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This month we want to let you know about a few different types of roles that may be of interest to you or to people you know. There are also a couple of dates for your diary and a Spotlight with a difference this month.
Vacancies on the Board
Would you like to become more involved with Carers in Bedfordshire?
We now have vacancies on the Board and are looking for more Directors.
Do you have or know anyone with any of the following skills you could bring to enrich the skills presently on the Board?
- Experience of dementia services
- Experience working in Human Resources
- Fundraising/income generation
- Health and Adult Social Care
- Public Sector commissioning
Or perhaps you have other skills which you feel would be useful to a successful, forward looking and well established local charity. Perhaps you are a current or a former carer and have much care experience to offer. With our newly awarded contracts, we are entering another exciting time and are ready to build on the excellent work of earlier years.
Monica Cooper who joined the Board last year as a parent carer and an experienced youth worker says “I feel that I have learnt and benefited so much by being a part of the decision-making process.”
The Board currently meet every other month during the daytime with some smaller sub-committees occasionally meeting at other times as well.
For an application pack, please contact me. The closing date is 31st March.
Could you be a local Ambassador?
We are getting invited to more and more events and happily, to pick up cheques from local groups. Ambassadors will be the face of Carers in Bedfordshire at local community events or speaking engagements. We anticipate that there are a few volunteers out there who would be more than willing to do this for us now and again. Ideally we will gather together a small team of you in each area.
The things an ambassador might do:
- Help out on a stall at a community event
- Raise funds at supermarkets and other local places with a collecting tin
- Collect a cheque from a local group and give a short talk
This could be some extra help that you give alongside your regular volunteering, especially if you enjoy meeting new people and getting out in your local community.
Thank you to those of you who are already part of the community team. If you want to join this team, please let me know by 31 March.
Inspiring Young carers
Could you be an inspiration to young people? We are looking for people to talk for about 20 minutes to young carers about a challenge they have taken on, perhaps physical one, or overcoming a fear or an adversity - anything that will inspire young people. This is aimed at building the resilience of young people and to show them that the world is their oyster. 6th March between 5.3- - 6.30pm or 13th March between 6.30 - 8pm
Who’s Who in Carers in Bedfordshire
Do you know your Janey Harris from your Jenny Harris? And who is Jo Sanctuary? What is Roger Claxton doing these days? Come along to the next Volunteers Forum for an update on who does what at Carers in Bedfordshire and for more news on our services and forthcoming events, including Carers Week in June. If you would like anything discussed at the Forum, or if you would like to raise anything yourself, just let me know. I might even make some special sausage rolls…tempted??
25 th April 10 – 12.30pm at the Bedford office.
Carers Survey
In May two years ago, there was a flurry of volunteers in the Bedford office typing in responses to our Carers Survey. The survey will be out again in March so we are ready to gather another team for this task. You just need to have basic computer literacy and it doesn’t matter how slow you are at typing! Accuracy is more important than speed. In a strange way, we all found it quite a relaxing task once “in the zone”… honest!
Expenses
We do not want you to be out of pocket because you volunteer for us. Please do put in a claim for your travel costs – ideally at the end of each month. Give it to your staff link, not to me. Copies of the form are now on the volunteering filing cabinet in Bedford or you can get a digital version from the volunteering resources on the website.
Cruise the Ouse - diary date
To mark Volunteers Week, we have booked the John Bunyan Community Boat again for a two hour river cruise for our summer Volunteers' Social. It's on the 2nd June 11.30 - 1.30pm and is our way of saying "Thank You" for all your support. Why not treat yourself to a cream tea on-board?
Sky Dive
We already have a few people interested in jumping out of a plane to raise funds for us - our skydive on 10 June. If a sky dive is on your bucket list or a friend's, its not too late for you to sign up! The details are here carersinbeds.org.uk/skydive.
Working for Carers in Bedfordshire
We have a couple of vacancies for paid roles - both are part time and have very flexible hours, which include some Saturdays.
Please do share these. The closing date for applications has not yet been set. At this stage, you are welcome to express interest in them and to talk to either Jenny or Jo for some background or more information.
In the Spotlight
This month we hear from Nina McIvor who has recently joined the Grants Panel. Nina cared for her mum and for her dad who now lives in a care home. I have left her piece largely unedited as it gives us a very detailed insight into the juggling that a carer can face.
I went part time with my job at Autglym being and Export Sales Administrator in June 2010. This gave me Monday & Tuesday off, so I was able to go and look after my Mum down in Birchington, who had Bipolar/Manic Depression. My Dad had also been diagnosed with the early stages of Dementia. I would go down on a Sunday evening and come back on Tuesday evening every week.
This went on for a while, then Mum got worse so I had to leave work, ending up spending the most of 6 months living down there as my Mum was sectioned into Margate hospital, then went to Canterbury, so someone had to be with Dad. Dad got worse so had to go into a care home. Mum slowly deteriorated and died in June 2012.
I then moved Dad up to Sandy into assisted living, where I would go to look after him every day, even though he had carers on site. I did his cleaning, washing, finances, taking to appointments etc, he spent 2 ¼ years there, until he got a very bad attack of Shingles which he was hospitalised for, then went to The Chase for respite and ending up staying as his mobility had gone, so he couldn’t go back to Quince Court, Sandy.
This was Christmas 2014 so I was no longer a carer, my health had taken its toll, which then meant having time on my hands. Now I was feeling able to do things again, I got involved with being a volunteer /Trustee of Purple Trust, but still felt I needed to get into something else. I had belonged to CIB for a few years & would go to lots of the activities they arranged. So I asked Dawn Ray one day, was there anything volunteer wise that I could get involved in. She said that they were looking for people to take part in the Grant Panel, which I knew about as I had been lucky enough to have been given this, so I applied and was accepted, did my induction to CIB and my first grant panel at the end of January, I would also take part in the Fast Track Panel which is emailed to you once a week for you to score and send back.
This has been very interesting seeing the other side of the panel and how they arrive at the decision as to whether you are given the grant or not. We meet the last Monday & Tuesday of the month. We are given details of the carer & cared for (no names) ages, medical conditions of both, what the grant is required for & how much they require. We all sit round a table and then give our vote as to whether we think they should receive grant. We can ask questions if the information is not enough, if this is not on their file then we can ask for it to be found out and will review in the next meeting. I have done my first grant panel and a couple of Fast Track and am enjoying it, looking forward to sitting on my first Steering Group.
I still get involved with activities arranged by CIB, Biggleswade Walking Group, Former Carers Dining at 5 Bells, Choir, Friday lunch Club at Quince Court also any talks that are related to Dementia as even though my Dad is in Care Home, it is good to keep up with things. I feel that volunteering for the Grant Panel I am giving something back for the time CIB have spent helping me on my journey through Dads care, I have also made some great friends on this journey.
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