Northern Area newsletter April I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e : NEW AREA VOLUNTEER CO-ORDINATOR Volunteering Update 1 VOLUNTEERING UPDATE RAF100 - volunteering Chair Audit Committee Wings Appeal News Northern Area Conference Wings Appeal News RAF Leeming Station Visit 2 3 4 4 5 5 Other news 6 It gives me great pleasure to introduce myself as the new Area Volunteer Coordinator for the South East and Eastern Area and Northern Area. I feel very privileged to be appointed to this exciting role and to have the opportunity to be part of the important work carried out by the RAF Association in supporting the RAF family. In my first few weeks here I have come to understand some of the varied and vital work our volunteers and branches undertake and I am looking forward to meeting many of you in the months to come. It goes without saying that members and volunteers play a vital role in undertaking a significant proportion of the valuable work carried out by the Association, and I can personally recommend volunteering as a fantastic opportunity to support your community and make a positive difference to someone s life. It s also a rewarding opportunity to learn new skills and share new experiences. I have been made to feel very welcome during my first couple of weeks with the Association and I am really looking forward to working with the welfare and fundraising teams and the local branches to identify and meet their volunteering needs. The recruitment activities I will be undertaking, to complement the work of the branches, will include recruiting befrienders, caseworkers, fundraising team leaders and fundraisers and I will keep you updated with the vacancies we have. Attached to this newsletter you will find a list of the current volunteering roles we are advertising and the up-to-date list can always be found at www.rafa.org.uk/volunteer/search If you would like to volunteer your time or find out more about any of our roles, please contact me on volunteers@rafa.org.uk or call 0800 018 2361.
P a g e 2 RAF100 APPEAL FUNDRAISING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - SUPPORT OF A CENTURY OF SERVICE This year, the Royal Air Force is celebrating 100 years in the air and the RAF100 Appeal will be fundraising in 11 cities across the UK. We are looking for proactive and organised individuals to be fundraising volunteers. We d love you, our members, volunteers and supporters to be at the heart of the celebrations, helping us collect for the charities that care for the RAF family. The fundraising role is a fantastic and exciting one, with volunteers being part of a team raising awareness of the work of the RAF, collecting donations and offering RAF100 Appeal celebratory merchandise in the presence of RAF personnel. RAF100 Appeal city collection locations near you. City collection locations Newcastle York Manchester Dates Saturday 19 May Friday 8 June Friday 14 September Fundraising volunteers can sign up by visiting rafa.org.uk/ raf100volunteer and complete the registration form, including selecting the city location(s) and shift(s), you wish to support. If you have any queries please do contact Jo Baker in the volunteering team, by emailing raf100volunteers@rafa.org.uk or call 0800 018 2361.
P a g e 3 CHAIR AUDIT COMMITTEE (VACANCY) The RAF Association are currently recruiting for a chair of the audit committee. The audit committee s role is to help Council meet its responsibilities by providing independent oversight of the Association s systems of internal control, risk management and financial reporting, and through supervision of the quality, independence and effectiveness of both the internal and external auditors. The chair of audit committee is an independent appointment and will not be a member of Council/ trustee of the Association. However, the chair will attend Council meetings to advise the trustees on the work of the audit committee. Please take a look at the enclosed recruitment pack if you have: Experience of chairing meetings in a non-executive capacity A strong risk management background Significant, recent and relevant financial experience Knowledge of charity finance Understanding of legal and financial guidelines set out in current Legislation, including charity law The recruitment pack attached to this newsletter will provide you with further information about the role and the process. If you have any questions, please contact Nick Bunting, Secretary General, via his email nick.bunting@rafa.org.uk or phone him on 07827 083536. He will answer your questions, or put you in touch with John Cliffe, Chair of Council, or another trustee as appropriate. The closing date is 1700hrs on Monday 16 April 2018. This information will also be advertised on our website and the member portal.
MEMBERSHIP CARDS The RAF Association uses what is known as a fulfilment house for the processing of membership cards following membership renewal. Over the past few weeks we have learned that some members may have received more than one membership card in error, and some with membership end dates two years ahead. We are discussing these issues with the fulfilment house and we can confirm that such errors on their part do not incur any additional cost to us. We would be grateful if any members who have received more than one card, or if the date is wrong, could let us know and we will investigate and resolve. Thank you for your continued support. NORTHERN AREA CONFERENCE 2018 Following on from the success of 2016, Northern Area once again travelled to Gateshead for the 2018 Area Conference. A fantastic weekend was held with members gathering once again to celebrate all that is encompassed by being part of the RAF Association. As always, special attention had been given to the social aspects of the weekend with a performances from the Leeming Military Wives Choir and Colin Bourdiec, a George Formby impersonator. With the traditional formal opening ceremony completed it was time for official conference business to begin and Saturday saw informative presentations by members of the senior management team from headquarters, Leicester and also featured a presentation of charity governance from Alison Hodson from VoluntaryWise. The RAF address was this year provided by the station commander from RAF Boulmer, Group Captain R G Jacob BA (Hons) RAF. Sadly due to adverse weather conditions the decision was made to cut short the Sunday morning proceedings. Once again the young standard bearer competition was well attended with 5 Air Training Corps represented and as ever the standard set was high. Many congratulations to the winner, Corporal Emily Holmes from 146 (Northwich) Squadron. Our special thanks to all the cadets who braved the weather to participate in the competition. The decision has been made by the Northern Area Council that the 2019 Area Conference will be held 15 to 17 March in Blackpool, venue to be confirmed at a later date.
WINGS APPEAL NEWS Public Liability Insurance Please find the RAF Association s public liability Insurance attached to this newsletter. Please pass this document to your branch s Wings Appeal organiser, as it may be requested by businesses and organisations when securing collection locations for the Wings Appeal this year. Wings Appeal items We are pleased to announce that two new pin badges will be available to support fundraising fn 2018. The first is the RAF100 pin badge, this will be extremely recognisable with the national media coverage of RAF100 events. The second pin, also commemorating the RAF centenary, is a first World War Sopwith Camel badge. They both come in packs of 20 and can be ordered via your branch s Wings Appeal organiser by calling RAFATRAD on 0800 018 2361. In the last area newsletter, we advised that the 2018 Wings Appeal Order form would be sent to Wings Appeal organisers in their February newsletter. Unfortunately, due to a production issue with our supplier s factory, our 2018 Wings Appeal ducks have been delayed. We wish to include images of these ducks in the order form so branches can see what they are ordering, we will send the order form out to Wings Appeal organisers in April. Branches can continue to order all Wings Appeal collecting equipment and donation items by visiting www.rafashop.com and logging into your account or calling 0800 018 2361. If you need further support with your fundraising please contact the Wings Appeal team by emailing wings@rafa.org.uk or call Ian Wright on 0116 268 8758. RAF LEEMING STATION VISIT We have been contacted by Seargeant Gareth Kane from RAF Leeming regarding another proposed station visit for branch members on the 17 May. There are 20 places and available and these will be on a first come, first served basis. For further information please email Sgt Kane on gareth.kane725@mod.gov.uk First name: Surname: Branch name:
OTHER NEWS Attached you will find information relating to the attachments to this newsletter. Chair Audit Committee Vacancy and Operating Plan Northern Areal Volunteering Vacancies RAF100 Appeal Wings Appeal Public Liability Insuarance Static Aircraft Tour Team Tour Dates RAF Finningley Veterans Cycle Ride 2018 Poster Mount Snowdon Climb Poster Freedom of the City of York Parade and Battle of Britain Commemoration Service Information and Standard Bearer Request RAFA Easter Chalet Project Application Form The Royal Air Forces Association Northern Area Headquarters 82-83 Fishergate Preston PR1 2NJ Follow us on: