Organisation News

Voluntary Sector Training in Surrey

The Communities and Prevention Team at Surrey County Council are working to create an online training resource platform to support community volunteers. The platform will provide links to training covering a wide variety of subjects, share challenges and problems, and then provide a space for people to share practice.

In the meantime they have put together a list of training opportunities to investigate further:

Interim Community Training Bulletin

In addition you may be interested in:

NCVO online training courses

Loneliness Digital Classroom with the British Red Cross, which aims to help people learn new skills to help them support people experiencing isolation/loneliness. There are 2 sessions are available. One for 10-19-year-olds and the other one for adults aged 19+. Email: RedCrossEducation@redcross.org.uk or call: 0344 412 2734 to book a place.

Financial Essentials for Charities – an online course to support finance professionals and charity leaders and help drive sustainable finance strategies and decision-making (cost £155.99)

Selection of options for Digital Skills from Charity Digital

Please remember that we offer volunteer recruitment and management training and fundraising training throughout the year at no cost – for more information get in touch via info@voluntarysu pport.org.uk

Organisation News - 11/19/2020

Micro Volunteering

Do you want to volunteer but the same old reasons of not enough time or unable to commit to a long term role keep holding you back?

Micro Volunteering is the answer – bite-size tasks with no commitment to repeat and with minimum formality, involving short and specific actions that are quick to start and finish. It’s a perfect way for you to do something good or give back, mostly from home, because 80% of micro volunteering takes places online.

We’ve put together a variety of microvolunteering ideas and if you try one and live in North Surrey please email alison@voluntarysupport.org.uk with your name and details of the volunteering role and we’ll enter your name in a draw for a £50 Marks and Spencer voucher.

Positivity by post volunteers send positive cards or packages to anyone who has a chronic illness/disability or mental ill health in the UK.

Post Pals volunteers send cards, letters, emails and small gifts to seriously ill children and their siblings in the UK.

Loving Hands volunteer crafters knit, crochet and sew for charities and groups all over the world.

Be My Eyes is a free app that connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers who lend their eyes to solve tasks big and small to help blind and low-vision people lead more independent lives.

FCancer volunteers donate their skills by the hour to support cancer charities (eg. photography, coding, writing and design) and help beat cancer.

Campaign to End Loneliness has ways for you to get involved locally or nationally with campaigns and ideas.

Dementia Friends volunteers learn about dementia so they can help their community by raising awareness and understanding.

Give Nature a Home volunteers build homes for nature where they live.

Hedgehog Homes volunteers help hedgehogs when they go into hibernation by creating permanent structures in their gardens.

United Nations Online Volunteers (UNV) allows volunteers to team up to address sustainable development challenges – anywhere in the world. Some of their projects do require a little more time and commitment.

Zooniverse enables volunteers to take part in real cutting edge research of all kinds, from classifying galaxies to counting penguins to transcribing manuscripts, there’s a project for everyone.

Missing Maps volunteers help to map areas where humanitarian organisations are trying to meet the needs of vulnerable people. Many of the places where disasters occur are ‘missing’ from any map and first responders lack the information to make decisions regarding relief efforts.

Furlonteer connects skilled professionals with remote volunteer opportunities. If you’ve been furloughed, are taking time out, searching for your next role, or employed with time to spare they have opportunities for everyone.

Remember – many people doing small actions can make a big impact!

Organisation News - 11/14/2020

Christmas Fundraising Campaigns

Sorry to mention the ‘C’ word but if you haven’t started already, it is time to plan and launch your Christmas fundraising campaign.

Christmas inspires people to give and 18% of all charitable giving takes place in December. The most popular month to start Christmas campaigns is November so now is the time to set goals, plan your message with great stories and supporting data, identify your channels and get it out there.

We’ve put together some of the best seasonal guides and blogs for ideas and inspiration – good luck!

Send a charity e-card from Virgin Giving to allow supporters to send e-Christmas cards and then donate you the money they saved on cards and stamps

Six Creative Ideas for a Christmas campaign from Third Sector

Christmas fundraising ideas from Charity Excellence

How to create a great end-of-year campaign message infographic

Everything you wanted to know about Christmas campaigns from Virgin Giving

Wild Apricot’s ultimate guide to year end giving

End of year giving toolkit from Blackbaud

Move Your End of Year Event Online

How to organise a virtual Christmas party for your supporters

Use your Christmas fundraising to better engage your supporters and turn one-off involvement into ongoing support in 2021 and please remember to thank everyone who supports you.

Funding news / Organisation News - 11/09/2020

Trustee Fundraising Responsibilities

The main duty of trustees is to advance the purposes of the charity and to always act in the charity’s best interest.

Trustees take ultimate responsibility for the fundraising activities of their charity, even when they have delegated these roles. They are responsible for ensuring the charity is compliant with the law, ensuring agreements with third party fundraisers are in place and that the relevant licenses/permissions are in place. The way charitable institutions and third-party fundraisers ask for support affects people’s trust and confidence in fundraising.

The Code of Practice from the Fundraising Regulator sets out the behaviour expected from all fundraisers. It includes treating people fairly and with respect, explaining your cause in a way which does not mislead people, and being sensitive to people who may be in vulnerable circumstances.

https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/code

As the regulator of charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission expects charities that fundraise to do so in a way which protects their charity’s reputation and encourages public trust and confidence in their charity. Trustees face challenges in getting fundraising right and the guidance from the Charity Commission is essential reading to support them in their responsibilities.

https://www.gov.uk/charities-and-fundraising

Funding news / Organisation News - 11/03/2020

Recruiting New Trustees

There are currently more than 800K trustees in the UK, volunteering across range of small and large charities. With 90K trustees vacancies and 74% of charities saying they find it difficult to recruit what are your advertising options?

Getting on Board

Trustee Finder

Reach Volunteering

NCVO and Trustees Unlimited

Honorary Treasurers Forum

Use your social media, website and e newsletters – post your role on Twitter and use @TrusteeshipM

Use your assets and connections – trustees and supporters may work for major companies, or belong to professional networks where they can promote your organisation and role.

We can post your role on our Voluntary Support North Surrey volunteer role database

NAVCA have a great resource with information and best practice to get your recruitment started – download the PDF here

If you need more guidance please get in contact with alison@voluntarysupport.org.uk

Organisation News / Uncategorized - 11/02/2020

Copy of Thankyou to all the befrienders we know that #befriendingis #morethanacupoftea it's more than just a cup of

Befriending is Not Just a Cup of Tea

There are an estimated 9 million people in the UK who say they are lonely.

These past months have been tough for everyone, but for those living on their own it can be unbearable at times. Doesn’t everyone like a chat?

Befriending up and down the UK has created thousands of new friendships, and many people say their calls are the highlight of their week.

If you or someone you know could do with more conversation in their lives, there are number of organisations with befrienders that you can access because a good chat means the world:

SH Age Concern https://www.sh-ac.org.uk/services/

Independent Age https://www.independentage.org/get-support/receive-regular-phone-calls

Re-engage https://www.reengage.org.uk/join-a-group/

Crossroads https://crossroadscaresurrey.org.uk/company-and-companionship/

Age UK Surrey https://www.ageuk.org.uk/surrey/our-services/befriending-service/

Time2Talk https://voluntarysupport.org.uk/volunteering/time-to-talk/

The Silverline https://www.thesilverline.org.uk/what-we-do/telephone-friendship-service/

You may want to volunteer as a befriender and we can help you do that too – email alison@voluntarysupport.org.uk

Organisation News - 10/29/2020

Open for Business

Many of our local charities have a new ‘normal’ – adapting their existing services so they can be accessed virtually and creating new online services for their users.

It may look different, but they are still there to help and still able to offer support to our community.

We’ve been talking to local charities who are ‘open for business’ and finding out how they have changed and adapted. Take a look at what the Runnymede, Spelthorne and Surrey Heath groups are doing.

Organisation News - 10/22/2020

Connected Communities are Making a Difference

COVID brought many communities together – Lightwater is building on the successful COVID response by creating a new community organisation. Three voluntary groups in the village have joined together to create ‘Lightwater Connected’, an umbrella organisation coordinating the activities of Lightwater Care, LIVE and the Lightwater Resilience Plan LRP.

During lockdown 300 volunteers in Lightwater handled over 1000 calls for assistance and this joined up approach to community has resulted in a new, larger organisation, which shares volunteers, funding, modern technology and ideas. Lightwater Care has restarted driving duties again, the LIVE signposting centre has reopened for business. The new service will operate 5 mornings a week, manned by 2 duty officers, and will eventually not just take bookings for drivers, shopping trips and prescription collections, but pull together all the LRP and LIVE volunteers into a village-wide befriending and communication network, taking its lead from the successful operation of LRP during the Covid emergency. It will also eventually make LIVE available 5 days a week, rather than just Saturdays.

Lightwater Connected is a volunteer network ready for any future emergency and really making a difference to their community.

07933 123256 lightwaterhelp@gmail.com www.lightwaterconnected.org.uk

Our job is to help grow local voluntary organisations so if your North Surrey community group needs support or has a pandemic evolution story you’d like to share – we’d love to hear from you.

info@voluntarysupport.org.uk

Organisation News / Uncategorized - 10/15/2020

Make a Difference with the Kindness Economy

Customers care about how a business treats people, how it gets involved in the community and how the business impacts the planet. 40% of Millennials, the most powerful consumers in the world, stated that the goal of business should be to ‘improve society’.

This is known as the Kindness Economy which is built on the stuff that we care about and runs on the currency of kindness. The more people spend their kindness, the more the community benefits.

Our Kindness Economy in North Surrey is flourishing with local businesses helping their community and making a difference. Alcon employees have written over 100 cards and letters to older residents in Surrey Heath for local charity Surrey Heath Age Concern. Enterprise in Egham have committed to helping 13 local charities at Christmas with 230 gifts for their beneficiaries. London Irish Rugby Club employees cooked meals, shopped and collected hundreds of prescriptions for Spelthorne residents during lockdown.

Your business can join the Kindness Economy in North Surrey and we can help your business make a difference. Contact tj@voluntarysupport.org.uk for more information https://www.kindnesseconomy.com/

Corporate challenges / Organisation News - 10/15/2020

Flu Vaccination Volunteers Make a Difference

Volunteers really do make a difference. This year we’ve been involved in the recruitment and scheduling of over 50 volunteer marshals at the outdoor flu vaccinations in Surrey Heath.

It has been an amazing success so far with happy volunteers:

“You are all such a delight to work for, so very easy to be willing and positive with special NHS staff 😊”

happy patients:

“We had our flu vaccines at the Blackbushe Airfield drive though today. We booked via the surgery and have nothing but praise for the process. The stewards gave clear instructions and were very cheerful and chatty despite the ghastly weather. I hope this amazing service is available next year.”

and happy NHS:

“The volunteers are proving to be positively AMAZING! The ones I’ve met so far have all been wonderfully friendly, super willing, and fabulous at supporting the site and delivering their role responsibilities! I really could not be more pleased and impressed.”

We couldn’t be more proud of the wonderful volunteer marshals and of our own staff who worked hard to recruit and organise them.

Organisation News - 10/15/2020

Locations

Camberley

Ian Goodchild Centre (First Floor), Knoll Road, Camberley, GU15 3SY

01276 707565

Chertsey

6 The Sainsbury Centre, Chertsey,
KT16 9AG

01932 571122

Staines

Staines Library (First Floor), Friends Walk, Staines TW18 4PG

01784 465536

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