Registered Charity No 277125

Annual Report 2013 / 2014

Registered Charity No 277125

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Ashford Volunteer Centre was established in 1978 providing a range of volunteering and support services to the population of Ashford Borough.The Centre runs several projects for the benefit of the local community as well as supporting other voluntary organisations to find and retain volunteers to deliver crucial services.

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Contents

Annual Report 2013 / 2014

4 Chairman’s Report 5 Manager’s Report 6 Vision & Mission 7 The Team & Board 8 Volunteering 9 Youth Volunteering 10 Community Car Scheme 11 Befriending 12 Care Navigator 13 Tenancy Support 14 Personal Budgets14 DBS checking 15 VOICE 16 Achievements 17 With thanks 18 Looking to the future 19 Treasurer’s Report

“We are so grateful for everything,

you gave us both peace of mind that we are not alone anymore” Care Navigator

service user

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Welcome to our Annual Report. It has been another busy year for Ashford Volunteer Centre, and this is our opportunity to report back to you on our activities and impact against our organisational objectives.

For the coming year we know that the expectations from funders and service users are going to increase. We will have a key role to play in helping organisations to attract and retain new volunteers, alongside delivering our own services.

As volunteering dominates our work, it is important to remember that the value in volunteering isn't simply about people doing things for free. Volunteering brings together communities across age, gender, cultural and socioeconomic boundaries. It is a great way to have fun, develop skills, learn about one another and contribute to making the Ashford Borough a great place to live, work and learn.

The work we do is only possible because of the energy,ideas and commitment of our staff and volunteer team, and continued support of our members and funders. I'd like to thank them all for everything they do in making the Ashford Borough an even better place to volunteer.

If you would like to find out about our services or how you could get involved please visit our website for more information.

Cllr Peter FeaceyChair

Chairman’s Report

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Manager’s Report

Staff and trustees have worked hard to ensure that the organisation’s foundation remains strong and will be able to continue its work in the years ahead. These are tough times for many and Ashford Volunteer Centre is working towards being well placed to continue to develop new creative practices with key organisations across East Kent. It is essential that this collaborative approach is built upon to ensure that together we develop resilient individuals and sustainable communities.

We are living in a changing world where the internet and social media provides opportunities to access information, to keep pace we need to accept that this is the way of the future. Our new marketing and social media officer will be working to increase our social media presence, we also hope to launch a new, more interactive website before the next AGM.

This year the team will be working on capturing impact more effectively and a new database system will support this.

We continue to explore opportunites to raise funds and are setting up a Community Interest Company which will direct it’s profits to the charity.

The team have worked together to bring us through a difficult funding year and I would like to thank them for their support. As always thanks to trustees and volunteers for their continued support.

Sue SawyerManager

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Vision & Mission

Our VisionAshford Volunteer Centre strives to be a proactive, leading and professional centre of excellence empowering local communities through volunteering.

This vision is underpinned by the following values:• Fairness and Equality: Volunteering enhances social inclusion and good relations. It should be open to everyone.• The importance of free will/choice: Volunteering is a matter of free choice and there should be no compulsion to take part.• Mutual Benefit: Volunteering is a shared experience. It is rewarding and of benefit to the volunteer in building skills, confidence and extending social networks. Volunteering is of benefit to society in contributing to the building of social capital and progressive social change.

Our MissionTo promote the value of volunteers and volunteering in the Borough of Ashford, and ensure equality of access to volunteering for all people

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The Team

Sue Sawyer ManagerCaroline Reeves Care Navigator & Community Equipment AssessorDeborah Possee Youth Volunteer Co-ordinator, Marketing & Social Media OfficerJill Brown Befriending Co-ordinatorLeanne Yetman Volunteer Co-ordinatorPamela Possee Tenancy Support Co-ordinator & TrainerRebecca Clarke Intergrated Personal Health BudgetsTracy Perry Administrator & Invoice Clerk

The Board

Cllr Peter Feacey Chairperson (from October 2013) Caroline Hannah Treasurer Martin Chambers Trustee (until June 2014)Norma Smyth Trustee Peter Ananicz Trustee

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Volunteering Volunteer Brokerage

The Volunteer Brokerage is the core function of the Volunteer Centre. For the past few years it has been based inside the Books for Free Centre in Park Mall, due to a change in our operating strategy this ceased in May. The service promotes volunteering, supports the voluntary sector in finding suitable volunteers and offers a comprehensive brokerage service, matching prospective volunteers with needs of organisations.

This year we have seen an increase of the number of individuals registering an interest in volunteering with over 340 registrations, partly due to Ashford Job Centre+ referring benefit claimants to volunteer.

To further increase awareness of the benefits of volunteering and promote our service to organisations the brokerage will evolve this year into a more focused outreach service. Through new outreach strategies we will be able to improve outcomes to both volunteers and organisations and improve accessibility to volunteering.

*AVC Volunteer survey sent out to Borough residents in Jan 2014. 87 responses.

Funded by

63% of volunteers

surveyed said that volunteering helped them gain new skills

and experience*

54% of volunteers

surveyed said that volunteering helped improve their mental

well being*

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Youth VolunteeringCan Do Crew

The Can Do Crew project is in the 4th year of funding from Ashford Borough Council. The project aims to engage 40 young people aged 16-25 annually in volunteering activity to enrich their experience, skills, fill CV gaps and improve employability.

Feedback sought throughout the year have shown that 42% moved into employment, education, training or an apprenticeship within an average 6 months of joining the project. For others their goal was something different – to achieve a sense of purpose, just to get out of bed in the morning or to make friends and reduce their isolation.

This year a high proportion of young people enquiring about volunteering have had additional needs and require more support. The project will adapt to provide more support to those with extra needs to help them achieve their goals. Linking volunteering to career goals has shown to give invaluable experience, provide CV content, and strengthen college and job applications. To develop this further the project co-ordinator is training in careers guidance, will offer careers interviews and find suitable career related volunteering roles.

Funded by

In 2013/2014

42 Can Do Crew volunteers carried

out over 1000 hours of volunteering (over half in Books for

Free)

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Community Car Scheme

Ashford's community car scheme continues to grow and has over 650 active users in the Ashford Borough. The scheme has between 35-40 volunteer drivers at any time, who between them carry out on average 95 journeys a week, ensuring local residents who are unable to use public transport manage to retain their independence.

Our long standing and loyal office volunteers continue to run the scheme daily with the support of the transport project team. Without their friendly voice at the end of the phone and dedication to matching journeys to volunteer drivers the scheme would not be able to operate.

To support the ongoing sustainability of the service it has been identified that a membership scheme would help raise needed funds to keep the service running. This will be implemented by the end of the year.

Working alongside our East Kent Volunteer Centre partners, the scheme has produced new marketing material and is focusing on raising the profile amoung local residents, care providers, GP surgeries and other services.

The new computerised database will only make the scheme run more efficient once it is implemented.

"We wouldn't have been able to get to much needed hospital appointments without this wonderful service, thank you"

Funded by

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BefriendingWell being at home

The Well-Being at Home Befriending Service has been running for over 12 years. The project is supported by a grant from KCC and the agreement is underpinned by the Putting People First agenda (December 2007) which highlights the alleviation of loneliness and isolation as a major priority.

The project aims to increase social contact in the home for people living alone (50yrs+) who are isolated and lonely by matching them with a volunteer befriender. The Well-Being at Home service covers Ashford urban and rural north we work closely with the Care Navigator service, colleagues at CARM (Caring Altogether on Romney Marsh & Shepway Volunteer Centre); together with Social Services and a variety of support groups.

Our volunteer befrienders have givenover 1,760 hours of friendship over the past year; a weekly visit may not necessarily solve everyone’s issues but certainly goes a longway to alleviate it.

Ian has been visiting Chuck for the last year, both avid Arsenal supporters they look forward to the weekly visits and have built up a great friendship.

Funded by

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Care Navigator& Community Equipment Assessor

The Care Navigator and Trusted Assessor Service has had a seventh successful year and is seen by KCC as the way forward in delivering preventative services for older people. This year alone over 700 Ashford Borough residents (age 50+) have benefited from information, advice and equipment assessing, supporting their right to independence in the home.

The Care Navigator Service is Kent wide with Ashford being the most productive due to close working relationships with Social Services and other community services. The aim of the project is to empower those over 50 years to access the right support to remain independent in their own homes and active in their local community.

In response to the recent weather conditions Ashford VC secured funding from Kent Community Foundation Surviving Winter Fund for 10 grants of up to £200 to help local residents who struggle keeping their homes warm. The fund also enabled distribution of 20 emergency parcels which included gloves, scarves, torches and non-perishable food items to help vulerable members of the community be prepared for a harsh winter. Letter from Paul Carter, CBE. Leader of KCC ‘I really appreciate your efforts and the assistance you give to members of the pub-lic…..please accept my sincere gratitude for the superior job you are doing in our service department.’

Funded by

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Tenancy Support

Tenants Support Project securedfunding from Ashford Borough Council for a second successful year in which 66 homeless people benefited from information and support to empower them to achieve sustainable tenancies.

Working in partnership with ABC housing department the project co-ordinator delivered monthly Tenancy Induction Workshops to new tenants with further mentoring support as appropriate.

Due to the economic crisis Ashford Borough has seen an increase in homelessness among a wide cross section of society. In response, the housing department’s main focus for the workshops has been for homeless individuals being supported in B&B accommodation.

The workshops have delivered important information to vulnerable people whilst establishing a need for on-going support, particularly among young people in their first tenancies. The project has highlighted a lack of understanding about budgeting and money management by a significant number of new tenants.Feedback from workshop attendees: “Engaging was not so scary” “Not always a negative thing to do, to conform” “It’s nice not to be judged”“I am new to the area with no family support. It was helpful to have the follow up support in the first weeks in my new home”

Funded by

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Personal Budgets

To develop and implement integrated personal budgets. During 2013/2014 23 people were given an integrated personal budget The majority of budget holders experienced good outcomes e.g. increased mobility / dexterity, reduced levels of anxiety and weight loss.

As well as supporting the implementation of integrated budgets the co-ordinator is leading on a project exploring the use of formal qualifications in the training of Personal Assistants (PAs) in Health. Up to 30 PAs will undertake training in clinical tasks delegated by Health Professionals. All the training will be within the Qualification Credit Framework (QCF). By using the QCF budget holders and health professionals will be assured that PAs have been trained and assessed to a regulated standard.

DBS checkingLast year we carried out over 270 DBS checks for local charities and businesses, and trained staff in several local organisations to enable them to complete DBS forms for staff and volunteers in line with regulations.

By providing this service we are supporting organisations to meet their safeguarding obligations and helping reduce risk of harm to vulnerable members of the community.

Funded by

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VOICE

Since November 2013 the Volunteer Centres in Ashford, Shepway, Dover District and Thanet have come together in partnership with CASE Kent to form VOICE – Voluntary Organisations Involved in Community Engagement.

By working together VOICE aims to build social capital, engage better with hard to reach individuals/groups, and strengthen the voice and activity of voluntary organisations throughout the community. By being more strategically involved in joint delivery and targeting support to groups and individuals to meet specific needs, VOICE has the potential to further improve outcomes for local communities and significantly influence the ability of the voluntary sector to grow, develop and do what it does best.

“Working together will enable us to share expertise, develop services in response to local need and increase efficiencies across the five organisations” said Mrs Janet Johnson, Manager of Shepway Volunteer Centre.

All five organisations have long histories of serving their local communities; with in depth knowledge of the voluntary and community sector and awareness of the needs of the most vulnerable in society.As a consequence VOICE enhances social inclusion and citizenship; has a beneficial impact on the local economy – providing voluntary organisations with practical support and advice and in addition to empowering people with life skills and employment opportunities, it offers choice to service users.

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Achievements

'Skills for Volunteers' CoursesThis year we ran 3 'Skills for Volunteers' courses which were supported by funding from Kent Adult Education. The courses generated a high level of interest and as such were oversubscribed. Feedback was very positive and over 50% of learners went on to secure a volunteer role.

Volunteer Cream TeaThe summer celebration of volunteersat Eastwell Manor was well attended and gave an opportunity for our volunteers to receive something back.

Volunteer New Year EventOnce again our New Year event at the Books For Free Centre in Park Mall, Ashford proved very popular with our volunteers and the hot food purchased from local provider, Barry's Kitchen, went down a treat.

Raising funds for MacmillanThe Can Do Crew put on a Macmillan coffee morning and raised £62.17 for thecharity by selling home made cakes.

Supported by

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With thanks

Thank you to all who have contributed to the success of Ashford Volunteer Centre over the past year.

Firstly, a huge thank you to all our volunteers who assist with the smooth running of our office services and projects. Without this force of vibrant, enthusiastic people the efficiency and reach of our services would be greatly diminished. Moreover, we could not ignore the contribution of our board of trustees whose valuable time is given to oversee the continuing strategic development of the organisation and compliance with our legal procedural obligations.

Acknowledgements:

Age UKAMJ Computer SupportAshford Borough CouncilAshford NHS CCGAshford & Tenterden Gateway+CARMCASE KentCentre for Voluntary Organisa-tionsCounty & Borough CouncillorsCrescent TrainingEast & Coastal NHSHealthy PlanetKent Adult Education

Kent Adult Social ServicesKent Community FoundationKent County CouncilKent East Infrastructure Partner-shipKent Housing GroupMembers of the publicMentoring & Befriending Founda-tionPark Mall ManagementService UsersVolunteering EnglandVOICEWhat Matters Forum

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Looking to the future

ProjectsWe continue to create project ideas to support volunteering and our local community.

ImpactThis year we will be overhauling the way we look at impact and have purchased a database tool specifically designed for charities to assist us in recording and measuring our impact.

New websiteOur Social Media Officer will be designing a new, interactive and informative website which we hope to launch before our next AGM.

The future of volunteering. 2 members of the Can Do Crew Youth Project

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Financial Summary

Ashford Volunteer Centre continues to provide valuable services to the community and have been fortunate to secure sufficient funding to support the projects being undertaken.

This year grants were secured to continue the Care Navigator Service, Befriending Service, Personal Budgets, Can Do Crew, Tenancy Support, Transport and our core functions, which is reflected in the current financial statements.

It was not possible to increase the contingency fund this year, which is in place to cover six months of trading if the Volunteer Centre was unable to secure funding.

Our accounts will be available for anyone to view as an appendix at our AGM or you can request them by contacting the office.

Caroline Hannah Treasurer

If you have any questions or comments please direct them to:

Sue Sawyer (Manager)Ashford Volunteer CentreBerwick House8 Elwick RoadAshfordKentTN23 1PF

01233 665535

www.volunteering-ashford.org

13/14Designed by: Deborah Possee