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December Edition Welcome to our Christmas edition of the Volunteer Centre’s Newsletter. We would like to take this opportunity to send Christmas wishes to our member organisations and partners and to extend our wishes and thanks to your volunteers for the dedication they have shown over the past year. Volunteer Centre Overview As its nearing the end of another year we thought this would be an ideal time to give you a brief update and overview of what has happened in the Centre over the past year. The first thing to mention is the success we had with the Big Lottery bid which has given the Centre financial security for the next five years from April 2008. This has allowed us to employ 2 full time Development Workers as well as admin support. With the edition of the extra staff the Centre has been able to increase its services and has seen a significant rise in some key areas, namely the number of volunteers recruited and number of registered organisations and volunteering opportunities. The statistics below highlight this: From January 2008 to November 2008 1137 volunteers recruited,
Volunteering Forum The Volunteer Forum will be meeting on Friday 12th December at the Tansey Centre, South Hylton. Any organisation that involves volunteers within their organisation is welcome to attend. For further information on the aims of the group and to access previous minutes please click on the following link. Volunteering Forum. Christmas Volunteering Does your organisation need volunteers to help over the Christmas period? Including Christmas day? If you do then the Volunteer Centre would love to hear from you as we are often approached by local people looking to volunteers at this time of year and keen to keep up to date with the opportunities available for them. Employee Volunteering Do you have a garden that needs some attention or a room that would benefit from a new coat of paint? Then why not consider Employee Volunteers to help you out. We are currently working in partnership with a number of different local companies who are looking for projects in the local community to get involved with throughout 2009. Many of the organisations have a small pot of funds to contribute towards materials i.e. paint and plants etc and they can be a great way of getting a job done that requires a team of people. If you think your organisation could benefit from this or you wish to know more then please get in touch with us on (0191) 5678902. Community Volunteering Qualification (CCV) You may remember that last month we informed you of a Level 2 Asdan course, funded by the City of Sunderland Council, which is free and available to anyone currently volunteering. The course still has spaces available and we would appreciate if you could information on the course to your volunteers. Just toremind you the course will give volunteers a broad range general skills that they will need to be effective in their voluntary activities, whatever the context. It will involve 12 weekly two hour sessions beginning on 7th January 2009, with additional volunteer placement hours and will cover the following topics; Personal skills improve upon their skills
Age Concern Sunderland, Good Neighbour Campaign Make the First Move and Make a Difference How many times have you made a New Year’s Resolution? How long did you manage to go before breaking it? Did it really make a difference to your life or anyone else? This year, make a resolution that is easy to keep, doesn’t cost you any money, you don’t need special equipment to keep it going, you don’t have to give anything up and there is no need to work up a sweat to do it! More importantly, it could make a difference to someone else’ life as well as your own. Age Concern Sunderland is launching a Good Neighbour Campaign. It’s not just for older people though, it’s for everyone young and old alike. We would like everyone to get to know their neighbours and be there for each other in times of need or emergency. It will make our community a better, safer place to live. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have family around them at this time of year, so go on make the first move and make a difference to someone’s life. Introduce yourself to you neighbours and see how you can help each other. Age Concern Sunderland is interested in hearing how you get on and has leaflets giving you practical information. Please contact; Adrienne Rowly vinvolved v has been set up in every City to inspire a new generation of 16 – 25 year olds to get involved in volunteering and community action. As the vTeam for Sunderland, we are committed to enabling a lasting change in the quality, quantity and diversity of youth volunteering. Our aim is to create a culture where it is natural for young people to volunteer, and natural for organisations to support them in doing so, because the benefits of volunteering are widely understood and celebrated. As a vinvolved team we have three main roles: 1. Create new volunteering opportunities across the City: 2. Brokering young people into opportunities: 3. Championing youth-led action To register your young people to receive their national v Accreditation Award please contact Alex Dunn, vinvolved Team Development Advisor on 0191 5518241 or adunn@springboard-ne.org For other enquiries regarding any aspect of youth volunteering in Sunderland please contact Brian Watson, vinvolved Team Development Manager on 0191 5518241 or bwatson@springboard-ne.org For further information on v, please visit www.wearev.com V Funding Information vcashpoint offers anyone between the ages of 16 and 25 up to £2500 to turn their ideas for voluntary projects into reality… It might be running salsa dancing classes for local kids, it might be an anti-violence campaign, it could be recycled fashion workshops for young people in your area… as long as it benefits the community and provides volunteering opportunities for your peers, then you could be in with a chance of receiving the cash! So if you’ve got an idea for a project, head to www.vinspired.com/vcashpoint to apply. Nightstop Nightstop North East, a project run by The Depaul Trust, is looking for volunteers that are willing to help make a difference to the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in the North East. The project helps young people who are in immediate housing crisis by providing safe accommodation in the homes of volunteer ‘hosts’ on a night by night basis. The hosts are single people, families or couples and come from a variety of backgrounds and are of all ages. The one thing they have in common is a genuine desire to help vulnerable young people to find a breathing space while Nightstop North East staff address the young persons longer term accommodation issues. This service is invaluable and Nightstop projects around the U.K provided over 5,200 nights of accommodation over the last year, keeping young people off the streets and out of danger. More hosts are needed to ensure that as many young people as possible can be provided with a safe bed for the night. Nightstop North East is searching for volunteers who want to make a lasting difference to a young person’s life and who can offer a spare room, a listening ear, some food and washing facilities and a secure environment for a few nights a month. In return all volunteers receive full training, an expense allowance and 24 hour support. It is estimated that over 75,000 young people become homeless in the UK each year, often through no fault of their own. Family breakdown is the most common cause of youth homelessness and young people can find themselves alone and desperate in their time of need, without the family support that is essential to a young person. For information about the work of Nightstop North East or to find out about becoming a host, contact project manager Tracy McDonald at The Depaul Trust Regional Office on 0191 2536161 or e mail tracy.mcdonald@depaultrust.org.uk Without the commitment of our volunteer hosts we would be unable to deliver this valuable service. No experience is needed and you do not have to own your own home. Help make a difference to a young person’s life. Remember if you feel that you have anything to contribute to the newsletter relating to volunteering then please get in touch and let us know and please feel free to pass on the information contained to those you feel would benefit from it, including your volunteers.
Please feel free to distribute to your friends, family and colleagues.
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