Welcome to our latest edition of the DCE Update.
Despite the wet weather, summer holidays are now well underway, and I’d like to remind everyone to ensure you set your ‘out of office’ message before heading on holiday and that it includes:
- Your date of return (if you are unsure, please include ‘with no anticipated return date at this time’)
- Alternative contact(s) email address and/or phone number while you are away
- Your email signature
Our Council approved email signature can be found on the M365 Adoption Hub . It includes the correct font, the Council logo and links to our social media channels. It meets required Accessibility Standards and it looks like this:
If you have not yet applied the new signature to your Outlook account please head over to the Adoption Hub through the link above and do so.
As ever, if you have any issues or questions about Outlook or the migration to M365, please speak to your team’s Digital Champion.
Now on to our regular news updates:
News from the Council….
Community Champion Awards 2023
The winners in Provost Gillian Renwick’s inaugural Community Champion Awards have been announced. Following a fabulous range of submissions and an intense judging session, the Provost and Depute Provost have agreed the 2023 Award recipients in each of the six categories and you can find out who won what in the News section of our website.
Green light for new Lennoxtown sports facility
Plans for a new community sports complex in Lennoxtown have been given the green light by the Council at its meeting on Thursday 22 June. The approved plans to redevelop the current High Park site include installing a new all-weather sports pitch and extending the existing changing pavilion to increase capacity.
The £4.3m development will see the existing grass playing fields replaced by a single 3G Astroturf pitch to allow for more frequent use throughout the year. Read more on the News section of our website.
Increased funding available for East Dunbartonshire community groups
Community groups across East Dunbartonshire can now apply for even more funding under the Council’s Community Grants Scheme.
The scheme aims to financially support local community and voluntary organisations with their activities and will have an increased budget over the next two years. The funding is a combination of money from the Council and the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund and means organisations can now apply for up to £10,000 a year.
For more information visit the Community Grants Scheme and Our Local Outcomes
The Scottish Youth Parliament is looking for new members [opens in a new window]
The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) is the democratically elected voice of Scotland’s young people, and it needs new voices to shout out now and become new members.
If you or someone you know are aged 14-25 and interested in making a difference to the local community and representing your peers at a national level, then please consider standing to become a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYP).
Read more on the News section of our website.
School Clothing Grant Applications in East Dunbartonshire are now open
Families in East Dunbartonshire who are entitled to a School Clothing Grant for the new academic year can now make their applications online.
Last year the Council doubled the amount of School Clothing Grant to eligible families and this increase remains in place this year to help local families cope with the cost-of-living crisis. The payment for eligible primary school pupils is £240 while eligible young people at secondary school will be awarded £300. Applications for the grant can be made on the School Clothing Grant section of our website.
Read more on the News section of our website.
Wellbeing Update – July….
World Hepatitis Day (28 July)
World Hepatitis Day is observed each year on 28 July to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes severe liver disease and hepatocellular cancer. In 2023 the theme is ‘We’re not waiting’. To find out more or get involved visit:
World Hepatitis Day website [opens in a new window] or the World Health Organization website [opens in a new window]
Time for Talking ‘Wellbeing Times’ July 2023's Newsletter
Our employee assistance programme provider has recently launched a monthly Wellbeing Times newsletter which includes fitness tips, recipes, helps with setting monthly goals and a daily journal – take a look by visiting the Time for Talking website [opens in a new window].
News from EDLC Trust….
New exhibition of never-before-seen workings of leading British sculptor
The life and work of one of the UK’s most renowned sculptors, the late Dennis Westwood, is to be celebrated at a new exhibition at Milngavie’s Lille Art Gallery.
The show, which launched on Saturday 8 July, includes elegant bronzes and previously unseen working drawings which showcase his wonderful draughtsmanship.
Although trained in the figurative tradition, Westwood was best known for his abstract bronzes which have an extraordinary tactile and sensual nature. His technical process of grinding, polishing and patination created the exquisite finishes on his sculptures.
Read more on the News section of our website and better still, head over to the Lillie Art Gallery to see this fantastic showcase which runs until 17 August.
Dates for your Diary….
24 July 24/7 Samaritans Awareness Day – ‘The Big Listen’
25 July Schizophrenia Awareness Day
28 July World Hepatitis Day (see Wellbeing Update above)
30 July World Friendship Day
For those of you taking holidays in the coming weeks, have a fabulous break and let’s hope the sunshine of early June makes a return! My next update will be in a fortnight’s time, the week beginning 24 July.
Ann