Future Focus

And just like that, January is over we are into February! We hope the first month of the year has been a brilliant start for you. 2025 is brimming with opportunities and we are excited to present them to you.

Scroll down to discover the "Introduction to Bookkeeping for the self-employed", a course designed to help you keep your financial transactions in order. This can often be daunting for those who are self-employed, and the session will help simplify it and make it manageable.

This month, we are highlighting Nikki’s Story, an online session that presents a series of powerful stories from women with lived experiences of gambling harm. Led by GamCare, this event is both empowering and informative.

Our "A New You" course is a four-day training course to help improve your social, money management and communication skills both at home and in your place of work or volunteering. Join us on these sessions to build skills on assertiveness, team working, stress awareness and communication skills. 

We can’t wait to see you one or even more of our training sessions both online or in person!

Kind regards,

Juli Riley
Head of Engagement and Skills

Employment support for every step of the way

Join us for employment support services. We are proud to announce that this service is also available in Potters Bar!

We can help with:

• Creating online job-seeking profiles
• Writing CVs, personal statements, and cover letters
• Interview preparation techniques
• Communication tips and more!

Appointments available at:

• Leeming Road Hub in Borehamwood every Friday, 9.30am to 3.45pm - Drop-in available or make an appointment

• Canada Life (cafe) in Potters Bar every Wednesday, 9.30am to 12.00pm - By appointment only

• Appointments are available at other venues upon request

Contact: 01727 649960 or email

training@communities1st.org.uk

The Communities Thirst coffee cart at St Albans Civic Centre is an extension of Communities 1st's mission to offer volunteers the chance to learn, grow, and support their community. Whether you're a seasoned barista or looking to learn the art of creating the perfect cup of coffee, you can volunteer to help us run the coffee cart and make it a success. You'll have the opportunity to develop various skills and - if you're interested - mentor those who are also eager to learn but find it a bit harder than others. The coffee cart is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm.

Interested in joining us? If you'd like to find out more about this opportunity, call us on 01727 649950 or email volunteer@communities1st.org.uk.

We'd love to tell you more!

This is an introductory course and participants will learn about:

• Setting up a basic bookkeeping system
• Accurately keeping and recording financial transactions
• How to create essential financial reports
• Taxation and compliance
• Reporting self employment and expenses for Universal Credit

Phone: 01727 649960

Email: training@communities1st.org.uk

This course will help your organisation's financial stability. 

The session will help you understand financial sustainability, learn best tools and approaches to improve fundraising and identify potential funders. 

If you have specific access needs, please email memberservices@communities1st.org.uk or call 01727 649940. A member of the team will be happy to help you.

12 February 2025, 10am - 1pm

Phillimore Community Centre, Phillimore Place
Radlett, WD7 8NN

Come along and learn the benefits of cooking with a slow cooker.

Watch a demonstration on preparing a favourite recipe in the slow cooker. These sessions will also cover how to shop on a budget and to make your money go further in the supermarket.

The next course is taking place in Knebworth on . Use the buttons below to register if you'd like to attend.

Phone: 01727 649960

Email: training@communities1st.org.uk

This is a four-day training course to help improve your confidence and social skills.

The course covers the following topics:

• Being assertive
• Team work
• Stress awareness
• Communication skills 

Dates - 24 and 25 February, 3 and 4 March 2025

Time - 10am to 3pm

Venue  - Organ Hall Community Centre, 37 Bairstow Close, Borehamwood, WD6 4TB

Participants are required to attend all the sessions. Light lunch and refreshments will be provided. 

Phone: 01727 649960

Email: training@communities1st.org.uk

Join our interactive and engaging course which will help improve confidence and communication skills.

In this 5 hour session you will:

• Learn different verbal and non-verbal techniques
• Enhance your communication skills
• Learn how to structure and present a short talk

18 March 2025, 10am - 3pm

Organ Hall Community Centre, 37 Bairstow Close, Borehamwood, WD6 4TB

The session, aimed at families, carers and professionals, covers various aspects of sight loss, including causes, functional and emotional impacts on daily life, and strategies for effective communication and assistance. It aims to raise awareness about the barriers people with sight loss experience, including mobility challenges and social isolation. 

This is an online session on Zoom.

24 February 2025, 11am - 12pm

This event is for you if:

• You support women in any capacity
• You’re interested in learning more about gambling harm and its impact

Why attend:

• Hear from Nikki Adams, who will share the impact gambling had on her life, through a video message, followed by a facilitated discussion 
• Learn valuable insights from lived experiences to better support the women you work with
• Gain a deeper understanding of gambling harm and its impact on women
• Network with other professionals supporting women
• Discover practical tools and support resources to empower the women you work with.

This is an online session on Zoom.

25 February 2025, 2pm - 3pm

Participants coming to this session will gain the confidence and basic skills to communicate with those who are living with deafness and hearing loss. It will enable them to understand deafness, signs that someone can’t hear you, body positions and communicating.

There will be time for questions at the end of the session. 

26 February 2025, 10am - 12pm

The workshop will tell you about what carbon monoxide (CO₂) is, how it is formed, the sources, signs and symptoms of CO₂ poisoning, how to help prevent it, and what the implications are for you and your clients. It's aimed at front line staff and volunteers from social care, local authorities, NHS, Fire & Rescue Services and the voluntary/community and private sectors.

This workshop is delivered by Gas Safety Charity

3 March 2025, 11am - 12pm

An online information training session that talks about sexual health and the issues related around it. The session includes 

• Statistics on STIs
• Why understanding is important?
• STIs and their symptoms
• Testing and treatment
• Barrier methods and where to go for support with sexual health. 

This session is for those who work with people living with sexual health issues, service users within Hertfordshire, community and voluntary groups, corporate businesses, educational organisations, housing providers, local authorities, NHS trusts, youth services, and members of the public. 

This session is online. 

12 March 2025, 11am - 1pm

Would you feel confident enough to act in an emergency? Practise life-saving skills with the help of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Free CPR Awareness sessions are being run by fire crews at Borehamwood and Elstree Fire Station and the Hertsmere Community Safety Partnership.

At the sessions, participants will learn about the recovery position, how to deal with an unconscious person who isn't breathing, CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

The sessions will take place at Borehamwood Fire Station on these following dates:

• Thursday 6 February, 7pm to 8:30pm
• Tuesday 11 March, 7pm to 8:30pm
• Wednesday 2 April, 10am to 11:30am

For more information and to book your place, please click here or call 0208 207 7801.

The webinar will :

• Explore factors that can increase an individual’s risk of falling and importantly, evidence-based ways to minimise that risk.
• Look at the characteristics of frailty and how the effects of frailty can be slowed down and even reversed through movement.
• Help to us to understand what happens to our brain and mind as we live longer, recognise that dementia is not normal ageing and share what we can do to maintain and increase our 'Brainability', reducing our risk of dementia.

Monday, 17 February 2025, 11am -12pm

Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friends programme is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia. It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition.

Dementia Friends is about learning more about dementia and the small ways you can help. From telling friends about the Dementia Friends programme to visiting someone you know living with dementia, every action counts.

Tuesday, 18 February 2025, 2pm-3pm