Back to international camps this summer!

We’re very excited that CISV is running camps this year, after a hard couple of years of mostly remote connection between CISV-ers. We had some GB-only camps last summer, which were fantastic, but we’re so happy to be able to send delegates to camps across Europe again this summer. We’ve got a Village delegation, a Junior Counsellor and several Seminar places, as well as sending some delegates away with other branches. Get in touch if you’re interested in joining us!

Web shop now open!

We’re really pleased to be able to announce that the branch now has a web shop! Click the link at the top of the page and browse the merch we’ve got available. If you do buy anything, we are offering collection from Junior Branch meetings. Also, please let us know if there is anything you would like us to consider making available.

Our new branch committee!

Dear CISVers of Leeds and West Yorkshire,

We would like to introduce you to our new committee.

After many years of service, helping hundreds of children and young people to participate in our international camps, Helen James and Carole Bewsher have stood down as chair and secretary respectively. We are very grateful to them for all their hard work and happy that they are staying on the committee in an advisory capacity. We are delighted to have built a proactive and enthusiastic new committee to take forward CISV activities in the coming years, and we would like to tell you a bit more about them, so please have a look at the social media posts to see what we do and what we look like!

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Junior Branch is still running!

Since lockdown has stopped us from meeting in person for Junior Branch, we have started doing it on Zoom monthly. Because it is from the comfort of our own homes, we are able to join our meetings with the Hull chapter and recently Manchester too which is amazing and something which would not be able to happen in any way under normal circumstances. It has been really great that we have been able to collaborate in this way to do activities. We have done lots of fun activities, some educational and some fun and we have all had the chance to explore the options of online resources such as Kahoot. This month we did a Valentine’s day themed JB where we talked about how we would like to spread love in the next year and we did a fun online version of Chinese masters, which is a game often played on CISV camps. Get in touch with us on Insta if you want to come along next time!

Rhiannon, Leeds Chapter


Ruth Bader Ginsburg

We are very sorry to hear of the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court Judge and CISV-er. Alongside her very considerable contribution to US law, and especially to gender equality, she also co-founded the New York chapter of CISV in the late ‘60s. She remained involved in CISV, writing in 2001 in support of the 50th anniversary, and as recently as 2018 gave an opening welcome address at the CISV Global Conference in the Netherlands. For many reasons, she will be very much missed.

CISV and sustainability

CISV International would like to find out what CISVers think and do about sustainability.  We are partnering with Sustainability and Environmental Education (SEEd) and are using their surveys, which they have adapted for CISV, to gather input from CISVers around the world. Please take a look and help us understand better your feelings about sustainability. Here's the link:

https://cisv.org/2020/04/17/understanding-cisvers-attitudes-towards-sustainability/

Help us raise funds!

You might have noticed we’re signed up with Easyfundraising, which is a great way to donate to us throughout the year simply by shopping as normal! There’s an #easyfundraising Summer Giveaway. Enter for a chance to WIN a £500 donation for CISV Leeds. All you have to do is visit the competition page before midnight on 26th July and click on any of the participating retailers. Don't miss out, enter now! http://efraising.org/oC7ALDdEXU

New blogs page!

We’ve just added a new blogs page to the website to share some stories from CISV-ers new and old! If you have a story to share, or some photos to help us keep the gallery fresh (ideally both!) then don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to hear from you and share your stories to help us connect with current members and those who’ve yet to experience CISV. It’s a great way to help everyone understand what we do. Check out the first blog and get in touch with us, using the links on the Take Action page or the form on the About page!

Thanks to everyone who completed our survey

Although the survey is now closed, we would still love to hear from you, whether you're involved in CISV now or have been in the past. We want to build our understanding of how and why people choose to get involved and we'll use the results to help us offer more children and families the chance to take part in CISV’s programmes in the future. We got some great feedback from families across the Great Britain branches but are always on the lookout for more input, support and ideas!

Coronavirus update

Sadly, the governing board of CISV reached the decision last week to cancel all April programs, including international meetings. Naturally this is disappointing, but understandable given the current situation, and the response across large parts of the world. You can see a video update from Einav, the chair of the governing board, here https://youtu.be/D7orqFKdeXg. 

The governing board are continuing to monitor the situation regarding the summer programmes, as are the GB team and the Leeds committee are keeping in touch with venues and hosts for our programmes, but with such a fluid situation, we cannot give much clarity at this time. At the moment the hope is that they will go ahead, but this will be done with the health and wellbeing of our participants and members as our primary concern. We will keep you informed as new information comes to light.

Yesterday, the government advised people to avoid all non-essential contact. As a result of this, our monthly Junior Branch meetings will not go ahead until further notice.

We hope you and your families stay safe and healthy during this time.