April 2011

Don’t forget about our website www.herefordshireva.org

for all of our news and events

Funding Breakfast 10th May 2011

Saxty’s, Widemarsh Street, Hereford 7.45 am—9 am

We are delighted to announce that our next speaker will be Charlotte Brennan of The

Elmley Foundation to talk about their small

grants scheme. This scheme is for community groups in Herefordshire and Worcestershire planning arts events or purchases. There are two funds - Events and Activities and Arts Equipment. Both offer up to all the projected cost, to a maximum of £1,000. There are separate guidelines for each fund.

Continental Breakfast is £5 payable on the day but places must be booked in advance by contacting

Clare O’Grady on 01432 343 932 or outreach@herefordshireva.org

“Herefordshire Voluntary Action works with people, groups and communities to make a positive difference to quality of life in

the county”

Berrows Business Centre, Bath Street, Hereford, HR1 2HE Charity No. 1096451 Company No. 4625595

Thousands of people regularly

volunteer in Herefordshire, not just

giving of their time freely but also

their energy, skills and talents to

make a positive difference to the

lives of others and their

communities. 2011 sees the

return of the biennial Herefordshire

Volunteers of the Year Awards which

recognises and celebrates the outstanding

contribution that volunteers make to our County.

Oscars of VolunteeringOscars of VolunteeringOscars of VolunteeringOscars of Volunteering The ‘Oscars’ of volunteering will be presented by the Lord

Lieutenant at a gala dinner to be held at Hereford Race Course

on Thursday 9th June 2011. This event would not be possible

without the extremely generous support of allpay, one of

Herefordshire’s most prestigious companies. Not only is this

April 2011

April 2011

the fourth time the company has been the main sponsor of the

event but allpay will once again make a special award to an

individual who has made a lifetime contribution to

volunteering.

Great SponsorsGreat SponsorsGreat SponsorsGreat Sponsors Biddle Properties will be providing the prizes for the Volunteer of the Year

Cargill will be showing its on-going commitment to the community with the Team Awards.

The vinvolved project will sponsor the Young Volunteer Category

BOSS (Border Office Supplies and Systems Ltd) will support the Fundraiser category.

Tesco is giving the award to the Sports Volunteer of the Year while the Community Hero Award will be acknowledging all

those unsung heroes - people who informally volunteer in their

local area.

The nominations will formally start on 1 April 2011 and

booklets will be available from Herefordshire Voluntary Action

and downloadable from www.herefordshireva.org where the

nomination form can also be completed online.

Changes to Gift Aid Charities will no longer have to obtain signed Gift Aid declarations on

the first £5,000 of small donations per year in order for those donations

to qualify for the tax relief, Chancellor George Osborne announced in his

Budget speech on 23rd March.

Gift Aid will be automatically applied to the donations of up to £10.

Osborne said 100,000 charities would benefit from this to the tune of

£240m.

So, REACH is here to help you. Would your Group benefit from some specialist help, support or guidance? Are you thinking of a new activity for your Group or perhaps a new Group to meet a need in your community? Would your Group benefit from some training in a specialist area?

For more information, visit the REACH website at http://reachherefordshire.wordpress.com/ or contact

Vicky Hamilton on 07827 775700.

Smile! Food Hygiene Course held at Bishops Frome

Trustee Recruitment Toolkit This toolkit is for any voluntary or community organisation, regardless

of size or type, which wants or needs to recruit new trustees. It presents

a 10 step process for recruiting trustees. starting with the initial stages of

planning and concluding with the final evaluation of the process. It

explains what is involved in each step and why it is needed. It then

provides practical guidance on how to do it.

Originally produced by the Governance Hub, it is now available from

www.trusteenet.org.uk or by contacting Clare O’Grady, HVA’s

Information Officer on 01432 343 932

April 2011

REACH PROJECT CELEBRATES

ITS FIRST BIRTHDAY It hardly seems a few weeks ago that the REACH Project commenced its vital work in the rural areas of Herefordshire centred around Ledbury, Bromyard, Kington and the Golden Valley but it is now over a year old. Over 100 groups helped A year that saw the team provide information, support and guidance for well over 100 groups in the rural areas of Herefordshire as well as developing new, rural, volunteering opportunities. In addition 6 new young leaders have received training to better enable them to develop their role in the communities in which they live, over 20 Groups have successfully completed a Certificated Food Hygiene course and many other groups have benefitted from local funding lunches, courses in volunteer management and website development. New support in Golden Valley For this year we are seeking to further expand our work in the Golden Valley with Hannah James and Joy James providing community development support in this area, along with our specialist Community Building REACH worker, Rob Grunsell. Joy James, who joined the team last autumn, is also our specialist Faith Group worker and provides support for a wide range of faith groups across the County. Bromyard and Ledbury As this article is being written we are recruiting a further member of the team, an additional Community Development Worker, who will be further developing the scope of the project in and around Bromyard and Ledbury.

All at sea when it comes

to funding your future? Use HVA as your beacon All of us in the voluntary and community sector are having to deal with the current financial/funding climate and adapt to different ways of working to ensure our long-term viability. This may involve staff cuts, sharing of resources, investigating trading ideas and/or going for tendering opportunities as well as or instead of applying for grants.

So - how can HVA help you?

You may know that recently HVA was one of only six organisations selected UK-wide to be awarded coveted Beacon status. This partnership with the Sustainable Funding Team at NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) will help us update our skills and knowledge and cascade it down to groups in Herefordshire. We are now launching an exciting programme, specifically aimed at your needs in Herefordshire.

We already have lots of exciting plans, including our training programme, which will focus on all aspects of sustainable funding . This is just one way in which we are building up a powerful range of tools to help you develop and adapt to the changing environment.

New Funding Directory Now Available

The 25th Edition of the Funding Directory from Herefordshire Council is now available to download! You can access it by visiting www.herefordshire.gov.uk or you can call Herefordshire Council's Project Development Team on 01432 383061 and request a printed version.

April 2011

Get Noticed on GoogleGet Noticed on GoogleGet Noticed on GoogleGet Noticed on Google

4 Steps to Search Engine Optimisation

By Pete Read of IlluminateICT

Getting to the top spot in a Google search is akin to being awarded the World Cup. You can be technically brilliant, have all the correct features in place, have paid a few pounds to some nice SEO Company but you cannot guarantee top spot. Getting your site to the top of a search engine requires just 4 elements. These are:

Content Site Structure Links, Links, Links Good Luck

Content is King

Before you start to create your content you need to spend some time thinking about your organisation. Try answering the following questions.

Who are your customers? Are they other voluntary organisations, statutory organisations such as local councils; service users; commercial organisations, or perhaps the public?

What would each customer use your site for? What search terms will they use? The reason for doing this is that a search engine will index your website for words and terms it finds on your site. These key words and phrases should appear in the content of your website and where possible should be in the page title.

Quality Services by Herefordshire

Volunteer Centre Herefordshire Volunteer Centre has just been re-accredited by Volunteering England for a further three years. This onerous quality assurance exercise involved the submission of a 360-page portfolio demonstrating that the six core functions of a Volunteer Centre were met. The independent assessor stated it was ‘an excellent submission overall and there is evidence of high quality planning, performance and evaluation in all core functions’. The assessor was particularly impressed by the information supplied by the twelve volunteer involving organisations who agreed to be referees.

It’s Party Time in HerefordIt’s Party Time in HerefordIt’s Party Time in HerefordIt’s Party Time in Hereford

The Hereforthecity team are delighted with the response so far from the people of Hereford as plans begin to take

shape for a major celebration of all that is good about the

City and its surroundings over the weekend 10th/11th September 2011.

There was a real buzz of energy felt at the first planning meeting held at the end of

February when over 60 people contributed

ideas about what they would like to see at the event or offered their time and expertise as plans begin to take

real shape.

Suggestions have been made for music, performance,

crafts, processions, local food, the fun-fair and many other things to see and do but there is still time for more.

Please contact either Michael or Jo by e-mail or phone,

make your voice heard and get involved!!

April 2011

HERE FOR COLLEGE ESTATEHERE FOR COLLEGE ESTATEHERE FOR COLLEGE ESTATEHERE FOR COLLEGE ESTATE

Responding to need... Whilst helping with the City Plan consultation, the

HERE FOR the CITY team has noticed the lack of

community facilities within the College Estate area.

Further research identifies the area as within 20% of

the most deprived in England for education, training and unemployment.

Having witnessed the success of the Newton Farm Information Centre

and the Women at No14, the team feel it is essential to establish a base in

the area allowing natural relationships to develop with the residents.

Mobile drop-in Subsequently, with no community facilities within the estate, the team

have created their own mobile drop in centre. Armed with one mobile

exhibition unit and 2 gazebos, the team establish themselves in the heart

of the estate and invite the residents to join them.

Get Involved…. The key aim of the project is to encourage participation, whether it is

taking part in an activity, finding out about something new or joining the

local community group, the team believe the community has a better

chance of affecting change in their area once they are engaged as a group.

Residents’ Association The first event on Tuesday 22nd March

identified 19 people from the estate who

would like to join the College Community

Hub Residents Association. The team hope

that by encouraging and maintaining this

interest the community will begin to identify

projects for that area that HERE FOR the

CITY team can support.

Following the initial success of the project, further events are planned for

the College Estate area and other estates across the city. Please contact Jo

Pewsey on 01432 343932 or at jpewsey@herefordsireva.org for further

details

Be aware of your audience at all times but remember the

hidden customer - the search engine spider. This means that you should avoid the phrases such as, "we provide great services to our client group". Why? Because people do not search for "We" or "Client Group". So you could say "HVA supplies great development services to Voluntary organisations" Use the key words in context, try and avoid repeating words too often or the Spider may well think you are spamming and you may be penalised.

You may want to consider the use of Meta tags and descriptions: Meta Tags is a list of key words that you want the search engine to associate with your site. It is very important to avoid repeating words - you will be penalised. Remember to use the full words or organisation names as the computer is not a mind reader. Meta description is a short paragraph that Google can use to describe your site when it returns it in the search results. So a good paragraph that will draw people in and make them want to read more is essential.

Please do not sacrifice readability just to get all your keywords in and remember, if your first sentence is boring, people won't read the second one.

Add new content: keep your site fresh and interesting so that there is new content to be indexed and people will want to come back.

April 2011

Site Structure

You should be able to edit and manage your own content. Ideally, you should be able to share this responsibility with others. It always helps to have a fresh eye.

Links

Getting people to link to your website, and you linking to other sites will help to increase your sites ranking. When people create links tell them what key words you want them to associate with your website. Always try to get your keywords associated with your URL. (Web Address)

Good luck

Yes, good luck is an essential part of search engine optimisation. The secrets of how google and other search engines assign their scoring is closely guarded. There are many different factors and we have concentrated on just 3 of the top ones.

For more information email Pete@illuminateict.org.uk. His website is www.illuminateict.org.uk

Can you spare a trowel?

The Leominster Flower Pot Kids are a group that takes disadvantaged young people and supports them to grow vegetables and tend a allotment in Leominster.

After an arson attack on their shed they have lost all of their tools and are finding it difficult to carry on with their great work.

So, they need your help. iI you have any unwanted tools that you could give them, such as forks, spades, hoes, forks and trowels, watering cans etc please contact Amelia Quinlan on 07966 501 733 or email amelia@herefordshireva.org

questionnaires have been filled

in and are now being analysed.

What next... This information was added to

the Planning for Real data and

other consultation findings and

was used to inform the

Hereford City Plan, which was

considered by Hereford City

Council in March. Once the

new Council is appointed in

May, the city plan including detailed summary of findings on a ward by

ward basis ,will be used by Hereford City Council to make the City an

even better place to live, work and study.

This work wouldn’t have been possible without the input and help of so

many people so a big

Thank You! To find out about future developments please check our website

www.herefordshireva.org

Anybody want a questionnaire?

Herefordshire Disability United The newly formed organisation, Herefordshire Disability United was created to bring together all disabled people their families and Carers, providing a voice within the community. It aims to function as an information exchange whether via a website, open meetings, magazine or contact to ensure disabled people are given the opportunity of what is available to them so they can benefit. They will liaise with public sector and support groups, and encourage dialogue promoting good practice. To find out more please contact Sylvia Nicholls on sylvia.nicholls@btinternet.com or 07817 473813

April 2011

What’s Happening with the Hereford City Plan?

The Hereford City Plan is an ambitious project to gather the ideas and

opinions of Hereford residents. This means that Hereford City Council

could find out what local people really felt about the area they live in and

then help them in making improvements. Hereford City Council is one of

the largest parish authorities in Britain with a population approaching

56,000 so this was a challenge and a half for HVA and our partners

Community First and Hereford City Council.

The project started with meetings and focus groups and with visits to fun

days, fetes, community meetings and events, where people were

encouraged to talk about their neighbourhood – what they liked about

living there and what they would like to change.

Have your say... There were also giant Planning for Real® events in Hereford High Town

in the Summer and Autumn, where a huge polystyrene map of the city

was on display, with an invitation to write comments on paper flags and

stick them into the map. This was a huge success and hundreds of

comments and suggestions were made. Parts of the map then went ‘on

tour’ around the city, giving people yet another opportunity to comment

about their neighbourhood at local schools, shops, pubs and community

centres. Every single comment was recorded – over a thousand overall –

and yet more were fed into our website survey and at meetings held with

specialist groups, clubs and colleges from across Hereford.

Questions galore.... The final stage of the consultation was a questionnaire. We put together a

different version for each of the seven city Wards, based on the ideas and

concerns that had been put forward so far. These were then posted out to

random addresses for hand collection by teams of volunteers and

Councillors. Despite the appalling weather conditions, over 1500

Safeguarding is Everybody’s Business

The Herefordshire Safeguarding Adults Board (HSAB) is

boosting its campaign to raise public awareness about

how people can take steps to safeguard themselves and

other people from abuse. During April and May HSAB

will be distributing 20,000 leaflets and 400 posters to

service users and those who provide health, social care,

housing and leisure services. These include information in

an easy read format.

The messages are clear, Say ‘No’ to abuse and Vigilant communities contribute to the prevention of adult abuse.

If you would like copies of the printed leaflets, or if you can display

posters where vulnerable adults and those providing care and support will

be able to read them, please contact Barbara Lloyd, Adult Safeguarding

Manager (Integrated Commissioning) on 01432 347666.

Don’t hesitate to contact the Safeguarding Adults’ Team to discuss any

concerns you have that someone is being abused. They will give you

advice and take referrals, working alongside West Mercia Police when a

crime has been committed.

Tel:01432 260 715 (weekdays 9am-5pm)

or email: safeguardingadults@herefordshire.gov.uk

Out of hours contact number for referrals: 03301239309

How to show your impact - FREE RESOURCES

Your organisation exists to make a difference, whether that's enriching

people's lives, working for a cause or creating a better world. The

difference you make is often called your impact.

NCVO have free information and resources to help you plan, deliver,

assess and communicate your impact. Visit its website www.ncvo-vol.org.uk for more details.

April 2011

Vinvolvedendsinblaze

ofgloryThe current Herefordshire vinvolved youth work team`s three year project is coming to an end on the 31

st March 2011. It has been

recognised as the 2nd most successful youth volunteering project in

the UK providing tremendous benefits to both vulnerable young people and the general youth population within the County.

128localorganisationshelped

Working with 128 local organisations, they have helped them to build capacity, policy and means to recruiting young people as volunteers. Using young people’s input, they have also encouraged new organisations to involve young people in their activities, matching this to the young peoples’ passions and interests.

923youngpeoplenowvolunteering

Using a range of innovative marketing techniques such as speed volunteering, Young Farmers Rallies, Photography Competitions and a Facebook page, a host of new people were introduced to the benefits and joys of volunteering. To date, 923 young people have been placed by the V Team into volunteering with a wide range of organisations such as food festivals, football teams and a cancer charity.

YouthActionTeams

As part of the vinvolved programme each team were tasked with recruiting and supporting a Youth Action Team who would drive forward the work of vinvolved, making the youth voice heard and meeting regularly to discuss youth issues, campaigning, promotion of volunteering and much more. ThetwoYouthActionTeams

Two teams of 12 young volunteers over the 3 year period have helped to shape Vinvolved’s work and to ensure young people’s passions and interests are of paramount importance. Their biggest achievement was the creation of YouthBank where £25,000 was raised to be given out in grants to young people with good ideas across the county. Other trailblazing projects involving the vinvolved team included:

BridgingtheGap

A VCashpoint funded project involving 4 volunteers from the Hereford Arts College Photography course, focused on intergenerational work with young people from Close House and older people through Age Concern. The project used photography to bring people together and participants were given disposable cameras to record a typical week in their life. Everyone was then bought together for an event, where many stories were shared.

LedburyIntergenerationalproject

This was a partnership project linking up with Ledbury Library Service, John Masefield High School and Age Concern. The aim was to bring together young and older people allowing them to share experiences. Eight young people from John Masefield year 11 joined up with 8 Age Concern service users for a series of workshops and activities. The project had help from international photography organisation ‘Pieces of Sky’ and culminated in a visit to the classic car show in Malvern.

The vteam certainly will be missed by both HVA staff, local young people and organisations. It is best to sum it up with a quote from one of the young people themselves:

“Volunteering with YouthBank has certainly been an amazing experience; …….makes me feel exceptionally proud of our team and the young people”. Charlie Cooper Youthbank Chair