Nexus march 2017

NEWS FROM THE HAMPSHIRE CVS NETWORK 

Action Hampshire

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Basingstoke Voluntary Action

It’s Not OK, Winchester

As part of the sexual violence and sexual abuse  Community awareness week Action Fareham the IT’S NOT OK campaign took  Community First New place across the Forest country during a  Gosport week in Voluntary February.

Action Community  Hart Voluntary First’s RASAC Action (Rape And Sexual  One Abuse Counselling) service in Winchester was invited by The University of Community Winchester to attend and join its Respect campaign which took place in its food  Rushmoor hall.

Voluntary The Respect campaign had been launched in response to the need for Services universities to have robust reporting procedures for students who may suffer  Test Valley sexual violence or assault or from sexual harassment while on campus. RASAC is Community part of the University’s think tank and is helping develop processes and Services procedures which will include referrals to RASAC. Skills Fest/Timebanking On the day the team from RASAC was joined by police colleagues and in Gosport—p2 some of the Respect first contacts, and students were asked to sign up to the Legacies help TVCS respect pledge, try their hand at a quiz and watch some videos on consent.

Shopmobilty Steve Witheyman from Community First’s RASAC service said, “The team customers—p2 took along its inflatable elephant, depicting the elephant in the room, and this New scooter for attracted a lot of attention. Over 500 students used the food hall over the Eastleigh lunchtime and we received a lot of positive comments and feedback.”

Shopmobility—p2 If you would like to find out more about Community First’s RASAC Spring into action service, contact steve.witheyman@cfirst.org.uk.

Fareham—p3 

Communities First Wessex

Work experience at Eastleigh Museum—p3 Re-signing Havant Armed Forces Community Covenant— p3 Coffee & Cash Drop-In at Leigh Park Community Centre—p4

Produced by Hampshire Councils for Voluntary Service Contact Julia Allan 023 8090 2457 jallan@1community.org.uk Featured articles represent the views of the contributing CVS

Skills Fest/Timebanking

A Skills Fest event organised by Gosport Voluntary Action (GVA) was held on 1 March at the Jervis Gallery, St Vincent College, in conjunction with the Trash Café.

The event introduced the Timebanking project, which is a way for people to help others in the community and be rewarded for it – in time. Participants can build up ‘time credits’ by helping someone else and then spend their credits when they need help for themselves. Anyone can get involved in Timebanking – it’s a great way of connecting the community. Volunteers at the Skills Fest event shared skills such as Arts & Crafts, Pop-up Spanish and even a Children’s Corner.

The Timebanking Steering Group is an important next step to moving this project forward and GVA is bringing together interested parties to a first meeting at 1.30pm on Thursday 16 March at GVA. Further information is available from Sue or Heather at timebanking@gva.org.uk or call 023 9258 3836.

If you would like to find out more about Timebanking, please use the following link http:// www.timebanking.uk

added versatility of extended leg rests which are suitable for supporting leg or ankle injuries requiring elevation.

TVCS Shopmobility provides a loan service for people needing mobility scooters or wheelchairs to access Andover town centre and local facilities. Some equipment is available for extended hire for holidays or for those recovering from injury or operations.

Mobility scooter training is also available for anyone thinking of purchasing their own scooter, who may like to try before they buy. Andover has over 130 local members plus 40 regular users from other Wessex Schemes.

Shopmobility and Community Transport combine to provide a service known as the ‘Shopmo Shuttle’ on Tuesdays and Thursdays which provides door-to-door collection and direct access to mobility equipment for an affordable fee. This service is available for all Shopmobility members who cannot access public transport.

During this year TVCS has hired out equipment on 3,192 occasions and assisted over 200 people.

New Scooter For Eastleigh Shopmobility

Legacies Help TVCS Shopmobility Customers Legacies left to TVCS Shopmobility combined with fund raising events by the community organisation and its customers have enabled the purchase of a large wheeled wheelchair with a power pack to enable the attendee to push the passenger more easily.

This new addition to Shopmobility will help carers who experience difficulty pushing a manual wheelchair. The wheelchair also has the NEXUS PAGE 2

One Community’s Shopmobility service in Eastleigh has just taken delivery of a new four wheel scooter purchased with funds raised through Friends of Shopmobility. The Friends also bought four much needed new bags to go on the back of the scooters. In the picture are Ed Dawes from Friends of Shopmobility handing the keys of the scooter to Jean Roberts-Jones, Chief Executive of One Community.

Spring Into Action in Fareham

Fareham Sprang Into Action on 1 March in Fareham Shopping Centre.

The Community Action Fareham Spring Into Action fair brought together local community groups to offer information and activities to help people in Fareham get fit, keep active and stay connected with others.

As well as information stands from Fareham Leisure Centre, Hampshire Falls Prevention, Walking For Health, Brendoncare, FADSAD and many others, there were taster sessions offered of seated exercise, indoor petanque, keep fit and New Age Kurling.

The Mayor of Fareham Cllr Mrs Connie Hockley declared the event a “roaring success” after spending time chatting with stall-holders and joining in a round of petanque.

An enthusiastic group of keep-fitters from Fareham Community Link kept everyone on their toes and then took time to volunteer serving refreshments.

The event was brought to a close with beautiful singing from the Stubbington U3A choir.

Work Experience Working for Students with Support Needs at Eastleigh Museum One Community takes on a lot of work experience students, particularly at Eastleigh Museum, where about five placements a year, usually of two weeks, are provided. There is a good variety of jobs to get stuck into at the museum, so students get plenty of experience in customer service and back office roles as they think about moving from education into the work place and what they might do in the future.

Students also get a taste of the disciplines associated with the workplace: attending on time,

dressing appropriately and behaving in a professional manner.

Some of the students have autism and learning difficulties, and One Community staff take the trouble to find roles to meet individuals’ abilities and ensure that they make a valuable contribution.

A recent success story is that of Ethan, pictured above, who came into the museum to thank the staff and volunteers for the chance he had been given, which has led to something more permanent and really positive on the basis of his work experience at the museum, a position at the British Heart Foundation shop.

Ethan was delighted and very happy to share his news.

Re-signing of Havant’s Armed Forces Community Covenant Community First was once again honoured to sign the Havant Armed Forces Community Covenant on behalf of the voluntary sector at an event to celebrate the updating and re-signing of the Covenant at the Havant Plaza on 1 February. The event hosted by Havant Borough Council was attended by the Mayor of Havant and representatives of local charities who support service personnel, including Help for Heroes, the Royal British Legion and Veteran's Outreach Support.

The Community Covenant ensures the Armed Forces are duly recognised and that NEXUS PAGE 3

Leigh Park Community Centre Hosts Community First’s Coffee and Cash Drop-In

members of the Armed Forces are not unjustly disadvantaged when readjusting and living within the community. For the Armed Forces community, the Community Covenant encourages the integration of service life into civilian life and encourages members of the Armed Forces community to support their local area.

Tim Houghton, Community First’s Chief Executive, said: “We’re delighted to reaffirm our commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant in Havant. Serving and retired Armed Forces personnel play an active role in many local community organisations, serving as trustees, volunteering at events and helping to repair and refurbish community buildings. The Covenant is an important statement of mutual respect and support and reflects the importance and value felt by community organisations working in partnership with Armed Forces personnel.”

Above: Musical entertainment following the resigning.

Over page: Janet Duggan helping a group at a Coffee and Cash session.

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As austerity brings further cuts to organisations’ income there is an increasing demand for information on how to identify different sources of funding. Having successfully run similar Coffee and Cash sessions in other areas, Community First’s Development team held its first Coffee and Cash session for voluntary and community groups across Havant Borough.

The sessions are designed to offer advice on finding suitable funding sources, and Gary Davis, Community Development Officer, was there to help representatives from more than 20 groups across the area who came along seeking help.

Janet Duggan, Volunteer Service Manager, was also on hand and spoke to groups about finding volunteers and how they could use its dedicated volunteering website www.volunteerwessex.org.

A wide range of leaflets was available detailing examples of grant making trusts, advice on forming a charity or social enterprise and volunteering opportunities. Groups were greeted with a warm welcome, and coffee and cake!

A diverse range of groups attended, including the Emsworth in Bloom community project, a number of young people’s groups, faith groups, and others providing important support to the local communities across Havant.

Rachael Bridger, Administrator for Centre Development, representing Emsworth Community Association, emailed after the event to say, “I found the sessions informative and the information sheets very useful.”

Community First has other drop-in events planned in Hayling Island, Emsworth and Clanfield.

For more information, contact gary.davis@cfheh.org.uk.