Sense volunteer newsletter, July 2023
Join our Fantasy Football league, learn more about Pride, and discover new ways to become a buddy by email, text or letter.
And as always, we’ve got lots of ideas for your buddying sessions.
- Upcoming events
- New ways to be a buddy
- Buddying inspo – ideas for June
- Learn more about Pride
- Volunteer of the month
- Important information – on-call numbers and feedback form
Upcoming events
You can now be a buddy by text, email or letter
For the first time, we now also support buddies to have text and email-based matches, as well as letter-writing friendships!
Please get in touch with one of the team on [email protected] if you would like to be matched with another Buddy to have these type of sessions with.
Buddying inspo
Stuck for ideas for new activities with your buddy? Here’s some inspiration:
Virtual buddying activities
National Preserving Week (24th July – 1st August) is a whole week of events designed to get people preserving their own food. Why not have a look at some of these jam recipes to get involved?
World Friendship Day, also known as International Day of Friendship takes place on 30th July. Why don’t you mark this with your Buddy by making friendship bracelets?
Remember to send any pictures from your sessions to [email protected]
Buddying activities
Remember to send us pictures of any activities you guys do together!
Manchester
Great Northern Giant Summer Sandpit – Great Northern, 235 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4EN
Free
13th July – 31st August
Missing the sea-side? Fancy some sensory sand play? Head to Great Northern with your buddies to make some sandcastles, grab a bite to eat, and play. You could even take some water with you or a couple of toys.
Dinosaurs in the Park – Heaton Park, Middleton Road, Manchester, M25 2SW
Cost varies depending on date/time – please check the website
20th July – 6th August, 10am – 6.30pm
With 40 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs,
mini golf, excavation dig, bouncy castle, a dinosaur trail, and fair rides, Dinosaurs in the Park offers an enjoyable and educational day out for adults and children alike! Please book in advance to avoid disappointment.
London
Bow Families Special: Draw London Landmarks – FREE
Sunday 30th July 2023, 11:00am to 1:00pm.
Explore the city we live in and make your unique mark through drawing, collaging, and mapping out imagined landmarks to represent the things you care about.
Ways to learn more about Pride
Pride Month may be over; however, we want to give our volunteers a chance to continue the fun!
As a big thank you for being a part of Sense, and to celebrate equality and diversity, we are giving all volunteers access to our Pride eLearning courses, as well as our courses on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion!
These courses are a great way to learn more about LGBTQ+ related issues, and to develop your skills for the future. The courses that have been made available include ‘Are you an Ally?’, ‘eHistory of Pride’, ‘Understanding Gender’ and ‘Understanding Sexual Orientation’. We have also included courses around unconscious bias and how to stop someone from using ableist language.
We hope you find these courses helpful – if you have any questions about this, please email a member of the volunteering team at [email protected].
Volunteer of the month – Ben Fisher
Ben has been volunteering at our Norwich shop since November 2021 and has been an asset to the store!
In July, one of our customers made a point of complimenting Ben’s wonderful customer service, stating that he brightened her day and has such a wonderful character. It’s great to hear such high praise for one of our volunteers and we hope that Ben is very proud of himself!
Important information
Contact details
Virtual Buddying
If you have any safeguarding concerns during the coming month, please call or email your assigned Sense staff as soon as possible between the hours of 9am-5:00pm.
If your concern is more urgent and you need to speak to someone immediately or during non-working hours, please use the Sense on-call number: 07557220433
Alice Green( Project Coordinator: [email protected], 07518902681
Deanne Echarri (Project Assistant): [email protected], 07816599138
Jerry Dawson (Project Assistant): [email protected], 07816643093
Sam Parkinson (Project Assistant): [email protected], 07816643187
Rosanna Lowe (Project Assistant): [email protected], 07967 274333
Day buddying
Manchester Buddies:
Manchester Buddies – please remember to provide feedback after each session.
On-call number: 07757 220433
Kate Weston (Programme Coordinator): [email protected], 07855 011752
Amy Lasen (Programme Assistant): [email protected]
Redbridge Buddying Programme
Lucy Campbell (Programme Coordinator): [email protected], 07973 792420
Carre Smyth (Programme Assistant): [email protected], 07815 996064
The LEAP Team
Camilla McCready-Pay (Programme coordinator): [email protected], 07876870941
Jane Chanakira (Programme Assistant): [email protected], 07816498781
Niamh Milligan (Programme Assistant): [email protected], 07815996206
Holidays
Email: [email protected]
Got an idea for how to improve Sense vounteering?
Got an idea for how to improve volunteering at Sense? Want to share some feedback? Or do you just want to ask a question and chat about your experience?
Contact us at [email protected].
Buddies – don’t forget your feedback!
Join the Sense mission
We’re always hiring. Check out our latest job listings.