Volunteer Centre VCN Bulletin August 2014 Changes to the date of the next VCN meeting: The next Volunteer Co-ordinators network meeting will now take place on Tuesday 30 th September 1:30 4pm, brought forward from the 7 th October 2014. Volunteer Centre Team - by Joanne Cookney. Volunteer Centre moves to create a membership scheme for Organisations in Plymouth Last week the Volunteer Centre sent out letters to you, our VCN members, letting you know about our new Volunteer Centre Membership Scheme for Organisations. Since then some of you have been in touch, providing us with the opportunity to talk over any issues directly with you, which is always very welcome. As we go to press we have received the first membership payments which is really positive.if you have anything that you would like to clarify about the scheme then please do get in contact with the Volunteer Centre Manager, Gill Stringer on 01752 241054 or via gill@plymouthguild.org.uk. The meeting will be held at Ernest English House. VCN members are invited to add items to the agenda should they wish. We will have a guest speaker from Job Centre Plus who will talk about how the job centre supports volunteering in Plymouth. If you would like to attend this meeting or add anything to the agenda please email: Sarah.Geoffrey@plymouthguild.org.uk Please let us know what you want to say!! If you have any articles about volunteering and your organisation that you would like published in the VCN Bulletin then please contact sarah.geoffrey@plymouthguild.org.uk. We can also post articles on our Facebook page. Search for VolunteeringPlymouth and like our page.
Award Winners in Plymouth Last month we spoke about those Inspiring Volunteers who were awarded for their efforts during this year s volunteer award ceremony. This month we ve had a chat with some of the people and organisations who nominated their volunteers and asked them to talk about what their volunteers mean to them. They have much praise for their volunteers and have given some fantastic advice on how to start volunteering. We would like to share their comments with you all. Access Plymouth Photo of Julie Jeffs & Robbie Nairn - courtesy of Joanne Cookney. Access Plymouth is a local charity that provides a community car service along with chairs and scooters for the elderly and physically disadvantaged. Volunteer organiser, Lesley Hargreaves, nominated volunteer Julie Jeffs, for the Long Term Commitment Award at this year s Inspiring Volunteer Awards. Julie was presented with the award at the ceremony held in June. We currently have around forty volunteers working for Access Plymouth, They re brilliant; we simply couldn t run without them. When asked what kind of tasks the volunteers at Access Plymouth perform, Lesley said: We have volunteer community car drivers and also the volunteers who work on our shop mobility desk which includes reception work and helping people with their scooters. A lot of our volunteers found us through the Guild s website where they were able to search for things that interest them. Some people just walk through our doors and ask if there are any volunteer opportunities available. There s a lot of ways to get involved.
Derriford Hospital s Glenbourne Unit Sophie Olver, a staff member of Derriford Hospital s Glenbourne unit, nominated a Glenbourne volunteer for the Plymouth Community Healthcare Award at this year s Inspiring Volunteer Awards. Brian Ruse, who runs the unit s coffee shop, went on to win the award at a ceremony in June of this year. Speaking of the winning volunteer she nominated, Sophie said of Glenbourne s volunteers: Often, our patients at Glenbourne can t go off-site to do shopping or anything like that so the volunteers take it upon themselves to bring in toiletries and second hand clothes for them. Brian started as a volunteer for our coffee shop and he also worked the trolley service, serving food to our patients. As it happened, our patients preferred the coffee shop as it gave them somewhere to meet. When asked on how best to start volunteering, Sophie said: Being a PCH employee, I would recommend going to the Guild s Volunteer Centre and speaking to them. Photo of Brian Ruse & Steve Waite - courtesy of Joanne Cookney. Shout It Out Melanie Parker volunteers at the community led Shout it Out project with Inspiring Volunteer of the Year Award winner Sue Torr, who founded Shout it Out in 2009. The project is dedicated to teaching valuable literacy and maths skills. The volunteers help our adult learners, one on one, with their literacy and numeracy. They also help Sue [Torr] with administrative work.
Shout it Out is a community project that gives people somewhere to go, said Melanie of the project. It s a warm place and I think it s important to be a part of a community. The student volunteers really help the project and they also learn a lot about life and society. It s great to get out there. When asked about how to best start volunteering, Melanie said: Just get out there and do it. Volunteering Cartoon Cartoon used with permission from Mosaic Creative. Photo Sue Torr & Lesley Shorrocks - courtesy of Joanne Cookney. When asked how many volunteers help at Shout it Out, Melanie said: We have two volunteer adult education teachers who come in every week; the students from the university also help. We have six or seven or them at any one time. If you ve have any comments, quotes or information you would like to share with the network about your volunteers or about anything within the bulletin please send us your views and we will endeavour to share your comments with the network members.
National News on Volunteering Commenting on the local Government Association proposal for council tax discounts for volunteers, Justin Davis Smith, executive director for volunteering and development at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, which represents charities in England, said: We very much welcome any ideas for promoting volunteering, but this proposal raises both practical problems and questions of principle. To monitor volunteers involvement and to prevent abuse it would be necessary to create an inspection and audit regime that would be burdensome for both charities and local authorities. Charities would not welcome the role of being gatekeepers to these incentives. The principle of volunteering is that it is done freely. There comes a point where rewards for volunteering muddy the water and undermine this principle, and this proposal is certainly approaching that point. It also risks falling foul of minimum wage legislation which requires volunteers to be unpaid. Given the absence of evidence that this would be an effective incentive to volunteer, councils that are keen to encourage volunteering would do best to invest in opening up their services to the involvement of local charities and volunteers and in supporting local organisations such as Volunteer Centres. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is calling for charities to protect their historical records, as part of a new project to archive charity sector documents. The five-year scheme, funded by the British Academy, will reach across the UK and seeks to digitally preserve key voluntary sector records, particularly those dating back to the creation of the modern welfare state in 1945. It aims to ensure that records relating to welfare reform, which transformed the relationship between charities and the state, are not lost. If you ve got stories you ve picked up on nationally and you have any comments to make on anything within the bulletin please send us your views and we will endeavour to share your comments with the network members.
VCN Training Courses The Volunteer Centre are pleased to be able to offer an opportunity for Volunteer Co-ordinators Network Members or their colleagues to attend a half day workshop suitable for volunteers or staff who are involved in the co-ordination or support of volunteers and is intended to give an overview of the aspects of current legislation in relation to volunteering and will cover topics to include: Mental Health First Aid Courses There is further opportunity to book places on the MHFA 2 day course and the MHFA Lite half day courses. All training is open to individuals, teams or organisations; living or working in Plymouth and is an opportunity to take this valuable internationally recognised training in First Aid for Mental Health. Volunteers rights and the difference between a contract and an agreement, Equality Act 2010 and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, Volunteer expenses, training and the benefits system (the current situation), DBS checks (the current situation) Policies and Procedures to support volunteers. The dates up until the end of 2014 are :- 2 Day Course - September 16/17th November 3 & 4th December 2 & 3rd Half Day Courses - September 3rd/29th, October 22nd, November 27th, December 9th Training will take place on Tuesday 16th Sept 1pm- 4:30pm at Ernest English House. This training is being offered at a minimal administration cost of 15 for 'Not for Profit' organisations. There are a limited number of spaces for this popular course so we ask that organisations only book one space, spaces will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. To book a space on this training please email: Sarah.Geoffrey@plymouthguild.org.uk Mental Health First Aid Training MHFA training is subsidised by Public Mental Health; there is a small charge for the delivery: MHFA (2 days) 60 per person MHFA Lite 25 per person Please find out more about the courses before booking at www.livewellplymouth.co.uk. If you would like to reserve a place on a course or to discuss your training needs please contact Livewell on 01752 434864 or email pchcic.phitraining@nhs.net
and the Volunteers g Law trainin l take place Training wil 16th Sept on Tuesday at Ernest m p 0 :3 4 m 1p use. English Ho f the next The date o ng VCN meeti th eptember S 0 3 y a d Tues g The meetin. m p 4 0 1:3 at Ernest ld e h e b l il w use. English Ho Plymouth Drake Foundation The Plymouth Drake Foundations would love to receive nominations from the people of Plymouth for their annual Celebration & Awards night on the Hoe in September. Can you nominate an organisation you believe has made, or is making, a significant contribution to Plymouth's Community? You can complete the nomination form by visiting their website, by contacting their office on the following email address or by phone on 01752 764455. plymouthdrakefoundation@gmail.com The deadline for nominations is the 10th September 2014. www.plymouthguild.org.uk/volunteer-centre Volunteer Centre, Ernest English House, Buckwell Street, Plymouth, PL1 2DA Tel: 01752 201766 Email: volcen@plymouthguild.org.uk Company Limited by Guarantee Reg. No. 2610208 England Reg. Charity No. 1066776 Company Registered Office: Ernest English House, Buckwell Street, Plymouth, PL1 2DA Chief Executive: George Plenderleith