Community Works Supporters Newsletter, Issue 1

Supporters newsletter • June 2016

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THE IMPACT OF VOLUNTEERING

Welcome to our new supporters newsletter which, as it's volunteers week, is all about volunteering.

Volunteers week, 1-12 June. Volunteers week is a national event which says thank you to everyone who gives their time for free. We've been celebrating and thanking everyone who volunteers in Brighton and Hove. You might have seen our BIG thank you on North Road or heard about it on twitter, facebook or linked in.

If you give your time for free, a very BIG thank you to you. Your volunteering saves lives, brings people happiness, and improves our environment...read more

Volunteering opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. No matter what your interests or what skills or experiences you have, there's a volunteering opportunity to suit you. As part of volunteers week, volunteers have shared how they're making a difference to people's lives:

Helen volunteers with Samaritans who help people who need to talk...read more
Tony, Nicola, Neil and Richard volunteer with FareShare who tackle food waste...read more
John, Frank and Jackie volunteer with Sussex Police...read more
Rose volunteers with Oasis Project who support women to overcome addiction...read more
Alia and Susie volunteer with the Clock Tower Sanctuary who support homeless young people...read more

Lots of volunteers have also shared how they're changing people's lives by volunteering with:

Impetus who reduce isolation and improve people's wellbeing...read more
community garden projects who're supported by the Food Partnership...read more
The Fed Centre for Independent Living who support disabled people...read more
Volunteering Matters who help people aged 18-35 to volunteer...read more

The power of volunteering. Volunteering benefits everyone. It improves people's health and wellbeing, quality of life, and increases their skills, experience and employment prospects. Volunteering also gives local charities and initiatives much needed extra capacity and so has economic benefits too. Over 14 million people across the UK volunteer every month...read more

Volunteering in Brighton and Hove. Volunteers in Brighton and Hove donate 110,400 hours of their time every week - that's over 5 million hours every year. If they were paid the living wage for their donated time, their time would be worth £44 million. There are nearly 40,000 volunteering positions with local charities in Brighton and Hove...read more

A vision for volunteering. We believe passionately in the powerful and positive impacts of volunteering, and that volunteering should be open to all. We've worked with the city's leaders to develop a vision of what volunteering is and should be like in Brighton and Hove. It includes five commitments which the city is signed up to, to harness the power of volunteering...read more

WE CAN HELP YOU

To volunteer. We promote all sorts of local volunteering opportunities. In the last two years, we've promoted over 500 opportunities. You can use our website to search for an opportunity. If you don't know where to start, get in touch and we're help find the right opportunity for you...read more

"Thanks to you, I got in touch with the Methodist church who accepted my offer of help on Christmas Day. It was a very rewarding experience."
"I'm very pleased with your service, as I am now a volunteer with Childline which is fabulous and very rewarding."

To find volunteers. We can promote your volunteering opportunities across the local area. In the last two years, we've promoted over 500 opportunities to nearly 4,000 people interested in volunteering. Get get in touch with us to find out how we can help...read more

"An easy way to post volunteering opportunities and know they are going to be seen."
Alan, Lifelines, Volunteering Matters

To improve your volunteering programme. We can help you to develop your volunteering programme. In the last two years, we've helped over 30 local charities and initiatives from the public sector to develop their programmes. We've helped them to improve how they recruit and support their volunteers, and how they make their programmes more inclusive...read more

"The support I've received over this last year has really helped Brighthelm Community Centre to meet its ambitions around being inclusive. We've put into practice a lot of the advice." Sarah

We've also got a volunteering good practice guide which will help you to shape and develop your volunteering programme...read more

"We have benefited from your volunteering good practice guide. It has resulted in improving our documents and communications." Local organisation

UPDATES

We deliver accredited volunteering support services. We're delighted that our volunteer centre services have been re-awarded the volunteer centre quality accreditation mark. The quality mark recognises that we're delivering high-quality and effective volunteering support services...read more

Feedback from our stakeholders. In March we asked you what your experience of our services and support was, and what difference it makes to you. Read the results of our survey and see what actions we're taking to make improvements in response to your feedback...read more

We're looking for volunteers. Over 80 volunteers help run our services. They help people to volunteer, give advice to local charities and voluntary groups, mentor people who run charities and voluntary groups, run our events and communications activities, and lend support in our busy office. We're also led by a team of volunteer trustees. We have specific volunteering opportunities for local businesses who're interested in giving their professional expertise for free to local charities...read more