Inter-Action (June 2019 Edition 2)

Age UK Seeking Volunteer IT Tutor

Redcar Befriending Service (Extended)
Role Description

Volunteer Silver Surfer Mentor

Role
Age UK Teesside (Redcar & Cleveland) are looking for a dedicated and patient individual to join our existing Volunteer to who can provide basic IT tuition on both a one-to-one basis and in a group setting to people over 65. The aim is to help attendees to learn the basics of their laptops, smart phones or devices.

The service is delivered by Age UK Teesside and supported by Redcar and Cleveland Council.

Responsibilities
To attend the weekly Silver Surfers session at Marske Library from 10am-12.30pm
To communicate effectively with attendees about how to use their laptop, smart phone or tablet
To work with the existing Volunteer and Silver Surfer Coordinator to reduce the barriers to technology and further reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness amongst older people
To report any concerns to Silver Surfer Coordinator
To observe Age UK Teesside policies and procedures and provide information for monitoring purposes
To undertake suitable training to assist in your role as an Age UK Teesside Volunteer

Skills and Knowledge
Volunteers should be reliable, non-judgemental and have good communication skills. Knowledge of issues affecting the client group and previous volunteering experience is desirable, but not essential. The ability to build good rapport and be respectful is essential. Basic technology skills required. Examples include; how to send an email, how to attach a photo to an email, saving a ‘Contact’ in a mobile phone, how to navigate a keyboard ‘Caps Lock’ ‘symbols’ etc. Volunteers with experience of working with elderly client group is desirable.

Additional information
The Volunteer will be supported by the Silver Surfers Co-ordinator and offered additional training, re-imbursement of expenses and the opportunity to attend informal volunteer get-togethers. This role requires a DBS check and 2 character references

The future of civil society in Tees Valley Seminar

The future of civil society in Tees Valley:

A seminar to discuss the way forward for stakeholders in the voluntary sector, charitable foundations and the public sector

Friday 5th July 2019, Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, 9.30 – 1.00

The voluntary and community sector (VCS) has continued to support and strengthen civil society in Tees Valley over the last twenty years. It has done so in the context of a great deal of economic, social and political change. The aim of this event is to bring people together from the VCS, charitable foundations and the public sector to enter into a positive debate on the future funding landscape and what that promises for the wellbeing of Tees Valley.

Perhaps surprisingly, the VCS has kept on going at more or less the same size over the last decade – this has been achieved as individual organisations and groups have looked at new ways of accessing resource through trading, fundraising, public sector contracts, winning grants from regional and national foundations and from social investment banks. The mix may have changed in the sector’s basket of funding, but the overall volume of income seems to have remained much the same.

But it has not been easy and many VCS organisations say that they have had to work harder than ever to keep themselves going and supporting local causes that are important to them. With all these changes in mind, it seems like a good time to ask people to get together for an event. The event will be small but productive, with just 60 places, bringing key stakeholders from the VCS, public sector and charitable foundations together from across the five boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-On-Tees.

At the start of the event, a panel will present views on the future financing of the VCS in Tees Valley and its surrounding areas. The event will be chaired by Councillor Chris McEwan, Darlington Borough Council.
Speakers will include:

• Nancy Doyle-Hall, Executive Director, Virgin Money Foundation: on the role of charitable grant making foundations and trusts in supporting civil society
• Alison Collins, Investment Manager, Northstar Ventures: on the role of social investment in developing VCS sector strengths
• Tony Chapman, Policy&Practice, St Chad’s College, Durham University: on changing funding relationships between the public sector and the third sector.

Following table discussion there will be a second panel to debate with the audience the current situation across Tees Valley and its environs and the future prospects for the development of civil society.

• Mark Davis, CEO, Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency
• Karen Grundy, Community Programme Manager, Catalyst Stockton
• Rita Lawson, CEO, Tees Valley Rural Action
• Mike Milen, CEO, Redcar and Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency

The seminar is free to attend, but places are limited and will book up quickly, so please register your attendance via: Janet Atkinson, Institute for Local Governance, Durham University janet.atkinson@durham.ac.uk.

The Institute for Local Governance is a North East Research and Knowledge Exchange Partnership established in 2009 comprising the North East region’s Universities, Local Authorities, Police and Fire and Rescue Services. Further information about the content of the event can be obtained by contacting:- tony.chapman@durham.ac.uk or john.mawson@durham.ac.uk

Third Sector Trends in the North 2019

We would like you to take part in this 10 year study of the voluntary and community sector which is now running right across the North of England.

Whether your organisation or group is big or small, flourishing or struggling financially – or just carrying on more or less as normal – we need to hear from you.

Using the findings, Durham University will build a picture of how organisations and groups work, how they get their resources and how they are planning to work in future.

The research helps to inform national and local government, health organisations and charitable foundations so that they make good decisions on how to invest in the activity of the third sector.

The research also helps the third sector itself to show the extent and value of the work it does.

Please support the survey: The survey takes just 20 minutes to complete and you shouldn’t need to check up any facts and figures to fill it in. You can complete the survey online on you PC, tablet or phone by clicking this link:

https://durham.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/third-sector-trends-in-the-north-of-england-2019-live-s-2

The project has generously been supported by Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland and Power to Change.

And tell your friends and colleagues to do the same: by sending them an email with the link to the survey or by drawing attention to the study via twitter using #ThirdSectorTrends

Headline findings will be published in December 2019 and the full results will be freely available from spring 2020.

Recent reports from the study so far can be found at:
https://www.communityfoundation.org.uk/knowledge-and-leadership/third-sector-trends-research/

If you have any questions about the research and/or the questionnaire, please contact Professor Tony Chapman, St Chad’s College, Durham University, 18 North Bailey, DURHAM DH1 3RH, or by email: tony.chapman@durham.ac.uk

Vonne Local Access Project – Engagement Workshop Redcar & Cleveland

Local Access Project- Engagement Workshop Redcar & Cleveland 1st July 2019

Register now!

An engagement workshop for community organisations, charities and social enterprise organisations in Redcar & Cleveland to help shape proposals to respond to the Local Access opportunity offering funded enterprise development support and blended social investment to achieve a places’ vision for their social economy.

The Access Foundation have asked VONNE to lead a partnership and proposal development exercise to respond to their Local Access programme which will offer enterprise development support, and blended grant and social investment finance for VCSE organisations in approximately 5 places across England. The North East proposal will cover Redcar & Cleveland and Hartlepool.

There is £33M available to support enterprise development and blended social investment to be shared across the 5 places. It is essential that local organisations take a key role in shaping the proposals so that they clearly respond to the needs and vision of those places.

Read an overview on the Local Access programme

The workshop will cover the following areas:

• Current situation: How would you describe the current state of your local social economy?
• Vision for Change: What is the vision for your place, and how will the programme help achieve your vision?
• Enterprise support: What enterprise support activity do you envision would be useful and relevant?
• Blended finance funding: What types of social investment do you feel is most needed?

Places are limited so we would ask that you only register 1 person per organisation initially. If you would potentially like a second place, please email vonne@vonne.org.uk and you will be added to a waiting list. Registration will close at 10am on Friday 28th June after which places for second delegates will be released and we will send out confirmation emails to successful delegates.

The event will be held at Kirkleatham Innovation Centre where there is plenty of free parking.

Location details and directions

Power of Community North East

Hosted by The Wharton Trust
The Wharton Trust has been serving its coastal community for 23 years, hear the inspirational story about their thriving community hub. Richard Walton from Virgin Money Foundation will be attending to update members on their Community Anchors Fund. There is be the chance to hear from long-standing members Wharton Trust about their work.

Employable Me! Workshop Middlesbrough

Free workshop for unemployed adults (19+) in Middlesbrough. Ideally suited to those looking to work as Team Leaders, Supervisors or Managers but useful to anyone who wants to beef up their CV and have something interesting to talk about in interviews.

Greatly improve your chances of getting that job with these unique selling points:

Advanced questioning ability | Superior listening skills | Professional telephone call handling | Conflict management skills | Working well with colleagues | Handling customer complaints | Dealing with difficult people

These are the skills that will make you stand out from the crowd and get that job. And once you have the job, they will help you to become invaluable to the employer. In fact, they will be asking you to teach these skills to the rest of the team!

Dates: Various until 31st July 2019 (ask for details)
Times: Five hours plus breaks
Venues: Across Middlesbrough and we can come to you

The workshop is delivered by Gomediate in partnership with Middlesbrough Community Learning. Book your place 📧 mikejames@gomediate.co.uk
📞07933 294 292

Owl Centre – Volunteer Gardeners Needed!

We Love 90’s On The Beach – Attention Armed Forces