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CHARITY SHOUT-OUT: MASH

MASH stands by women in Greater Manchester who are involved in sex work or experiencing challenges like homelessness, addiction and gender-based violence. MASH is a local charity, offering non-judgemental support to improve health, safety and wellbeing.

We take MASH services to women where they are at and provide support from our welcoming drop-in centre, our MASH van, in the community and over the phone. Women tell us that MASH helps them to feel safer, listened to, empowered and that in many cases it is a ‘lifeline’.

“I feel safe to be me at MASH” – Emma

“For 20 years of my life, MASH were the only people that knew whether I was dead or alive.” – Colette

How long have you been going?

Since 1991. MASH started during the HIV/ Aids crisis and we are still here today

What has been the greatest reward since being with the charity?

Meeting and getting to know the women we support at MASH is very rewarding. They are all unique, funny, strong, amazing women.

How can people get involved?

We are keen to hear from people interested in volunteering. You can get in touch with Solomon@mash.org.uk

If you’d like to support the women, fundraising or donating to MASH is an amazing way to do so.

We also always need items like knickers, tights, socks and leggings in sizes 6,8,10 as well as toiletries, hats, gloves etc

Any big things happening within your charity in the next month you’d like to shout about?

We always look forward to our Christmas Dinner in the MASH drop-in. We serve delicious home cooked meals with all the trimmings, put on some festive tunes, play games etc. It’s usually a great atmosphere.

We’ve also got our MASH team away day soon where we’ll get together as staff, volunteers and trustees to look ahead to next year. It’s always a great opportunity to reflect, take stock and look after ourselves. It’s taking place at Castlefield Viaduct – we’ve had a great partnership ‘blooming’ with them this year. Women visit the park most weeks, do some gardening and spend time in nature. They also created some lovely hanging baskets which have spruced up the outside of MASH.

Next year some MASH women will also be involved in writing a book. So watch this space!

December Fundraiser – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Today, we face some of our greatest challenges yet. More women are turning to sex work or are returning to sex work after a long time away from it. More women are coming into MASH starving and in survival mode.

Support services are being cut and others are stretched to breaking point. So it is vital that MASH can continue to provide that practical and emotional support to every woman who shows up at our door and on our van.

If you set up a monthly gift to MASH between £2 and £50 by Tuesday 19th December your kindness will be doubled for four months, so you are supporting even more women. Thanks to a group of generous donors, the kindness of new and upgraded monthly givers will go twice as far for Christmas and beyond (while the fund pot lasts).

Find MASH website HERE

MASH Twitter

MASH Instagram

MASH Facebook

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National Grief Awareness Week 2023

National Grief Awareness Week is taking place between 2nd-8th December 2023, and this year we are partnering with Greater Manchester Bereavement Service to host a drop in session where our community can access their services.

Grief and loneliness often go hand-in-hand, and this year’s theme is #BetterTogether. The team at Greater Manchester Bereavement Service friendly bereavement practitioners who are there to listen and help people find the support they need.

On Thursday, 7th December between 10-2pm, we will be hosting GMBS who will be on hand to talk about their services you can access, as well as the chance to talk to a practitioner 1-1. Everyone’s grief looks different and no grief is the same, but we believe that talking – whether that be to family, friends or professional support – is the step in the right direction.

If you would like to access their services, you can do so here. 

 

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Acts of Kindness Inspired By You!

Whether it’s a smile from someone during a stressful commute home, a chat with a friendly stranger when you’re locked out of your flat, or bonding via food or a cuppa over the garden wall, some of your simple connections have inspired today’s post.

We at House of Books and Friends have collated 20 easy acts of kindness that you can implement into your week to really make someone’s day. Who knows, maybe your gesture will have such an impact that someone will submit a ‘Connection Counts’ form about you?!

  1. Add a compliment into an everyday transaction. Whilst you are waiting for your coffee? Before you hang up the phone?
  2. Organise to meet up with a friend that you haven’t seen in a while. Even if just for an hour, it can really show someone you are thinking about them.
  3. Smile at a stranger or say hello to people you may pass every day but have never spoken to before.
  4. Buy a token for our ‘Pay It Forward’ coffee scheme.
  5. Catch a neighbour for a chat or bake them something to pop on the doorstep. We suggest your favourite sweet treat, or a family recipe meaningful to you.
  6. Send someone a handwritten note or an anonymous, encouraging post-it.
  7. Sit on our Chatty Café table.
  8. Ask someone a question about themselves. It’s a great way to break down boundaries and can make someone feel validated and important.
  9. Sign up to do voluntary work in your local community. Volunteer Centre Manchester is a great website both for registering your interest in volunteering, and for finding organisations that need or work with volunteers across a range of skill sets.
  10. Look after people in the service industry – make your plumber a coffee! Say thank you to your bus-driver!
  11. Make someone a Spotify playlist, or a list of books or tv shows you recommend that you think they’ll enjoy.
  12. Ask someone what their favourite book, movie, or album is and take the time to listen to it.
  13. Have a conversation with someone who is experiencing homelessness.
  14. Call or message a friend on social media to let them know you are there for them. Again, even better if this is someone you have not reached out to in a while, and it takes no time at all.
  15. Buy a book for our current charity Learning Partnerships, using our ‘Give a Book Tree’.
  16. Lend someone your favourite book. Or books 😉
  17. Share a happy/funny memory or old photo with a loved one. We love a cringy selfie from Year 9, or a cute baby pic.
  18. Sign a petition for a cause that means something to you or someone you care about.
  19. Let someone go in front of you in a queue for lunch or groceries.
  20. Be an active listener when in conversation with others.
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Top tips for combatting loneliness this festive season

  1. Do something you love – it might be visiting your local bookshop(!), café or getting out in nature. Immersing yourself in something you love can have great effects on mental health and often find yourself with like-minded people. If visiting a café look out for Chatty Cafe members like us, where you’re guaranteed to have someone to talk to.
  2. Press pause on social media – sites such as Instagram and Facebook can be difficult viewing when you are feeling lonely and isolated at any time – let alone the festive period. This is why taking a breather may help. Instead focus on tangible connections – even if this is connecting with yourself and the things that are important for you.
  3. Set goals for 2024 – spend some time creating goals and milestones for 2024, planning ahead can help with feeling positive and working towards something.
  4. Volunteer – a great way to meet likeminded people and focus on something you feel passionate about. We work closely with the gunnercooke foundation who in turn work with over 100 charities nationwide many of whom need volunteers to deliver vital services.
  5. Join our campaign ‘Connection Counts’ – make a connection with someone no matter how small – it may just change your day (and theirs). Be sure to tell us all about it on our website or through the Connection Counts box in store!
  6. Seek out services if you feel unable to cope – here some resources of who you can contact for further help. You can also find a more comprehensive list of services, as well as links to everything, on our website through our Instagram bio. Look for ‘Resources for Loneliness and Connection’.
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Charity Shoutout: African Rainbow Family

African Rainbow Family was established in 2014 by a lesbian in the wake of  some Commonwealth countries in Africa’s toxic and draconian anti-gay laws; persecutions and environment which seek to criminalise LGBTIQs for the preference of whom they choose to love. 

We spoke to the team at African Rainbow Family to discuss what they’re working on this month, and how folks can get involved.

What do you do in or around Manchester?

We are a registered charity that supports LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum and refugees. While our main office is based in Manchester (in Gorton Monastery), we have centres in London, Birmingham and Leeds. We offer a range of services to our service users (or siblings as we call one another), including signposting to solicitors for legal aid, mental health services, housing and employment opportunities. Our key focus is to provide a sense of community and family for LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum and refugees, as for most they have been forced to leave their loved ones (including partners, children, parents, friends), their homes, their finances and their cultures behind to seek safety.

How long have you been going?

Next July will be our 10th anniversary!

What has been the greatest reward since being with the charity?

We have been able to support hundreds of people in being granted their asylum during our time, each time we are able to post a congratulations it reminds us that we are contributing to changing lives.

How can people get involved?

We currently have a campaign called #MoreThanSimplyGay, in response to Suella Braverman’s recent speech. If you want to share it or get involved, please check out our website: https://africanrainbowfamily.org/more-than-simply-gay/

People can also follow us on our socials and if they’d like, they can donate to us via https://africanrainbowfamily.org/donate/. 

Any big things happening within your charity in the next month you’d like to shout about?

We are currently waiting for a response to our recent Open Letter to Suella Braverman, calling for her to retract her statement and support women and LGBTIQ+ people who are seeking asylum. You can find the full letter on our campaigns page. We wait with our fingers crossed!

ARF Instagram

ARF Facebook

ARF Twitter

ARF Website

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Charity Spotlight: Beacon Counselling

Beacon Counselling operate out of Stockport, and are the largest provider of mental health support in Greater Manchester. This month we asked CEO Sandi Marshall all about what Beacon is doing for the Northern population, as well as any book recs this month.

What do you do in or around Manchester?

Beacon Counselling provides counselling, groupwork and other mental health services to people of all ages, in schools, workplaces, and in community locations in Stockport and surrounding areas.

How long have you been going?

Beacon will be 40 in 2024. We started as a small community-based response with 2 part-time volunteers and we now provide support to over 3,000 people every year.

What has been the greatest reward since being with the charity?

It’s great to work in an organisation that makes a difference to people every day. We get great feedback, and we can also see the difference in people (smiling, walking taller, looking forward to things), often after only a couple of sessions. It’s also great to work with a team that is dedicated, super-competent, and a lot of fun!

How can people get involved?

Follow us on social media; volunteer (we use volunteers in all areas of our work, from Trustees to Counsellors to Admin to Fundraisers); tell people about us. Local businesses can also support Beacon by partnering with us to support their employees’ wellbeing.

Any big things happening within your charity in the next month you’d like to shout about?

We’ll be extending our Employee Wellbeing Offer for local businesses in the coming months, helping employers to support employee wellbeing. Local businesses can find out more by getting in touch.

Any books you’d recommend to us this year?

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Dear Life by Alice Munro, and The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.

You can check out more about Beacon counselling by visiting their website here.

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What’s On in the Community: Autumn

The summer may be over, but Manchester’s literary scene is booming this autumn and we have plenty of suggestions to keep you entertained on these drizzly evenings.

Manchester Literature Festival is welcoming renowned poets Lemn Sissay (HOME/16th Sept) and Simon Armitage (Central Library/15th Oct) to celebrate their latest collections, as well as a highly anticipated evening with Mercury Prize winner Arlo Parks to read from her new collection The Magic Border (Contact/9th Sept). A host of novelists, including Elif Shafak (Central Library/18th Oct), Zadie Smith (Contact/9th Oct) and Natalie Haynes (Centre for Drama and Music/11th Oct) will also grace stages around the city to talk new releases.

The fantastical stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane returns to The Lowry this October, as well as Lemn Sissay’s thrilling adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Aside from their groundbreaking productions, The Lowry are hosting free creative workshops for children every Wednesday across September and October filled with storytelling, music, art and games. Although free, a booking is required for each adult and child so be sure to grab your spaces!

Chorlton Book Festival is returning to Greater Manchester from 15th-23rd September with talks from Perilous Times author Thomas D Lee, Inshallah United author Nooruddean Choudry as well as hosting writing cafes for budding authors to share ideas and inspiration. The Portico Library is also running free writing workshops with a theme of food and dining until 20th September, with participants being invited to return for a zine-making workshop to bind their stories and recipes into a private volume. Finally, Royal Literary Fund Education are running a free reading group to help members develop critical thinking skills. And as always, we have our monthly book club running over autumn here at House of Books & Friends as well as evenings with Rebecca May Johnson – just visit our events calendar for more information!

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Charity Spotlight: Proud 2B Parents

August’s charity shoutout is ‘Proud 2B Parents’, who offer services and support for LGBT+ parents / carers to be, LGBT+ parents / carers and their children living in Greater Manchester (and the North West). We hear from the Director of the foundation, Matt, about what Proud 2B Parents has been getting up to.

What do you do in or around Manchester?

Proud 2 b Parents is an organisation run by and for LGBT+ parents/ carers to be, LGBT+ parents and carers and their children, regardless of your route to parenthood. We offer various services to meet the community’s needs, from mid-week meet-ups to a youth group for children 8 years plus.

How long have you been going?

We have been delivering services for over 10 years and have seen many changes over the years

What has been the greatest reward since being with the charity?

Since founding the organisation over 17 years ago, my biggest reward is seeing the number of families accessing our services and how much they get out of being together, sharing lived experiences, and enjoying the variety of activities we offer.

How can people get involved?

LGBT+ parents/ carers can get involved in the activities by heading over to our website www.proud2bparents.co.uk completing the registration form and picking what events and activities fit with them. And if you can donate to the organisation that would be amazing. Since the pandemic, the organisation has struggled for continuation funding and therefore our services are at risk of closing.

Any big things happening within your charity in the next month you’d like to shout about?

We are co-curating Family Pride MCR with MCR Pride this year, bring a full program of free fun family activities to Great Northern Warehouse. Get in touch and find out more info@proud2bparents.co.uk

Proud2BParents Website

Proud2BParents Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

 

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Children’s Writing and Drawing Competitions

Here at House of Books & Friends we love to get creative. Whether we’re writing, storytelling or drawing, we’re keen to explore a connection with art and the benefits of taking the time to tap into our imaginations. Feeling artistic?! We’d love you to get involved! For the summer holidays, we are launching writing and drawing competitions for kids of all ages. Read on to find out more.

Our first competition is our Drawing Competition, for children 9 and under. You’re the illustrator! Sharpen your pencil and give your best Quentin Blake. We want you to design a character that you think would fit into a storybook. Mystical, magical or realistic, we’re open to options. What adventures would your CHARACTER go on? Are there any special qualities they’d need in order to act their part? Think about what they do and decide what they look like based on their role. Choose one object to give them and add it in. Do they need a postcard to send in the invisible post to a secret faraway land? Whatever it is, sketch it in. Add glitter, metallics, colour and craft to transform your design and make their extra-special features extra-special. Anything goes!

Full submission details and instructions for the Drawing Competition (9 and under) can be found here (PDF) and below.

Writing Competitions

We are also launching two writing competitions, one suitable for children 9-12 years old and one suitable for children 12+. The theme is connection, and we want you to connect the dots between our words and yours.  We’ve written a prompt to get you started, which you can take in any direction you choose. Use language, genre, form, style and plot to construct your story, skillfully plotting. What is the relationship between your characters? How do they talk to each other? Is there any disconnect? Is there a reunion? Explore what our subject means to you and tell it to us in the most creative way. Surprise us!

Full submission details and instructions for the Writing Competitions (9-12) can be found here (PDF) and below.

Full submission details and instructions for the Writing Competition (12+) can be found here (PDF) and below.

Drawing Comp

Good luck!

 

 

 

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Charity Spotlight: Home-Start Trafford, Salford and Wigan

Home-Start celebrates its 50th anniversary nationwide this year, and Home-Start Trafford, Salford & Wigan have been integral to the community of Greater Manchester since 1999. We asked Kathryn Eckersley, managing director of H-S TSW, a bit about the charity.

What do you do in or around Manchester? 

At the heart of our charity is the belief that parents have a key role in creating a secure and happy environment for their children. Sometimes parents need a bit of help, which is where Home-Start comes in. Our families are regularly visited in their own homes by our trained army of volunteers; all have had experience of parenting and appreciate how hard it can be. We support over 250 vulnerable families a year, in 3 of the 10 local authority areas of Greater Manchester, Trafford, Salford & Wigan.

How long have you been going? 

We have been in operation locally for 23 years, starting in 1999. The Home-Start movement nationally started in 1973 and is celebrating 50 yrs this year!

What has been the greatest reward since being with the charity? 

HS: Hearing first hand from families, how Home-Start support can be life changing, for example one mum recovering from an abusive relationship said, “Home-Start has helped me to get ready to face the world again…they helped me through isolation and helped me to stay strong”

How can people get involved? 

HS: To become a Home-Start home visiting volunteer, please visit our website to find out more: https://hsts.org.uk/volunteer

Are there any big things happening within your charity in the next month you’d like to shout about?

Next week we will be launching our summer raffle! We have some fab prizes, including an England shirt, signed by Lioness and Manchester City player, Alex Greenwood, vouchers for Centre Parcs, and some champagne! Tickets are £1, and all money raised will go towards our family support work – keep an eye on our socials to get involved – CLICK HERE TO ENTER.

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