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North Warwickshire Community Partnership - Voluntary and Community Activity

Aim:

Develop and support vibrant and active communities and voluntary groups, who are able to express their needs and take steps towards meeting them.

Key priorities:

• To establish a baseline figure for Voluntary and Community activity
• To maintain to at least the 2006 levels of Voluntary and Community activity
• To provide a co-ordinated information service about Voluntary and Community activity
• To support the involvement of the Voluntary and Community Sector in the Community Partnership
• Enable people to take part in a wide range of voluntary and community activity
  
  
• Involvement
  Establish the number of people who are involved in voluntary and community activity
  
  
• Quality
  Improve the experience of people who are involved in voluntary and community activity
  
  
• Information
  Improve the information available about the voluntary and community activities and local opportunities
  
  
• Support
  Develop the support available to people running and organising voluntary and community activity
  
  
• Opportunities for all
  Ensure that all residents are able to access and take part in voluntary and community activity

Key Facts:

There are 235 voluntary and community organisations registered on the database of the Concil for Voluntary Services.

The voluntary and community sector has brought £3.8 million of additional income into the Borough through fundraising from external agencies.

The voluntary and community sector employs 207 full time equivalent staff members.

In 2004/05, the Volunteer Centre saw one hundred people, who were interested in volunteering and were able to place fifty of these with organisations.

There are 30 Parishes (28 Parish councils and 2 Parish meetings) within the Borough and 24 of these have newsletters. There is a wide range of community activity reported in these newsletters ranging from children and sports activities to church activities for people within villages.

Why this is a priority

In its 'ChangeUp' strategy, the Government highlights that the voluntary and community sector has a significant role to play in delivering high quality public services. The sector is also recognised as having a significant role in building cohesive and sustainable communities.

Voluntary and community activity encompasses a wide range of individual, group and organisational activity. This work can be based around parishes, faith activities, interet groups (e.g. mental health, older people etc), community enterprise and business and individual volunteering.

The very act of volunteering can be an excellent way of bringing people together, whatever their background or culture. It helps people to grab new skills and experience, and for some it can be a stepping stone into employment. Volunteer time and commitment is central to active citizenship, inclusion and democracy.

The 'Giving Time Beats Stress, Make A Difference Day' survey, September 2004, concluded that volunteering can also help to improve physical health and fitness and reduce stress.

The economic value of volunteering in the UK alone is an estimated £40 billion.

As the number of people involved in voluntary and community activity in North Warwickshire is unknown, it is not currently possible to make strategic decisions on retaining and increasing involvement and improving experiences.

The North Warwickshire Community Partnership Days One and Five, and the Framework for Rural Action supported by partner agencies, has helped shape these priorities.

Our key targets are:

• Establish a baseline figure for voluntary and community activity by 2006
• Maintain voluntary and community activity to at least 2006 levels to 2008
• Establish a Volunteer Coordinators' Forum by 2006
• Increase the number of Management Committee volunteer opportunities as held on Vbase (North Warwickshire volunteer database) by 50% by 2007
• Produce a Communication Strategy by 2007
• Make 50% of all funding bids to local partner funding streams on a full cost recovery basis by 2008

During 2006/07 we will:

• Opportunities for All
  • Ensure that all residents are able to access and take part in voluntary and community activity
  • Provide mentoring and partnership induction

Over the next three years we will:

• Involvement

  • Promote the Warwickshire Compact locally
  • Implement actions arising from the audit of voluntary and community activity
    
    
• Quality

  • Develop and promote volunteering opportunities to increase the number and quality of the experience of those involved
    
    
• Information

  • Implement the Communications Strategy
    
    
• Support

  • Continue to sustain the Community Workers' Forum
  • Continue to use the VOICE Forum as a way of engaging groups with key issues
  • Improve the range and scope of funding available within the Borough
  • Support the co-ordination of the work of infrastructure agencies to ensure effective and efficient delivery of support to voluntary and community groups
  • Continue to support mentoring and induction training of the voluntary and community sector representatives on the partnership

Further information can be obtained from:

Partnerships and organisations responsible for this priority include:

• Work has started on community activity audit, questionnaire distributed. Awaiting outcome of funding bid to Awards for All
• Two meetings of volunteer co-ordinator’s forum have been held to date
• Meetings of the Community Workers Forum are continuing
• A NW VOICE Forum was held in September to discuss the NW Borough Play Strategy. A further VOICE Forum will be held on the Framework for Rural Action in November
• Work has started on the mentoring programme for VCS representatives who sit on theme groups. Mentors are starting to be identified in each theme group and training will be held for them and Chairs shortly

• 7th February 2007
• 12th June 2007

All will be from 1-3pm, at the Volunteer Centre, Atherstone.

Contact

Alison Chappell, WRCC, 25 Stoneleigh Deer Park Business Centre, Abbey Park, Stareton, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2LY Tel: 02476 303232, email alisonc@wrccrural.org.uk

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