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Volunteering Newsletter March 2022

Welcome to the latest edition of the Volunteering Newsletter to keep you up to date with volunteering news and opportunities across Norfolk. In this issue:

  • New member of the Voluntary Norfolk Volunteering Team
  • Enrol now for Volunteer Passport Training in April
  • Could you help someone to get online?
  • Nature Connect Project
  • Marie Curie Collections
  • Secretary/support to Chair role for Disabled Supporters Association for Norwich City Football Club (NCFC)
  • Roles on the Volunteering Portal

Welcome to Helen our new Volunteer Support Officer

We are delighted to welcome Helen Dingle to the Voluntary Norfolk Volunteering Team. Helen has joined us as Volunteer Support Officer and she will be helping people to use the Volunteering Portal to find a volunteering role and will also be looking after the people on the Volunteer Passport scheme. We asked Helen to introduce herself:

"I am really pleased to be joining the Voluntary Norfolk team. I look forward to supporting people find new volunteer roles and helping the many amazing organisations we are lucky to have in Norfolk. I know first-hand that volunteering can be great as a stepping stone into employment, improving confidence and wellbeing, giving you a sense of purpose and giving you the opportunity to meet like-minded people. 
Please do get in touch if you are apprehensive about taking on a new volunteer role and we can have a chat about some of the options."

Volunteer Training – places available

If you are new to volunteering, or looking to gain more skills, you may be interested in being part of the Norfolk Volunteer Passport scheme, which is free of charge.

The Passport includes a programme of core training and you will also receive help gaining references, and an ID badge to show you are part of the Volunteer Passport scheme. You will then be able to move more easily between volunteering roles.

The training programme equips you with the basic skills and knowledge you will need for most volunteering roles. You will also get support to identify and apply for volunteering roles if you don’t already have one. The training is delivered by Adult Learning at Norfolk County Council and they provide a very supportive environment, taking into account all learners' concerns.

You can find out more about the Volunteer Passport and the content of the training here.

The next programme will start on Wednesday April 22nd and will run every week for 6 weeks from 10am – 12.30pm on Zoom.

If you are interested in taking part in the Volunteer Passport Programme, please contact us at volunteercentre@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk and we will be in touch to discuss it with you further.

Message from Red Cross - Ukraine


Currently, we aren’t sending volunteers from the UK to Ukraine. Our teams there have told us that the best way to support their response is to raise funds. This is our focus, through our emergency appeal.

We’ll always listen to what our incredible teams of volunteers and staff need. In terms of numbers, there are around 4,000 Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) volunteers and more than 600 staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) across the country.

Your donations allow them to work as one team to support people through this. 

Could you help someone to get online?

The digital inclusion volunteering programme, managed by Voluntary Norfolk in partnership with Norwich City Council, is designed to enable people to live fuller, more independent lives through learning basic digital skills, and gaining digital confidence.

Whether it’s about looking for a new job online or keeping in touch with friends and family, our volunteers are crucial in supporting those who need guidance in making the best use of digital tools.

You don’t have be a digital expert yourself—all you need is a willing attitude, patience and enthusiasm for helping others. You will join an amazing team of other volunteers supporting people to make the most of the online world.

Julie is one of the Project’s Digital Inclusion volunteers. She says:

“Once I retired, I knew I wanted to do something within the community on a voluntary basis. The question of course, was what. I have an IT background and wanted to keep these skills up and so being a Digital Inclusion Volunteer seemed the obvious choice. I enjoy this role because it is important. You can help someone out of digital isolation: help them chat to their family and friends; access internet shopping, support groups, medical services and so on. It’s great to be able to help others. I feel lucky to have found such a rewarding role.”

If you are interested in this role, you can find more details on the Volunteering Portal.

Nature Connect Project

Nature Connect is a new project from Norfolk and Waveney Mind. It will deliver nature-focussed activities that will support individuals struggling with their mental health to become more resilient through contact with nature. Activities will in take place in Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn and will include

  • Resilience workshop
  • Sowing and Growing groups
  • Mindful Walking and Forest Bathing
  • Nature Connect workshops and groups

The project is open to self-referrals and there will be a short booking form for events. For more information please see their website Norfolk and Waveney Mind - Nature Connect.

Their first event is a free online emotional resilience workshop. Please see further details here.

Marie Curie Collections

End-of-life charity Marie Curie is calling for volunteers in Norfolk to give two hours to hand out the charity’s daffodil pins in March.

The charity is looking for people to spend two hours trading pins for donations, between March 3 and March 23 at the following Morrisons stores: King's Lynn, Downham Market, Norwich, Old Catton, Dereham, Fakenham, Cromer, Diss, Wymondham, Bradwell and Gorleston. They are particularly short of volunteers at the highlighted locations.

To sign-up to volunteer to collect for Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal please contact helen.chapman@mariecurie.org.uk.

Secretary/support to Chair role for Disabled Supporters Association for Norwich City Football Club (NCFC)

Are you innovative, creative, and passionate about supporting disabled people?

NCFC’s Disabled Supporters Association are looking for a secretary/support to the chair.

This is an exciting opportunity to get involved in the preliminary stages of the NCFC DSA. The DSA secretary will be working very closely with the chair and as an important part of their role will be providing the chair with IT & administrative support. The chair is an Autistic person with learning difficulties & physical health conditions and will require assistance to help overcoming disabling barriers to enable them to do their role well. For more information on the role contact Kevin James Kevin.c.james@icloud.com or volunteercentre@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk.

Roles on the Voluntary Norfolk Volunteering Portal

Below are a selection of the new roles on the Volunteering Portal this month. If you would like to search all of the current roles on the Portal, please click here.

If you would like any help with searching for the right role for you, please contact us at volunteercentre@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk

At Home with Reading Friends - Readers in other languages

Norfolk Library and Information Service are looking to extend the reach of a project currently running by recruiting readers who would be able to read in a range of languages. At Home with Reading Friends started as a project to reduce isolation during the pandemic. There is an ongoing need for this role and are making it a part of their main offer. They are now looking to extend the range of customers we can reach by working with readers who can make calls in a range of languages including European languages, Arabic, Farsi and Urdu. 
 
Find out more

Volunteer Shop Assistant

The Yare Gallery is a project of the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust. The gallery is on South Quay, Great Yarmouth. The role is to serve visitors to The Yare Gallery shop, which includes selling, wrapping and taking payment (cash handling and card sales) and recording the items sold. There are 10 sessions per week, each 3 hrs, from 11am to 2pm and 2pm to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
 
Find out more

Festival Volunteer

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is now accepting applications to volunteer this May! This year the Festival runs from 13th to 29th May 2022 and we are celebrating our 250th anniversary! Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity to get a great insight into how a major arts festival is run, gain useful skills and meet new people. Norfolk & Norwich Festival welcomes applications from anyone over 18, with any (or no) level of experience.


 
Find out more

Appropriate Adult for King's Lynn Police Investigation Centre - Anglia Care Trust

Anglia Care Trust are looking for volunteers to assist vulnerable adults and young people when detained in custody or being interviewed under caution which can be a time of anxiety and confusion. The role of the Appropriate Adult is to support the vulnerable individual whilst at the Police Investigation Centre by ensuring that their rights are upheld and that their wellbeing is not forgotten. The role will involve being on call for 4 hours a week with your local Police Investigation Centre. They are also recruiting in Aylsham, Great Yarmouth and Wymondham.
 
Find out more

Cooking Volunteer - FoodCycle Norwich

Roll your sleeves up, sport a fetching hairnet and join the kitchen team to produce a three-course vegetarian meal using surplus food. You’ll be peeling, chopping, frying, mixing, boiling, serving and washing up. But most of all, you’ll have a lot of fun. You don’t need to have any previous cooking experience, you just need to get stuck in.
 
Find out more

Do you have a volunteer story?

If you would like to share your experiences of volunteering in Volunteering News, please do get in touch with us: volunteercentre@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk

 
Contact us
 
The Voluntary Norfolk Volunteering Team members are all working at home at the moment and our office telephone won't be answered.  If you would like any more information about volunteering in general or in response to the Covid-19 crisis, do please email us on volunteercentre@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk.

For regular updates about volunteering and volunteering opportunities,
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Volunteering News is written by members of the Voluntary Norfolk Volunteering Team and is edited by Voluntary Norfolk volunteer, Melissa Joy.
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Empowering Communities is a partnership project between Voluntary Norfolk, Community Action Norfolk & Norfolk Community Foundation.

Our mailing address is:
Voluntary Norfolk · St Clements House · 2-16 Colegate · Norwich, NR3 1BQ · United Kingdom
volunteercentre@voluntarynorfolk.org.uk

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