News
If the Cowfolk are doing it, this is where it’s at…
Bristol Women’s Voice event
There will be a Bristol Women’s Voice event event for International Women’s Day on Sat 11th March. Please spread the word about it.
Easton Cowgirls will be on college green doing some football stuff and I’ll be creating a textile installation for a visual mapping project in the Vestibules (entrance near the Central Library). Come on down for the day there’s HEAPS on!
I’m also looking for nominations for women you think should be ‘put on the map’ in Bristol women who made a difference during their lifetime whether it’s science, arts, community, health, teaching, equalities. Of course, grassroots women especially welcome. They don’t need to have started a big organisation, it could be that they volunteered for years cooking meals for local residents and made a difference in small, local way. Please email me if you have any suggestions or drop by on 11th.
Cheers, Zoe
New Cowfolk softball team
Mixed gender team including trans and non binary players. All abilities welcome! Many of us have never played before.
The Bristol Softball league are running taster sessions 2-4pm on Sunday 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th March, £4 cash to attend.
After taster sessions we’ll be looking to set up our own Cowfolk training, with hopefully some friendlies in spring/summer and a local tournament in August!
Contact Zoe G (Gibbo) or Jo G for more info, or use the website contact form.
2023 Copa Sandino/Lucrecia – in question!
This year’s 34th annual Copas Sandino and Lucrecia Lindo will take place on Sunday 21st May at Ashton Park Secondary School. However, we are currently considering boycotting this years event as a club.
For those who don’t know, the Copa Sandino (mens) and Copa Lucrecia (womens) is a charity five/six-a-side football tournament organised by Bristol Link with Nicaragua (BLINC), which raises money to support solidarity and development projects in Nicaragua. We have played in these tournaments for many years.
However, for political reasons we are currently discussing as a club whether to boycott this event – more details to follow.
Footy coaches needed
Help Cowgirls coach Mark coach a team with players who have down syndrome, St Pauls, Sundays 10.30am. Start your Sunday mornings positively by volunteering with this fun group. No experience necessary, just a desire to help. Contact Mark on 07786890091.
Bristol Central Youth Football Club are looking for volunteer coaches. An award winning local inner city football club based at City Academy School, Bristol Central YFC are already linked with the Cowfolk as a number of our players are coaches and/or have children playing in their teams. They currently have lots of kids wanting to join in different age groups, and there are sessions waiting for them, but a lack of new coaches is stopping this from happening. No coaching experience necessary – the club will put you through your FA intro badge and fully support you – just a love of football and commitment to running a weekly training session. Speak to Kev or Chris Pearcy for more info, or contact Bristol Central direct on https://www.bristolcentralfc.com/coachingenquiries . It’s really fun and extremely rewarding.
Local volunteering ideas
Current opportunities in, around and between Easton and the city centre
Feeding people
Food Cycle – serving free sustainable meals on Wednesdays, for anyone, Lawrence Hill
https://foodcycle.org.uk/location/foodcycle-bristol-easton/
A number of different roles from welcoming guests, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, helping collect surplus food, managing regional social media pages or making weekly phone calls.
BS4 Food Bank Outlet Assistant, Wednesdays 12pm to 2:30pm, volunteering at is St Barnabas Church, Daventry Rd, Bristol, BS4 1DQ.
BS4 Food Bank Outlet Assistant | Foodbank Network Volunteering (trusselltrust.org)
You can be part of helping keep them running. We are in need of volunteers on Wednesdays 12pm to 2:30pm at our foodbank which is part of Bristol and Severn Vineyard Churches. You will be greeting clients between 12.30 and 2pm and providing them with their food parcels.
Mental health and fitness
Good Gym, various locations, various times
GoodGym – Do Good, Get Fit | GoodGym – Do Good, Get Fit
Run, walk, and cycle to help local community organisations and isolated older people by doing practical tasks.
Plant trees at the local park, Sort cans for a foodbank, Clean up a community centre, Help an older person with maintenance around their house, Do some gardening, Move furniture for an older person.
Bristol Drugs project, Youth group volunteer, City Centre / St Pauls
Volunteer at BDP – Bristol Drugs Project
Gain experience of working in a front-line service which offers a well-trodden route into education, training or work. Development of inter-personal skills – benefiting relationships all round. A positive contribution to Bristol at large and some of the city’s most marginalized communities
BDP has a long and proud history of working with volunteers. They strongly value volunteers’ contribution to their services and have been accredited with Investing In Volunteers since February 2009.
Woman kind, Helpline, befriending, admin, digital marketing, St Pauls / City centre, various times, city centre / St Pauls Volunteer – Womankind Bristol
An opportunity to gain experience and understanding of issues such as mental health, domestic and sexual abuse, get Training, Support and Supervision with Social events and an opportunity to make new friends. And Out-of-pocket expenses covered.
Football
Help Mark coach a team with players who have down syndrome, St Pauls, Sundays 10.30am. Start your Sunday mornings positively by volunteering with this fun group. No experience necessary, just a desire to help. Contact Mark on 07786890091.
Bristol Central Youth Football Club are looking for volunteer coaches. An award winning local inner city football club based at City Academy School, Bristol Central YFC are already linked with the Cowfolk as a number of our players are coaches and/or have children playing in their teams. They currently have lots of kids wanting to join in different age groups, and there are sessions waiting for them, but a lack of new coaches is stopping this from happening. No coaching experience necessary – the club will put you through your FA intro badge and fully support you – just a love of football and commitment to running a weekly training session. Speak to Kev or Chris Pearcy for more info, or contact Bristol Central direct on https://www.bristolcentralfc.com/coachingenquiries . It’s really fun and extremely rewarding.
Outdoor stuff / The environment
Tree planting, various times and locations.
To volunteer, email onetreeperchild@bristol.gov.uk to book your place on our events.
Helping maintain Eastville Park, Friends of Eastville Park
www.eastvillepark.org.uk / Friendsofeastvillepark@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/groups/eastvillepark/
If you love Eastville Park then you are a friend of Eastville Park! We hold an open meeting 2-3 times a year to meet with other residents. This gives you a chance to meet other park users, chat about what you love or don’t love about the park, and how we can tackle problems together.
Bristol Bike Project, Easton, volunteer nights – Tues and Weds, 6.30 – 9.30pm
Fancy learning bike mechanics, being part of a great team and giving back to your community in the process? Come and volunteer with us!
Helping homelessness
‘Move on volunteer’ at St Mungos (Thursdays afternoons, 2 – 4 hours a week, Bristol and Kingswood)
https://www.mungos.org/volunteer_vacancy/move-on-volunteer/
Feed the homeless are alwways looking for volunteers. You can be very ad hoc and commit once or twice a month (ideally). It’s Fridays and Sundays in Champion Square from 6.30 to 8pm.
Teaching / Mentoring
Borderlands, Teaching and mentoring, BS5, Mondays, Tuesdays (daytime) Volunteer | Borderlands
We love our volunteers’ commitment, expertise and energy to welcome and support refugees and asylum seekers. Our volunteers come from diverse backgrounds including professionals, retired people, students, refugees and asylum seekers.
Reconstruct
Independant Visitors for a young person in care. It is a monthly (2-3 hours) long-term commitment but very rewarding.
Funds needed for Um Al-Khair
Please see below request from our friends in Umm Al Khair. For those not aware this is a community in the south Hebron hills in Palestine. Many of us have visited this community and supported it for many years. If you can spare any pounds please donate below to help them purchase a much needed vehicle.
Dear friends and allies
The community of Umm Al Khair is under siege
Lately, occupation forces have been using an old\new tool aimed at breaking the steadfastness of our village. This tool has crippled the ability of Umm Al Khair residents (and, indeed, the entire South Hebron Hills) to freely move from one point to another as the Israeli Police and Army confiscated all of the vehicles in the area under the pretext that they are “illegal”. We know the goal is not to enforce the law, but rather to put more pressure on the community to drive us out of our land. Stories of girls, women, boys, the sick and the elderly being stranded for long hours are abundant in the community due to the lack of any vehicles after all of them were confiscated by the occupation. However, We owe it to the people of Umm Al Khair to stop this detrimental policy from hindering the freedom of their movement.
To enhance the steadfastness of the residents of Umm Al Khair and to make sure that the not only transportation needs of its population are met, the Umm Al Khair community is planning to purchase a vehicle ( a legal one) and this is where we need YOUR HELP
WE NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE to buy a new car for the community. Your donations would be HIGHLY appreciated. You can donate using either of the following two accounts. Please specify that the donation is aimed at purchasing a vehicle for Umm Al Khair ( if you find that option or just donate and we will know it’s from you).
For donations in the UK, please use this link (and giftaid it, if you can)
For donations in the US, please use this link
Thanks in advance
Best regards
Um Al Khair Community
Full Club BGM
There will be a full club BGM on Tuesday 7th March at 7.30pm.
This is likely to be at Easton Community Centre but TBC
We have a number of important things to discuss like the introduction of a new refugee team into the club so please spread far and wide and can Manager’s really encourage their teams to come along.
Myself, Linners and Vic will also have to step down from the committee at the AGM in the summer so we need to start discussing who will take over.
Apologies to the Basketball team as I know this clashes with your training but we just couldn’t find a suitable alternative day. If you are able to send a couple of representatives that would be great.
If anyone has any agenda items please send them to me by Monday 20th Feb and I will share the agenda on 21st.
Thanks all, Soooooz
Cowgirls Legends+
Ey up cows old and new,
There’s a new group for retired, injured or otherwise non-footballing Cowgirls.
The primary aim is for those who are no longer going to training to stay connected and keep a sense of belonging to the club – whether it’s through other sporting activities, wider club activities/tours or any other special adventure that comes our way. Many retirees are no longer on the various chats so miss out on stuff, and might also feel like they’re no longer welcome at team events if they don’t play any more – which is nobody’s fault, but this is just to plug that gap.
The idea is that it’s definitely not a place to chat football – which can be a bit sad/isolating for folks who can’t play any more.
It may also become a place where new folk who want to be involved with the ethos of the Cowgirls but for whatever reason don’t want to play football can get involved and get to know us, but we can see how it evolves.
Ask Sal FW or use the contact form to ask to join the whatsapp group.
Remember… ‘Once a Cowgirl, Always a Cowgirl’ 
The community care package is back!
The Plough is in need of people to take donations on the door at the weekends toward Community Care
Packages. Money will be used towards veg boxes, refugee charities and general goodness.
Looking to have door collectors every Friday and Saturday for general shaking of bucket for a good cause even two hours an evening is great (normally 8 10/11) and you can have a pint at the same time!
If interested email communityvegbristol@gmail.com
Ta/thanks/cheers
Harriet/Rosie
Annual network tournament
Dear friends,
We come with more news of Republica’s plans for hosting this summer’s network tournament in Yorkshire to coincide with our 40th anniversary!
The tournament will run from the afternoon of Friday 11th August to the morning of Monday 14th August. It will be held at Bradford and Bingley sports club.
The usual tournament fare football, music, food, party, chaos should be expected! In terms of the football, we anticipate a mixed 11 aside tournament and a 7s tournament open to women, non binary and all trans players.
If you have any thoughts on the format of the football, such as ways to make it as inclusive to all as possible, then do let us know.
There will be more info on everything to follow.
With love,
Molly, on behalf of Republica FC