New Worker at the Volunteer Centre

The Volunteer Centre would like to introduce Jeff Coates who started with us as a Development Worker on the 1st April.

Jeff will be responsible for promoting volunteering and developing opportunities in Washington and West Sunderland. You can contact Jeff at the Volunteer Centre on the details below.

Volunteering Information Event

The next volunteering information event to be held will be on:

Wednesday 11th May

1:30pm until 3:30pm
Washington Millennium Centre

This will be an opportunity for member organisations to promote their local volunteering opportunities to potential volunteers.

Should you wish to book a place or to find out more please contact Sharon on the details below.

As part of its ongoing Volunteering Marketing Campaign the Volunteer Centre Sunderland would like to offer you the opportunity to promote your volunteers and your volunteering opportunities.

We are looking for photos of your volunteers in action, with a short description of what they are doing and the role title.

Research has shown that volunteers are more likely to volunteer if they can see others doing the roles and visually see what's on offer.

The information and photos you provide us with will be used on our web site, Facebook page and in various media publications.

Should you wish to take up this opportunity can you please email your photos to sunderlandvol@aol.com or should you require any additional information please contact Sharon.

Volunteer Centre Training

There are a few spaces left on our next training session:

Dealing with Difficult Volunteers and Situations

Wednesday 18th May, 1.30pm - 4.30pm

All training is charged at £20 per person for statutory or out of area organisations.
For all other groups training is FREE.

For further information on the course content and how to book a place please visit our Training Page

New Workers

The Volunteer Centre would like to introduce you to the new members of staff for the Volunteer Mentoring Project, who came in to post on the 1st April.

                                                                                                                               Anna Gillingham                                                                  Dionne Smith

                   Project Co-ordinator                                                           Project Worker                      

The Volunteer Mentoring Project, funded by the National Lottery aims to make volunteering more open and accessible to as many local people as possible. The Project will work with people living in the City of Sunderland who may not be able to volunteer independently due to:

• language barriers
• low confidence or self esteem
• a learning disability
• a physical disability
• sensory impairment
• mental ill health etc.

Suitable individuals will be given support from the Project’s staff and will be matched to a Volunteer Mentor who will work with them on a one to one basis and support them into a suitable volunteering opportunity. Mentors will support these individuals until they feel they are ready to progress to volunteering independently.

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FREE Training

Join our 10 week course and learn new ways to make you:

• Feel better about yourself
• Be more confident dealing with others
• Be able to deal with problems effectively when they arise
• Learn life skills and how to have healthy relationships
• Increase your confidence and self esteem

The course starts on Thursday 5th May 2011 and will run from 9:45am – 12:15pm at the Crowtree Leisure Centre with refreshments provided

To find out more about the service or to book a place on the training please contact  Anna or Dionne at the Volunteer Centre

The Volunteer Centre will have a stand at Sunderland Library and Arts Centre on Fawcett Street during Volunteers Week and will be available at the following times:

Wednesday 1 June 1pm – 3pm
Thursday 2 June 11am – 3pm
Friday 3 June 11am – 3pm
Monday 6 June 11am – 3pm
Tuesday 7 June 11am – 3pm

If you know anyone who is interested in finding out more about volunteering then ask them to pop in and have a chat with the staff.

Volunteering Case Studies

The Volunteer Centre is looking to update its bank of volunteering case studies/good news stories and is interested in hearing from any organisation who may be interested in sharing theirs.

Don't worry if you don't have these already as staff can give you support and advise you on how to write them.

All shared case studies will be used to help the Volunteer Centre to raise the profile of volunteers as real stories can prove be a very powerful tool to help organisations recruit new volunteers and generally raise the profile of involved organisations.

If you think you can help or would like to know more please get in touch.

Sunderland Volunteering Forum

The next of Sunderland Volunteering Forum will take place on:

Wednesday 25th May
Etec, Ellison House, 1 Moor Terrace

A presentation will be given by a representative from the Job Centre Plus on Volunteering whilst receiving benefits.

For those who aren't aware the Forum is a way for the local statutory, community and voluntary sector groups to come together and share good practice and information on volunteering issues.  Meetings are very informal and open to anyone who recruits and manages volunteers.  Should you wish to know more about the forum please visit the page or if you wish to be added to the mailing list please get in touch with Jeff.

Updating your Volunteering information (member organisations only)

In order to maintain our records and ensure that they are as us up to date as possible we are asking all members organisations to let us know about any changes to your :

     -    Volunteering opportunities
     -    Organisation information
     -    Contact details etc.

This is the information we provide to your potential volunteers and therefore it is in your best interests that we maintain it as accurately as possible in order to save you time.

You can view what information we currently hold and are adverting by viewing them on     www.do-it.org and searching for your organisation in the search box or by contacting the Volunteer Centre on the contact details below.

Free Health Champion Training

Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust, with funding through the Washington and West Area Committees is rolling out the Health Champions training programme which aims to develop community leadership skills with FREE courses, so that passionate individuals can make a difference to health in their work, community and social networks.

Who can become a Health Champion?

We are looking for people who work or volunteer in the Washington or West areas who are concerned about current health issues and are interested in promoting healthy lifestyles.
Why it’s a good idea to become a Health Champion?

The benefits of completing the five training courses are that you can get involved in your community and gain new skills through access to training opportunities. You may improve your own health as well as friends and families.

How do I become a Health Champion?

The FREE training courses should be viewed like a jigsaw. You can do them in any order, at your own pace, and you can do just one or two courses, but to become a fully trained Health Champion you need to do ALL five training courses over a 12 month period.

The five training courses are as follows with the available dates:

• Understanding Health improvement - 11th May, 6th June and the 8th June

• Alcohol Brief Intervention - 17th May and the 21st June

• Tobacco Brief Intervention - 24th May

• Emotional Health and Resilience - 6th and 23rd June

• Introduction to Financial Capability - 6th, 13th and 20th May

Registration is through the PCT and anyone who would like more information should contact Janice Ellison on 529 7193 or email HealthChampion@sotw.nhs.uk

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH VOLUNTEERING

This is a unique chance to find out more about the International Citizen Service

Are you 18-22 interested in making a difference in the world?

Would you like to find out about volunteering in over 170 countries around the world?

You and others like you who want volunteer in the fight against global poverty can find out about this unique scheme.

You will be given support with visas, vaccinations, security clearance, medical checks etc.

We want to ensure that the scheme is open to everyone, regardless of their income. Placements are fully-funded for those on low incomes, but some volunteers will be expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their placement.

All you need is a valid passport, motivation and commitment

Opportunities for older volunteers
We have 30 opportunities for volunteers aged 23+ to act as team supervisors and specialist project co-ordinators. You will work with us for three months, mentoring and supporting several teams of younger volunteers. You will play a crucial liaison role, working closely with young volunteers, the partner organisations running the projects, and our field staff. Language skills are particularly important for these roles. Placements for older volunteers are fully-funded.

To find out more and talk to the team come to Mea House on
Thursday 2nd June 5th Floor rooms 5 and 6 10am – 4pm http://www.volunteercentrenewcastle.org.uk/howtofindus.php

Email kwatson@csv.org.uk if you can’t attend the event and she will take your details to send to ICS team

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