The OPEN Youth Trust (OPEN) on Bank Plain is pleased to announce thatMark Jeffries has become its fourth patron, joining The Rt. Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, Richard Jewson, Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk and Chief Constable Simon Bailey. Mark was the Senior Partner of national law firm Mills & Reeve until last year but remains a consultant whilst also holding non-executive board roles at the Department of Education, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, R G Carter and NW Brown.
Talking of his appointment as patron Mark Jeffries said: “OPEN plays a vital role in providing facilities and delivering services for young people in Norfolk. I am delighted to be able to support the energetic team there who are working so hard to deliver the benefits of education, industry and commerce working together. There is enormous potential for the future.”
John Gordon-Saker, Chief Executive of OPEN said: “Every penny of profit generated through conference and event hire goes directly to the benefit of vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. Mark is widely respected in the business, education and health sectors and can help tell our compelling story to organisations that might be looking for socially responsible opportunities in the local community. I am thrilled that he so readily agreed to be a patron.”
Charity information campaign voiced by Stephen Fry and Martin Shaw
Two of Norfolk’s most famous residents; actor, comedian and writer, Stephen Fry and actor, Martin Shaw, have joined forces to help Norfolk and Waveney cancer charity, Big C, create a new television and radio campaign to ensure those affected by cancer during the Coronavirus pandemic are aware of, and can access, vital support.
The pair, who have generously donated their time to the campaign, have provided voiceovers to provide information and signposting to Big C services. The advertisements will be aired on ITV, The Beach, North Norfolk Radio and Radio Norwich 99.9fm from May 12th.
Stephen Fry voices the radio advertisement. He said, “So pleased to be able to support a local charity doing so much good. It’s vital of course to do what we can to lessen the impact of the Coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean we should forget others who are stricken with other illnesses and in need of our support too.”
Martin Shaw voices the television advertisement said, “Thanks to Big C people living with cancer, can still access the support they need during this time of crisis. It’s a valuable service worth supporting – and they couldn’t do this without donations from the public, which is why I was delighted to help.”
Every year more than 8,000 people in Norfolk will be told they have cancer and many more will be living with the effects every day.
Dr Chris Bushby, Chief Executive at Big C, said, “The key message of our new broadcast campaign is that “We are still here to support you” and having Stephen and Martin on board helps enormously to instil that message. Many thanks to them for their generosity.
“At Big C, we have been supporting local people affected by cancer for 40 years and our team cares passionately about those who use our services. They are working tirelessly to provide valuable support and information for those at home coping with cancer and the additional challenges of the Coronavirus situation. This is a very difficult set of circumstances to deal with, but having the appropriate support makes an important difference. We want people to know they can rely on us throughout lockdown and beyond.”
Big C has a range of services designed to support those affected by cancer during the Coronavirus pandemic which include:
Free telephone support line operated by cancer specialist nurses and qualified, experienced cancer information officers. Telephone 0800 092 7640, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Live chat facility Monday to Friday 11am to 3pm
Telephone counselling
Telephone advice in partnership with Citizens Advice Bureau
Big C Virtual Centre – support.big-c.co.uk offering ‘Ask the Nurse’ support and video links to Big C team members. Physical activity and mental wellbeing videos
Delivery of Big C welfare support packs, including hand sanitisers made by UEA scientists for the charity
Emergency delivery service for those most in need
Weekly wellbeing blogs from Big C nursing and information support staff
Anyone affected by cancer in Norfolk and Waveney can access the following support by calling Big C free on 0800 092 7640
View Big C’s Coronavirus support advertisement here https://youtu.be/T077fQQRpfQ
Like many other charities, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Big C has experienced a significant drop in income, with shops closed and spring and summer fundraising events postponed.
If you can support Big C, donations are gratefully welcomed at fundraise.big-c.co.uk
We are looking for a bright and committed developer to join our Norwich team. Due to Covid-19 this will initially be home-based, with office working to resume when the situation improves.
This is a fantastic opportunity to join a fast growing company with a role that offers real flexibility and potential. Many of our existing clients work with frameworks and CMS systems such as WordPress and Shopify, but we are keen to move towards more modern solutions such as JAMstack and headless CMS. This will be a core part of this position.
The successful applicant will have most or all of the following:
Proven working experience with frameworks and systems such as React/Gatsby/Netlify In-depth knowledge of modern HTML/CSS Strong familiarity with PHP and Javascript Experience building responsive HTML emails from provided designs Experience with hosting companies and server management Knowledge of SEO principles Problem-solving skills, debugging and cross-browser testing In addition, they will be hard working, curious, have a positive attitude, and be keen to help other members of the team.
Founded in 2011, Blink is a digital agency based in Norwich, Norfolk. We are a small but extremely ambitious team that has delivered extremely successful projects across a wide range of sectors. We work extremely hard to provide a positive and supportive environment, and there are numerous benefits to working with us, including:
4 day working week (Monday – Thursday, 9am-6pm) Flexible working opportunities Profit share (available after six months) City centre location Breakout space with table tennis, standing desks etc Office showers Selection of office dogs Careful attention to career growth and development For some of our employee reviews, see https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Blink-SEO-EI_IE3314924.11,20.htm
Benefits:
Work from home opportunities Bonus scheme Profit sharing/share options Flexible working hours Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Surprise your employees with a Kindness Corporate Box delivered through their letterbox as a little something to make them smile for £10 including delivery using the code KIND. Choose 3 handcrafted chocolate bars and add a postcard with a personalised message. Get in touch with Matt Legon or via https://lnkd.in/gaP5H6w
Discover King’s Lynn, The King’s Lynn BID is this week launching a number of actions to help Town Centre businesses get ready to re-open their premises in the forthcoming months. Free signage for premises and webinars on risk assessment and becoming COVID-19 Safe are amongst the support being offered.
“To say that most town centre businesses are having a hard time at the moment would be an understatement,” says BID Manager Vicky Etheridge. “One of the roles of the BID is to support business, the Board and I are clear that we will do what we can to assist businesses with the process of re-opening. These are some of the short-term practical things that we can offer.”
The help being provided will be funded by a grant that the BID expects to receive from central Government in the coming weeks. The Minister for High Streets, Simon Clarke, announced a £6.1m resilience fund for BIDs in England on 1st May. The fund has been set up to assist BIDs with running costs and enable them to carry on their important role at this critical time. “We were really heartened to read the Minister’s words of support for BIDs, “says BID Chair, Sharon Edwards of Mapus-Smith & Lemmon. “As he said in his statement, BIDs have a unique role to play in championing town centres, supporting local business and leading the renewal of our high streets. We anticipate receiving around £10,000 from this fund and will be putting it all back into activities that support our levy payers.”
The BID is funded by an annual levy on businesses within a defined area of King’s Lynn town centre. This year’s levy bills for the period April 2020/21 are yet to be sent out in recognition of the difficulties that many businesses are facing. “We are working with the Borough Council to set a date to issue the bills and offer monthly payment plans. We recognise that many will not be able to pay this year and we have budgeted for that, without a BID there is no organisation or single voice that has the business community as its primary focus. The BID will be even more important to champion business needs and importance of a vibrant town centre as part of the recovery process. The Board and Vicky are really keen to hear business ideas about what recovery might look like and how the BID can best support them. We will be contacting levy payers about this shortly, in the meantime, do get in touch with Vicky.”
To find out more about the webinars, signage and other support available please contact Vicky Etheridge, BID Manager on 07387 752 226 or email; [email protected]
We hope you have all been keeping safe and I’m sure you are eager to dust off the clubs and hit the fairways again, following several weeks of lockdown and especially with warmer weather forecasted on the horizon.
We have completed a thorough review of the government guidelines and industry recommendations for dealing with “best practise” when golf courses can re-open; and are pleased to outline how we will adapt our golf club accordingly to allow you to return and reopen on Friday 15th May from 9am. Our main priority is ensuring safety measures can be maintained to ensure members and staff can return to Barnham Broom.
We have a number of things to consider and update you about, which are outlined below. We remind members and their guests to adhere to the Government’s guidelines and in particular follow social distancing and hand sanitisation.
Access & new temporary / short term measures
Our golf operations will be re-located temporarily to our Barford Suite, where we have car parking in close proximity, gated access directly to the courses, an abundance of outdoor areas and most importantly spacious surroundings. In this area we can offer the best social distancing layout to ensure you can check in safely, have a clear route to follow and still offer many of the usual items for sale you would find in the professional shop. Access will only be through the Barford Suite area as the other parts of Barnham Broom remain closed.
Additional safety measures adopted are listed below:
• Pre booking of tee times preferably using the online BRS system, you will not be able to just turn up to play. No shows may incur a green fee. • 10 days advance booking for members, 5 days for non-members • Respectfully requesting 2 tee times per week maximum booked, to allow availability for all • 2 ball play only and whilst always maintaining social distancing • Members should not arrive more than 20 minutes (Valley) and 30 minutes (Hill) prior to their tee time unless using the range. Numbers will be restricted using the practise areas, so you may have to wait in turn. • Footwear to be changed in the car park • Academy course will only be available for academy members and coaching • Increased sanitiser availability around check in touch points • Hire items will be pre-sanitised prior to use • Course furniture removed where appropriate, requests to not touch flagsticks, hole cups, hand rails and bells • We strongly recommend you bring your own personal sanitiser or anti-bacterial wipes
Social distancing & self-isolating when high risk
At all times we will be encouraging social distancing measures to be followed, on and off the golf courses, we strongly urge all members and their guests to follow this practise. Should you be in a high risk category and have been asked by the NHS to self-isolate, we will suspend membership on the production of an applicable letter.
Membership subscriptions
For those on annual memberships, credits, by way of gift vouchers will be given to use against guest green fees, rentals or range – for the loss of play in April, by way of a goodwill gesture. For expired annual members, this credit will only be offered once membership is renewed.
Direct debits re-commence from mid-May in line with the course re-opening, new season tariffs will be applied from Mid-June.
Should your membership have expired since shut down, prompt payment will ensure access to the courses can be provided. You will receive your renewal notification this week via Club V1 e mail. Please make your payment via online banking, using your full name as the reference or by credit or debit card on your next return to play.
As you are aware we have had no revenue during this period of shutdown, so we would be very grateful for your membership payments to be made promptly.
Booking tee times and next steps
Finally, we will re-open the BRS tee sheets for both courses on Wednesday 13th May at 3pm to ensure fairness and availability to all members. Please note pre bookings have been removed and all competitions cancelled for the time being. For now you can book up to 10 days in advance and should book no more than 2 tee times per week as a reminder, until the demand levels out. Please call as usual if you do not have access to the online system, after 3pm tomorrow. Due to the expected demand, please do try and use the online booking system, as our phones may get very busy. 24 hours later at 3pm on Thursday 14th May we will open any visitor availability, but this will be limited for 5 day advance booking only.
When you return, you will notice signage and direction to ensure we adhere to the new measures and most of all please observe the social distancing rules and ensure hand sanitisation is also followed.
We look forward to seeing you very soon and welcoming you back to Barnham Broom Golf Club and as a reminder, please park on the Barford Suite side to access the golf course.
Get your coffee, get comfortable and join us next Thursday 28th May to hear from Andrea Hardiman of ‘All About The Message’ at our Coastal Connect morning. Book your place here
Adjusting to any crisis is tough – it’s a bit like being on a rollercoaster!
We all react differently and sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do for the best. I’ll be sharing some of my ‘mindset top tips’ that have helped me adapt during the lockdown.
I’ll also reveal the ‘marketing checklist’ I’ve been using for both for my marketing and my clients. From a ‘Start-Stop-Continue’ process to adopting a softer tone to marketing communications and connecting with existing customers, these are small steps to help you be ‘marketing ready’ for the future.
Andrea’s passion for marketing and her love of storytelling naturally led to a career in communication and where people are at the heart of her work.
Her mission is simple – to enable success and engage others through inspiring, creative marketing which successfully connects companies to their customers.
As an award-winning marketer and founder of Norwich Marketing company ‘All About The Message,’ she knows how to help companies effectively tell their story and create marketing that influences and engages with their customers.
Marketing strategy is what really makes her heart sing. She listens to a company, understands their market position, recognises their competitors and finally creates for them a unique marketing strategy, so their voice is heard.
There is no ‘marketing scattergun’ approach here. Through her 25 years marketing experience, with some global brands, Andrea understands how to fashion stand-out stories and construct realistic, fresh and straight-forward marketing strategies aimed at both new and existing customers.
Norfolk and Waveney cancer charity, Big C, has announced the launch of virtual support group meetings for men, women and young people, to further bolster the package of support on offer to those affected by cancer in our community during the pandemic.
The Men’s Support Group, which usually meets at Big C Norwich Centre, met virtually for the first-time recently. The meeting was facilitated by Big C Cancer Information Clinical Nurse, Julian Pollard. He said “Everyone was very positive towards the experience. Many of the men in the group have been in isolation and shielding for several weeks, so being able to see people, especially those from their peer support group was really beneficial for them.”
Tim O’Shanohun, a service user who regularly attends the group, said: “By having this, it goes to show you that support is there for those who need it. Having this group meeting and the support packs that have been sent to me has been a bit of a lifeline at the moment.”
The Women’s Support Group, who also usually meet at the Norwich Big C Centre, hosted their first virtual meeting on the 15th May, organised by Cancer Information Clinical Nurse Specialist, Jenny Daly and Support and Information Nurse, Julie Taafe.
Jenny said: “The ladies who joined myself and Julie enjoyed having the catch up with everyone and sharing how they have been coping with the lockdown. The ladies were really pleased to be able to have the opportunity to use Zoom to stay in contact.”
Ladies group member, Yvonne, said, “As I have very much missed my regular visits to the Big C centre for support, relaxation and the ladies group, I found the session yesterday very helpful as it was really good to actually see people for a discussion rather than by telephone and to know the support is there too. With my only outings where I have conversations face to face with people (other than my husband) confined to visits to the supermarket, Zoom is an excellent way of keeping in touch, like having friends round which is as close as we can at the moment.”
The Free2Be support group for young people aged 13 to 25, who have or have had a cancer diagnosis, also held a virtual support group this week.
Big C area manager, Tonia King, said: “The young people that attended really enjoyed reconnecting again and have developed great supportive friendships. We had one member join us from their hospital bed, with the group offering a much-needed distraction for the long days with no visitors. During the meeting we had some members donning fancy dress and wigs to much amusement, plus some showing off how they have been keeping active at home. My personal favourite highlight was the group singalong and dancing to Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5.”
Bianca Rudd who attends the Free2Be group said “Being at the Free2Be meeting is like been with my second family however, they aren’t family; they are people which have been through a similar situation as you have, with professionals who are there listen to you, help you if you need it and they are there to support you, not judge you and without them I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
Another group member added: “The meeting was just what I needed. To see my cancer family was a perfect way to put a smile on my face in a troubling time. It was great to see how much Big C are still there for the people that need them.”
Big C Director of Operations, Dr Melanie Pascale said, “The Big C support team has done a tremendous job to set up the virtual group meetings which, from the feedback we have already received, we know are of great value and comfort to those affected by cancer in our community. The circumstances are currently very tough for those with cancer, but with the right support and friendship people are often able to find enormous strength and resilience.”
For more information about Big C Support Groups, please call 0800 092 7640 (free to call, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).
To learn more about the work Big C does to improve the lives of those affected by cancer in Norfolk and Waveney, please visit www.big-c.co.uk
A far reaching transport group is launching a scheme to provide apprentices in Norfolk with an affordable way to travel to and from work
Next month (March 2016) Kickstart – a Dereham based charity which hire’s mopeds to help people attend work, education or training – will offer the new scheme to young apprentices aged between 16 and 18.
The new project will specifically tackle the problem many young apprentices face trying to afford travel expenses to get to work and back. Now, Kickstart will be offering young apprentices free motorcycle clothing and a one day compulsory basic training (CBT) course to enable them to legally ride a moped or scooter. The charity will then offer the apprentices’ subsidised hire of a 50cc moped for only £2.86 per day.
Barry Lynes, rider coordinator for Kickstart, said: “We are extremely happy to be launching this scheme, which we hope will help many young apprentices across Norfolk. Many of these young people do struggle financially whilst learning their trades due to a combination of low wages and lack of available benefits. For many of these aspiring young people affording transport to and from their place of work can be a significant problem, which we hope this scheme will help them to overcome. Once the apprentices have completed the CBT and been handed the clothing they are able to hire a fully insured, taxed and maintained moped for under £3 per day for the remainder of their apprenticeship.”
The Naked Element team was up bright and early (well, early anyways) to take part in the first MyTech event in Norwich. Organised by Inspired Youth, the event aimed to bring local tech industries and interested students together for networking and advice.
After DevelopHER‘s Vickie opened the event, our director Paul was part of the first panel of employers answering questions about their career path and industry sector. After that we met with students for the rest of the morning, answering questions and giving advice where we could.
We were between DevelopHER Code Club and Develop, meeting each of the small groups of students in turn. It was interesting to hear that there was lots of interest in computer science, with many of the pupils in attendance studying it at GCSE, but many said they were not considering going to university.
The most common question we were asked over the day was if programming and coding needed specific qualifications. Our answer was ‘not as far as we’re concerned!’ An interest in code and a passion to learn is vital, as is some evidence that tech is something that fascinates you. A program you’ve written, or computer you’ve fixed, is worth much more than a high grade.
Hopefully the students we met today got something useful from the day and perhaps we’ll be seeing them on the tech scene very soon!
We seem to have been overtaken by the Covid 19 Virus and lockdown. This had consequences which we had to address. All events and fundraising were cancelled. Essential awareness & profile increasing talks we give to the community were also cancelled and we saw our income dry up.
But we have amazing members and supporters who have managed to keep some funding coming in!
We had a dual head shave which raised £2300, then a 14hour music marathon which has raised another £850, and then a supporter did a 4day virtual cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats, 874miles in 4days raising £1500 for us. Finally, we received a donation of £2000 from the Royal Household Warrant Holders Association Charity. These donations have softened the impact of our income decreasing. The good news is, that we have been chosen as Charity of the Year by the Sandringham Royal Warrant Holders for the year 2021 to 2022 and will look forward to working with them.
Covid 19 has affected what we do as a charity
So, to recap, our normal routine covered supplying the Air Ambulance as a stakeholder in the RePHILL trial. This is a 3year trial to determine whether giving blood at the scene of an accident has any beneficial outcome for the patient in recovering. The trial is totally randomised, we and the crews have no idea if there is blood or saline in the boxes we deliver daily, until they are opened on scene. The trial will be concluded in December 2020. Without NBB involvement as an essential stakeholder, the trial would not have gone ahead.
Our deliveries of blood, blood products, path lab samples and any item required for the clinical treatment of patients in the 3 Norfolk NHS Hospitals continued as normal. Our collection and deliveries of Donor Breast Milk (DBM) has continued to and from the milk banks, including the new regional milk bank hub in Norwich, and to the hospital NICU’s. Covid 19 has changed all this. Why? Initially we had contracts, called Service Level Agreements with the 3 main hospitals. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, The James Paget Hospital in Gorleston and the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in Norwich. We started delivering Covid samples from the 3 main hospitals to Microbiology in the research park in Colney. It started as a trickle but in line with increased testing, demanded by the Government, we are transporting more and more samples on a nightly basis. In addition, 8 more smaller community hospitals have now asked us to transport their samples as opposed to sending by taxi. Now we have 11hospitals to look after and the number of samples delivered, has gone up to 257, from the end of March through to the end of May. In addition, there has been an increase in the collection and delivery of Donor Breast Milk during the daytime as well. All this is on top of our normal tasks. At the peak of the pandemic, the Air Ambulance suspended the RePHILL trial as the staff in Haematology were now tasked with Covid related items. We had an increase in Covid samples, increased DBM and all on top of a drop in fundraising income.
How do we manage? 2 items of good news came our way.
1, HMRC after years of negotiations declared all liveried blood bikes would now be classed as ambulances and are now exempt from the road fund licence, with effect from 1st April 2020.2, BP Fuel declared, they would supply free fuel for all emergency vehicles, including liveried blood bikes until 4th June.. These 2 items alone will save us a lot of money. RFL alone is £1500 per year, and our monthly fuel costs are in the region of £1300 per month, so these are big savings for us. With these savings, we decided to give our volunteers a pay rise to take their pay from £0.00 to £0.00 and the same applied to our charges to the NHS, no increase. It will remain a free of charge service by unpaid volunteers Thanks to sound financial planning over the last 3 years, we are in a good position to ride out the storm, (cue music “Riders on the Storm” by the Doors) , but it will affect our fleet replacement program. We are looking at funding and need to raise £150,000 for 10 bike replacements over the next 2 years from 2021. A milestone for us was reached in April when we completed 8,000 callouts since starting in October 2012. At an average cost to the hospitals of £70.00 per callout we have saved the NHS £560,000 and many lives in the process. In 2021, we will be holding our 1st ever Charity Golf Day, sadly this year it had to be cancelled due to Covid. Has your company experience of sponsoring sporting events? We are looking for a sponsor, who wants to be actively involved and we would be pleased to discuss our plans with you. Please contact me via email or mobile 07538 785022
Can you help?
By following us on Facebook, Norfolk Blood Bikes, share and like our page. By visiting our website By donating For further information please email us at [email protected]
Norfolk and Waveney cancer charity, Big C, has been awarded crucial funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to support the charity’s emergency response helping cancer patients and their families during the Covid-19 pandemic. Big C has been awarded £100,000 to assist with six months of funding for a raft of services which the team at Big C rapidly adapted and created as the pandemic took hold. This includes a specialist telephone support line, live chat support, telephone counselling, welfare advice, ‘Ask the Nurse’ support via Big C’s virtual centre, physical and mental wellbeing videos, wellbeing packs and emergency delivery services.
Dr Chris Bushby, Chief Executive at Big C said, “During what is an extremely challenging and difficult time for the charity sector, the news of National Lottery funding is very welcome. We, along with many other charities, are experiencing a perfect storm where we have suffered a sudden drop in funding against a need to invest in services to help the increasing number of people who need our support. Many of these people are among the most vulnerable at this incredibly difficult time. “The funding is also great recognition for our team who are passionate about the role they play in helping those local people affected by cancer and have worked tirelessly to deliver the very best support for our service users.” Chris continued, “This year marks Big C’s 40th anniversary. Our supporters have been instrumental in the success of the
If you are interested in fundraising for Big C, please visit fundraise.big-c.co.uk www.big-c.co.uk