Tag Archive for: volunteering

Volunteers needed for Vaccination Programme

The CCG continue to recruit volunteer staff to support the biggest and fastest vaccination programme in the history of the NHS. They have asked that the VCS share the below information with their communities.

 

There is an urgent need for volunteer stewards (RVS) and volunteer unregistered vaccinators (St Johns Ambulance) locally to support the vaccine programme.

Stewards

Stewards help and guide people at vaccination sites – this could be at a GP Vaccination Hub, a Large Scale Vaccination Centre, or at Pharmacy vaccination sites.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the steward role is asked to sign up via the Royal Voluntary Service website.  Volunteers are asked to commit to at least 2 shifts at a vaccination site each month. Shifts are up to 4 hours long.

Once registered (takes approx. 48 hours) volunteers will be notified of available shifts via text and email alerts.  Volunteers are then able to confirm which shifts they are able to do.

All vaccination sites (GP hubs, Vaccination Centres and Pharmacies) will advertise their available shifts through the Royal Voluntary Service website.

A DBS is not required for this role, although volunteers will be asked to declare any unspent convictions as part of the application process.

Unregistered vaccinators

Anyone interested in volunteering for the unregistered vaccinators is asked to complete the ‘expression of interest’ on the St Johns Ambulance website.  Unregistered vaccinators administer vaccines under clinical supervision – these roles require training and assessment.

Volunteers can sign up for both options if they choose to do so.

Connecting Communities 2021

It’s that time again for the annual Connecting Communities conference, a time to bring a range of good practices and thoughts together to talk about volunteering across the county.

This year’s theme is Volunteer Management and how the voluntary and community sector can move forwards from the past year. The event is hosted online, and as with last year’s conference, each day we will be taking on a different format and theme.

Redesigning Recruitment

Tuesday 8 June // 10:00 – 11:30 am // Zoom Webinar

The first day will revolve around Redesigning Recruitment, looking at how organisations have taken the traditional format and mixed it up a little. We have speakers from The British Red Cross, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity and FoodCycle Cambridge.

To Book: connectingcommunities2021day1.eventbrite.co.uk

Reviewing Retention

Wednesday 9 June // 10:00 – 11:30 am // Zoom Meeting

On Wednesday, we will be welcoming Rob Jackson, a well respected expert on volunteer management, to talk to us about Reviewing Retention in our organisation. This event will be a presentation followed by breakout rooms with questions and reflections from Rob.

To Book: connectingcommunities2021day2.eventbrite.co.uk

Re-examining Volunteering

Thursday 10 June // 1:00- 2:30 pm // Zoom Webinar

Finally, we end the conference on Thursday with a general panel hot topic discussion. We welcome Laura Hamilton, a Volunteer Management Consultant, who will chair a panel of local voluntary and third sector speakers, discussing the topic, Can we make volunteering a realistic option for everyone?

To Book: connectingcommunities2021day3.eventbrite.co.uk

The three-day event hopes to bring ideas, thoughts and even more good practice to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, giving those working with volunteers the confidence to face the challenges following the pandemic. We are excited for you to join us.

Queens Award Nominations Open For 2022

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Queen’s Coronation. 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the award, coinciding with the Queen’s Plantuim Jubliee. As part of this, we would like Cambridgeshire and Peterborough groups to celebrate the fantastic work they contribute to our communities.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough tend to receive less nominations than other parts of the country, so we would like to build awareness of this prestigious award among our volunteer-led groups. Over the past year, we have seen a great surge in communities coming forward to support each other and stand together to create opportunities, support and impact within their communities.

 

Who can be nominated

Key eligibility requirements are:

  1. The group must have 3 or more members.
  2. It must be based in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
  3. It must have been operating for a minimum of 3 years.
  4. It must provide a specific local benefit (QAVS are not intended for national organisations, although a branch can be nominated).
  5. QAVS are looking for evidence that volunteers are initiating and driving the group’s work. It may have some paid staff, but we expect at least half of the people who work in the group to be volunteers.
  6. Groups operating solely for the benefit of animals are not eligible.

To read the full criteria, CLICK HERE

 

How are you nominated?

The group can only be nominated by three individuals with no direct link to the group. This means they can’t be working or volunteering for the group, including those who sit on the committee or trustee board.

There needs to be one primary nominator who fills the form out, and then two individuals who are happy to supply a short supporting letter.

 

The Process

The process is pretty easy once the three individuals have submitted their nomination. The organisation will be contacted. There will be a visit by someone from the Lord Lietunet of Cambridgeshire who will ensure your organisation has essential health and safety, safeguarding and finance procedures and policies in place.

All awards are announced as part of Volunteers Week which is between 1st and 7th June, through The Gazette.  Read about the winner for 2020 here

 

Want to know more?

The online guidance notes and application form can be found HERE

Hunts Forum will be holding some one-hour workshops that will cover the basics of the award a little more.  Introduction to the Queen’s Award of Voluntary Action Workshop: 15th June at 18:30 till 19:30, and again on 20th July at 17:00 till 18:00 – BOOK HERE

 

If you would like some more support with your policies and procedures, please contact your local CVS or infrastructure organisation:

Hunts Forum Any organisations working within Huntingdonshire keith@huntsforum.org.uk
CCVS Any organisation working in Cambridge City, South Cambs and Fenland enquiries@cambridgecvs.org.uk
Voluntary Community Action East Cambs (VCAEC) Any organisation working in East Cambs granville@vcaec.org.uk
Cambridgeshire ACRE Any voluntary community groups linked with community buildings. enquiries@cambsacre.org.uk

Support Fenland: Capturing the Views of Council Officers

By Ben Pitt

The Support Fenland project starts in earnest with a round-table discussion with council officers about what the voluntary and community sector needs to help it flourish.

Many people see “the council” as a single organisation that does things like parks and bins, but the reality is that Cambridgeshire has four tiers of local government – parish and town councils, district councils, the county council and the combined authority. Each has its own areas of responsibility but they all take an interest in keeping residents healthy and happy. Building strong communities is a vital part of that.

While the elected councillors or Mayor might be the most visible side of local councils, the bulk of work is carried out by council staff. They include dedicated teams at Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council to support communities. Meanwhile, parish and town councils often have the closest links with the people in their town or village, and much of the work of the parish or town clerk is to respond to the specific needs of their residents. This often goes hand in hand with the activities of local community and voluntary groups.

At Hunts Forum and CCVS we want to ensure that our work in Fenland responds directly to the specific needs of the district. That’s why we started by talking to the council officers who work with residents on a daily basis. We were delighted to be joined by the community development teams from Cambridgeshire County Council and Fenland District Council, the clerks from Wisbech, Chatteris and Christchurch plus our friends at Living Sport and Cambridgeshire ACRE.

We started by asking what the communities of Fenland need from infrastructure organisations, and what the barriers were to accessing that support. Lots of answers came back. Some were practical, such as support with business planning and funding applications for new projects, a volunteer database and peer networking opportunities. Others were more strategic, such as umbrella organisations with the governance in place to hold funds, thereby allowing volunteers with a good idea to focus on delivering it.

Some points were more philosophical. How can we make volunteering a more ‘normal’ thing to do? How do we empower residents to feel that it’s their right to shape their community, rather than their burden? How do we give communities the confidence to seize opportunities?

Finally, we reflected on what infrastructure organisations and councils need to do to ensure that the voices of our communities are heard. The simple answer was to ask them, but there was also a recognition that communities need a reason to want to have that conversation.

We need to ensure that the various people whose job it is to support communities work together effectively, and that the Support Fenland project has a legacy. Too often, people and solutions are parachuted in and make a few ripples, but afterwards things fall back to the way they were before. Our challenge is to change the culture of volunteering and community action in Fenland for the better.

We’re looking forward to talking to the community activists to find out what their perspective is.


The graphics below capture the views expressed during the discussion. Click them to view full screen.

 

 

 

Connecting Communities: Festival of Ideas

UPDATE: These events have now taken place – you can watch them at your leisure here.

 

 

This year Hunts Forum and Support Cambridgeshire are taking their annual Connecting Communities Conference online with a Festival of Ideas. Starting on 22 June 2020, there will be four one-hour events throughout the week to explore volunteer retention during and after COVID-19.

We are excited to have several wonderful speakers who will look at a range of questions and ideas. Rob Jackson is the co-author of The Complete Volunteer Management Handbook and From The Top Down, both of which are used by Directory of Social Change in their training. Benita Matofska is a world-renowned speaker, change-maker and author of Generation Share, a ground-breaking book containing the world’s first collection of inspiring stories of the change-makers building a new economy. Kelly Holliday is the Sporting Events Manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, and has years of experience in stewardship and volunteer management.

You are welcome to attend all the events or just sign up to the ones which take your fancy. Each event will take on a slightly different format, with a mixture of conversations, presentations and training.

These events are funded by Huntingdonshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, and open to anyone who works or volunteers for non-profit organisations in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough. Some events will have a limit on attendee numbers; you will be sent a unique link to the event. As numbers are limited , we ask no more than two delegates from each organisation attend this event.

Throughout the event you will be encouraged to Tweet using the hashtag #CCFestivalofIdeas

Schedule

A Conversation with Rob Jackson

Monday 22 June – 10-11am

Book Now (Eventbrite)

Kat Shepherdson, Deputy CEO at Hunts Forum, speaks with Rob Jackson (RJC Biog) about his ideas and thoughts on what COVID -19 means for volunteer management and recruitment moving forward. Are there lessons we can learn? What did this influx of volunteers tell us about the public attitude to volunteering? How do we keep those who are going back to work engaged in our organisations? Rob will explore these questions and more.

A Presentation by Benita Matafska

Tuesday 23 June, 1-2pm

Book Now (Eventbrite)

Benita Matafska talks through her ideas and thoughts about the concept of a sharing economy and how this can be applied to the current world we live in.

Stewardship and Fundraising

Wednesday 24 June, 1-2pm

Book Now (Eventbrite)

Kelly Holiday shares her experiences of managing Alzheimer’s UK’s relationships with people who fundraise for the charity via sporting events. She will draw on this to explore how smaller organisations can turn newly recruited volunteers into long-term supporters.

How do we Keep this Community Spirit Alive?

Thursday 25th June, 10-11am

Book Now (Eventbrite)

Staff from CCVS and Hunts Forum invite organisations to discuss their views around the Power to Change Report, Local Heroes: How to sustain community spirit beyond Covid-19. What are the common threads between the report and the other presentations and discussions at our Festival of Ideas? How can organisations apply these ideas?

Pitching through the CSR Barrier

In these uncertain times for charities (particularly given how difficult it is to obtain and maintain Grant levels) we are increasingly looking towards different avenues to build future relationships and one of these has seen a growing interest in developing business partnerships.

The world of CSR has been changing: The days of photographic opportunities with large cardboard cheques are becoming sepia images from long-forgotten days. It is now more common for companies to be looking for a charity partner, an organisation that typically can develop a relationship over a period of time with and with whom they share certain values. Nationally this can be seen in partnerships such as Topman and the Campaign Against Living Miserably with their attention grabbing L’eau de Chris campaign and examples such as Chelsea FC and Plan International.

Locally, a growing number of charities and community groups are working closely with local and national companies. Businesses themselves no longer see the good they can do in their communities simply in terms of the cash they can bring but additionally the skill, expertise, resource and time that can be provided.

However, developing these partnerships is not something that happens quickly and is something that as a sector, we can often struggle with in terms of time, money, resource and knowledge.

Following on from two successful workshops earlier this year which brought together charities and businesses to better understand each other’s needs, ways of working and the importance of relationship building in the CSR world, we learnt how difficult many charities struggle with understanding exactly what it is that we can offer a corporate or business partner as part of this relationship and how then to explain and sell this concept.

Jill McCulloch from Coach You who had been part of the second of these workshops offered to run a free course for charities to help find their way to Pitching through the CSR barrier.

The importance of understanding our own values and being able to explain and promote these stands at the forefront of how we can begin to overcome the CSR barrier. It is these, Jill explained, that can help attract and retain business partners, in addition to staff, trustees and supporters. What do we stand for and what is our passion? If we can help others to express our passion, they will become advocates. Taking a cue from Simon Sinek and the Power of Why, we discovered that it is the why we do what we do, that attracts people, not what we do.

Through various exercises we learnt and understood how to see businesses as one of many target audiences, identify what we are looking for in a business partnership and how to use this knowledge to recognise what we can clearly articulate to a partner.

Representatives from 15 organisations across Cambridgeshire attended the workshop at Westminster College, Cambridge on the 21st November 2019.

Our work around the CSR agenda continues as we believe working effectively with business partners is one sure way in which charities of all sizes can diversify their income portfolio in these challenging times. This workshop series forms part of our Think Different Approach, so watch out for future events via the Support Cambridgeshire Training Page.

Support Cambridgeshire would like to thank:

Rachel Briant of Get Synergised for organising the event.  https://www.getsynergised.com/

Jill McCulloch for freely giving her time and knowledge to us  https://coachyou.co.uk/

 Westminster College for hosting this event.  https://www.westminster.cam.ac.uk/events

 

 

Volunteer for Cambridge Conference 2019

Volunteer for Cambridge was first initiated by Cambridge City Council in 2015. It began life as a free annual fair where local community organisations could promote both themselves and their volunteering opportunities to members of the public who might be interested. Extremely successful events have taken place over the last few years, with over 80 organisations and 800 delegates in attendance. The 2019 conference took place on the 4th November 2019 at the Meadows Centre in Cambridge. The keynote presentation was provided by Veronique Jochum of NCVO who talked about their Time Well Spent Research.  

This was followed by a series of workshops on varying aspects of volunteering.

Session 1 was labelled How inclusive are we?: Facilitated by Hannah Touey of the Arthur Rank Hospice with support from Eddie Stadnik and Suzan Murrad from the Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum, this session examined what we can do as organisations to overcome the barriers that some people face when attempting to volunteer, how do we better reflect the communities we serve and are we doing enough as a sector to encourage volunteers.

Session 2 was labelled How flexible are we?: Facilitated by Vic Hopkins of Food Cycle, with Chris Pursell and Ania Udalowska from Anglia Ruskin and Kerrie Thackray from Girl Guides East, this session debated such issues as can we let people pilot volunteering opportunities without commitment, can we accommodate those with a limited time offer and how responsive are we to volunteer interests and skills.

Session 3 was about Making volunteering attractive and relevant?: Facilitated by Roxanne de Beaux of Camcyle, Marika Newman of Eddies and Lorraine Payne from Citizen’s Advice, this session examined issues such as do we know what volunteers want, how effective are organisations at retaining volunteers and what recognition or incentives are on offer.

The final session was labelled How do we make business volunteering work for everyone?: Facilitated by Peter Griffiths of Ingleton Wood, Hetti Wood and Abi More from Rowan, Heidi Mulvey from Cambridge University Press and Maria Varallo from Illuminate, this session examined topics such as do we as a sector know what business wants, how does the sector build engagement with business and how can we partner for greater impact.

If you want to know more about the Volunteer for Cambridge Conference then please contact Bridget Keady (Community Funding and Engagement Officer) at Cambridge City Council by E-Mailing bridget.keady@cambridge.gov.uk

 

 

Connecting Communities 2019

On the 20th June 2019 Hunts Forum and Support Cambridgeshire (as part of their Think Different Approach) ran their annual Connecting Communities Conference, the topic this year being unwanted Loneliness and Social Isolation.

Subtitled Tackling Loneliness, A Community Response, the conference looked at how volunteering can help reduce loneliness.

Interest in the conference was high with nearly 90 people attending on the day ( a 98% increase on Conference levels from last year) and many unfortunately unable to get a ticket.

The event was far removed from the usual presentational format and emphasised the conversational. Partners wanted to stay true to an ethos in that working and talking together in co-operation and good faith we can achieve more than just the sum of our parts. Through dialogue and openness we hoped that the exchange of information, ideas, comments, observations from the collective experience and knowledge would create the platform for mutual support, and would help organisations to develop, connect and obtain the guidance they needed.

The Key-Note:

The conference began with a passionate and inspiring talk from the keynote speaker, Kate Gordon, from Men’s Sheds UK. Kate explained the origin of the Shed movement in Australia as a way of encouraging men to socialise and discuss their feelings and their well-being. Since the idea first travelled across the world to the UK 500 sheds have opened with 8 active sheds in Cambridgeshire. Cambridgeshire County Council welcome applications to the Innovate & Cultivate Fund to set up Men’s Sheds in communities across Cambridgeshire.

You can apply for a £2000 start-up grant to cover the first two years of your Shed development.

See here: https://data.cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/sites/default/files/Mens%20Shed%20Cultivate%20Model.pdf for more details.

The Slogan for men’s sheds is Shoulder to Shoulder,  simply shortened from Men don’t talk face to face, they talk shoulder to shoulder.

Kate’s Keynote slides can be viewed here:

The Work-shops:

Later, the main hall buzzed with small groups discussing different aspects of loneliness and how volunteering can help reduce loneliness and social isolation. Different workshops looked at ways to find potentially lonely people and reach out to them  (run by Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough),  ways to communicate with and engage people (run by Care Network’s Open Arms Project), supporting and nurturing volunteers (run by Cambridge Community Arts) while The Wildlife Trust, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire ran a workshop on ways and ideas for demonstrating impact, something that helps us as organisations and is very important to funding bodies.

We were lucky to have four funding bodies at the conference talking to people about the various funds that they have available to support volunteering and help tackle Loneliness and Social Isolation. Alibhe Kirwan from the People’s Postcode lottery had travelled from Edinburgh to be with us and provided a great deal of information to help people ensure their funding applications are relevant. Alibhe’s attendance at the conference was part of a wider tour of the area visiting projects funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Ailbhe was joined by Fiona Brice from The National Lottery Community Fund, Michael Ruddy from Cambridgeshire Community Foundation and Lianne Parrett from Cambridgeshire County Council’s Innovate and Cultivate Fund.

Thank you to everyone who came to the conference and particularly to Kate Gordon, Andy Morris from Age UK C&P, Adam Fraser from Care Network’s Open Arms Project, Beth McCabe and Jane Rich from Cambridge Community Arts and Louise Rackham from The WildLife Trust Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire for running such excellent and engaging workshops, and for taking time out of their busy daily schedules.

Evaluation:

Over 45 evaluation forms were completed on the day, and feed-back was generally positive, although there are always lessons to be learned.

Here are some quotes:

This was a well organised event, run smoothly and was useful to me for networking. Please continue to do what you do best.

speaking about volunteering with other people from different organisations whose experiences are very different is very useful.

This event is so helpful in the way it supports us to find different organisations and groups who can support us moving forward.

Knowing there is so much ‘out there’ for the lonely is rewarding.

Its always useful sharing experiences with people from other organisations.

Its always helpful to realise how many others are out there that could help reduce isolation for our families.

People’s experiences are a really useful way to learn.

A really enjoyable and informative day.

Great conference, excellent programme, and a strong energy in the room. If this is VCSE power, then the future is bright.

Overall:

Most delegates scored the Conference high in terms of overall satisfaction, with most scoring 3 or 4 (4 being the highest score).

Most delegates said they felt more able to identify loneliness in their communities as a direct result of attending the conference, and the majority of delegates felt they could put some plans into immediate action.

Next Steps:

To work through how we can build on the conference for next year, a small random sample of evaluations will be sent in two months time, asking for delegates to look back and see what could have been done differently, and what they might like to see in 2020/2021.  In addition, the Support Cambridgeshire State of the Sector Survey for 2019 (which will be published in July) may provide further clues on topics, issues and challenges around volunteering – so watch out for that.

Photograph: 

Kate in action at Connecting Communities 2019.

Join us at our Connecting Communities Conference 2019

Hunts Forum and Support Cambridgeshire invite you to our Connecting Communities Conference on the 20th June 2019.

Join us to CareDare and Share as we create a community response to tackling loneliness and isolation in our communities.

Loneliness is a growing problem in our society, and it’s increasingly recognised as being closely linked to physical and mental health issues. The government is starting to take this matter seriously, but the voluntary sector can play a key role too. We often have better local knowledge than statutory agencies; we know our communities because we are a part of them.

For more information on the event and how to book a Free Space click here:

A number of workshops will be run throughout the day.

UPDATE: AgeUK set to run our Finding Workshop 

Andrew Morris and Beverly Young Young from AgeUK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will be facilitating the workshop of Finding (how to identify and reach out to potential volunteers who may be isolated or lonely).

Andy Morris has recently started his career in the charity sector following a career change in 2018. He spent 14 years working for Cambridgeshire Constabulary as a Police officer undertaking various roles. Andy now has the unique challenge of Chief Operating Officer for AgeUk Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

His key skills are in project management, operational and contingency planning, business development and Risk analysis. Andy has a successful history of working constructively with a range of internal and external stakeholders to plan and implement strategies, achieving results, and identifying ways to develop and improve services and productivity.

Some key achievements are the development and delivery of the police service volunteer programme, and most recently, the project lead in creating a unique volunteer steward programme with major event locations in the county.

Beverley Young has held a variety of volunteer roles in the charity sector for over 20 years and as a result has a personal understanding of the needs and motivations of volunteers. Beverley has worked for Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough for 8 years, and has delivered front line services, co-ordinated and managed volunteer recruitment, induction and training. Whilst partnership manager, Beverley delivered a number of local projects working collaboratively and currently manages communications and campaigns at Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough strategically influencing stakeholders.

Book today and get your free space.

National Volunteers Week June 2019

Its National Volunteers Week between the 1st and the 7th June 2019, an opportunity for organisations across the UK to recognise the fantastic work undertaken by the countless number of volunteers who assist in the provision of services and projects.

Support Cambridgeshire is happy to profile any volunteers who are nominated by Cambridgeshire based organisations. These nominations will appear as a news item each day throughout the week, starting on Monday the 3rd June. If you wish to profile a particular volunteer please send 1 side of A4 to russell@huntsforum by Friday the 24th May 2019 at 5PM.

Please include the name of your volunteer, why they are being nominated and how they have helped your organisation.