VAL Annual Review 2022 / 2023

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire: Annual Review 2022 /2023

Contents

Introduction by Linda Jones..

Reflections: 33 Years at VAL

Kevan Liles looks back at 33 years of VAL and charts its history against key moments in UK and International events.

VAL Vision, Mission, Values and EDI

VALUES Service

Sector Support

Future Focus

Meet the Funder Events and Training

Crisis Cafe

VAL Awards

Volunteering

Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) Project

GREAT Project

YES Project

VAL Spaces

Summary Financials

Future Plans (for 2023-24)

Staff List and Thanks

It has been a momentous year for everyone at VAL. As you will see from this Review, we have achieved a great deal across all of our services. We are very proud of it.

The start of the year saw us moving out of pandemic mode. Whilst hybrid working has become part of the new working practices for many of our staff, and those with whom we work, the focus has remained on delivering the best quality services to our users, groups and communities.

We are very disappointed that the European and Lottery funding for our BBO employment projects (GREAT, YES and WiLL) ended in March, after 6 years. As this review clearly demonstrates, they continued to deliver throughout the year and made a difference to the lives of many families and young people across Leicester and Leicestershire. We have been keen to ensure that their legacy is not lost.

We have helped support 868 voluntary and community groups across Leicestershire during the year. Our thanks to Leicestershire County Council and Leicestershire Health and Social Care for their continuing support.

We were delighted to be able to reinstate the VAL Awards 2022. What a fabulous evening we had and what inspirational people! We are so fortunate to have such a vibrant voluntary and community sector across the City and County. It is so important to recognise and celebrate their amazing work.

The Board of Trustees and I are proud that VAL’s work and achievements were also recognised. Kevan Liles, our Chief Executive, was honoured by the award of an MBE in recognition of 33 years dedicated service to VAL and the Voluntary Sector. He was then invited to attend the funeral of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster

Abbey. VAL was also awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Platinum Award for our work during the pandemic, specially achieved through the nomination of a volunteer.

Another key change this year is the refurbishment of the ground floor of our City centre office. This provides more quality offices for letting, whilst enabling us to continue to provide excellent meeting rooms available for hire.

Whilst, we say ‘goodbye’ to our BBO projects, our VALUES service for adults with learning difficulties continues to expand, offering excellent support to enable people to be as independent as possible.

We have also welcomed back Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire. We were delighted to successfully tender for the new Healthwatch contract. Based at the VAL office, the service began on 1st April 2023

It is bitter sweet as we have had to say ‘farewell’ to the staff in the BBO projects. The loss of this funding has meant the restructuring of VAL from 1st June 2023 so this also includes the loss of other staff and Aaron Keen and Vandna Gohil from our Executive Management Team. It is sad that we have had to lose such immense talent and skills. We want to thank them all for their hard and committed work for VAL. They will be greatly missed by the VAL family.

2023 brings new challenges, not least the retirement in October of Kevan Liles after 33 years. He will be a very hard act to follow but the Board has begun the task of seeking someone to lead us in the future. Change is inevitable and we grasp it with excitement. Our grateful thanks to Kevan for his amazing leadership and commitment to VAL and the sector - he will be missed and we wish him a well-deserved retirement!

VAL could not achieve so much without the partnership, funding and work of so many other organisations across Leicestershire and Leicester: public, business and voluntary sector.

Our grateful thanks to you all.

Linda Jones Chair of Trustees

‘I want to thank the staff for everything they have achieved over the last year.’

LINDA JONES, CHAIR

Reflections: 33 Years At VAL

database and over 1000 people seek volunteering opportunities via VAL every year.

The huge advantage of operating in the local voluntary sector is that we have fewer impediments to action, can move through the gaps and cracks of society, and are grounded in people’s actual experience of life. We operate almost entirely in the colour grey, on the edge where things are rarely clear-cut. We can appear chaotic, but in reality we are agile, adept in a highly regulated sector. Trust in charities remains higher than in most other parts of society – a reflection of the value the public thinks that charities can bring and have brought in particular throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over my 30 year career the numbers of voluntary groups serving the local public have increased by up to 2/3rds as local and national government have seen the benefit of outsourcing to reach those in need. In addition the funding available has increased from public sources and from the creation of the National Lottery.

I have had the pleasure of a 3rd career in the Third Sector for over thirty years. It never occurred to me that I would spend the longest and most rewarding professional career in my working life in the voluntary sector. So, as I approach the end of my career at VAL I have been asked to reflect on my time as the leader of VAL.

Passion

I came to VAL in 1990 having worked for the Tenants Association on the St Matthew’s estate. I wanted to continue this community based work on a bigger stage to influence and support communities across the whole of the City.

I have absolutely loved working in the voluntary sector, working

directly with and for people in need who demonstrate their vast ability to innovate and challenge those in power. So many people were selflessly trying to improve the lot of their community and neighbours. This was immediately evident in the community response to the Covid pandemic as mutual aid groups mushroomed overnight and 100’s came forward to volunteer to support those in need. In order to make sustainable change these grassroots efforts need investment though in the last decade this has been decreasing as a result of Government responses to the global financial crisis and communities have been steadily starved of funding. This does not mean that community action is dead – far from it – people still seek to improve their communities and volunteer. VAL has over 3,500 local community groups on its

My passion alone is not enough to deliver a successful organisation over 30 years. For that VAL has had to consistently deliver quality services for our ‘customers’ and for our funders. In turn we had to make sure we could evidence our impact and describe the change we were delivering for individuals and communities. Being able to give real examples of what impact has been made is transformative. It enables you to tell stories with numbers/statistics as well as with real stories (these bring data alive). This is useful to motivate staff and teams, to publicise yourself generally, and to assure funders their investment has worked.

Patience

I frequently say to people that the one thing I have learnt is patience. As a local charity we are often at the mercy of changes in the political ‘tides’ and subject to a myriad of ‘new ways’ of doing things. There are always changes as the political landscape

shifts at a national and local level and new priorities/ plans come to pass. Our VALUES service has prospered with the shift to personal budgets in Learning Disabilities that opened a market for our previous grant funded volunteer project. Equally many local community groups have been squeezed by the ending of area based regeneration programmes.. What has remained stubbornly constant is people in need across Leicester and Leicestershire.

So by patience, I mean that at times it is better to stay calm, wait and be still … not jump in with a solution or a shift in approach … but draw a breath and see how the landscape settles. I have an open-door policy and often had staff and managers come to me with a frustrating problem they need to resolve – seeking my help – but all I have had to do was listen to them articulate the issue out loud. As they do this

33 YEARS: A TIMELINE

1990

Margaret Thatcher leaves office to be replaced by a new Prime Minister in John Major whilst Channel Tunnellers from UK and France meet in the first ‘land’ connection for 8000 yrs and VAL gets it’s first computer...

In September Kevan Liles joins VAL as Director from his role as Liaison Officer for St Matthews Tenants Association and had already attended his first national conference. VAL supports the establishment of Adhar (Asian Mental Health group) – supported by a social work student on placement at VAL and acts as a ‘clearing house’ for groups not registered as charities so they can receive money from the Central Telethon Trust

Operation Desert Storm starts the Gulf War, the unpopular ‘Poll Tax’ is replaced by Council Tax and The Shires shopping centre opens in Leicester.

1991

The planned separation of the Volunteer Bureau from VAL takes place setting up an independent organisation based on Granby Street. The Community Health Project also becomes an independent organisation – In 2 years the staff employed by VAL has reduced from 25 to 10.

1992

Leicester Polytechnic becomes De Montfort University, John Major remains Prime Minister with a reduced majority and the Government is forced to remove the Pound from the ERM on Black Wednesday.

VAL engaged with the City Challenge project – working with local community groups to access investment and create a family friendly development (that subsequently won national awards) and also launched CLASP - Carers of Leicestershire Action & Support Project – to provide support for local informal carers.

Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racist attack, toddler James Bulger is kidnapped and murdered. Queen Elizabeth ll visits Leicester to open Queens Building at De Montfort University.

they frequently reach their solution – I don’t have to say a word.

As the leader of VAL I have had to deal with a variety of challenges that have engulfed the sector, some highly negative and others challenges of opportunity. In my early days we benefitted from the Inner Area Programme – a programme of regenerative investment that steadily became more economic and less community, focussed.

Then came City Challenge that needed a community campaign to prevent over development – the lessons learned were put to better use in the New Deal for Braunstone and most recently St Matthews Big Local. In my opinion there continues to be too little trust in the local knowledge and expertise built up over many years of working in the community – so still too much doing ‘to’ communities instead of doing ‘with’ communities.

1993

VAL moved from De Montfort Street to a new fully accessible office in the centre of the City (Market Centre) Kevan participates in the first Common Purpose cohort for Leicester and VAL gets involved in the Leicester Safer City partnership. For the first time VAL runs the Toys on the Table appeal – providing toys at Christmas for children in poverty.

1994

National Lottery launches in the UK, shops are allowed to trade on Sundays thanks to the Sunday Trading Act and Fred and Rosemary West charged with 12 murders of young women.

VAL helped local groups raise £1.5 million in new income. and its VAL payroll service delivers for 29 local groups. Leicester City Council develops ‘Grant Aid Contracts’

The largest purpose-built Hindu temple in UK, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir opens in London during the driest Summer on record. Mad Cow disease BSE, leaves 178 people dead and 4 million cattle slaughtered.

1995

Celebration of VAL’S 30th anniversary at an event held in De Montfort Hall. CLASP - Carers of Leicestershire Action & Support Project – becomes an independent organisation and now has seven paid staff. and VAL helps local groups access £1.1 million from the First distribution from the National Lottery Charities Board.

British Rail privatised and broken up into separate train operating companies, Charles and Diana divorce and the Dunblane massacre leaves 16 pupils and one teacher dead at a Scottish primary school

VAL hosts Leicester Centre for Integrated living to assist its start-up phase, is recognised as an Investor In People and our Charity Fair is opened by the lead Charity Commissioner.

1996 1997

Tony Blair wins national election with a Labour landslide – heralds’ greater community investment and the nation mourns as Princess Diana is killed in a car crash.

VAL sets up its first ever website, appoints a BME group development officer and is funded to support VCS engagement in joint planning (Health and Social Care) City Unitary Status sees VAL’s two separate main funders became one and we had to avoid our funding being halved.

1998 Leicester unveils Sporting Heroes statue and the Good Friday Agreement is signed with an aim to bring peace to Northern Ireland.

VAL plays key role in development of a Vision for Leicester and is involved regionally with the East Midlands Voluntary Sector Forum.

Macpherson Report into Stephen Lawrence Murder brands Metropolitan Police ‘institutionally racist’ and Presenter Jill Dando shot dead on her doorstep –the crime still remains unsolved.

1999

VAL invited to deliver a new independent Parent Partnership Service for the City Council and is awarded Lottery funding for new small groups resource centre. VAL plays key role on board of Leicestershire Health Action Zone.

Reflections: 33 Years At VAL

From these initiatives (and the current UK Shared Prosperity Fund) the best outcomes for the local voluntary sector have come from collaborative approaches. VAL met with the nascent Bede Island Community Association every week for a year as City Challenge took shape and we published a community action plan that influenced the outcome of the whole programme.

Property

Over the years, VAL has moved several times – based initially at 32 De Montfort Street for many years, we relocated to Market Place in 1993 the site is now Green Dragon Square!.

The purchase of our building, 9 Newarke St, came in September 1999 - this was a hugely significant moment. For the VAL Board it was a leap of faith

as they committed all of our reserves and took out a commercial mortgage –whilst only having a £350,000 Lottery grant for refurbishing a building that required a nearly £2 million investment. We had to buy off the commercial market as at the time the City Council were not interested in discussing the sale of any of their properties to VAL.

To complete the refurbishment we entered into an ‘open book’ arrangement with our contractors that meant they would leave the site if we stopped paying the regular invoices. I managed to raise £1.5 million over 18 months to keep the contractors on site and mostly finish the building which we moved into in March 2001.

From the outset I was clear that the building had to be able to pay its way so it was designed to maximise income and minimise ongoing costs – it had

to be financially sustainable. This did put me into conflict internally and externally as people wanted a ‘charity rate’ for rents or room bookings – my response was that as we couldn’t get a ‘charity rate’ mortgage we couldn’t offer discounts. We had to hold our nerve on this one and be unpopular in some quarters.

Owning

an

asset is transformative for an organisation – it changes the way you think, plan and act as well as opening up new possibilities. The easy part is raising the capital to get/ refurbish the asset – the much harder part is keeping a building going. At VAL we have done this through recognising we are competing in a largely commercial market, having high service standards, and offering flexible terms to tenants that mean we retain control of our asset. This decision to seek to own an asset has created

a resource for VAL and the local voluntary sector, and others are trying to establish community owned assets in Leicester – good examples are B Inspired and Saffron Resource Centre. In the county VAL has also helped set up community managed

assets – not least through community libraries.

Purchasing and refurbishing 9 Newarke St, and making sure it was financially sustainable, has had a big impact on VAL. The organisation has a £2 million asset and a means to raise unrestricted income from office rental and meeting room hire. In financial terms it is my single biggest achievement of my career at VAL.

People

I have had the absolute privilege of working with a fabulous ‘revolving cast’ of staff and volunteers at VAL over 30 years. At VAL, I have insisted on a system of Great Hellos and Great Goodbyes –making sure newcomers are integrated well and quickly so they are able to deliver to their best ability. During inductions with new staff I would explain that VAL is a charity – but not for them! We always expected hard work and high standards but another of my little mantras was ‘create a club that people want to join’ and it is one of my proudest achievements that we get new starters telling us that they have always wanted to come and work at VAL.

2000

The Freedom of Information Act is passed, the Millennium Bug (Y2K) doesn’t bug anyone, and Big Brother launches on Channel 4

VAL purchases 9 Newarke Street – an ex-knitwear factory – using all our financial reserves and taking on a commercial mortgage. At this point we had £355,000 available to refurbish the 26,000 sq ft building. VAL organises a VCS marquee for both the Leicester Caribbean Carnival and the Belgrave Mela and supports the setting up of New Deal Braunstone – channelling nearly £50 million into the local community over 10 years – local VCS anchor B-Inspired set up.

9/11 attack on World Trade Centre sees a rise in islamophobia. The Eden project opens in Cornwall, Leicester Tigers win European Rugby Champions Cup and a General Election sees Labour’s Tony Blair remain as prime minister.

2001

£1.1 million in funding is raised to refurbish VAL new building at 9 Newarke Street –work starts on site. Using an ‘open-book’ process to allow pauses if fundraising does not keep up with costs. Volunteer Centre remerges with VAL – from April – creates a staff team of 25 people and VAL becomes lead and accountable body for Leicester Community Network that was established as part of the Local Strategic Partnership. We also become the distribution body for the local Community Chest.

2002

Queen Elizabeth ll celebrates her Golden Jubilee, Leicester Tigers win European Rugby Champions Cup and LCFC’s new King Power Stadium opens

We open our new building, Leicester Active Community Centre, at 9 Newarke Street in April and starts the AMITY Project – befriending Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Kevan Liles attends the opening of the National Space Centre in the presence of HM Queen

Labour lose control of the City Council in the local election – replaced by a Liberal Democrat and Conservative administration. Iraq is invaded and England wins the Rugby World Cup

2003

VAL begins to lead the Leicester Community Network and the distribution of £ 0.5 million Community Chest funds to local groups and supports the creation of a new Community Foundation for Leicestershire. The Home Office launch the national Changeup programme that is designed to develop and deliver best practice in supporting local voluntary groups. In 2006 this was taken forward by a new non-departmental Government Body – Capacity Builders.

2004

LCB Depot opens in Leicester and Leicester South MP Jim Marshall dies – replaced in a by–election by Liberal Democrat Parmjit Singh Gill

VAL with 5 other local voluntary groups support a successful judicial review against proposed funding cuts for local services. (including a proposed cut to Volunteer Centre funding) whilst recruiting and placing more than 2000 volunteers in the year and supporting 19 community representatives on the Leicester Partnership.

52 killed and 700 injured in the London 7/7 Bombings. General election won by Labour – Tony Blair remains prime minister.

2005

VAL 40th Birthday celebrated with a Gala Dinner and Awards at the Walkers Stadium – Ken from the Samaritans was recognised as Volunteer of the Year for 40 yrs service. Secured finance from Futurebuilders to complete refurbishment of 9 Newarke Street and discussions start with the City Council on a Compact for Leicester.

2006

Jack Dorsey sends first tweet as Twitter is launched. Nintendo releases the Wii gaming console

VAL oragnises a Highfields ‘patch walk’ bringing together 70 key stakeholders to look at improving the area. Secured funding from the Children’s Workforce Development Council to improve training in local VCS groups and achieved Volunteer Centre Accreditation (by Volunteering England).

Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister replacing Tony Blair, the new Wembley Stadium is completed and the electric Tesla first appears at car shows.

2007

Our ACE project (active citizenship for young people) works with 1600 young people across the City, a Planning for Real exercise on the St Matthews Estate to engage the local community in improvement plans ir organised and a VCS economic development network is launched. Held a Youth Volunteering conference at Leicester Tigers.

2008

Global Financial Crash impacts UK – Royal Bank of Scotland, Bradford and Bingley and Northern Rock taken into public control. Leicester Curve Theatre and Leicester Highcross Centre open and Barack Obama is elected US President.

VAL attracts a consortium development grant from Capacity Builders to lead a local consortium of VCS support organisations. Ran the Vinvolved project – supporting volunteering for young people and successfully secured a £1.24 million Grassroots Grants programme, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland for grant distribution to small local groups.

Phoenix Square arts centre opens, Swine Flu (H1N1/09 virus) hits and Britain withdraws from Iraq after 6 years. Meanwhile, Michael Jackson dies in strange circumstances

2009

VAL begins delivery of the countywide contract to support local voluntary groups and volunteering across Leicestershire and provides 1050 volunteers in July to support the Special Olympics Great Britain National Games – they are instantly recognisable around the City in their bright orange Tee Shirts. The VALUES scheme (supporting people with a Learning Disability) starts to support people through their personal budgets with fulfilling activities.

2010

National election with conservatives as largest party entering a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats – Prime Minister David Cameron. Large scale funding cuts announced and austerity begins.

Big Society ‘conversations’ held across the City and County while VAL supports over 1,200 local groups. Launched a VCS Assembly of local groups – addressed by Nick Hurd MP (Minister for Civil Society).

Arab spring – revolutions and protest in a number of countries including start of Syrian War, Prince William marries Kate Middleton and the Leveson Inquiry into press intrusion is announced. Peter Soulsby is first elected Mayor of Leicester.

2011

Parent Partnership scheme supports 243 parents of children with SEN. VAL builds relationships with the new City Mayor and new City Council political systems whilst over 10,000 people enquire about volunteering.

2012

Richard lll discovered under Greyfriars Car Park, the 2012 Olympics provide a boost to the profile of volunteering and 14 year old Malala Yousafzai is shot by the Taliban.

Kevan Liles represents VAL at a luncheon with HM Queen Elizabeth in St Martins House on the first stop of her national tour marking her Diamond Jubilee.

Same sex marriage is legalised in the UK, inspirational leader Nelson Mandela dies and the Bedroom Tax is introduced.

2013

VAL wins the competitive tenders to establish and run the new HealthWatch schemes for Leicestershire and Leicester - we were also invited to set up a HealthWatch for Rutland and run it for the first year. We helped local groups to raise more than £6 million in new income and held the first Future Focus conference for the VCS.

2014

Support for UKIP surges in local and European elections, Scotland Votes to Remain Part of the United Kingdom and Russia Annexes Crimea and Threatens the Rest of Ukraine.

HealthWatch Rutland moved to an independent local control in a managed process. VAL reluctantly agreed to the novation of the HealthWatch Leicester contract to a new independent committee – we did not believe it was in the best interests of Leicester people or patients. Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) established – VAL secures key role. All of VALUES income now through personal budgets. Supported the establishment of community led Libraries across Leicestershire

City Council demolishes New Walk centre – filmed from VAL roof by remote control by VAL IT team. David Cameron remains Prime Minister having promised an ‘in/out’ referendum on EU membership. 400 die in sinking of migrant ship off Libya

2015

Richard lll reinterred at Leicester Cathedral – VAL organised a large team of volunteers to support people queuing to view Richard lll in repose in the Cathedral over 3 days prior to the reinternment. VAL 50th Birthday celebrated at College Court during our Future Focus conference. Rugby World Cup matches take place in Leicester and VAL provides volunteers to support the stadium staff for matches and to run the official Fan Zone on Victoria Park. Organised the Local Offer Live event – to showcase help and support in the City for parents and children. Supported the set up of St Matthews Big Local. (awarded £1 million over 10 years). Held a Youth Volunteering conference at Leicester Tigers

2016

Britain votes to leave the European Union – big impact on potential community investment. David Cameron resigns as prime minister and is replaced by Theresa May. Leicester City win Premier League. Donald Trump elected US President.

VAL successful in two bids for Building Better Opportunities one supporting under 25’s and the other supporting people in Families. This is our first European Funding and it is match funded by the National Lottery. The projects aim to reach people furthest from the labour market and support them into jobs, education/training or job search. Managed Active Communities grant from Sport England - £35,000 distributed this year with £75,000 for next year. Healthwatch Leicestershire engaged with over 3000 local people at over 200 events.

71 people die in the Grenfell Tower fire, General Election sees Conservatives losing majority but remaining in Government –Theresa May remains as Prime Minister.

2017

Over 600 local groups received VAL’s direct support in the year. Our family support team assisted over 2,500 parents, carers and young people – mostly with additional needs. Twelve VALUES clients had an action-packed holiday in the Lake District with the Calvert Trust – for most it was their first time away from home.

Once in VAL we have tried to support individual development whether it be supporting volunteers to develop confidence and move into paid work (sometimes with VAL), or internal advancement opportunities. Amongst our current staff team one third have had at least one promotion within VAL – not bad for a small local charity.

Over the years I have had to say goodbye to some incredible people. At times this has been through painful redundancy programmes as we have had to reorganise as funding changed. These were always difficult processes as in a small organisation there is no hiding place – you personally know everyone. What I found is that there are three types of news good news, bad news and no news –by far the worst is no news.

Therefore I wanted to be as open and honest with people as soon as I could so those potentially affected could get on and plan their future lives outside of VAL. For many I hope their experience at VAL was positive and acted as a spring board for bigger and better things. To try and cement that I made sure we said goodbye to departing staff well and publicly – both for them and to demonstrate to remaining staff that we cared for people. Throughout the people I have met working in the local voluntary sector have been multi-talented incredibly committed and hard working – they would be an asset to any organisation in any sector. I am immensely proud about the pool of talented people VAL has unleashed onto the wider world of work across Leicester, Leicestershire, the East Midlands region and further afield!

PASS THE BATON

I am proud to leave VAL in a better place than I found it, though without a decade of austerity from National Government I am sure we could have done more. I could not have achieved what I have without some amazing support from colleagues too numerous to name.

When I arrived at VAL I was determined to elevate everyone’s opinion of the local voluntary sector and the powerful impact of volunteering. I have pursued high and visible standards, where possible by investing in specialists (e.g. Communications, Finance, Research and HR) and unashamedly pushed the benefits of the local voluntary sector to all.

At the end of October I intend to follow my own advice and not try and complete everything, handover to my successor to what has to be one of most rewarding roles in the voluntary sector.

I have had a front row seat in witnessing amazing community passion, selfless volunteering and incredible innovation. As a result over 30 years I have never had a ‘same’ day at work and frequently go home astounded and inspired afresh.

Kevan Liles MBE

The unlawful treatment of the ‘Windrush Generation’ by UK Government is uncovered, #MeToo Movement Goes Global.

Val produces a comprehensive Economic Impact of VAL report and celebrated the 20th birthday of our VALUES service. Our employment projects (GREAT and YES) engage 560 participants. Contract for delivery of Healthwatch Leicestershire lost to a Staffordshire based CIC.

2018 2019

Multiple votes on Theresa May’s Brexit Withdrawal agreement are rejected by Parliament resulting in her resignation and Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister only for wthdrawal agreement to not pass Parliament. Snap general election held – resulting in Conservative ‘landslide’ margin of 80 seats.

The first VAL Awards are held to recognise excellence in local voluntary and volunteer activity. SENDIASS (previously Parent Partnership Scheme) contract lost – leaving VAL after 22 years of delivery. Set up the Sandwich Station to give VALUES clients work experience. Became a delivery partner for the WiLL project – helping people from rural areas into work.

2020

EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act passes. Covid 19 pandemic comes to the UK and Leicester is locked down longest. The death of George Floyd sparks Black Lives Matter campaigns worldwide.

Keir Starmer replaces Jeremy Corbyn as leader of Labour party.

VAL a key part in the local response to the Covid 19 pandemic – we moved our operations to online only in 48 hrs with the first national lockdown. We recruited 1500 volunteers to support local communities and were able to support local groups in their own responses. VAL moves out of its floor in 9 Newarke St to allow Shaw Trust to occupy for a new service for ex-offenders. VAL engaged with the Local Resilience Forum alongside key statutory sector partners to support the community through the Covid Pandemic.

Joe Biden becomes US President amidst chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Britain formally withdraws from the EU and a mass Covid 19 vaccination programme begins.

2021

Following the previous year’s effort VAL again recruited 1500 new volunteers to support the vaccination programme – over 12,000 4 hr shifts were completed. City Council removes VAL funding to support local VCS groups and volunteering citing lack of resources and the need to ‘refresh’ the delivery.

2022

Boris Johnson resigns as prime minister and the Conservative Party elect Liz Truss as Leader. Liz Truss lasts 47 days as Prime Minister including a catastrophic Budget that creates chaos in the UK economy. Rishsi Sunak elected as Leader of the Conservative Party and becomes Prime Minister.

VAL given a Platinum Jubilee award by the Lord Lieutenant in recognition of our work through the Covid pandemic (we were nominated by one of our vaccination volunteers) Kevan Liles (VAL CEO) recognised in the final Queen’s Birthday Honours list and awarded an MBE for services to the community. Kevan honoured to be invited to the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II as a representative of recent honours recipients. Ground floor of VAL building refurbished to improve reception and increase lettable office space.

2023 Coronation of King Charles lll

Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire returns to be managed by VAL after we secured the contract in a competitive tender. End of the Building Better Opportunities projects managed and delivered by VAL – sadly replacement funding from UK shared prosperity fund does not arrive rapidly enough or in sufficient quantity.

33 YEARS = 396 Months 1716 Weeks 12,012 Days 288,288 Hours

17,297,280 Minutes

VAL Vision, Mission, Values And EDI

VAL VISION STATEMENT

VAL’s vision is to help people in Leicester & Leicestershire change their lives for the better

VAL MISSION STATEMENT

To support, strengthen and provide services for people and communities to achieve social change

VAL is privileged to be operating in Leicester which holds the title of one of the first “superdiverse” cities in the UK. This has enabled us to work closely with existing and new communities to help improve and grow our services. We accept that there is still more to be done. Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work is informed and guided by a Staff led Diversity & Inclusion Group, chaired by our Chief Executive.

The internal EDI group have implemented training across the whole organisation. The staff led group hold regular conversations and take actions aimed at advancing equality, diversity and inclusion.

VAL Trustee Board have also undergone EDI training and have committed to The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Principle of the Charity Governance Code. They regularly monitor our profile, performance and progress on EDI.

REVIEW OF PLANS FROM 2022-23

Plans set out

Examine how we consciously and unconsciously act as an organisation.

Measure our progress and the impact of our work with Black communities to ensure we are making an active and positive difference.

Give voice to and celebrate the contribution of Black individuals and organisations.(for example by active engagement in Black History Month)

Call out discrimination and racism and stand in solidarity with our Black communities

VAL VALUES

The core values for VAL describe how we plan to achieve our mission. These guiding principles dictate our behaviour and help to determine if we are on the right path and fulfilling our goals.

VAL’s values are:

1. Passionate We use our drive and commitment to energise, engage and inspire others

2. Inclusive We create a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.

3. Transformational We strive to deliver our very best with a ‘can do’ approach with innovation and continuous improvement.

4. Integrity We uphold the highest standards of integrity, honesty and independence in our actions, and are accountable to our stakeholders.

Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)

We are committed to driving down our energy and carbon impact and have Action Plans in place, working towards making the VAL Building Net Zero in line with the Government’s aim of net zero carbon society by 2050

Progress

We had all staff and Trustees put through external training on unconscious bias and discrimination awareness – to be repeated every 3 years.

We standardised all of our data collection on equalities and ensured regular management and at least annual overview by Trustees.

We engaged with and publicised a wide range of events to celebrate and remember significant Black individuals and communities (e.g. Stephen Lawrence Day)

We are seeking to engage more actively with Black communities and stand up against discrimination.

VALUES Service

Our VALUES service supports adults with learning disabilities to be a part of their community through: finding employment, volunteering opportunities, training to help them travel independently and enabling people to take part in social and leisure activities. We support over 100 people each year in the city and the county.

Over the 2022-2023 financial year, VALUES delivered 21,108 hours of support to our clients, this averages at 1759 hours per month. VALUES supported over 120 clients providing a variety of sessions ranging from arts and crafts, sports, drama, IT, gardening, volunteering, cooking, life skills and community support.

21,108

hours of support in total given to VALUES clients

Case Study-MM

1759

hours of support given to our clients a month

MM is a current client at VALUES who joined us through our VALUES Youth Sports Project. Initially, due to MM’s Autism she does not like change and can present challenging behaviours. MM refused to participate in her sessions and would often sit out the room, on her own. MM attends the following sessions at VALUES:

Monday AM: Tea Dance & PM: Afternoon Tea

Friday AM: Baking & PM: Disco

Over time, VALUES management team and support staff built a positive rapport with MM by allowing her time and space to join the session, talking about topics of her interest and gradually introducing her to other clients to create new friendships. This approach worked well as MM made new friends as well as a relationship with a client that management and staff supported her with to lead safely. The positive encouragement made MM feel comfortable and hence now she has settled in well and actively participates in all her sessions.

After attending the Afternoon Tea session on Mondays, MM felt the session was not suited for her as she felt tired going out in the community in the afternoon. After speaking to MM and her next of kin, we found she was interested in hair and beauty. From this, we learned that there would be many clients who also share the same interests, hence, a wellness session was created from March 2023 that runs on

120

clients supported on our VALUES project

Monday mornings and afternoons. MM enjoys participating in the afternoon session and particularly loves to have spa and nail treatments. The wellness session has become one of our popular sessions at VALUES!

Case Study: KK

KK recently left college and joined VALUES from the beginning of April 2023. During his initial assessment, KK’s parents were concerned with how KK would interact within a group due to his ADHD which can cause challenging behaviours. KK’s parents were apprehensive of him joining VALUES, as a day service was a new setting for him and they believed he would require a 1:1 staff member with him at all times. KK was interested in joining the Thursday Out and About session 2pm-4pm. KK was offered a few free trial sessions and a VALUES manager joined to observe how KK engaged within the group as his parents were concerned regarding what level of support he would require. KK interacted very well with the staff member and clients, and he has also made friends within the group.

Staff gave simple instructions for KK to follow and he comprehended and appreciated that all clients take turns each week to choose a place of their choice to visit, this consistency has enabled KK to remain calm and enjoy the session. VALUES have received positive feedback from KK’s parents to say that he really enjoys the session and were grateful for the free trial sessions to ensure KK was completely settled in order to permanently join the group.

MM relaxing and waiting for her face mask to dry!

KK having a break at Costa Coffee after winning at Tree Top Golf!

Sector Support

VAL enables the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in Leicester and Leicestershire to develop and grow, providing you with the skills and knowledge you need to manage your charity, social enterprise or community group. We offer the tools, advice and support you need for running your organisation, developing your staff, or finding new avenues of funding. VAL provides support for local voluntary and community groups so that they can operate effectively. The greatest areas of need are fundraising, volunteering, governance and legal issues. 60% of groups we support are small community organisations.

Over this last year, we have explored some of the key issues affecting our local communities and the impact these have had on VCSE (Voluntary Community Social Enterprise) groups, in particular concerns around the cost of living crisis, the ongoing effects of the pandemic on service provision, changes to public sector funding, and, most importantly, the mistrust between the public and the UK government.

VCSE organisations are troubled by what this means for the future and the longstanding pressures they continue to face, yet despite this the sector continues to be proactive and remain passionate about helping to address problems affecting our communities.

We have engaged with local community groups and individuals in their local communities to better understand key issues building on their strengths and increase capacity. We also continued to build relationships with key stakeholders and strategic partners to collectively support the needs of the VCSE sector.

£351,399

868

Groups supported in Leicestershire

60%

of these are small community organisations

Future Focus: Building Healthier Communities

We hosted the 10th Future Focus Conference for the sector with 85 delegates on the theme of ‘Building Healthier Communities.’ The focus of the workshops was on collaboration, between health and the VCSE and how the sector can continue to remain ‘healthy’ whether that’s exploring volunteer led options, delivering services differently, meeting needs as a consortia, diversifying income, responding to needs or being proactive. The day offered 8 workshops:

• Healthier Collaboration, Open University

• Exploring The Health of The Sector, NAVCA

• Introduction to the VCS Alliance, Integrated Care Board

• Bringing Business, Social Enterprise and Charities Together, EmbarkCSR

• Working in Partnership with Local Authorities, District Councils

• Food Poverty, Reaching People

• Better Mental Health for All, Leicestershire Partnership Trust

• Healthy Workplaces and Volunteering, Public Health

Meet the Funder Events

We held two ‘Meet the Funder’ events to give local VCSE organisations the opportunity to chat to representatives from different funders to talk through ideas for funding bids and the processes involved.

• Tuesday 5 July 2022 at Lutterworth Town Hall, attended by 94 representatives from 70 VCSE organisations.

• Wednesday 9 November 2022 at the Arc Community Hub in Loughborough, attended by 104 representatives from 75 VCSE organisations

VAL’s Sector Support Team in addition to being available to discuss anything related to training, group development and volunteer recruitment at both events, engaged with VCSE organisations attending to discuss ideas and prepare ahead of the event.

“Thank you for inviting me. I had a really good day, it was great to meet people both from VAL and the sector – I got loads out of that, and the other sessions.”

Maddy Desforges CEO NAVCA

Event attendee.

“We really enjoyed the event yesterday. The little talk at the beginning was useful, helping me to decide which tables to approach, thus saving time. We received positive advice, help and support from several funders.”

Sector Support Cont’d.

Events and Training

As we have moved into the ‘new normal’ and pandemic restrictions have been eased, the Sector Support Team have been busy getting out and about across Leicestershire to facilitate training sessions and networking events.

We have introduced our #AskVAL sessions to incorporate our range of service offers, support VCSE organisations and to meet local community needs based on grassroots intelligence – in total we held twelve events across the City and County this year.

VAL continues to run training sessions across a variety of subjects, including volunteer management, funding applications, roles of trustees, organisational planning and governance.

This year we have also worked with various partner organisations to extend our offer, such as the Open University, NAVCA, Community Accounting Plus, Royal Literacy Fund, Natural England, Charnwood Forest Geopark and the Ethical Property Foundation.

‘Good helpful course, pitched at the right level. Tutor had good knowledge of the material, but wasn’t afraid to say she didn’t know once or twice to answer a question, very refreshing’

Crisis Café Grant Scheme

VAL supported colleagues in Health to award Crisis Café grants for 11 new crisis cafés across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The new cafés have now started to launch, beginning with the Coalville Crisis Café run by MRC Community Action on 6 June . Following the success of the first round in 2022, VAL has been working with Health colleagues to support a grant scheme for a further 10 crisis cafés in 2023.

Event attendee.

VAL Awards

We returned this year with our second VAL Awards making the decision to deliver this as a face to face event to celebrate the fantastic contribution volunteers and the Voluntary Community Social Enterprise Sector makes in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. We wanted to take the time to celebrate the inspirational leaders, unsung heroes that went above and beyond during Covid-19 and since, taking our time to return back with an event that truly showcased the achievements and the real difference the VCSE sector makes to local communities and society. Our own Head of Operations and Services Kevin Allen-Khimani hosted the event with Rupal Rajani from BBC Radio Leicester. Sponsored once again by Morningside Pharmaceuticals, the event attracted over 220 guests and took place on 16 September at The Mercure Leicester Grand Hotel.

The awards were made possible by the generous support of local businesses. Sponsors included Morningside Pharmaceuticals alongside BHIB, Hastings Direct, East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage Advice Bureau, Everything Global, Paragon Sales Solutions and Fraser Urquhart Media. Money raised allowed the event to run without charge to finalists and their guests.

A posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award was made to Kathryn Burgess - CALS Community Advice and Law Service.

There were 10 award categories:

Volunteering

VAL is

the Volunteer

Centre for Leicester and Leicestershire so more people are able to be active in their communities through volunteering and hold the following quality standards: „ National Association of Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) Quality Mark „ National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) „ accredited Volunteer Centre for Leicestershire- recognised as an Investor in Volunteering.

The Volunteering landscape across Leicester and Leicestershire has seen a shift to be more inclusive and diverse with fewer people enquiring about volunteering post pandemic. This year we have observed that there is a move away from volunteering in the public sector and a move back towards individuals volunteering on projects and for causes that matters to them.

We have worked with the VCSE sector on challenges they face, the opportunities they can create and importantly positive engagement to encourage volunteering. We successfully renewed our Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation, focusing on what makes a better volunteer experience and the continued drive to make a positive impact and change.

This year we introduced FestiVAL a month of celebrations for both volunteers and Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIO’s) tying in with the national June Volunteers Week. We have adapted our Volunteer Network and Learn events to include a wider remit including longer networking sessions, one to one support for VIO’s and volunteer recruitment opportunities under one event.

“Volunteering gave me happiness. In addition, it has opened numerous doors for me and has allowed me to see the best in others as well as working with some amazing companies and collaborating with likeminded individuals.”

419

1177 Volunteering opportunities available

55%

conversion rate of people volunteering

Ayesha, Youth Volunteering Panel

Case Study

Volunteers’ Week to FestiVAL.

During FestiVAL, we were able to do more with our local communities and this included:-

• Wednesday 1 to Sunday 5 June 2022 – Social Media Campaign to promote Volunteer’s Week and the start of FestiVAL

• Monday 6 June – Youth Volunteering Celebration Meeting

• Wednesday 8 June – Oadby & Wigston Community Roadshow

• Thursday 9 June – Community Spirit of Volunteering Celebration

• Tuesday 14 June – Volunteering Network and Learn Event in Blaby

• Tuesday 21 June – Volunteering and the Law Training Session

VAL will continue to celebrate Volunteers’ Week as we always have done, but our experience from 2022, and expanded learning from the tremendous volunteer input during the COVID-19 pandemic, we continually celebrate and shout about the fantastic work of our local volunteers in Leicester and Leicestershire.

Volunteering has always been the lifeblood of the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, but the last few years have proven that volunteers are a crucial backbone of our whole society and we need to continually remind people of this. A week simply is not enough time to celebrate volunteering, but expanding this to a month will allow us to work with our diverse communities of place and of interest to explore more and more ways to recognise, reward and review the wider impact of people giving their time to support social action.

Support for Volunteer Involving Organisations

Over the last year, VAL has provided tailored support to 112 Volunteer Involving Organisations to help them develop and promote volunteering opportunities, adapt good practice around

working with volunteers and recruit, manage and retain volunteers for their crucial services supporting our local communities.

Case Study– Ayesha

Ayesha heard about youth volunteering through the VAL website, she wanted to do volunteering with likeminded young people and thought this was a good opportunity especially as there was limited opportunities for young people.

“I decided to start volunteering because I wanted a way to interact with others. I was personally going through a very a hard time with covid-19 and the sessions benefited me by helping me to interact and helped me to network. I also took a keen interest to volunteering as I wanted something to put alongside my CV as it looked relatively empty especially as I had limited work experience. I think companies should take a note out of VAL’s book as the way the staff have engaged with everyone has been phenomenal. It has given me the chance to start speaking up and sharing ideas rather than being complacent.”

Ayesha, Youth Volunteering Panel

Work Live Leicestershire (WiLL) Project

The WiLL project supported rural communities of Leicestershire to access employment support, helping individuals to overcome their barriers and enter into employment, education/ training and volunteering. As a delivery partner on the project VAL’s role focussed on the importance of volunteering not only for employment prospects but the impact this has on life chances and personal development.

During this final year we have found referrals to VAL included individuals affected by the cost of living crisis, living in food poverty, sofa surfing and a lack of support for their mental health.

We also found that participants were often first-time volunteers looking for their first step on the career ladder and those struggling to move away from benefits.

WiLL highlights include the

role volunteering played for participants accessing employability support in the County.

Some of these include:

• Formal Skills development;

• A catalyst for ambitions in education and career progression;

• Improvement in confidence and communication skills;

• Supporting local causes and engaging with the local community;

• Access to training;

• Feeling connected

• Socialisation

The WiLL Project Team

Case Study

Case Study- Caitlin

Here is Caitlin’s story of her journey into volunteering with help from our WiLL project, who helped her to build her confidence and improve her mental health.

Caitlin joined the WiLL project in September 2021, being in recovery form a mental illness she started to think about volunteering and maybe studying a course. She felt she needed some support in finding these volunteering opportunities and help with filling out employment applications.

She originally wanted to work in mental health services, but when we secured her a volunteering role with Healthwatch Leicestershire she realised she needed to take a different path but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.

We set her up on some WEA courses to improve her confidence, assertiveness and budgeting skills, which she really enjoyed. After completing these courses, we felt it was a good idea to explore her personal and professional development further by signing up to the Prince’s Trust Team Programme. Since then, we have been focusing on Caitlin’s long and short term career paths and to keep her mentally and physically healthy.

Caitlin is also volunteering at two separate places – Earl Shilton Community House,

where she started while on the Team Programme and The Little Theatre, sourced by VAL. She’s working with a PT and

has gained the skills needed to be able to apply for work and to live independently.

“Since doing the Prince’s Trust work experience and the volunteering opportunities, I feel that they have benefitted me in building my confidence and my employability skills. It has significantly improved my mental health, by helping me to get into a routine and building structure. Thank you for all of your help and support!”

Caitlin.

GREAT Project

Our Building Better Opportunities

projects are funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund to support people into employment from across Leicester and Leicestershire. The GREAT Project is designed to help members of families move towards employment or training. GREAT offers a holistic, person-centred service, which is tailored to each family’s unique needs. As a participant on the project, each person will have access to a range of sessions focused on helping them to achieve career goals. We have been proud to

176

PARTICIPANTS SUPPORTED

achieve its goal of supporting over 900 people towards employment and training. We also achieved our project targets of supporting people into job search and employment. This could not have been done without the hard work and dedication of the whole team.

This year the GREAT Project entered its final year of project delivery and was focused on providing as many opportunities to participants to build their skills and have access to employment to meet their personal goals.

148

PARTICIPANTS WERE DISADVANTAGED

56 SUPPORTED INTO EMPLOYMENT OR TRAINING

68%

SAW AN IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS

Employer Engagement

Through introducing new roles, such as the Business and Engagement Officer (BEDO), the GREAT project was able to engage with more employers to provide employment opportunities that work around families. The BEDO arranged talks with Leicestershire NHS Partnership Trust and B&M for participants to learn about the roles they have on offer and behind the scenes tours with Lidl. This provided participants the opportunity to find out what it is like to work at these organisation and ask questions.

We also held our first ever Job Fair for GREAT Project Participants in September 2022. 11 employers registered to hold stalls at the Job Fair and 50 participants attended on the day. All participants left with a renewed sense of

88% LEFT THE PROJECT WITH INCREASED CONFIDENCE

81%

LEFT WITH EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

hope and excitement about finding work. One participant attended a job interview the very next day and secured a permanent position.

“I found it extremely useful and inspiring actually. Getting a good understanding of the application requirements. I also met a very helpful lady at Leicester City Council. I feel reenergised and ready to be honest. Thank you for all your help too.” Participant.

Group Work

We reintroduced post pandemic Work Clubs and our Group Work offer. These sessions provided participants opportunities to make connections with others who are in similar situations to themselves, as well as dedicated time each week to focus on job searching. This allowed participants to feel less alone in their journey and increase their motivation to make positive changes in their life in a supported environment.

We delivered 14 different group work programmes, each tailored to meet participants’ needs in their journey and their current barriers. These sessions incorporated confidence building, employability skills and interview support to improve participants’ chances of securing employment.

“The project has helped me to learn so many employability skills by being supported in the Gujarati group. It was nice to be with other participant’s that also had similar barriers as myself and I did not feel isolated”

Participant.

Case Study- Rahwa

Rahwa began engaging in the GREAT Project in 2022 to improve her chances of finding employment and gain new skills. The main barriers for her was childcare, transport and lack of job searching skills.

She was offered childcare and transport support to attend activities and she felt comfortable enough to leave her daughter with Scalliwags (childcare provider) for short periods of time. The project allowed her to feel involved and not excluded from society. She was able to meet new people and build her confidence.

Rahwa completed the Employability and Finding Your

Voice Groups and applied for a volunteering role at VAL within the Sector Support team as a Database Support Worker. She really enjoys this and met new people and developed her skills which she can take into any job in the future.

Rahwa exited the GREAT Project into job search and is actively pursuing roles in administration and data.

Without

the GREAT Project

providing childcare she would not have been able to engage in any of the activities on offer. None of this would have been possible without the flexibility of the Project’s support, the range of activities on offer and that free onsite childcare was provided.

“Since, I started to be participant of this project I have built my confidence and I am always happy to come here. My baby is in a secure place and I have also started volunteering role at VAL. I have met different people all are happy to help and friendly.”

YES Project

Supporting young adults, aged 15-24, that are not in employment, education or training (NEET), our Building Better Opportunities projects are funded by the BIG Lottery and EU and are aimed at getting people from across Leicester and Leicestershire into employment. The YES Project is a partnership of local organisations includingBangladesh Youth & Cultural Shomiti, The Bridge, and Leicestershire Cares.

The YES Project implemented a refreshed delivery model following the pandemic to deliver its service. The impact of the pandemic was evident with many young people struggling with their mental health, this led to young people needing intensive support from the projects keyworkers to feel less isolated and engage in the activities that were on offer to support them along their labour market journey.

We offered innovative ways to engage with

young people offering a variety of sports play and leisure activities through the projects Say YES to activity menu including, Abseiling, Multi-Sports, Boxing, Chocolatiering, Cooking and much more. Alongside the offer of exciting activities that helped boost self-confidence, increased independence and improved social engagement amongst peers, the projects delivery partners continued to offer support around education/ training and employability outcomes for those closest to the labour market.

29 INTO EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The project also hit some key milestones, signing up its 800th participant in June 2022 and by March 2023 the project signed up 90% of its sign up target and managed to achieve;

1

APRIL - 31

75% PARTICIPANTS SUPPORTED 105 MARCH

DEVELOPED THEIR EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

63% Increased their knowledge on where to indentify information & support to address their problems

92%

Supported into education or training

92% of unemployed participants supported into employment

91%

Economically inactive supported into employment or job search

Case Study- Maisie

After studying at home to complete her GCSEs, Maisie wasn’t feeling ready to go to college. Her low attendance at school had left her feeling unprepared for the transition and she was feeling anxious about the workload.

Maisie started her YES journey with YES Creative; an informal space that encourages young people to develop their preferred creative skills with the help of industry support. Attending these sessions not only gave her the chance to expand her painting, sketching and digital art skills, but Maisie was also given the opportunity to showcase her work at an exhibition hosted by the partner delivering these sessions.

With YES’ support, Maisie has been able to develop both her confidence and creative skills, and she’s also had the time she wanted to work on herself too. Accepting a place at Leicester College to study BTEC Art and Design, Maisie is preparing for her next challenge… college.

When asked what she’d say to other young people considering joining the YES Project,

Case Study

“Honestly, it’s a really welcoming environment for young people that struggle socially and/or in school. I feel ready for college now which I wouldn’t have a couple of years ago. I’d really recommend it.”

VAL Spaces

A Place to Meet, Space to Work,

Space to Grow. VAL moved into our Newarke Street building which was a Victorian Knitwear Factory in 2001, since moving into our building we have over time been renovating it whilst respecting the history of the building, we have retained the original floor of the factory on our ground floor and 1st floor office. We are an Environmentally friendly building, having been awarded Leicester’s first Environment City Building Award, building with solar panels, rainwater harvesting and provide bike storage. We have recently moved to LED lighting with motion detecting throughout the building.

VAL Spaces is flexible and fully accessible conference and meeting rooms to hire, all finished to a high standard, with provision to

hold hybrid meetings. An excellent staff team support the smooth running of your event/ meeting.

All profits from bookings go towards supporting social good in the community into projects we have based at VAL, which include one of our biggest growing projects, VALUES helping people with learning disabilities in Leicester to be independent, recruiting volunteers, supporting VCS groups and organisations, and providing essential services in local communities.

In the last year we have held 118 Conferences/ Meetings in the building. We have a range of sizes of conference and meeting space available.

“We were really pleased with our VAL booking for our staff training days. The facilities were comfortable, convenient and well organised. We would definitely consider booking another event at VAL again and would highly recommend the service.”

Tatiana Kidder – The Spark Arts

VAL Office Rentals

VAL since COVID have renovated our ground floor to create additional office space to maximise our investment back into VAL which means we can continue to run services to benefit our local communities.

You would have great benefits from office rentals with VAL:

• Reception staffed to meet and greet your staff and visitors

• Preferable rates for local charities and voluntary groups

• Long term and short term tenancy agreements

• All utility bills included (heating, light and water)

• Access to communal kitchens with appliances

• Use of franking machine and photocopier service

• All building maintenance included in the rent

• Flexible rental agreements

• We can also offer broadband on a monthly charge,

• We rent out storage space

• As a tenant of VAL you would also be given discounts on booking conference/meeting rooms at VAL

“All of the staff at VAL are friendly, helpful and dedicated to making our tenancy as pleasant and problem-free as possible. They go out of their way to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment. “

Conrad McEwan – Arthritis Support Leicestershire

We have 20 tenants a mix of business and charities (sorted in alphabetical order):

Ark Assessment

Arona

Arthritis Support Leicestershire

Bonney Care Agency

Clean Energy Co Ltd

COSMO Education

Crystal Pure Water International

DAKO Construction

Dynamic Care Services

Fay Medical Limited

Harmless

Hope for Justice

House of Hope Enterprise

Ingeus

National Youth Agency

P3 Charity

REEDS Solicitors LLP

Shaw Trust/CFO Activity Hub

Trinity College London

United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA)

If you would like to book or come and see either our conference facility or office rentals e-mail: events@valonline.org.uk or call us on 0116 257 5038 or you can visit us online at: valonline.org.uk/meeting-and-conference or valonline.org.uk/rent-office-space

VAL Summary Finances

In another financially challenging year VAL started with a deficit budget of £100,000 and managed to close this gap through the year to make a small surplus at year end. This was achieved through a mixture of cost savings and attracting additional income during the year.

Income in 2022-23

Overall our income was up by 15% in the year with VALUES income growing by 13% as we attracted more clients, and we had increased income from employment projects. Our £3.2 million income for the year was distributed as shown in the pie chart to the right:

Expenditure 2022-23

This year we have had a particular focus on controlling expenditure given we started the year with a deficit budget. Our £3.2 million expenditure for the year was spent as shown in the pie chart to the left:

At the end of the financial year we have had to manage the close down of delivery of our projects that support people into employment and training (GREAT, YES and WiLL projects). We had hoped that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund would provide a means to extend these highly successful projects – but the decision timelines have proved to be too slow. As a result we will lose a significant proportion of our income next year.

We were successful, however, in winning the tender for delivery of Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire from 1st April 2023. We have plans in place to manage this transition that include a reduction in senior management and central costs and remain confident in the robustness of VAL’s financial future.

Future Plans (for 2023-24)

This is a year of huge transition for VAL with these big impacts:

• Chief Executive Kevan Liles – retires in October after 33 years at VAL – a replacement will be recruited over the summer 2023.

• Our European funded unemployment projects (since 2016) come to an end – removing almost half our staff numbers and enforcing a management and central services restructure.

• We commence delivery of the Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire contract –returning to VAL after 5 years. We are looking forward to rebuilding on our previous successes with working with the public, voluntary and community groups to be an effective and representative health and social care champion for local people.

So in the first instance our plans for this year are dominated by managing the impact of these issues in a confident and effective manner –preserving the future stability of VAL.

Other key plans for VAL in 2023-24:

1. Further develop the relationship between the Integrated Care system and the local VCS.

2. Build up more health and social care related service delivery by VAL.

3. Further expand our VALUES service –supporting people with a learning disability to live fulfilling lives as independently as possible.

4. Rebuild a positive working relationship on volunteering and group support when the City Council finally launches its VCSE Strategy after the local elections.

Review of Plans from 2022-23

These are the plans we published in last year’s annual review and the progress we have made:

Seek a return of funding from the City Council to provide support for local community and voluntary groups and support for volunteering (once they announce their VCSE Strategy)

Build on our vastly improved links to Health to enhance their engagement with local VCS – in particular as the new Integrated Care System is established.

Maintain our VALUES service for people with learning disabilities, seeking to continue to grow the service steadily by 3% per year – attracting clients back post-pandemic.

Seek replacement funding for our Building Better Opportunities projects (GREAT, YES and WiLL projects) that are due to end in 2023.

Seek to secure the contract for Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire from April 2023 –bringing this delivery back to a Leicestershire based organisation.

No particular progress as the launch of the VCSE strategy was delayed again and again – now delayed until after the local elections.

Secured small amount of money from Health to establish and support a VCSE Alliance – only enough as a communications exercise at present so seeking more resources to set up a developmental role.

Succeeded in growing our income from personal budgets by £40,000 – a 7% increase.

Despite bidding into every Council with access to the UK Shared Prosperity fund and making other bids to Trusts we were not successful in securing ongoing funding for these projects.

Successfully secured this contract through competitive tender – service restarted at VAL in April 2023.

Our Staff Group 2022 / 2023

We wish to thank all the staff that have worked at VAL this year and every one of our supporters who helps us to make a difference and change people’s lives for the better.

Divya Odedra

Donna Taylor

Ling Tian

Aaron Keen

Donna Snedden

Kevan Liles

Kevin Allen-Khimani

Vandna Gohil

Chanee McIntosh

Mitzu Salazar Aranda

Niyi Oso

Reena Purewal

Rich Lambe

Shabir Sidat

Terry Griffin

Martin Randall

Narinder Bilkhu

Rina Dhiman

Aaishah Ahmed

Aarti Thobhani

Anna Barrow

Aysha Ghanchi

Chantal Brotherhood

Christopher Rushworth

Eileen Cusey

Ellie Lomas

Harinder Kang

Ibrahim Buwanhot

Jessica Mistry

Karen Abbott

Leah Fazackerley

Liv Southwell

Muriel Russell

Narmeen Fayaz

Nijah Paul

Phil Pearson

Rasheda Shah

Sally Tame

Thomas Simpson

Yachna Gadhia

Zahra Mire

Bhavini Lodhia

Carolyn Newman

Dave Cliffe

Faye Coward

Hardip Chohan

Heather Jallands

Heather Shawley

Helen Oparinde

Krupa Joshi-Bhatt

Aimee Prior

Ameerah Esmail

Andrew Clark

Ashwin Pandya

Benjamin McKeown

Bertha Berita Makwangudze

Bhavik Sharma

Caroline Beach

Cate Ashton-Brooks

Charlotte Hunt

Charlotte Tully

Glynnet Morgan

James Lamb

Jianmao Chen

John Palmer

Justyna Jedrzejak

Kathryn Lawes

Kaylee Cooper

Keely Pursey

Koko Occansey

Liberty Ford-Armstrong

Lisa Bailey

Lorraine Batson

Mary Unsworth

Michelle Johnson

Mikaela Paterson

Mina Pandya

Neil Lewin

Pritisha Patel

Raluca Roman

Ranjana Varia

Ruth Hill

Samuel Eluyemi

Bird

Wyatt