Cost: we are asking for a donation of £5 to help cover the costs of the venue hire – pay on the door.
MK Climate Action Network, an emerging collaborative initiative of local groups, organisations and volunteers, dedicated to positive action on climate change in Milton Keynes would like to invite you to our first Networking and Vision Planning Event.
A new report led by the insights from the local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector in Milton Keynes and underpinned by the lived experience of our local community members.
We’re delighted to announce that we’ll be featuring on Givto in September 2023!
Givto is a new way to donate to charity that allows users to give to a different cause each month with one simple Direct Debit. The service was developed by volunteers in Leeds who wanted to support local charities during the pandemic. Following a successful pilot in Yorkshire, Givto is now being rolled out to people nationwide. Givto offers users the chance to support local charities and discover new causes – like ours.
Each month, Givto users are given three causes to choose from. We’ve been selected to feature in September, and we’re so excited to share our cause with a new audience and hopefully raise funds for Community Action: MK to support our work with the voluntary groups and communities across Milton Keynes.
Givto also feature us in a Directory of all the worthy causes they’ve helped where you can search by cause and location, and you can check our page here.
If you’d like to support us this September, sign up to donate with Givto today.
Extinction Rebellion MK and Transition Town MK/Doughnut Economics MK, with support from Community Action MK, are holding an environmental/climate change networking/ planning meeting for groups in Milton Keynes, Beds and Luton – on Saturday 9th July at The Old Bath House in Wolverton 3-5pm!
The aim of this collaborative initiative is to provide a regular space for groups related to local action on climate – to inform and inspire each other, identify common goals and shared causes, and generate joint initiatives.
The aim of this initial meeting on the 9th July is to build a planning team in order to organise (co-produce!) a bigger event in September
Networking event: with focus on Support to local refugee communities in Milton Keynes
Thank you to everyone that attended our event – it was fantastic to see you and to come together to share experiences and ideas about how we can all work together to support our local refugee communities in Milton Keynes! We will be updating this blog with information, resources and photographs from the event soon. A sneak peak to a few photographs here:
What was the event…
In collaboration with Eden Project Communities as part of their Month of Community and with support from a number of local VCSE organisations, Community Action: MK is delighted to host a special networking and community event dedicated to the Refugee Community. The event will be on Wednesday 28th June, hosted at the wonderful space at the YMCA in Central Milton Keynes. The aim is to bring together the local Voluntary sector and identify how best to connect with and support our refugee communities in Milton Keynes.
The event will feature presentations from local organisations that have been working closely with and providing support to our local refugee communities in Milton Keynes, including those from Afghanistan and Ukraine. We are delighted to be joined by the Ukraine Appeal charity, who have been galvanising support for the local Ukrainian community in the City, and from the Volunteers at The Mead Centre in Newport Pagnell, who have been supporting the Afghan women and their families staying in one of the local holding hotels in Milton Keynes. We will also be joined by a local/regional team from the British Red Cross, who have been a life-line for many refugee and asylum seekers coming to our region to seek safety and support.
They will be sharing their first hand experiences of providing support to those that seek sanctuary in Milton Keynes and will support some of the refugee community members to talk at the event and share their lived experience stories too.
We know that there are many more local voluntary organisations (as well public and health sector agencies) that have been providing services and activities tailored to meeting the needs of our local refugee communities. We hope to shine the light on their work too as well as enable networking and collaboration within the wider VCSE sector and other sectors in the City.
There will be a workshop and a discussion of how our local VCSE sector and other key agencies can work together in a joined up way to provide the best possible support to our local refugee communities and give them the chance to rebuild their lives, share their culture and enable them to thrive in our City.
There will also be the opportunity for the local refugee community members to join us on the day and engage with the local charities and services to find out about their services and volunteering opportunities etc.
And finally, a very special part of the event will be delivered by the local charity, Middle Eastern Cultural Group, and their special live performance of the “Broken Wings“play.
Based on real life experiences, the performance follows the journey of a teenage girl fleeing conflict and eventually arriving in the UK. Drawing attention to the trauma refugee children have experienced through their journeys and the challenges they face in their new life in the UK.
More details about the event and its programme will be updated in this blog and through our newsletter, and social media.
– for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector
It was great to get together!
Thank you to Steve and his Team at the Water Eaton Chuch Centre, who were great hosts (we recommend using the space as a venue! ) and special thanks to the lovely volunteers from the Centre, who helped out with refreshments:
If you have any questions or want to grab hold of any contacts, or follow up on anything you heard at the event, please contact us at networks@communityactionmk.org.
See some of the photos from the event – with huge thanks to all the stallholders!
If you have any questions or want to grab hold of any contacts, or follow up on anything you heard at the event, please contact us at networks@communityactionmk.org.
You can see our previous Five Year (2018-22) here.
Co-production and listening to feedback
Over the past year or so we have been collating feedback to inform our next Five Year Plan (2023-28) in order to reflect the voices and needs of the Milton Keynes’ Voluntary and Community Groups and Organisations.
The focus has been on how Community Action: MK can best support MK groups to:
Access funding and other opportunities for growth and collaboration
Develop and maintain a thriving volunteer community
Help position the VCSE in Milton Keynes as a strategic partner within the local decision and policy making in the City
With this in mind, we asked two questions for consideration:
What should our priorities in the above areas be? Are there any gaps we have missed?
How can CA: MK share the impact of Milton Keynes’ Voluntary and Community Groups and Organisations?
What has the feedback been?
You can see the answers gathered through the Google Jamboard, a virtual flip chart, where you can add ‘sticky notes’ using the menu found on the left hand side of the page.
We engaged with a range of groups that attended our AGM in October 2022 and gathered their feedback. See the jamboard with all the feedback collated here.
Many thanks for taking the time to complete the board, your insights will be invaluable in ensuring we can continue to strengthen groups, communities and the VCSE sector in Milton Keynes.
We are in the process of bringing all the feedback together and finalising our next Five Year Plan, which will be shared through our website and the newsletter shortly – watch the space!
