The 10^th December marks the end of 16 days of international activism of violence against women and girls (VAWG). The United Nations describes this as “the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation worldwide affecting more than an estimated 1 in 3 women”.

As a Community Organiser, it has been humbling and a privilege to speak to a number of women and young girls that have shared their stories of their lived experiences. It is clear that more funding and  work needs to be done to support organisations that provide services to vulnerable women and girls. It is the hope that we could strive towards a day when these campaigns and services will not be need. Will this ever happen?

At the local level exist some outstanding organisations dedicated to offering support to the rights of women and girls. See below for a list of organisations operating locally and links to more information.

Organisations operating in London Brough of Hammersmith and Fulham

• The WILDE Foundation – black minority ethnic led organisation: https://www.wildeinternationalnetwork.org.uk/
• Advance: https://www.advancecharity.org.uk/
• Standing Together: https://www.standingtogether.org.uk/

Useful Links:

• London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and VAGW Strategy: https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/crime/violence-against-women-and-girls-vawg
• Refuge: https://refuge.org.uk/
• Women and Girls Network: https://www.wgn.org.uk/

Having recently attended the NCVO & SCVO webinar, ‘How to manage rising energy costs with Utility Aid’, I’d like to share with you the really useful information that they provided below.

Utility Aid 

• Utility Aid is one of NCVO’s trusted suppliers.  Contact them for further help and support on 0808 1788 170 or email: NCVO@utility-aid.co.uk
• There is an online library of blogs and useful information which organisations can access 
• National Charity Tender: take a look at this opportunity to reduce costs through collective purchasing power.   

NCVO (for organisations based in England)   

• Our Small Charity Helpdesk is available 9:30am-5:30pm to answer any queries you may have on setting up or running a charity (including anything related to the cost-of-living crisis)  
• We have online help and guidance in a range of areas
• Sign up for newsletter updates NCVO – Get email updates from NCVO
• Join us at future NCVO events and training
• Our recorded webinars can be found on our you tube channel

SCVO (for organisations based in Scotland)  

• Online support with the Running Costs Crisis 
• If your organisation is looking for support with day-to-day running our Information Service is here to help. We can chat through your problem, offer information and guidance, and support you to take action. The service is open Mon-Friday from 9am-5pm e: enquiries@scvo.scot tel: 0800 169 0022 
• Join SCVO events and training

Help us to ensure charities get ongoing support with their energy bills 

• Last week we wrote to Secretary of State, Grant Shapps, to advocate for ongoing support for charities. If you are worried about your charities’ energy bills, please write to your MP. You can find a template letter to use (as well as a copy of our letter) on our website. This is urgent because the energy review is due to be published before Christmas.  
• If you would like to speak to the NCVO policy team about our work to influence government, please email policy@ncvo.org.uk. It is always helpful for us to hear about your experiences to strengthen our case.   
• Your experiences make a difference. If you are happy to help us by sharing your story with the media, please contact our communications team. Communications@ncvo.org.uk  

Join us – NCVO and SCVO are membership organisations 

• If you are a charity or voluntary organisation in England, join NCVO. Become one of our over 17,000 members. Membership is free to organisations with an income of under 30k.    
• If you are a charity or voluntary organisation in Scotland, join SCVO. It only takes a few minutes
• to complete our application form and membership is free to eligible organisations with an annual income of under £100k

This week, NCVO and the Civil Society Group wrote to Grant Shapps MP, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, urgently calling for the government to ensure voluntary organisations get continued support from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). They’ve also drafted a letter that you can download and use as a framework to write to MPs. Learn more and take action here.