives, especially after the year we’ve all had. By all getting involved, we’re aiming to kickstart the New Year with a bit of positivity.”

The Cathedral is giving businesses who’ve chosen to sponsor a tree the chance to send a message to the visitors.

Ben continued: “A lot of these businesses are already opting to use this opportunity to send a prayer, or a message of hope to the people of Sheffield.”

“Sponsoring a tree is a fantastic way for the business community to get involved in something that means they can ‘give back’ to Sheffield. We’d love to get as many trees sponsored as we can before Christmas – our target would be to have around 30 taken by members of the local community. There’s been lots of interest. We’re received pledges of support for nearly half the trees already.”

For every tree, there’ll be a small donation made in the business’ name to the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.

Once the event has finished, the Cathedral aims to dispose of the trees in an environmentally conscious way, by having them chipped so they can be re-used elsewhere in the future.

Renting a tree costs £250 for corporate businesses and £75 for not-for-profits (including schools). Please email Ben Rossi if you are interested in taking part: ben.rossi@ sheffield-cathedral.org.uk

Christmas 2020 is just around the corner – however at Frenchgate Shopping Centre in Doncaster planning starts months ahead of the big day.

Karen Staniforth, assistant general manager at Frenchgate said: “As soon as Father Christmas starts to put his feet up and the decorations are put away we are busy analysing our stats from the festive period.

“The planning then begins just as the first daffodils of Spring are making an appearance and when the sun comes out in early summer we are all ready to go with the plans in place.

“This year however, things have been different to say the least. Forward planning whilst in the midst of a global pandemic and with rules changing so frequently, has made it increasingly hard to make plans.

“As we all know Christmas in the retail sector is big business, indeed the three months leading up to 25 December are often referred to as the ‘golden quarter’ – as a large part of a retailer’s annual sales and profits occurs in these three months before the big day.

“With the majority of retailers having had to close their doors throughout the national lockdown period, many will be reliant on the forthcoming festive period in order to survive.

“Over the recent months we have worked tirelessly as a Centre to implement all the measures required in order to keep our customers and staff safe. We have even introduced our very own COVID Codes of Conduct which we ask customers to adhere to while they are in the Centre.

“We are all aware that we must wear a mask while we shop and adhere to social distancing measures and I

I know times are tough and we may all be spending less this year, but let’s ensure we still get out there and support our local high street and independent retailers – they really do need it this year more than ever.

fully acknowledge that things feel a little different out when you are shopping on your local high street or in a shopping centre, but we must support our retailers or we risk losing them. Retail is Britain’s largest private sector employer, employing more than 3 million people – that accounts for 10 per cent of UK employment. In addition to this figure are the seasonal jobs that the festive period brings to the sector.

“While online shopping may be convenient, we strive to deliver a multi-sensory Christmas shopping experience at Frenchgate. By physically going into stores you will see more of what they have to offer and could find a gift or treat for yourself that you would have never discovered online. The Christmas music, festive lights displays and a wave to Santa in his Grotto all add to the experience as well. Indeed, with the further measures that have been introduced retail therapy may be the only leisure break we get.

“Despite working in retail, I still absolutely love going Christmas shopping and finding that perfect gift for the most difficult person on my list to buy for – we’ve all got one, haven’t we?! With Christmas shopping this year we are all going to have to be a bit more organised. “I know times are tough and we may all be spending less this year, but let’s ensure we still get out there and support our local high street and independent retailers – they really do need it this year more than ever.”

The Sheffield Digital Festival is happening between November 16-22 and will showcase the city region’s creative and digital industries through a range of virtual events and experiences.

Originally planned for May this year, the Festival was moved to autumn and the format was reshaped in order to be ‘lockdown proof’. So, whatever local restrictions South Yorkshire is under during the week of the event, all experiences are accessible to everyone either outdoors or from the comfort of home.

The Festival does however have a distinct theme of exploration and discovery, with the aim of encouraging people to rediscover everything our city and region has to offer, through a digital medium. SHOWROOM

Lesley Ellerby, Showroom assistant marketing manager said: “Christmas is about enjoying great food, drink and entertainment in the company of your loved ones. During such extraordinary times, it means much more today to celebrate the festive period with those closest to you.

“This year, we’ve adapted our usual Christmas offering to a smaller more intimate affair to allow your household or support

Festival partners, Field and Sheffield Digital, are doing this in two ways. There is an Augmented Reality (AR) App. People can download and use this while making their way along ‘trails’ in Sheffield and Barnsley, to discover exclusive digital content at specific venues.

You won’t have to go into the venues and if COVID-19 measures prevent you from visiting the physical locations, content will be made available on the Sheffield Digital Festival website.

There is also a busy calendar of virtual Festival ‘fringe’ events, hosted by different individuals and companies from Sheffield City Region’s digital industries. This includes webinars, workshops and live Twitter Q&As, which can all be found on the Festival calendar: sheffielddigitalfestival.com/ events. bubble to enjoy a delicious festive meal prepared by us.

“Our four-course Christmas menu will be available throughout December and will served in our friendly Showroom Café Bar. Take a look at our menu – www.showroomworkstation .org.uk/xmas-2020

“To complete your outing, we will be screening a Christmas film programme to help you escape and get into the festive spirit. Films to be announced soon!”

Sheffield Digital director Mel Kanarek, explains: “COVID-19 has brought the need for digital technologies into sharp focus, and members of Sheffield Digital have been integral to helping many companies and communities adapt and survive. The Festival will showcase what our digital industries can do, but also Sheffield City Region and the amazing museums, exhibitions, colleges and universities that we have.

“We are aligned with the ‘Make Yourself at Home’ initiative and share the ambition of getting our city and surrounding towns moving again, while maintaining the habits and solutions that are keeping us safe. The Festival will enable exploration and discovery for everyone – whether you choose to stay home or to get out and about in a safe way using the App, you can see what our creative and digital industries have to offer.”

The Festival has attracted support from sponsors including The Sheffield College, and technology and engineering consultancy, BJSS. Barnsley’s new innovation campus, The Seam – which brings together the two Digital Media Centres and Barnsley College’s Digital Innovation Hub – is headline sponsor.

Get involved

Check out sheffielddigitalfestival. com to discover what virtual events are happening and follow the Festival on social media with the hashtag: #sheffielddigitalfestival to stay up to date and to download the App when it is

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