The Times they Are A-Changin’

As the times change, so do the faces. And so it is with the Sheffield Volunteering Strategy, which today I will be handing over to my successor in the post of Strategic Volunteering Manager at VAS: Jack Scott. Many of you will know Jack already as he has been an active public figure in Sheffield for some time now and became Councillor for the Arbourthorne Ward in May 2010.

It seems appropriate then to give a run-down of developments…

Over the summer various promotional activities have been taking place, including the creation and distribution of a new Guide to Employee Volunteering in Sheffield for local businesses and organisations who want to support their staff to volunteer. We hope that this directory will open local employers’ eyes to the possibilities and benefits available to them, and were delighted that it received press coverage in First for Business Magazine and the Sheffield Telegraph.

Our fantastic Volunteering Ambassadors have been busy, going out and about to various summer events across the city, from Sheffield Pride to Handsworth Gala Day, encouraging people from all walks of life to get involved in volunteering. In addition, they took up the challenge of creating a short film about volunteering over just a few weeks! Thank you to Oliver and Luke at A4E for their help with the editing process. The fruits of their efforts, entitled Time Well Spent, can be seen below.

Also shortly to arrive will be Top Dog – an online game we have had created about a Sheffielder who likes nothing better than to be a helping hound to those in need! Intended to be a fun way of spreading the word about the benefits of volunteering, this will soon be emailed out to volunteers and contacts across the city for them to forward to friends and family. It will also hopefully be part of the Sheffield Quality Time Facebook page, so look out for that and send it on to anyone you know!

Soon to launch is the Buddy Scheme with Sheffield City Council’s Employment Service. Working in conjunction with Sheffield’s universities and Sheffield Volunteer Centre, the Employment Service will be training and supporting a social work degree student to buddy volunteers with learning disabilities from September. This will enable those individuals to fulfil their wish to engage in their local communities and offer their help to others.

To continue the work on building a time-bank in the Manor area (or even potentially in other areas too), a time-bank workshop will be running on 27th and 28th September, hosted by Manor & Castle Development Trust and run by Time Banks UK. Anybody interested in setting up a time-bank might like to go along to discover what it’s all about and what running one entails. Contact Jack (j.scott@vas.org.uk) or Diane Cairns at MCDT for more information or to enquire about reserving a place. (Please note however that places are limited so it may not be possible to offer everyone a place).

Finally, it just remains for me to say thank you, to all the Strategy Delivery Partners, to everybody who has been involved in the consultation and development of the Strategy, to the Strategy Steering Group, and of course to the Volunteering Ambassadors for all their help। It has been an honour to work with you all, and I am proud to be leaving behind a Strategy that I hope encompasses your enthusiasm and ideas for how we can grow volunteering in Sheffield. I am also delighted to be leaving it in the very capable hands of Jack Scott, who I am sure will do a fantastic job of seeing the implementation through.

Claire

Time Well Spent