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North
Warwickshire Community Partnership - Community Life
Key
priorities:
-
Enable
people to take part in a wide range of voluntary and community
activity
-
Involvment
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
acitivities 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 Council 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 we 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 sport activities to church activities for people within
villages.
Why
this is a priority
In
its 'ChangeUp' strategy, the Government highlights that the volluntary
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, interest 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 gain new skills and experience, and for some it can be a stepping
stone into emploment. 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, its 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:
-
Involvement
-
Quality
-
Information
-
Support
-
Support
the Community Workers' Forum to ensure better co-ordination
of agencies in project delivery
-
Co-ordinate
the VOICE Forum to inform the voluntary and community sector
about key issues
Establish a Funders' Forum to review local funding streams
and ensure that they are accessible
-
Co-ordinate
the work of infrastructre agencies to ensure effective and
efficient delivery of support to voluntary and community
groups
-
Opportunities
for All
Over
the next three years we will:
- Involvement
-
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:
- ChangeUp
Strategy
- Voluntary
and Community Sector Strategy
- Building
Civil Renewal
- Rural,
Social nd Communities Programme
- Building
on Success - 10 year Strategy for Volunteering England
- National
Volunteering Hub
- The
Russell Commission
Partnerships
and organisations responsible for this priority include
- The
Voluntary and Community Activity Theme Group
- Conventry
Diocese
- North
Warwickshire Borough Council
- North
Warwickshire Council for Voluntary Services
- North
Warwickshire Volunteer Centre
- Warwickshire
County Council
- Warwickshire
Rural Community Council
Policy: documents
and information
Housing:
See Report of the Housing
Group September 2006 NEW!
Community Life Sub Groups
Voluntary and Community
Activity
Choice, Access and Transport
Decent Affordable Housing
Web
Links:
Contact
Lead
Officer:
Alison
Chappell (Chair WRCC) 02476
303232
25 Stoneleigh Deer Park
Stareton
Warwickshire, CV8 2LY
E-mail: alisonc@wrccrural.org.uk
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