hertfordshire year of volunteering - october newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER: OCTOBER
Welcome back to the monthly Year of Volunteering newsletter! Here we will keep
you informed about what is happening with the campaign, as well as providing
updates on all the activities going on across the county this month and the next.
OCTOBER’S
THEME
This October, the theme around
young people and learning
continues! Read on for more
volunteer stories that
demonstrate all the fantastic work
done by volunteers to help young
people, as well as all the time
that young people themselves
dedicate to help others.
Not only this, it’s an exciting
month for events, from Herts and
Middlesex Wildlife Trust’s ‘Apple
Day’ to Hertfordshire County
Council’s volunteer recognition
awards. We also bring you
information about a quality
standards e-conference next
month, which offers help in
working towards these
accreditations.
ACTIVITIES THIS MONTH
1st October is International Day of Older
Persons – how do your volunteers help older
people? Let us know for next month’s edition!
9th October is this year’s Apple Day! Run by
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, this
afternoon event for all the family is a celebration
of all things apple and couldn’t happen without
the incredible effort of volunteers
10th October is World Mental Health Day –
volunteers across the county work tirelessly to
help raise awareness of mental health and help
those in need of support
10th - 16th October is Local Democracy Week,
which is all about promoting the importance of
having your say in local decisions that affect you
19th October marks Hertfordshire County
Council’s volunteer recognition awards. This will
be an exciting event to celebrate all the fantastic
work that the council’s volunteers do to make
Hertfordshire a better place
QUALITY STANDARDS E-CONFERENCE
Come and learn more about quality standards in volunteer management at #TeamHerts
Volunteering’s FREE Quality Standards Conference on 2nd November from 9.30am-
12.30pm. With speakers from NCVO, you can also hear first-hand from organisations
that have achieved quality standards and the benefits it can bring to your own
organization. You will also have the opportunity to sign up for 1:1 support to help you
work towards these accreditations.
Visit the events webpage here to sign up today or email [email protected] or
phone: 01462 689409 for further information.
Karen Morely-Hayes from Broxbourne
volunteers with CHEXS charity, based
in Waltham Cross, supporting the local
community by offering family support
and enrichment projects to children
and young people. She has helped to
run a free family art and craft sessions
in the CHEXS member schools and
supported CHEXS with a willow
sculpting project with local schools.
Karen says that she will always tell
people to try volunteering, because if
you are looking to get into employment
you can build your confidence, try
different activities that match your
interests and learn a lot about yourself.
YOUR VOLUNTEER STORIES…
Laura Waller and Jennifer Doel jointly run a
drop in session at Barleyfields Childrens
Centre, where mothers can come to talk
about any aspect of breastfeeding. The aim
is to support mothers who are struggling
and therefore empower them to keep
breastfeeding for as long as they want to.
Laura says “Breastfeeding is such a
personal thing and mothers feel so
pressured to give their baby the best, I
wanted other people to know that everyone
feels like this and support them to do what
they choose and not what they feel
‘pressured to do’.”
LOCAL BUSINESSES TEACH PUPILS HOW TO
LAND A JOB
Three schools in Hemel Hempstead took part in an Employability Skills event for their
Year 10 pupils during 2016 organised and run by Connect Dacorum. The pupils were in
groups of around 8-10, and each group had a facilitator from local businesses or charity
who had given up their morning to help the students with CV writing and interview skills.
The event was interactive for the pupils – interviewing their facilitators, putting
themselves in the mind of an employer looking at CVs for a new trainee graphic
designer and critiquing them before moving on to looking in more detail at their own CVs
and giving advice. The second session concentrated on interview skills with mock
interviews and also a fun “speed interviewing” game. The pupils came away with lot of
helpful feedback and advice directly from employers about what they look for in a CV,
covering letter and throughout the interview process.
Cindy Withey, Manager of Connect Dacorum organises this with the schools and
recruits local businesses to volunteer their time, building that all important connection
with schools and businesses.
Hemel Hempstead School said that “the feedback from students and teachers has been
overwhelmingly positive and appreciative. Our senior leadership team were extremely
impressed when they called in to see the event in progress, and they heard from
students afterwards that the event was very useful.”
The facilitators come from a wide variety of backgrounds and businesses, all willing to
give up their time to help shape the future generation and pass on valuable advice.
The event is running again in 2017 so if there are any businesses who would like their
staff to be involved and become a facilitator for these events next year please contact
Cindy Withey at Connect Dacorum on [email protected]
WHO NOT WHAT
In August 2014, there was little support or services for young LGBT+ in the county and
through the use of Twitter, and the support of HCC Youth Connexions, young people
came forward from across Hertfordshire to help shape new services and support groups
for their community. Of the fifteen members of Who not What, thirteen young people
aged 13 - 19, have been volunteering for the project for the last 12 months working for
the benefit of their peers in the LGBT+ community.
In 2015, they held their first consultation with young LGBT+ across county and have
repeated this valuable task in 2016 gaining a wealth of information that will assist
Hertfordshire County Council and its partners, in equality, health and service provision.
They have also volunteered for the Young Commissioners’ training to strengthen the
commissioning and co-production practices in the county.
In June 2016, hard work and partnership working, secured first place in the Stonewall
Equality Index Education for Hertfordshire County Council and Stonewall fed back that
the voice of young people, when talking about their own experiences in being involved,
bought the work across county, to life.
Their aims and objectives for the future have also been recognised by The Big Lottery
Fund that is now supporting their work to the tune of £165k for the next three years.
Volunteering with HCC Youth Connexions has enabled LGBT+ support/social groups to
be established across county enabling young people to access support, and meet new
people, local to where they live. Not only have improvements been seen in service
delivery and opportunities for others, the young people’s volunteering has enabled them
to grow in confidence about who they are as individuals as well as part of a community,
feeling less isolated than previously, and more able to manage their emotional wellbeing.
YOUTH PARLIAMENT HAVE THEIR SAY
Hertfordshire currently has ten Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) who each
represent one of the ten districts and are supported by HCC Youth Connexions.
Members of Youth Parliament are an apolitical group who are passionate about
ensuring young people’s voices are heard locally and nationally. MYPs put themselves
forward as candidates back in October 2015 and the successful candidates were
announced at the end of February by Richard Roberts, Executive Member for Children
Services.
MYPs are in post for a year and so are just over half way through their term. MYPs
work closely with Herts1125, an unelected group of young people across Herts, to
consult with young people on the top five priorities that were voted on during the
elections. The priorities are bullying, mental health, access to health services, equality
in Herts (focussing on gender equality in schools) and body confidence and self-image.
Since April, MYPs have been extremely busy writing consultations and engaging young
people in their local area to have their say on these important issues. MYPs did a
fantastic job of co-ordinating this in their local area and ensuring young people were
heard. The results of the consultations will be published in the Hertfordshire Young
People’s Manifesto, launching on the 15th October. The Manifesto will also include two
priorities from Who Not What, the LGBT+ strategic group, two priorities from Young
Carers and two from Children in Care. In total, an amazing 9,535 people participated in
the consultations from schools and youth projects.
MYPs also had the opportunity to represent Hertfordshire nationally at the Annual
Sitting in July and will soon be attending the House of Commons where they, along with
250 other MYPs, will decide the national campaign for the following year. They are also
being trained as Young Commissioners to ensure that services are co-produced with
young people.
NEW VOLUNTEERING ROLES IN THE GREAT
OUTDOORS
As part of Hertfordshire’s Year of Volunteering, Hertfordshire County Council is launching
a number of new ways for people who love the outdoors and want to make a positive
difference to their local environment to get involved.
The new roles have been created by the council’s Countryside Management Service, who
work with communities across the county to care for and improve Hertfordshire’s amazing
landscape.
As a county we are well served by an extensive network of public rights of way, giving us
all access to the beautiful, varied and productive Hertfordshire landscape that surrounds
our homes and places of work.
If you are interested in walking, off-road cycling or horse riding we would like you to help
us to manage and maintain our footpaths, cycle tracks and bridleways to a high standard.
Simply get in touch and find out how to join our ever growing network of volunteers and
benefit from our award winning approach to training and support.
Teresa Heritage, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Localism and Libraries said – “It’s
great to see our officers working together to engage our communities in their work. These
new roles will provide opportunities for our residents to: gain new skills, meet new people
and get involved in healthy outdoors activities. This is what the “Year of Volunteering” is
all about.”
Derrick Ashley, Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning and Transport said – “For
residents who take great pleasure from walking (as I do), cycling or riding through
Hertfordshire’s countryside this is a great opportunity to contribute to the upkeep of our
Footpaths and Bridleways. The options to take part mean that however much or little time
you have available there will be something you can do and in the knowledge that the
whole community will benefit”.
For more information visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/cms or call us on 01992 588433.
To keep up-to-date with the Year of Volunteering visit: facebook, twitter, webpage.
If you would like to unsubscribe or have these emails forwarded on to another
member of your team, please contact [email protected].
COMING UP NEXT
Next month marks the start of a new theme based around support for vulnerable people.
We know that there are hundreds of volunteers out there that put in considerable time and
effort to help those who need it. If you have any stories or case studies relevant to this
theme, do get in touch and we will share and help raise awareness of this fantastic work.
LEND A HAND THIS WINTER
‘Everybody needs good neighbours’ the theme tune to a well-known Australian soap tells
us, and that message is truer now than ever before, with recent figures suggesting that the
UK is one of the loneliest countries in Europe. Loneliness can be felt by people of all ages,
but older people and those with physical and learning disabilities are particularly
vulnerable.
The impact of social isolation can be significant; research suggests being lonely can be as
bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Better news is that getting to know
and spending time with your neighbours has a positive effect on your health and
wellbeing.
Colette Wyatt-Lowe, Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health, said: “As the days draw
shorter and temperatures drop, why not take time to check in on your neighbours,
particularly those who are more vulnerable. Even small things like doing someone’s
shopping, sharing a meal or putting the bins out, can make a big difference.”
If you are feeling lonely why not give HertsHelp a call on 0300 123 4044. They’ll be able to
let you know about activities and support available near you, including lunch clubs,
community groups and befriending services.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust are looking to recruit
a new team of Volunteer Gardeners to care for and
develop their wildlife garden at Grebe House in
Verulamium Park. The garden is popular with park
visitors and a wonderful opportunity for the Trust to
show what individuals can do for wildlife at home. More
information and a role description can be found here.