thumbnail saying we are looking for volunteers

Could Your Company Spend a Day at MAIN?

/in , , , , /by

Could Your Company Spend a Day at MAIN?

🌱 Calling all parents, carers, friends and supporters of MAIN… we have a little favour to ask!

What if your workplace gave you a volunteering day… and you brought your whole team to MAIN? 💙

We’re putting a challenge out there to all our wonderful MAIN families, friends and supporters.

If you work for a company that offers volunteering days, community days or team volunteering, why not ask your boss or HR team:

“Could we spend a day volunteering at MAIN?”

You never know… they might just say yes!

So, what would we actually do?

Well, that’s the fun part.

You don’t need to be a gardener, painter, DIY expert or professional organiser. You just need to turn up with enthusiasm, sensible shoes and a willingness to get stuck in! 😂

There are always jobs at MAIN that need a few extra pairs of hands.

🌱 Fancy getting your hands dirty?
Come and help us in our allotment or community garden. There are plants to plant, things to tidy and plenty of opportunities to discover whether you actually have green fingers!

🎨 More of a creative type?
We always have painting, decorating and creative jobs that could use some extra help.

🧹 Love a good sort-out?
You could help us clean, organise, declutter and generally make things look fabulous.

📦 Got a talent for finding treasure?
We have donations, fundraising bits and tombola prizes that need sorting and organising. You might even discover something you didn’t know existed!

🔨 A bit handy?
There are always those little jobs that we never quite get around to. A team of willing volunteers can make a huge difference.

🌿 Outdoor person?
Help us get our outdoor spaces looking their best and ready for everyone who uses them.

🎉 Love events?
You could help us prepare for fundraising events, set things up, decorate, organise and generally help make the magic happen.

💙 Or just come and see where you’re needed most.

Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give a small charity isn’t money.

It’s time.

One day. A whole team. A BIG difference.

For a small charity like MAIN, having a team of people come in for a day can make an enormous difference.

Jobs that might take us weeks to get through can suddenly be done in a day.

A tired garden can be transformed.

A room can get a fresh coat of paint.

A mountain of donations can become beautifully organised.

And, perhaps most importantly, we get to meet some lovely new people who become part of the MAIN family for the day. 💙

And let’s be honest… we’ll probably put you to work! 😂

But we promise there’ll be plenty of laughs along the way.

Could you be our next MAIN volunteer team?

So, if you’re reading this and thinking:

“I reckon my workplace would do this…”

Don’t keep it to yourself!

👉 Send this blog to your boss.
👉 Pop it into your work WhatsApp group.
👉 Tag your HR team.
👉 Mention it at your next team meeting.

And ask them:

“Could we volunteer a day at MAIN this year?”

We’d absolutely LOVE to hear from you.

Whether you’re a team of 3, 10, 20 or more, we’d love to talk to you about how you could spend a day helping MAIN.

You bring the people. We’ll find the jobs! 😄

📩 Interested in bringing your team to MAIN?
Email us at info@iammain.org.uk

💙 Together, we’re raising smiles.

Thumbnail saying oriental museum

Local Services: The Oriental Museum

/in /by

We visited The Oriental Museum in County Durham

Katherine and Pippa visited The Oriental Museum last month and reported back. 

MAIN were invited to come visit Durham University’s Oriental Museum where they were shown around by Charlotte Spink and Ailsa Douglas. This museum has free entry and is very accessible, there is a lift, small gift shop and coffee shop. The reception are super friendly and the whole place is set up for interaction. The museum is also very child friendly with some very tactile exhibits including the ribbon tree that you can sit under for some sensory time or add a ribbon to it for yourself. There are lots of seating available on all four levels and each level has space dedicated to encouraging children to learn more about these cultures with lots of activities in each area.

The museum exhibits items from Ancient Egypt to modern China and has dedicated it’s space to the archaeology and the art from Northern Africa and Asia.

If you are planning a visit there are accessibility guides here 

  • Sensory Map
  • Gallery Layout
  • Accessibility guide

For more information please visit their website 

 

Says The Story

Local Services: The Story

/in /by

We visited The Story in County Durham

Katherine and Pippa visited The Story last week and reported back. 

The Story is a very welcoming place and is focused on making their space accessible for all. We were shown around by Steph West and she explained that this museum brings together the collections of The Archives which is six miles of information spanning 900 years of history, Archaeological objects and historical records, 300 years of the Durham Light Infantry, Local Studies and Historic Registration back to 1837 are recorded for the area.

Entry is free of charge and the site has good parking and is very accessible, there is a lift on site. There is no reception as such on the ground floor but there are people there to meet and greet as you go through the front doors. The Story is family friendly and have a lot of activities throughout the school holidays and weekends. There are a lot of interactive exhibits, lots of tactile exhibits and it has also been broken down into manageable pieces of information. There is a lovely big coffee shop and with free use of computers upstairs there is no need to book in advance.

Thank you for the show around and we look forward to forging further links soon.

For more information please visit their website 

 

MAIN's certificate stating we are a Carer friendly employer

MAIN are a Carer Friendly Employer in County Durham

/in , , /by

MAIN are a Carer Friendly Employer in County Durham

MAIN have been awarded Carer friendly employer status by Durham County Carers support.
This award means that MAIN have been recognised as an organisation that supports carers to work and be successful in the workplace.
The number of Carers in the UK is predicted to rise 60% by 2030, being a carer friendly employer means being inclusive and understanding of people’s caring responsibilities, working with them to find what works best for them.
MAIN are committed to supporting carers in the workplace, empowering them to access the support they may need and enabling them to achieve their full potential.

 

thumbnail inclusion week 2024

Inclusion Week 2024

/in , , /by

It’s National Inclusion week and this years theme is ‘impact matters’ which is looking to ‘reignite and energise the positive impact of inclusion’

National inclusion week was established in 2011 by Inclusive employers looking to build inclusive workplaces.
The Buckland Review of Autism employment was released earlier this year and found that just 3 in 10 autistic adults are in employment compared to just 5 in 10 for all disabled people and 8 in 10 for non-disabled people.
Our team in Durham can offer support around reasonable adjustments for the workplace and can aid communication with employers to work to make workplaces, education settings and volunteering placements more inclusive for autistic individuals.
We can also refer and signpost to Hiyed, Durham works and Durham enable who support people who are looking to get into work, we are working on building closer working relationships to enable us to better support our clients who are in work or looking to get into work, whether by applying for jobs, furthering education or volunteering.

 

Please email us  or call 0191 3008556 for more information

thumbnail saying local veteran support

MAIN attended a Veteran Open Day

/in , /by
Pippa and Katherine, our Durham coordinators attended the Veterans Open Day that was held at Op Courage in Washington.
We spoke with Northumbria police about the Digital Information Bank – this is a resource for anyone that has a vulnerable relative with Dementia and Alzheimer’s, where they can record information about them in case they go missing.
There is also the Forcer Protocol recently set up that aims to reduce the risk or harm to service veterans, reservists and those currently serving in the forces if they go missing as this will enable the swift access to key information.
We also spoke with Walking with the Wounded who will work with anyone that has served in the forces, Op Courage works very closely with Combat Stress, there is a full assessment that takes place and when trauma is experienced will depend on what part of the service the person will be signposted.
Liaised with East Durham Veterans Trust who are keen to refer anyone that comes through their service that lives in Durham and has a diagnosis, as they are experiencing those who are struggling with late diagnosis.
photo of the event's information board

Open Day at ARCH Recovery College

/in , /by

MAIN attended ARCH Recovery’s Open Day

ARCH Recovery College opened their doors to professionals this morning and we attended to find out more about their services.

ARCH Recovery offer courses based on recovery principles and are co-produced by people with lived experience of mental health-related issues. This is open to any resident of County Durham and no diagnosis is needed. You can get in touch by calling 0191 4510890 or email TEWV.recoverycollege@nhs.net 

Courses are group discussions on student’s recovery journey’s and cover Mindfulness for Stress, Recovery- The New Me, Walking for Wellbeing and more.

ARCH Recovery Online is available to anyone in the world and is free. They have a large platform of e-learning courses which include strategies towards wellbeing www.recoverycollegeonline.co.uk/