develop achievements april to june 2014
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0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Our Impact April – June 2014
A glance at the variety, value and volume of work our team is undertaking throughout Wiltshire’s communities
DEVELOP is a registered charity providing support to build a strong, diverse and vibrant voluntary and community sector
Clockwise from top left: North Wiltshire Information and Networking Event in May, Wiltshire Voluntary Sector Forum in
May, Equalities Training in May, and Home Start Kennet Volunteers in April. Registered Charity No. 1096008
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Information and Networking, North
Group Support Newsletter Update from the Information and Networking Sessions, and Voluntary Sector Forum
Information and Networking Sessions
The first Information and Networking session of the
period covered the North of the County. It took
place at Kington Langley Village Hall on the 20th of
May, and was attended by 14 different groups.
There were presentations from Caroline Beale from
Wiltshire Children & Families Voluntary Sector
Forum, Amy Cahillane from SWAN Advocacy
Network and Graham Weller from Wiltshire Fire and
Rescue.
We had a great attendance from groups including:
Green Square, Malmesbury Felting Group, and
Wiltshire and Swindon Users’ Network.
The Information and Networking session for the East
of the County took place on the 26th of June at the
Nursteed Centre
Presentations included Mike Lennard from the
Wiltshire Exchange Scheme, Kirsty Haasjes from
The Community Foundation for Wiltshire &
Swindon, and Eamon McClelland from
Somerset Care.
The event was attended by 18 groups, including
Salisbury Lets (Local Exchange and Trading Scheme),
Devizes Partnership of Churches, KFR - Kennet
Furniture Refurbiz, and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Voluntary Sector Forum, Devizes
The Voluntary Sector Forum event covering the
South and East of the region was held in Devizes on
the 14th May 2014. The topic of the meeting was
Military Civilian Integration and the Area Board
priorities. 23 groups were represented at the forum,
with a total attendance of 26 people.
Some of the groups represented include: World
Wide Volunteering (WWV), Samaritans of Salisbury,
and the British Red Cross. We received great
feedback, most attendees highlighted that is was a
great opportunity for networking and being able to
bring their organisations and projects into a wider
network.
“A newcomer to fundraising in Wiltshire, it was a good start to networking and partnering and
working closely with Develop.”
Carl Taylor, Fairfield Farm College Information and Networking, North
“This has allowed me to introduce myself to
different organisations in the local area and for
me to promote our needs and requests for the
volunteers that I am hoping to recruit for our
centres and social enterprise project.”
Lorraine Flake, Shaw Trust
Voluntary Sector Forum
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Group Support – Funding Advice and Training
Develop Enhancing Community Support offers funding advice, as well as wide variety
of training sessions for community and voluntary groups in Wiltshire .
Funding Advice
Funding is an essential part of any successful
voluntary and community project, and due to
the current cuts, fundraising has become a
pressing priority for many groups in Wiltshire.
Between April and June 2014, we have
supported 13 different groups regarding advice
on funding, and carried out 2 Funding Advice
Surgeries. We have supported groups via email,
telephone and in 1-to-1 sessions.
Some of the groups supported by this service
include: Specodi, Crofton Beam Engine, Maiden
Bradley Swimming Pool Project, and West
Wiltshire Multi Faith Forum.
Some of the topics covered by our Funding
Adviser while supporting the groups during this
period were: Information on sources of
Funding, Reviewing Funding Applications, and
Information on Fundraising Strategy
Development.
Training
Between April and June, Develop Enhancing
Community Support delivered 6 training
sessions, with total of 57 people attending.
Two of these sessions were tailored sessions for
groups. One of these sessions was a bespoke
training on Equalities for Healthwatch Wiltshire
volunteers, and the second bespoke training
was on Governance Role and Responsibilities of
Trustees for Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Art
(DOCA).
“One word: OUTSTANDING.
Although I was aware of funds available,
being able to get outside professional
feedback on a bid that had been
unsuccessful and look at ways to improve
and strengthen its structure and content was
a huge help, and made a big difference
when looking for future funding.”
Amy Cahillane, SWAN Advocacy
“Thought provoking, continual
progress and growth.”
Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Art
(DOCA) Member
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Group Support Case Study – Friends of Colerne Church
Group Suppport with Friends of Colerne
Church on Funding
The Friends of Colerne are a charity that raises
money to help maintain the fabric of the church
and churchyard of St John the Baptist, Colerne, so
that they can be enjoyed by all who live in the
village or come to visit.
Parish churches get no financial support for
repairs from either the Church of England or the
Government. Money raised by the Friends helps
to sustain a building that generations of Colerne
people have created and cared for over more
than 800 years.
Some of the means the group has used to obtain
funds in the past have been regular donations and
memberships, as well as fund raising events
throughout the year, such as fairs and fireworks
display.
The group gain knowledge on new streams of
funding. Our Funding Adviser, Lisa Thornton,
provided the group with details of Trust Funds
previously unknown to the group that they could
apply to.
The group evaluated their own knowledge of
funding streams and funding opportunities as
“average” before the advice provided, following
the new input of information they re-evaluated
they own knowledge as “above average”. They
highly valued the guidance and advice they
received regarding their case for support.
“Develop is a very valuable resource to the community and we will share details about it to make sure more voluntary organisations know
about the intelligence and expertise they hold.”
Kate, Friends of Colerne Church.
“Lisa (Thornton) has been very efficient and professional and Develop has been a wonderful
resource to be able to access. Her suggestions have been incredibly helpful and
her advice has been on the button.”
Kate, Friends of Colerne Church
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
“It was nicely informal and relatively
free of jargon and acronyms”
Bespoke Equalities Training
Equalities - Focussing On Equalities
Tackling the issues around inequality involves starting a conversation with groups
around their needs. DEVELOP is committed to opening the door to organisations and
engaging them in discussion.
This quarter, we have further engaged in
supporting local groups by aiding them in
arranging events around equalities and
diversity.
During April DEVELOP supported Salisbury
Coalition Against Racism (SCAR) by helping
them to promote the One Race Different
Cultures “Unity, Unison and Harmony event”,
which saw 22 displays from multi-ethnic
groups living and working across the city.
DEVELOP ran two equalities training sessions
which were a bespoke training session for
Healthwatch Volunteers on 30th April and a
Develop your Skills in Equalities training
session on 13th May. This equalities training
provides groups with information on The
Equalities Act 2010 protected characteristics
and forms of discrimination.
Feedback from these training sessions
included “Acted as a reminder as well as an
update. It has reminded me that when I’m
working as a volunteer I am aware of the
differences between people and their
needs”. When attendees were asked what
impact this training will have on their
organisation responses included “Contribute
to writing/amending our equality policy and
help me in supporting both individuals and
groups”.
Three groups have been supported in
activities that will highlight the needs of
disadvantaged organisations and we have
advised two organisations on effective
engagement with disadvantaged groups and
individuals including Wiltshire Council.
DEVELOP is unique within Wiltshire in
allocating specific resources to equalities and
the nine protected characteristics. We aim to
be an effective point of contact for all
organisations and individuals with regards to
Equalities.
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Case Study - Building Bridges: The Trowbridge Song Project
DEVELOP have supported The Trowbridge Song Project over the last two years and we
spoke to Candy Verney, Artistic Director. Candy came up with the idea two years ago
to apply for funding for a community project in Trowbridge called The Trowbridge Song
Project. One of the first people Candy contacted was Carl Davis at DEVELOP to ask for
statistics for ethnic groups in Trowbridge.
Candy felt DEVELOP were very helpful through email
and she received guidance on the best people to
contact. Candy also runs a choir called Sounding it
Out who were invited to a number of events where
they sang and networked, one of these events being
the Wiltshire Celebration of Diversity that was held
in Bridge House, Trowbridge. Candy has also
attended a couple of courses that were provided by
DEVELOP which allowed her to help them improve
their skills as a community group.
Without the support from DEVELOP the group would
have had to reinvent the wheel and do a lot more research themselves, and it was good to know
there was a funded organisation in Wiltshire who could support them if they needed to improve
skills in certain areas or if they needed research or guidance.
Candy’s feelings are that it’s crucial that the group is supported as there are many people in the
community who are passionate about this project. Candy has personally put in a year and half of
unpaid work in order to get the funding for this post for another two years. She says it was a
tremendous up-hill struggle to undertake this valuable work, and really appreciates the support of
local people who have given the group advice, which in turn makes her feel supported.
Before The Trowbridge Song Project received funding, they were invited by DEVELOP to a
multicultural event. Candy has said the event was very enjoyable, it also meant that she could
network and was able to give a little presentation to the other attendees about the project. It
helped her spread the word about this exciting project and hopefully will increase participation.
DEVELOP would like to thank Candy Verney from The Trowbridge Song Project for her help in
producing this case study.
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Volunteering in the Community
The charity sector could not exist without the contribution of volunteer s
Volunteers’ Week 1st - 7th June 2014
Volunteers' Week is the one campaign which unites small grass roots organisations to large national charities. Why? Because they couldn’t exist without volunteers. This year’s event marked 30 years since the launch of the campaign in 1984.
To mark this occasion and to contribute a much deserved thank you to our volunteers, Volunteer Centre Wiltshire (run by DEVELOP Enhancing Community Support) celebrated with several events including…
Drop in Sessions across Wiltshire offering advice for individuals looking to volunteer and find out what opportunities and organisations are available. We spoke directly to 25 potential volunteers during the drop ins themselves generating a further 73 individual enquiries and interviews over the Month of June.
A ‘Thank You’ Booklet to celebrate volunteering and highlight the invaluable work of Wiltshire’s volunteers. This celebration booklet focusses on saying thank you to the regular contributions volunteers make to our society.
Our Volunteer Lunch - Volunteer Centre Wiltshire have 18 volunteers who all do so much to support the organisation. One of our volunteers has been here 20 years! To say thank you to all of our volunteers, we held a 'Thank You'
lunch. This was a great opportunity for the volunteers to all get together and for us to show how much we appreciate them.
Volunteer Enquiries
During this quarter, Volunteer Centre Wiltshire interviewed 147 potential volunteers, processed 372 Do-it! Enquiries, and filled 82 volunteer vacancies.
Volunteer Events & Publicity
To complement the wealth of drop ins run this quarter as part of Volunteers’ Week, Develop have sought to attend external events necessary for maintaining a strong link with our volunteers. This included the running of a workshop with HFT, supporting people with learning difficulties, on the benefits of volunteering and the skills required.
Mentor Supported Volunteering
Volunteer Centre Wiltshire’s Mentoring Service matches volunteer mentors with people who have additional needs. This quarter our mentors attended a training course to help in signposting their mentees to organisations that may be of benefit to them ie. to receive support in benefit applications, debt management, etc. This training will allow them to better support their mentees, by referring to other appropriate organisations.
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
DEVELOP Volunteers Recognised by Chippenham Area Board Community Award
The Community Area Board Award Ceremony took place on Monday 30th of June 2014 at Kington Langley Village Hall.
The Community Awards recognise and celebrate the efforts and achievements of local volunteers. Develop Volunteers were presented with a Highly Commended Community Award for volunteering in the community.
Develop currently have 3 volunteers who come to the office on a weekly basis to support us with administrative and database tasks.
Once again we would like to thank and recognise our volunteers for the time they contribute and the great work they do
Database Volunteer - Bob Gaywood
Bob has been volunteering with Develop since 1993, for 20 years!! He credits volunteering for giving him structure to his week and keeping him active.
Admin Volunteer - Mike Tucker Mike helps with any mail-outs by labelling envelopes and putting documents inside ready for franking and other general office tasks. He enjoys coming into Develop as he feels the people here are like his extended family. He finds it a wonderful friendly atmosphere and has learnt a lot of new skills including how to use a computer.
Admin Volunteer - Catherine Beale Catherine helps Develop with tasks like keeping the office supplies replenished, getting mail-outs ready and general office help. “I enjoy volunteering as it enables me to get out and meet people and makes me feel useful. I also like to help people and don’t like to be idle. If I didn’t volunteer I would miss the company and being a member of society”.
Bob Mike Catherine
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Volunteer Case Study - Sian Cooper
Sian had recently completed an Open University degree in Psychology and was looking for
something new to do with her spare time. She had been aware of Doorway through publicity in the
local newspaper and thought it would be beneficial and worthwhile to support their work. As
Doorway work with some of the more vulnerable members of our community Sian thought it would
be a good opportunity for her to gain experience and build confidence and knowledge of working in
this sector.
When Sian started volunteering she was very keen to support all
areas within the drop-in session so she did whatever was
necessary to support guests such as loading the washing
machines, cleaning the shower and chatting with guests over a
cup of tea. She increasingly found herself in the kitchen washing
up, making toast, frying eggs or serving breakfasts and found that
keeping busy suited her very well. Sian still enjoyed being able to
engage with guests over the serving hatch or during breaks.
Before volunteering at Doorway Sian had been a school governor
(another voluntary role) and this had improved her confidence as
she had to speak in front of parents and teachers and chair meetings. Volunteering and working at
Doorway has enabled her to speak with confidence to all members of society. Doorway also provide
extensive training to staff and volunteers and although Sian is no longer at the drop-in sessions,
training in drug and alcohol awareness, domestic abuse, housing and benefits has not only
increased her skills but also enables her to deal with queries from members of the public and
guests at the office. Knowledge of volunteering within the drop-in session is also invaluable to her
current work and enables her to work effectively to support colleagues, volunteers and guests.
Personally, the main benefit of volunteering for Sian was that she gained employment after 17
years of being out of the workplace environment. The multi-tasking skills, using her initiative,
prioritising and flexibility that was required to fulfil Sian’s various voluntary commitments over the
years, stood her in good stead for being able to provide administrative support to Doorway.
Sian knows that volunteering has definitely improved her
employment chances as it is so much easier to get a job if you
are able to demonstrate skills and experience.
Sian says that “without a doubt volunteering, whether at
Doorway, as a school governor or on a committee, enabled me
to develop the skills and experience to return to the workplace
confidently. I cannot recommend it highly enough”.
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Volunteers - Working with Community Groups
Helping build networks with groups, organisations and volunteers within Wiltshire .
New Organisations
This quarter we have registered 11 new organisations within local community groups across Wiltshire including:
Wiltshire Victoria County History Trust
Wiltshire Addiction Support Project
Girlguiding Wiltshire North County
Alzheimer's Society Our development workers strive to reach out and develop links, providing advice to new or existing organisations that may need volunteers to help them function effectively. This quarter we developed a volunteering opportunity with Crofton Beam Engines.
Crofton Beam Engines were built 200 years ago to supply water to the highest point of the Kennet & Avon Canal, where it runs through Savernake Forest. Still in working condition, they represent an installation which has major, international significance for industrial Archaeology. They illustrate directly the development of motive power and canal transport, both important elements of the industrial revolution which laid the foundation stone of the developed world we know today.
A team of dedicated volunteers looks after the
whole site. They do that to preserve this amazing
landmark from the past in order that you, and
future generations, can see how our great,
pioneering engineers tackled early developments
in motive power and pumping technology.
New Opportunities
This quarter we have registered 544 opportunities so we are sure there is something for everyone. Interesting new opportunities include:
Jamie’s Farm- Festival Volunteer
Army Welfare Service- Drift Car Mechanic Volunteer Youth Worker
Marlborough & District NCT- Cheeky Monkey Tea Party Helper
Building Bridges: The Trowbridge Song Project- Audio/ Video editor for web content
Carer Support Wiltshire (CSW)- Counsellor We happily maintain a database of a wide range of roles which allows us to match opportunities to the needs and interests of the volunteer.
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Develop Staff in action!
DEVELOP Staff volunteer! Installing Mural at Biss Meadows Country Park, Trowbridge
Develop Staff were enlisted in support of a recent initiative to counter anti -social
behaviour in local nature park Biss Meadows.
The charity organisation ‘Friends of
Biss Meadows’ secured a grant from
the Police Commissioners Fund earlier
this year to undertake the removal of
some areas of graffiti. Clarendon
Academy A- level art students provided
a series of murals that have been
installed on the walls of the underpass.
Members of Develop Enhancing
Community Support volunteered their
time to aid in the painting of large
areas of the underside of Broadcloth
Lane East Bridge which has suffered
from a recurrent graffiti problem.
Several volunteers set to work with
paint rollers and buckets of paint,
quickly erasing signs of graffiti and removing some dried river mud washed up by flooding. This
allowed ‘Friends of Biss Meadows’ to install the murals painted by the students on large plywood
panels.
The work was completed under the watchful eye of committee member Alan Cooper who said of
the volunteer assistance ‘(volunteers) undertook the task with energy and enthusiasm, their efforts
meant the Friends were able to erect a huge mural in 2 days and ready in time for the Trowbridge
in Bloom and South West in Bloom judging’. Volunteer Melissa Craven said ‘we had a really
excellent time; members of the public walking through looked really interested’.
The installation of 14 boards, measuring 8 feet by 4 feet, is now complete. These will be officially
unveiled when the term starts in September, in a ceremony with the Police Commissioner.
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Community Engagement Case Study - Wiltshire Scrapstore & CPW
The Wiltshire Scrapstore and Resource Centre is a thriving, highly successful children's
and community charity. Their main aim is to prom ote learning through creativity by
making various low cost resources available to the community.
DEVELOP’s Corporate Community Engagement initiative, connected a local business, CPW, with Wiltshire Scrapstore which enabled their staff to donate four hours to the local charity. Wiltshire Scrapstore thought that involving business was a brilliant idea. “It’s great that business can leave their normal place of work and come into the community and really help to support a charity, especially a charity like Wiltshire Scrapstore that supports many groups of people within the community. Corporate Community Engagement is a great benefit to both parties involved.” Wiltshire Scrapstore also have a stock pile of pre prepared activity packs that they sell at low cost and this contributes to a third of their annual income. This activity is essential but can be time consuming as each individual item in the pack needs to be cut, sorted and prepared. Part of the work Wiltshire Scrapstore do is to provide Playpods to local schools. The Scrapstore PlayPod is a holistic process that works with the entire school community to change both the human and physical play environment, transforming play at lunchtimes. CPW’s few hours of support to Wiltshire Scrapstore had a huge impact on the group. All of the pre prepared packs that went straight into the shop to sell have already sold and have therefore contributed to the income of the Scrapstore. CPW helped with the preparation of the Playpods which allowed the team to then start to distribute them to the schools. This would have taken the Scrapstore team even longer to do which may have resulted in volunteers being pulled away from other areas to ensure they were completed on time. CPW’s volunteers participated in both activities and had a great afternoon. Becky Ives from CPW told us “We had a great afternoon at the Scrapstore! We spent several hours cutting out card shapes using the die cutters and assisted with the Playpods by cutting some pipe into useable sized pieces. We are now working with our factory to organise for some donations of scrap materials to be sent to the Scrapstore.” Glynis Gosgrave, Director of Wiltshire Scrapstore, feels the benefit they have received from DEVELOP is invaluable. “Develop provide the ‘building of the bridges’ and the links between groups and interested volunteers. Develop are approachable, provide very good information on good practice and we are able to signpost to other local groups who may be interested in our work through their network and information sessions. We would certainly consider CCE projects in the future. Additional support in the Scrapstore is essential to continue the work that we do in the local communities.”
0845 034 5250 Registered Charity No. 1096008 www.developecs.org.uk
Contact Us
Tel: 0845 034 5250
Website: www.developecs.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Textphone: 0845 034 2113
Facebook: www.facebook.com/developecs
Twitter: www.twitter.com/developecs
This information can be made available in alternative formats, please contact us.
DEVELOP Enhancing Community Support, 3-4 New Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 1EJ