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West Cumbria Community Heroes Awards 2015

Do you know a helpful volunteer?

We are sponsoring the Volunteer of the Year Award, as part of the 2015 West Cumbria Community Heroes Awards in association with Sellafield.

The award recognises  people who have gone out of the way to help others and celebrates their devotion to the community. We are proud to sponsor this award as it stands for many of the same principles as the Neighbourhood Care Independence (NCI) Programme.

To nominate someone for Volunteer of the Year 2015 visit:

Times and Star Heroes

Whitehaven News Heroes

Entries must be received by 9th October 2015. Winners will be announced at a gala dinner at Whitehaven Golf Club on Thursday 26th November.

Andy Beeforth and Sharon Barnes
Andy Beeforth with last year’s Volunteer of the Year award winner, Sharon Barnes.

 

Lands End to Carlisle Charity Cycling Challenge

Two retired businessmen are taking on a big cycling challenge to raise money for Cumbria Community Foundation (CCF).

Starting from Lands End, Tim Cartmell a former farming solicitor and John Rickerby, who was part of Rickerby Limited, will head north on a 530 mile ride home to Carlisle.

While John has already completed the John O Groats to Carlisle section; Tim, who could be described as a novice cyclist, is taking part on a borrowed bike powered by two bionic knees!

They hope to complete the endeavour in ten days, pedalling between 50 and 60 miles a day.

Tim, 67, said: “John has already done John O Groats downhill to Carlisle and now wants to try the uphill section. I stupidly agreed to accompany him as pedalling is apparently good for my two knee replacements. But, looking at John’s bottom in a bicycle saddle isn’t good for my eyesight, so I will pedal some distance behind with John out of sight!”

Both wives have been asked to be on hand to fix any technical bike problems and to supply the riders with drinks and ointments.

Tim Cartmell and John Rickerby cycling challengeJohn, 66, said: “We know that it is not that major an endeavour which warrants asking for donations or sponsorship – a sponsor usually gets something in return for his donation whereas our sponsors won’t get anything apart from our thanks and the satisfaction perhaps that we cannot give up having been promised, or having received, your money for our cause.”

Cumbria Community Foundation is a charity founded 15 years ago to help worthwhile charitable causes and purposes in Cumbria. John has supported the Foundation and Tim is a trustee of the Foundation. All the money will go towards supporting the work of CCF.

Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive of Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “This is an epic challenge for Tim and John and one which I will enjoy following as they work their way up through the English countryside. I do worry about Tim though, he has borrowed my bike and by his own admission isn’t a cyclist. He assures me he will be ok because he cycled 65 miles in a day for a charity a decade ago, but this challenge will involve getting back on the bike and doing 50 miles a day for ten days running. No mean feat for a man who will not embrace lycra!”

You can sponsor Tim and John via their JustGiving page.

Hunter’s Helping Hand for Cumbrian Student

A student from Carlisle has received support from a Cumbrian author as he enters the world of further education.

Administered through Cumbria Community Foundation, the Hunter Davies Fund provides financial assistance to students starting university to be used for course related costs such as fees, books, fieldtrips, equipment or transport.

Simon BoothroydSimon Boothroyd, 18 attended Trinity School and was nominated by his Head Teacher for showing academic achievement, despite his personal circumstances. Both his parents passed away when he was young and was taken into foster care. However, he excelled at school, became Head Boy and now starts Nottingham University next week to study veterinary medicine.

Simon said: “Receiving the bursary has helped me feel more at ease entering my first year of university. My biggest worry was how I could afford all of the fees and extras you have to buy but this has been a great help.”

Hunter Davies said: “I like the idea of helping someone the way I was unexpectedly helped. In 1954, the Minister of the Church my family attended in Carlisle knocked at the front door of our council house in Carlisle – and I hid, never really liking him or his church. But he had come to give me £10 – thanks to a gift from a member of the church to be given to someone in the congregation who had got into a university. It mattered hugely to me as we had so little money and my father had been disabled almost all my life. I was so surprised, thrilled and grateful.”

Annalee Holliday, Grants & Donor Services Officer at the Foundation said: “The bursaries provide an opportunity for young people in Cumbria to receive a helping hand as they pursue further education. The Fund demonstrates how people can make a real difference to an issue they care about by creating a fund with the Foundation”.

Simon also received £2,000 from the Cumbria Young People’s Fund and £500 from the Edmond Castle Educational Trust.

Comic Relief funding available to local projects

Cumbria Community Foundation is calling for local community groups, resident associations, community centres, social enterprises, community interest companies and credit unions to apply for a share of £13,000.

What is the money for?

Comic Relief is offering the money, raised through Red Nose Day and Sport Relief, to help community and sports projects through their ‘Local Communities’ programme. The programme aims to empower local people to create a lasting change in their community by increasing access to sport, exercise and local services, building skills of local people, increasing community cohesion and social inclusion.

Annalee Holliday, Grants and Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation said: “Cumbria Community Foundation has been working with Comic Relief since 2009 and we have awarded more than £140,000 in grants to support community groups and charities in our local area. We are very pleased to continue this relationship as there are still many communities in Cumbria that suffer from economic and social deprivation and the current economic climate may make this situation worse.”

A proportion of the money available will be allocated to projects which ‘increase access to sport and exercise for people who face social exclusion and isolation’.

Children playing bowls at Northside Community Centre

Previous funding

Last year Cumbria Community Foundation awarded Northside Community Centre in Workington £10,000 from the Comic Relief Fund towards staff costs to keep the centre open and offer a larger range of fundamental services. The Centre has since been able to open an internet café, run kids arts and crafts classes, exercise classes, and a work club helping residents prepare CVs: all of which meet the community’s current needs.

Applications

Grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 are available and applications are now open until Friday 9th October 2015. To find out more about the Comic Relief Fund available at Cumbria Community Foundation please click here, call 01900 82470 or email enquiries@cumbriafoundation.org.

Dreams will come true for bright young Cumbrians

Fantastic opportunities for students to experience leadership in local businesses with Dream Placement 2016

A new generation of Cumbria’s brightest and best sixth form students are being invited to apply for a ‘Dream Placement’ with the county’s top employers as the Centre for Leadership Performance launches its ground-breaking 2016 initiative to build a bridge between potential young leaders and business.

Over 30 companies and organisations are now involved in the scheme, with host companies from last year’s initiative taking part again. Cumbria Community Foundation are one of the local companies offering placements, in addition to; Capita, Nugeneration Ltd, Studsvik, Carlisle United, Sellafield Ltd, In-Cumbria, North West Evening Mail, National Nuclear Laboratory, Energy Solutions, React Engineering, Hi-Def, Story Homes and Story Contracting, Nuclear Graduates, Thomas Graham, GlaxoSmithKline, Nuvia, Mott MacDonald, NHS Foundation Trust, Amec Foster Wheeler, Direct Rail Services, Gen2 , REACT Engineering, NSG Environmental, Doosan Babcock, Bendalls Engineering, Costain, Energy Solutions, Createc, NDA, Jacobs, Innovus, Energus, and Allerdale Borough Council.

The Dream Placement

The successful Dream Placement candidates will spend a week with their host company during the 2016 February half term (15th- 19th), to get an insider’s view of Cumbria’s best employers, and see first-hand how these organisations’ senior teams and leaders operate.

Information has already gone out to schools and sixth forms across Cumbria and visits with host companies and dream placement ambassadors will be taking place in September and October to encourage students to enter and stake their claim to a Dream Placement by explaining in an online application why they would be selected. Students will be prompted to give 100-word entries about their aspirations and academic life.

Cumbria Community Foundation are delighted to be a part of the initiative and look forward to welcoming the successful young candidates to the team. With so many exciting projects that happen at our Foundation we are sure the placement students will have a positive and engaging experience to help them with future employment.

About Centre for Leadership Performance

The CfLP is a non-profit and private limited organisation that works to develop Cumbria’s leaders for today and tomorrow. Dream Placement is part of CfLP’s broader initiative of promoting leadership throughout the county and strengthening the regional supply chain – in particular, investing in future leaders and making students more aware of the fantastic opportunities for them in Cumbria. Participating companies are making contributions to help fund the Dream Placement programme this year.

Sarah Glass, Business Development manager CfLP, says “ We are delighted that so many organisations are on board for 2016. Last year was a huge success and with even more companies on board we hope to make 2016 even more successful. By working with local businesses Dream Placement offers students an insight into the breath of fantastic opportunities here in Cumbria and shows them what they can aspire to in leadership roles across the County and helps businesses connect with their next generation of leaders. I urge any young person out there who’s thinking about it to enter, this is a fantastic opportunity and is unique to Cumbria.”

The Application Process

The closing date for applications is October 26th 2015. After this time the entries will be scrutinised by a panel and individuals shortlisted will be invited to attend a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style evening on 10th December. Here they will come face-to-face with top senior managers and representatives from the organisations involved.

How to Apply

Young people wishing to take part in the scheme should visit www.cforlp.org.uk where they can find more entry details and view a video in which past students and host companies talk about their Dream Placement experiences.

For more information please call Sarah Glass at CfLP 07809436190 or email sarah.glass@cforlp.org.uk

The NSG Psyclopaths

To paraphrase a once great leader, “Friends, Cumbrians (and Lancastrians), Psyclopaths, lend me your ears”.

The fateful day fast approaches. I hope this latest whimsical waltz through the trials and tribulations of the Psyclopaths journey finds you all fit and well and raring to go. No? Well there’s only three weeks to go, so what have you been doing??

As you would expect, my fellow Psyclos have continued to put the training miles in, some preferring the short sharp shocks of the Lancastrian hills (difficult to say whilst on the wonderful Jennings Bitter), whilst yours truly led a bunch made up of hardened Psyclos and budding Psyclos around the gentle undulations of the Preston Guild Wheel.

Capt'n Psyclos Harem

We would have been in the famed Continental Bar a lot quicker had it not been for the seriously under-maintained bike that a budding Psyclo turned up with. But thanks must go to the Musician Psyclo (particularly from budding Psyclo Wendi) for taking one for the team and manly wrestling the two-wheeled beast around the circuit.

Once again apologies must go to our main sponsors Jennings (great beer by the way), but the Schneider Weisse beer went down extremely well!!

Refreshing Beer

The drive and dedication of this elite bunch of Psyclo ne’r do wells have inspired others to don the lycra and we have a couple of budding Psyclos already thinking about next years ride. We have also got another promotion into the Psyclo elite from the now defunct NSGeese, another colleague at NSG, Chemical Psyclo – Sam Padmore has risen to the challenge and passed the rigorous Psyclo fitness test.

Budding Psyclo Wendi

As for yours truly, the third batch of toxic chemicals was successfully administered over the now usual five and a half hours, on 3rd September and the cycle of effects seems to be consistent with the previous cycles (far to much cycling if you ask me!!) On steroids – top of the world, off steroids – tired and lethargic. At least its consistent! Looking forward to the next batch on the 24th September.

So all the preparations are nearing completion, peak fitness’s are nearly achieved, the NSG corporate tent has been found, so lets hope Keswick is ready for the influx of the finest set of Psyclopaths that have ever straddled a saddle – try saying that after a couple of pints of the excellent Jennings Cumberland Bitter! (How am I doing in plugging the beer?)

Whatever the weather it promises to be a great day out and I for one will be glad to be part of it.

Please come and visit us at the NSG tent (we’ll hopefully be next to the brilliant Jennings tent again – another plug!!) It will be a pleasure to see all the kind people who have supported and encouraged not only me on my personal journey but also the good people at the foundation, without who this event would not be taking place. As the late, great Leslie Crowther was oft saying “Come on Down!”

Hardenend & budding Psyclos

Here are a couple of thoughts to keep in mind as you complete your final preparations;

“If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, oh and never quit!”

“Embrace life and the pleasures it brings, live it to the full, after all you only get one shot at it.”

See you all on the 27th bright and early……..

P.S. – Still no word from the LLWR site – I think it must have been a figment of my vivid imagination whilst I was under the influence of either the toxic chemicals or copious quantities of the excellent Jennings Bitter (must be up for some freebies now!!) that led me to believe the Psyclos would have any serious rivals!!