Welcome to Darnall Forum's Community Website

Wednesday, 10 February 2021

Employment Support for the people of Darnall

Hi everyone

I just wanted to remind you that Darnall Forum offer employment support to people over the age of 18 and who are not currently in work or who are economically inactive and have the right to work in the UK.

We offer this support through Sheffield City Council's Pathway to Success programme which is funded through the European Social Fund.

I can offer employability support in job searching, having a professional CV, Applications, Interviews and helping prepare you for the first few weeks of work. I can also help in identifying and sourcing education and training opportunities as well as helping you develop in confidence and motivation.

We are still in a state of Lock Down, which means that all of the work is done remotely through telephone calls, email, video calls, but as soon as we are allowed to meet face-to -face, i will be back in the office to support you.

If you are interested then please give me a call or send me an email on 07888135429 and chris@darnall.org.uk.

I hope to speak to some of you soon.

Thanks

Chris

Wednesday, 23 December 2020

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and (hopefully) a fantastic 2021

Hello everyone

This year has been a very difficult year for us all. We have all had to deal with Covid-19 and the restrictions and issues that this terrible virus has brought. The Forum has had a change in staff, with Neil Bishop moving onto pastures and myself joining the Forum in late July as the new manager but also as the Lead Key Support Worker on our employability support programme,

We continue to wish Nazia a full recovery from her illness our thanks to Zahira for stepping into the role as Learning Champion. My thanks also to all of the tutors that are providing our educational classes, and even though this year has seen some massive changes to the way we deliver our courses, we are still running them.

My special thanks go to Zahira, for all her hard work, dedication and passion that she has for the community of Darnall in organising all the physical aspects of our Covid Response work. Everything from the food, health and well-being and children's activity packs, of which well over a thousand have been distributed, to the organisation of the Santa's Grotto and the Community Hero's hampers.

I must also mention and give thanks to all of the volunteers who have supported her in completing this work as she would not have been able to it without their generosity and of course we cannot forget the generous donations of items for the packs we have given out, donated local community members, South Yorkshire Police, Caroline- the Community Champion at Catcliffe Morrison's, Radio Hallam South Yorkshire Community Foundation and Sheffield City Council and the Local Councillor's Ward Pot.

My thanks also go to the many organisations within Darnall that I have had the pleasure of working with over the past few months. If the Covid situation has taught us anything, it is that communities can work together. Hopefully, you will have received your copy of The Community Connector newsletter that many organisations in Darnall have worked together on. We need to ensure that as much as we can, we take this community spirit forward into the next year. Covid is still going to have a massive impact on us for months to come, but it has not and should not stop us from working together more to make our community a brighter place to live, learn, work and play.

I would like to thank our Trustee's who play a vital role in the ongoing life of the forum and offer this invitation to people within our community who would like to become a trustee to get in touch with me in the new year.

But for now, from the Trustee's, Zahira and myself, may you all have a wonderful Christmas time and a fantastic 2021.

Who has been your 2020 hero

A couple of weeks ago we announced that we had 100 hampers to give away to people within the community who had made a difference in other people's lives or in the life of our community. We received many more nominations than we had hampers, which shows how much of a well loved community we do live and work in. Here are some of the recipients and some of the hard work completed by our volunteers sand Zahira

Santa's Grotto

Much fun was had by all when Santa popped into his local Grotto. Lots of presents handed out to Children and Adults alike.

Christmas Carols

Our good friends at St Albans Church have sent the following invitation to you all

Friday, 18 December 2020

Community Connector

Hi all

You should have or will be receiving a copy of the new Community Connector newsletter which has been been written and produced by a combination of local organisations specifically for the Darnall Ward. There is lots of information, things to do, good news stories and lots more within these exciting pages. If you wish to contribute to further newsletters then use the contact details within the newsletter.

If you wish to access a copy of the newsletter electronically, you can use the link below:

Newsletter

Tuesday, 15 December 2020

Community Connector

A group of local organisations in the Darnall ward have been working in partnership on a newsletter for the benefit of the whole community. If you live in Attercliffe, Darnall, Tinsley and Handsworth, watch out for the first edition of The Community Connector arriving soon! We have come together on planning, writing and editing this newsletter so that we can share useful information and good new stories, and help people connect to what is happening in their local area. #CommunityConnector

How to join in

1) Follow us on Twitter @darnallforum
2) To post a comment, click on the link beneath the post or previous comment to which you want to respond and write your message in the box.
3) Complete the word recognition box, which is designed to stop spam.
4) Then, if you have one, you can enter your Google username and password.
5) Alternatively, you can click 'other' and enter your real name, or a nickname which you would like us to display, or you can click 'anonymous'.
6) Then click 'Publish'. Your message will be sent to us for checking.
7) We will know who you are but, if you have used a nickname or chosen to be anonymous, no one else will know.

How our community team can help

Chris, Nazia and Zahira are the friendly voices on the end of the phone line when you call us and the people who deal with your visits, letters and emails.

They work closely with community groups and individuals who want to make a difference to Darnall. Chris is our Lead Key Support Worker, helping people who are over 18 and currently out of work, to find jobs, education or training through Sheffield CIty Council's Pathway to Success programme.

Zahira is currently covering Nazia's learning Champion role and is the person to contact regarding our education programme.

We also have a team of adult community learning tutors who work closely with us. They help us run courses in IT, ESOL, employment skills, driving theory and other subjects.

If you want help with something which isn't listed here, and you live in Attercliffe, Darnall or Acres Hill, why not give us a ring anyway and we'll try to signpost you to the right place.

More about us

Darnall Forum’s day to day business is managed by a Board of local volunteers. Its vision statement is:

To create a listening space for the community, and
To work in partnership with other agencies and organisations to improve local services and help regenerate Darnall.

The Forum has four part-time staff who with local people to implement a Community Action Plan that was drawn-up after extensive consultation with all sections of the local community. The members of the Forum Board are drawn from the different faith and ethnic groups represented in the area and are elected by the members of the Forum at its AGM.

Darnall Forum is currently funded by Sheffield City Council, the European Social Fund and a small number of charitable trusts.

Darnall Forum also trades under the names D F Enterprise and Darnall Forum Trading, which reopened the community post office in 2010 and ran it for nearly eight years.

The Main Aims of Darnall Forum are:

To create a forum where people can meet to raise issues of local concern, where the agenda is set by local people and where leadership and direction remain with local people.

To work together as women, men, young people, elders, black, white, disabled or able-bodies, of different faiths or none, recognising, respecting and valuing our differences.

To form links with key agencies and local enterprises in order to work in partnership with them, discuss their role in the area and – where necessary – challenge them.

To gather resources to support and deliver initiatives begun and supported by local people.

To ensure that there is a clear and agreed process by which the Forum makes and acts upon its decisions, and to ensure that the Forum Board is accountable to the membership.