Visit from NCVO

They first met with VAL support staff to get a sense of the unique issues facing local infrastructure.  Then a number of local organisations attended a working lunch to discuss issues facing Leicestershire based charities.  Attendees included representation from Trade Sexual Health, The Recovery Consultancy Limited, National Youth Agency, Home group limited, First Step Leicester Leicestershire and Rutland,  Enrych Leicestershire and Derbyshire, Focus  Charity, Leicester Mammas CIC, Rothley Community Library, Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan Trust,  and Leicester Ageing Together.

Some key points from the roundtable meeting included:

  • Challenges of constant reductions in funding. Meaning that medium and larger organisations are now applying for grants from sources typically used by small organisation, leading to increased competition across the board.
  • The need to change the perception of voluntary sector that we come for free
  • How can we move away from competitive tendering as the default funding option
  • Recognition from central government of the role and scope of the voluntary sector, especially at a local grassroots level
  • Stretched NHS organisations are referring clients to the local sector to meet the demand. However, the local sector is struggling to obtain grant funding to pay for these services.

NCVO is campaigning on some of these issues, having heard from their members in other parts of England as well.

In the afternoon, Lev and Roshni met with George Ballentyne, Leicester City Council’s Voluntary & Community Sector Engagement Manager to discuss the city council’s public sector membership of NCVO. There was an agreement for NCVO and VAL to look at jointly upskilling new councillors about the role of the local sector.  Mr Ballentyne also asked NCVO for help in ensuring that as many councillors and council staff as possible have access to the excellent resources on the NCVO Knowhow website.

Feedback from the event included:

A working lunch delegate – “VAL is very important to us: “We can’t lose VAL! – it’s my support mechanism.”

NCVO – “I’d just like to say a big public ‘thank you’ from Roshni and me to colleagues at VAL for hosting this very productive visit, and especially Helen for arranging the day and sending me very thorough information in advance. “

If you are a local VCSE organisation based in Leicester or Leicestershire, who are providing services to local residents in those areas, who is exploring collaborative opportunities, please consider using VAL’s sector support, activity referral service, to assist you with this. Requests for support can be sent to helpline 0116 257 5050 or helpline@valonline.org.uk

Celebrating Volunteers in Leicestershire

The first event was at the Leicester Riverside Festival, we engaged with over 120 people over the course of the weekend. Even with the rain we still managed to go on and speak to a number of people who were interested in volunteering.

On Monday 3 June, we held a Thank you event at our offices, where we celebrated in style with a lunch for our volunteers and trustees who work across for VAL. It was a great success and gave us a chance to celebrate the invaluable contribution volunteers make to our organisation.

On Tuesday 4 June, we held a ‘Speed Networking’ event at Braunstone Brite Centre in partnership with the Leicester Employment Hub. The floor was buzzing with over 140 attendees, along with stall holders from various organisations. It was an opportunity to give people a chance to meet a range of different organisations and to ask key questions. This event was also showcased in the news on Friday 7 June on ITV Central News.

On Wednesday 5 June we held a Volunteer Fair at Hinckley Library, which consisted of 9 organisations and 25 people who came to ask about volunteering, to find out more about the local opportunities which were available. It was also a chance for representatives from local charities and organisations to network with each other.

On Thursday 6 June we ran a Volunteer Celebration Event at John Storer House in Loughborough.  The event involved a speed networking session giving local volunteer co-ordinators, volunteers and members of the public a chance to meet a range of different organisations to ask some key questions and get a flavour of their work. This was a chance to bring together local voluntary organisations to celebrate the work of their volunteers.

We also held an Event at Hood Park Leisure Centre in Ashby, where 80 people came along from 30 organisations. The event was not only about volunteering but was open to the public, local groups, businesses and organisations to promote local services and to learn about what is on offer in and around Ashby, to encourage more people to volunteer and get involved in their local community.

VAL went ‘online’ – On Friday 7 June, to end our Volunteers Week we held an online drop in session for all, via our social media channels. Members of our team were available via Twitter, Facebook and an online chat forum to answer any questions, share comments or ideas related to volunteering and share feedback and learning.

Our Volunteers week does not end there, as we continue to help people change their lives for the better. Volunteering can help you gain valuable new skills and experiences, make new friends, build your CV and can help to boost your confidence.

If you’re interested in volunteering, find out more from volunteerleicestershire.org.uk