Resilience is a buzzword right now, usually referring to the ability of an individual or organisation to absorb stresses and recover from shocks. Building communities’ resilience holds the promise of relieving suffering for good. It is also in line with the times – with austerity squeezing budgets, projects that offer an exit strategy have strong appeal and, in any case, make sense.

People in Tameside are already very resilient, having had to cope with a range of disadvantages over many years, and continue to show remarkable determination and perseverance in the face of the most recent economic and social challenges.

CVAT recently hosted a Voice event bringing together over 50 people to discuss how we can tackle poverty together in Tameside. What was striking was the energy and commitment in the room to still do more work. With this sort of energy and expertise we can make an even bigger difference!

So how can our organisations help people become even more resilient?

Firstly, we need to provide a safety net that catches people when their own coping mechanisms break down. One of the prime current examples of this is the work of food banks across Tameside. Why not join the winter promotion campaign for more volunteers, food and cash donations – www.foodbanksintameside.org.uk

Working with public sector partners to ensure access to basic services also reduces vulnerability to these shocks.

Secondly we need to help people in a way that allows them to bounce back from adversity

as quickly as possible. We should seize every opportunity to empower people to make the most of the borough’s potential and create better lives for themselves and their communities.

Thirdly to bolster resilience we need to help prevent shocks. Here the voluntary sector can bring expertise and experience from far and wide. We can also use our collective voice powerfully. A great opportunity right now is to support the Greater Manchester living wage campaign – www.gmlivingwage.org

At the heart of all of this should be a deal between public, private and voluntary sector partners that is founded on local ownership, relationships of trust and mutually agreed priorities and goals.

People in Tameside do not need lessons in resilience, but they do need sector support and solidarity. Our job is to ensure that every resource we have makes a difference. That is best done by helping people help themselves.

Supporting resilience not dealing with crisis

NEWS Edition 6 Winter 2013/14

Community & Voluntary Action Tameside

Issue Highlights...CVAT News ..................................page 2Tameside 4 Good Update .............page 3Community News .........................page 4Funding News ..............................page 7Policy News ..................................page 8Healthwatch Tameside Update ... page 11Volunteer Centre Update .............page 12Focus on..Expo 2014 ..................page 14Training & Events ........................page 15

Joyce Howarth MBE

2 — CVAT NEWS

CVAT Annual General Meeting

The Board, Staff and Volunteers of CVAT are proud of our Chair, Joyce Haworth, who has been awarded an MBE which was presented to her by HRH Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in October.

Born in Stalybridge, Joyce’s first engagement with the voluntary sector began in 1979 when volunteering for Age Concern (Tameside). Her relationship with the organisation grew and in 1982 she began working for the charity until 2003, when she retired from her role as Chief Officer.

Never one to stay still, upon retirement Joyce took up a four year contract as Non-executive Director of the Greater Manchester Ambulance Service. She also served as a local Magistrate for over 30 years, and is still a Justice of the Peace.

As well as taking a significant role in the merging of Tameside Third Sector Coalition (T3SC) and Volunteer Centre Tameside (VCT) to create Community and Voluntary Action Tameside (CVAT). Now chairing the organisation, she also finds time to be a Trustee and Chair of the Charity Friends of Tameside Young Carers, Chair of Hyde Probion Mela Luncheon Club, a luncheon club for Bangladeshi older people, and is also an active member of Tameside Racial Equality Council.

Joyce has a wealth of experience in setting and reviewing strategic aims and evaluating performances, instigating and maintaining constructive and supportive staff relationships and the ability to understand complex issues.

CVAT’s Director of Volunteering, Sue Vickers, said:

“Joyce has worked tirelessly to help create a stronger third sector in the borough and this honour is well deserved. I know the team at CVAT are ever so proud of her.”

Community and Voluntary Action (CVAT)’s constitution states that at each Annual General Meeting there is a need to appoint new Directors (trustees) of the Charity. This is because one-third of the existing Directors must retire each year (although are eligible and may seek re-appointment) and there may also be other vacancies. We will be running the AGM in the lunch break of the Expo event on 20 January. For more information on #cvatexpo2014 see page 14.

CVAT’s board is elected from its membership, which in itself came from the members of its founder organisations Volunteer Centre Tameside (VCT) and Tameside Third Sector Coalition (T3SC). Members of Tameside Voice were also legitimate members of T3SC, and so are also eligible to nominate and elect the CVAT trustees.

The current CVAT directors retiring this year are: Simon Walker, Anne Parkes and Hanif Malik. They are all seeking re-election. Additionally, we have co-opted three trustees during the year: Ray Shepherd, Lisa Ringwood and Martin Collet. All three will be formally standing for election to the board at the AGM.

If you’re interested in standing for the board, please contact Tony Okotie by 6 January 2014 for details of how to apply – tony.okotie@cvat.org.uk telephone 0161 339 4985.

Our past, present and future

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The past...2013 has been a fun year for Tameside 4 Good in raising our profile and much needed funds and resources for local good causes in Tameside. Here are our 2013 highlights:

• 53 fantastic volunteers have given their time to Tameside 4 Good – we couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you.

• We’ve raised over £15,000 in cash donations through an amazing array of activities and committed fundraisers including CVAT’s Chief Exec Tony overcoming his fear of heights by throwing himself out of a plane. We had our first Tameside 4 Good team of cyclists complete the 60 mile Manchester to Blackpool bike ride thanks to our partnership work with Tameside Sports Trust and Tameside MBC supporters. Dawn has lost her hair for us and Beanstalk and we even got a quiet day in the office with Amy’s sponsored silence.

• 47 local community and voluntary organisations have been supported by Tameside 4 Good. The support has been in all kinds of shapes and sizes from donated fences, donated health and safety expertise, printers, office furniture and even pies!

• We’ve been overwhelmed by the support from local businesses, with over 70 actively supporting Tameside 4 Good. We are particularly pleased at the people power given by employees who have undertaken team challenges upgrading new training rooms, sprucing up community garden areas and improved stone work and supported animals to stay healthy!

“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to Tameside 4 Good this year.

We’d love to mention you all here individually but don’t have the space. Tameside 4 Good is all about local people supporting local good causes and we’ve really done Tameside proud this year. We’re already planning lots of exciting ideas for next year, so if you’ve not yet been involved in Tameside 4 Good, please get in touch.” Sue Vickers, Director of Volunteering.

The present...Puccini’s Ashton is proud to announce the launch of the Enrico Pizza which will help raise money for local charity Tameside 4 Good.

The restaurant on Katherine Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, set its head chef, Enrico, the challenge of creating a delicious dish to entice pizza lovers to grab a slice of the action. £1 from every sale will be donated to Tameside 4 Good.

Topped with bacon, egg, mushrooms and red onions, the Enrico taste sensation will enhance the fundraising effort for Tameside 4 Good.

To order the Enrico pizza simply book a table at Puccini’s Ashton, for more information visit www.puccini-ashton.co.uk.

The future...2014 is set to be bigger and better. Are you planning a new you in the new year? Feel good by doing good with Tameside 4 Good. Start training for a fitness fundraising event, develop your talents and gain new skills by signing up for the Tameside 4 Good Talent Pool (see page 13) or make new friends by joining our volunteer team. Get involved in your community and make a real difference to the lives of people on your doorstep. You have the power to help improve the quality of life for family, friends and neighbours that live in Tameside.

On 8 September Dukinfield Allotment society held their annual open day. As well as celebrating the hard work that over sixty allotment holders put in, the general public got the chance to see the outstanding flowers, fruits, vegetables and even a variety of fancy chickens that were on display. Also on display and being judged were homemade cakes, pies and jams.

All those who contributed were awarded a small silver salver for their efforts and each category was awarded First, Second and Third prizes based on the quality and presentation of their produce. The Society held a homemade cake stall, a hotdog stall and tombola which helped them to raise over £700 towards the Allotment. With the help of plot holders, volunteers and the local community, this year’s show was the most successful yet!

CVAT Development Worker, Dawn Acton, went along on the day and said:

“Dukinfield Allotment is such a relaxing place to visit. It has a beautiful water feature and well maintained plots and walkways. What a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon!”

Following on from a chance meeting with Maxine Roberts, Adult and Community Development Manager of Tameside College, The Cranberries Club recently undertook a 6 week course in glass painting and the results are on display in the Ladysmith Arcade.

When Audrey Ward, Cranberries Chair and Organiser, was asked if the group would be interested in the course running on site, she jumped at the chance as some of the members had difficulty getting about and most would have been too nervous to join any art course at the college. So straight away she began to look for the funding. Audrey says:

“CVAT were really helpful and advised approaching Comic Relief who agreed to provide the funds.

When the day came for the first lesson, I was nervous that maybe I had expected too much of the members as the paints, brushes and palettes were set out. I needn’t have worried, everyone was curious but eager to get started on something new and in the following weeks they were arriving early to continue on their pictures.”

The college team were pleased with the results and decided to try and display the paintings somehow, which ended up being right in the middle of Ladysmith Arcade.

Audrey stated: “To be able to demonstrate on a poster 66” x 45” in the middle of a shopping area that age doesn’t need to stop anyone from enjoying new experiences was more than I could ever have dreamt of being able to do.”

For more information on The Cranberries contact Audrey Ward on 0161 336 0670

4 — COMMUNITY NEWS

Glass Painting with the Cranberries

Stop Press: LEAP Festive Families Appeal

Dukinfield Allotment

LEAP Family & Community Hub (part of St Peter’s Partnerships) is looking for donations of toys, tinned food and toiletries that can be gifted to local families that would really benefit from extra support this Christmas. With your help we can make sure a child or young person has a present to open on Christmas morning.

For more information contact LEAP on 0161 214 8470 or drop off your donation at the LEAP Family & Community Hub, Cavendish Mill (opposite ASDA) before 11 December.

‘Friends of Hattersley Station’ is a community group set up in July 2011 to help Hattersley Railway Station for the benefit of everyone who uses it. They meet as a group once a month to do regular litter picking, gardening and other community projects such as maintenance (compost heaps, hanging baskets, planters, painting etc).

Local residents work alongside official agencies such as the Probation Service, Hattersley Neighbourhood Partnership, Peak Valley HA, British Transport Police, TMBC, Northern Rail, TfGM; local schools, churches and firms along with others who have an interest in their work.

For the past two years they have been creating an attractive, peaceful and restful community garden and park area that has been lacking in Hattersley.

They’ve achieved a great deal and have lots of great testimonials from local people in the Visitors’ Book! They’ve also just won a Level 4 (Thriving) award which was collected at the NW In Bloom Awards Ceremony in Southport on 24 October.

Anyone interested in getting involved as a volunteer, please contact Babs Allen on babs.john@talktalk.net or 0161 368 7037

Since 2005 West African Development (WAD) has been working to provide support and positive integration for African and BME communities in Tameside.

In 2012/13, they helped over 300 families with housing, benefits, education, health, immigration, training and job issues. They have delivered African drumming and dancing for more than 30 schools in the area to over 3,000 people. They also provide sport activities for young people, as their research shows over half of the black and minority ethnic community does no sport or physical activity.

WAD’s openness and accessibility has meant their beneficiaries are no longer just individuals from West Africa but now include people from all over the world. They welcome anyone who needs support, regardless of race, religion or background. Members tell WAD they are nervous and wary of entering mainstream office buildings to access support. WAD have worked with agencies to break down these barriers and provide a welcoming accessible building where members feel comfortable entering.

WAD are now seeking a place to locate their project in Tameside. If anyone has an available place or room suitable for office use please don’t hesitate to contact them.

For more information tel: 07754 715849 or email: admin@westafricandevelopment.org.uk or visit www.westafricandevelopment.org.uk

Friends of Hattersley Station

West African Development

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Tameside 4 Good recently teamed up with Age UK Tameside and Bluebird Care Tameside to spread warmth around the borough by match funding up to £1,000 to the ‘Bike the Borough’ fundraising event.

The event encouraged cyclists to saddle up and ride up to 28 miles around Tameside to raise money for Age UK Tameside’s ‘Spread the Warmth’ campaign, in the knowledge that for every pound raised, it would be matched by Tameside 4 Good, up to a maximum of £1,000. All of the money raised by the event will be used to ‘Spread the Warmth’ to help older people in Tameside stay warm and well during the winter.

For more information on other ways you can help the Spread the Warmth campaign, contact Age UK’s Sarah Hopwood on 0161 308 5000.

Trio spreads the warmth in Tameside

Growing projects in the pipeline

6 — COMMUNITY NEWS

Operation Farm was started 4 years ago by 3 people who cared about local food. It has now evolved into a community-based organisation aimed at linking up sustainable and local food growers and producers with consumers. The vision is to create a community farm for the benefit of people in Tameside and beyond, in order to grow food, promote health and wellbeing and provide an educational resource.

The main activities taking place are cooking and growing workshops along with events with food education related themes. Services are delivered to a diverse range of people but mainly target vulnerable groups, specifically learning disabled, young people, old people and unemployed or underemployed people.

Operation Farm has been awarded Community First funding from the Community Development Foundation for the past 2 years. In 2012 they hosted their first Apple Day celebrations in Hyde Park community orchard, which saw over 400 people come together on a beautiful autumn day to celebrate seasonal produce and the nation’s favourite fruit with plenty of apple related activities.

This year saw them launch a ‘Pop-Up Kitchen’, with the aim of developing skills in gardening and cooking in an outdoor community setting. Ali Shockledge, Board Member of Operation Farm said, “It was just a great way of bringing people together. Volunteers worked hard and then collectively made lunch, bringing together low cost, seasonal and healthy ingredients in a fun way”.

Money from the grant paid for some equipment including a portable sink for hand washing and a large pump action flask to keep the volunteers refreshed with hot drinks!

There are lots of exciting plans ahead in the New Year with farmers markets, family fun days, educational courses and growing projects in the pipeline.

To find out more about Operation Farm and get involved in their exciting projects contact: email: operationfarm@gmail.com Website: www.operationfarm.wordpress.com Facebook: Operation Farm

At CVAT, we do try and support and attend annual general meetings (where we can) of local organisations. So, in early November I spent the evening at Mind’s AGM, which was well attended and well run.

I was particularly impressed with the annual review that the organisation has produced (not the main trustees’ report and annual accounts, which have a set format and have to be filed with the Charity Commission). This was a more accessible document, which in just six pages managed to set out the key achievements of the (complex) organisation.

It manages to balance a range of outputs, narrative from service users and capture and communicate real outcomes in a simple way – for example 93% of therapeutic clients feeling Mind have helped them fund a long term solution, and over 70% of counselling clients showing improvement at the end of the service.

Examples like this, communicated simply, are really powerful in funding bids and in demonstrating impact. So, well done Mind, and it provides a useful reminder to the rest of us!

Tony Okotie

Showing impact through an annual review

FUNDING NEWS — 7

Tameside gets theatricalHyde Festival Theatre is just one of the many Tameside good causes who have benefitted from a Tameside 4 Good grant. The grant enabled the group to deliver workshops to GCSE Drama and Performing Arts students and other Tameside residents who may not normally have access to professional practitioners and workshops.

The workshops were based around the show, Miss Julie, and general acting techniques. Visually impaired people were also able to get involved for the first time and had the opportunity to be guided around the stage, to feel the set and talk to the actors about the play which enabled them to set the scene.

Peter Wright of Hyde Festival Theatre commented:

“Tameside 4 Good is such a great idea. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s trying to do good in Tameside, whether that’s through the type of work we are doing or through helping people. The Tameside 4 Good grant we received has done a lot for us and helped to further spread the word about the work of the theatre.”

To apply for a Tameside 4 Good grant, please go to www.tameside4good.org/what-we-do/ grant-process

Tameside Community Learning FundCongratulations to all those organisations successful in securing a grant from Tameside Community Learning Fund. Over £66,000 has been awarded to 15 different community organisations who will together be providing a wide range of learning opportunities across Tameside including computer classes, how to grow food and plants, voluntary youth work training, online learning, arts activities and even mindfulness classes.

Joanne Hatton, from Tameside Adult and Community Education says “We are very pleased to continue to support local community organisations, in providing learning opportunities for local people delivered within their own community settings. The feedback we have received shows the funding we provide has a positive impact on people’s lives now and will do for a long time to come”

To find out more about the scheme, visit www.cvat.org.uk/communityfirst

Find funding at a click of a buttonFunding successes

Tameside has its own funding portal provided to you free by CVAT. It’s an online database with over 1000 different funding opportunities.

The funding portal can be found by visiting the funding section of the CVAT website. You can search for funding possibilities based on what type of organisation you are and what sort of funding you require. You can also browse the latest government funding opportunities, National Lottery pots and information on charitable trusts and foundations. In order to view the full grant descriptions and to find out how to apply you will need to register to use the funding portal.

The portal is really quick and easy to use, here’s a step by step guide in how to use it.

• Visit www.cvat.org.uk/funding and click the pink button in the centre of the screen to be directed to the funding portal.

• There are six categories on the home page, each of the buttons allows you to view more information including success stories.

• To search for funding, select the top left hand button. Use the drop down menus to enter information about what type of organisation you are and what type of funding you are looking for. If you are looking for something in particular, you can use the keyword search to enter specific words or terms.

• Select the ‘search now’ button and you will be directed to your search results. This page allows you to choose to explore the type of funding which may be relevant to you, your community or voluntary organisation.

• You can select a fund for a full description including the grant amounts available, dead-lines, information about how to apply and links to the funder’s website. To view this you will need to be registered.

• You can also view all government and other funding schemes available in Tameside by selecting this option on the home page. Funds are broken down into further categories such as communities, families and disabilities, amongst others. The National Lottery and charitable trust buttons work in the same way.

Visit www.cvat.org.uk/funding

8 — POLICY NEWS

Tackling Poverty Together - get the notes and great ideas from October’s Voice event which saw over 50 people take part in workshops and debate on drafting a strategy for tackling poverty in Tameside: www.cvat.org.uk/tackling-poverty-together Get involved by emailing voice@cvat.org.uk

The Children’s Commission on Poverty - a group of 15 young people are leading an investigation into what living in poverty really means for more than three million impoverished children and teenagers across the country: www.childrenscommission.org.uk

A decade of destitution: time to make a change - for ten years a unique charity partnership has supported destitute refugees and asylum seekers in Greater Manchester. This report documents their day-to-day lives, the reasons for their destitution, key findings and recommendations: http://tinyurl.com/cvatdestitution

Punishing poverty? - this powerful Citizens Advice Bureau report reviews benefits sanctions and their impact on clients and claimants across Greater Manchester: http://tinyurl.com/cvatcab

What’s faith got to do with welfare? - the first in a series of Faith in Public Realm: http://tinyurl.com/cvattheosfw

‘Friendly Places’ webpage - FaithAction has produced a collection of top tips and other resources to help faith groups to make practical and positive steps towards becoming more mental health friendly: www.faithaction.net/friendlyplaces

Back Britain’s Charities - help spread the word by distributing leaflets drawing attention to the 20% drop in individual donations to charities and the 67% of charities reporting an increase in demand for services: www.backbritainscharities.org.uk/back-the-campaign

Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity Census Briefings - locate data and information about ethnic difference and inequality in the UK: www.ethnicity.ac.uk

Making it real for young carers - this new guide written by young carers explores what is most important to them through words and illustration: http://tinyurl.com/cvatyoungcarers

Greater Manchester Campaign for the Living Wage - please add your support. The campaign is a coalition of people and organisations who want to make Greater Manchester a Living Wage Zone, to challenge low pay, to put Living Wage policy and a culture of social equality at the heart of how Greater Manchester works: http://gmlivingwage.org

News in brief...

How can we quantify the impact of public sector funding on the voluntary, community and faith sector?

What is the ‘leverage effect’ created through public sector funding / investment in activities delivered by voluntary sector organisations (e.g. on numbers volunteering)?

CVAT likes challenging questions like this, so we have put together a paper focusing on some Tameside evidence and examples.

Our concern is that any withdrawal of public sector investment will have a magnified impact on voluntary sector activity. As one senior commissioner has already noted, this paper “... highlights and reinforces the importance in building community capacity and resilience, and the potential return on investment this can offer.”

Have a read and get in touch (voice@cvat.org.uk) to tell us what you think and what further evidence you can provide to strengthen this argument: www.cvat.org.uk/evidence-bank

Have you got real leverage?

Do you know the right place to get the right healthcare treatment this winter?As winter approaches the pressures on emergency care and resources, such as Accident and Emergency Units (A&E), become greater. Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is teaming up with local health and social care partners to ensure that residents of Tameside and Glossop get the right treatment at the right place and stay healthy this winter.

As Tameside GP, Dr Richard Bircher, the CCG’s lead for Urgent Care, says:

“It is often tempting to go straight to A&E whenever it seems something is wrong, but there is so much that you can do to improve your health situation away from the hospital environment. Not only is this better for you, but it frees up the resources for patients with more serious conditions that can only be treated in a hospital setting.

In the winter months you don’t want to be sitting in an A&E area full of other peoples’ coughs and sniffles when you could find treatment more conveniently, quickly and possibly closer to home in local pharmacies, GP Surgeries and Primary Care Centres. You may even be able to deal with your health problem in the comfort of your own home!”

If you access Accident and Emergency services inappropriately you may be turned away and directed to another NHS service.

Here are some tips and advice from Dr Bircher to make sure you get the right treatment in the right place:

• Problems such as vomiting, diarrhoea and tickly coughs can be treated at home by looking after yourself and your family.

You should keep a supply of over-the-counter products such as painkillers and antiseptic at home along with drinking lots of fluids if you are feeling unwell and getting plenty of rest.

• See your pharmacist for cold and flu symptoms, stomach upsets, sore throats, backache, minor sports injuries, skin conditions and allergies. They can also provide further advice tips around self care.

• See your GP for persistent coughs, severe headaches, earache, backache, sprains, minor injuries, examinations and prescriptions.

• You can also visit Ashton Primary Care Centre for the treatment of minor illnesses or injuries. This is a walk-in service with no appointment necessary and is staffed by nurses and GPs.

• Visit Accident and Emergency if it’s a serious or life threatening situation. These might include: severe chest pain, a suspected heart attack or stroke, suspected meningitis, suspected broken bones, breathing difficulties, sudden and severe headaches, severe burns and severe injuries requiring hospital treatment.

If you need to see a GP urgently outside surgery hours call GO To DOC on 0161 336 3252. You can hear Dr. Bircher every Tuesday week on Tameside Radio’s Healthwatch Hour with James Dean. You can also follow Dr Bicher for health advice and tips on Twitter @TamesideDocs

More information on Right Treatment, Right place can be found by following Tameside and Glossop CCG on Twitter @TGCCG or at www.tamesideandglossopccg.org/campaigns/right-treatment-right-place

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New ‘60 Second Security’ videos – designed to provide easy step by step tips, including advice on products and how to install and use them, helping to make you and your property that little bit safer:

• Light Timers: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK7RhlDhBM4

• Window Shock Alarms: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSgjTfYQ4w0

• Property Marking: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeWNjiNQkDI

• Purse Bells: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUntL1r7EGM

Lighting the way for communities working with families and young people in 2014.

In a Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens wrote “Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.” We want 2014 to be a year when the Scrooges of this world don’t dominate. In 2014, we will be...

• Opening a new grant to extend the range of activities that families can tap into if they have disabled children, as well as supporting existing projects. Part of this will be exploring how parents might receive their own budget and decide how, who with and where they wish to spend this in order to meet their needs.

• Making sure that the multi agency hub for children and families has a good understanding of all of the services that you provide.

• Continuing our impact on the new early year’s model supporting the widening participation of families from pregnancy onwards through community initiatives like the Bumps and Babies group shown here.

• Ensuring that the new strategy for youth takes on board the voice of the sector, after their amazing contribution at the partnership meeting at the beginning of September 2013.

• Seeking out new opportunities for Better Futures Tameside www.cvat.org.uk/better-futures-tameside members to work together and support families and young people.

As you can see there’s plenty to get involved with and to fit with your priorities.

If you want to know more about anything that is happening in the world of families, children and young people, please contact veronica.hyde@cvat.org.uk

10 — POLICY NEWS

Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it

60 Second Security

Ending Food PovertyIt is often lamented that food banks should be a thing of the past and not the present. Sadly though, the need in our communities is such that food banks have now been set up in most areas of Tameside.

This is a tribute to the many organisations getting involved, that were already trying to support vulnerable people, and all the volunteers responding to this immediate need. Whilst food banks are not the answer to the root causes of food poverty they provide desperately needed short-term emergency relief for people who find themselves in crisis.

Over the past 12 months the 10 food banks in Tameside have seen ever increasing demand levels for their services. It is notable that by far the most common reported reason this is happening is delays with people’s benefits or benefits being cut.

Looking to a better future the food banks have been working together across Tameside through the Food Bank Forum and have set up a website www.foodbanksintameside.org.uk to provide updated information. Most food banks operate on a referral system and will generally provide up to 3 days worth of non-perishable food. With the onset of winter and an expected further increase in demand food banks need your support. Could you help:

• Raise awareness about food banks?

• Volunteer some of your time to help?

• Make a donation of food or cash?

Get in touch (voice@cvat.org.uk) to let us know if you are interested in supporting this vital work to tackle poverty now and in the future.

Healthwatch Champions, the story so far...

What we do with your stories...

For the last eleven weeks, our Healthwatch Champions have been out and about in local venues across the borough. These venues have included the hospital, libraries, supermarkets, GPs surgeries and community centres.

So far they have engaged with more than 1,300 local people. The Healthwatch Champions are assisting people to get information that will help them make an informed choice about what health or care service they or a family member can access. In addition to this, they encourage

people to tell us their experiences of using these services, both good and bad, to help local services make changes. For details on venues visit: www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/content/healthwatch-champions

What information have you been requesting?Healthwatch Champions have been taking requests for information regarding a number of different issues including transport to medical appointments, hospital & GP complaints, registering with a GP/dentist, psychology services, weight loss groups, continence clinics and a wide range of other topics.

HEALTHWATCH NEWS — 11

Healthwatch, in partnership with Patient Opinion and Care Opinion uses your stories to:

• Identify where people think services need to change. We do this by looking at common patterns in the experiences you tell us about.

• Provide an opportunity for you to read about other people’s experiences, a bit like the ‘trip advisor’ for health and social care services. This should enable you to make a more informed choice about which services to access.

• Send information directly to the Care Quality Commission alerting them to any instances of poor quality care that you report.

In order for this to be effective, we need you to tell us what has worked well for you and what you feel could be improved. So if you have a story

to tell or an experience to share, you can either do it via our Healthwatch website: www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/content/ your-story or alternatively you can ring the office on: 0161 339 4985 to find out where your nearest Healthwatch Champion session is.

If you would like to volunteer as a Healthwatch Champion please contact Sue Pomfret Phone: 0161 339 4985 or email info@healthwatchtameside.co.ukCommunity Groups

If you are a community group and would like Healthwatch Tameside to come and talk to your members about our information/signposting service or how they can have their say on local health and social care services just give us a ring and invite us!

Call Sue or Michelle on: 0161 339 4985 or email info@healthwatchtameside.co.uk

With over 35 years of experience in volunteering, Volunteer Centre Tameside can help your organisation to recruit, support and retain volunteers.

We are pleased to launch our new and improved “Guidelines for organisations working with Volunteers”, a handy guide that gives a brief overview of the key steps and good practice principles of working with volunteers.

We recently utilised these steps to assist Ashton Sixth Form in offering a fair and accessible process for volunteers. In creating a new volunteering role that will enhance student life, they are also able to offer valuable work related skills and training to volunteers.

Ashton Sixth Form College has been providing quality education to school leavers for many years and continues to grow and develop to meet the demands of local 16 to 19 year olds.

The College is a major provider of academic and vocational education in the area, and with approximately 2,000 students, they got in touch to request some much needed volunteer support to assist in the day-to-day running of the on-site student shop.

The college is currently looking for volunteers to help assist in the running of the college shop. Volunteers can gain experience assisting and serving customers, providing a high standard of customer service, operating a till, monitoring stock levels and re-ordering and re-stocking the shop where appropriate.

They are also happy to support personal development by offering relevant training to support in delivery of the role.

For your free copy of guidelines for organisations working with volunteers, see our website www.cvat.org.uk/need-volunteers

On the 30 November The Worshipful The Civic Mayor of Tameside, Councillor Joe Kitchen, and the Mayoress, Mrs Shirley Kitchen cut the ribbon and announced the Volunteer Centre “Re-Opened”.

Many thanks go to the Mayor and Mayoress and all those supporters of CVAT and the Volunteer Centre who were able to come along to the “grand re-opening”. The centre looks amazing following the recent refit. It was great to see so many people who wanted to see the new centre and hear about the services that are on offer. Everyone who came along agreed that it was a more welcoming environment. A volunteer receptionist said “I love it, it’s professional, clean but still friendly”

12 — VOLUNTEER CENTRE

Calling into the Volunteer Centre on Penny Meadow is only one way of finding out about volunteering in Tameside.

Here are lots of other ways to find out “how, where, what and when”.

• CVAT’s website – www.cvat.org.uk

• www.do-it.org.uk – national volunteering database where you can search for opportunities.

• Do you have a talent or professional skill that you can use to help a good cause in Tameside? Join the Tameside 4 Good Talent Pool – www.tameside4good.goodpeople.co.uk

• Telephone for a chat with an advisor if you can’t access our services online – 0161 339 2345.

• Book on to a pre-volunteer course to discover what volunteering is all about.

• Email us – sasha.jackson@cvat.org.uk.

• Contact us: Volunteer Centre Tameside, 95/97 Penny Meadow, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, OL6 6EP.

• Open: Monday–Friday, 9.30am–4.30pm.

A grand re-opening

New and improved guidelines for organisations working with volunteers

How, where, what and when?

Tameside 4 Good Talent Pool is here to help you access talent for your organisation. Whether it’s volunteers or a particular skill or expertise needed or recruiting new trustees, Talent Pool is a quick and easy way to meet your needs and raise your profile too!

Talent Pool is our new initiative, within Tameside 4 Good, to encourage people with a range of professional skills, experience and knowledge to give their time help local good causes. We are encouraging people to sign up to Talent Pool to register their skills and interests on our new online platform called ‘Tameside 4 Good Talent Pool’. Local community, voluntary and faith organisations are being supported to register too. You can then connect with local talented people and businesses who match with your needs and interests.

In summary, Talent Pool will help local good causes:

• Access practical help and skills for your organisation (eg. accounting, human resources, IT)

• Recruit new volunteers and trustees/committee members

• Connect with local businesses interested in helping your cause

• Publicise your organisation and work for free, particularly via social media

Dip into our developing pool of talent to discover more. It’s free and easy to register online at: www.tameside4good.goodpeople.co.uk

Help is on hand through our Good Ambassador volunteers to help you get started. Contact Vashti Holland, email vashti.holland@cvat.org.uk Tel 0161 339 2345

Take a dip in the Talent Pool

13

The summer has been very busy for Time Banking with many skills exchanges and social activities.

For the first time, we held a ‘Picnic in the Park’ event for our members. This took place in King George V Playing Fields in Ashton on a warm August afternoon. We had a lovely picnic followed by a range of traditional games. A great time was had by all!

We held workshops on learning to crochet and understanding Reiki, both by our very own talented Time Bank members! Another very popular workshop was hosted by Sue, a volunteer from Tameside Local Studies, about how to start tracing your family history. The time went far too quickly as everyone present was mesmerised!

The first activity of the New Year will be a gift tag making session at Droylsden library on 8 January 2014, 10am - 12noon. Please come along if you can and enjoy a relaxed, friendly event with of course, a good cuppa!

Would you like to find out more about Time Banking?

• Would you like some help for free?

• Would you like to give an hour to help someone?

• It would be great to see you at any event we host.

Please contact Julie or Elaine on 0161 339 2345 or email julie.cunliffe@cvat.org.uk or elaine.kilburn@cvat.org.uk

Summer Time Banking

#CVATexpo2014In January 2013, we held our first ever expo, hailed as a great success by the staff team, speakers and attendees. The feedback we received was fantastic!

“Excellent!”, “Nice and clear, well presented” “Gave me some great new ideas for fundraising” “All very informative and useful content” “Useful information and the speaker was great!”

So in response to this, we have decided that #CVATexpo2014 will be held on 20 January 2014 and we are aiming to make it bigger, better and even more useful.

To begin with, Kevin Curley CBE, will be opening the event, talking about “what future independent voluntary and community action?”. Kevin is a highly-regarded champion of local voluntary action, previously being the CEO of the National Association of Voluntary and Community Action (Navca – previously NACVS, the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service), until his retirement in January 2012.

Kevin now describes himself as a voluntary sector adviser and upon his retirement, he stated “I’m not going to stop working for the local voluntary sector, I’m simply going to stop running an organisation.”

Following this, we will begin the day of workshops that will include topics on:

• Quality Assurance

• Setting a Plan B

• Measuring the wider impact of your work

• Develop successful campaigns for influence

• Making connections for success

• Retaining your volunteers

• Social media / getting your message across

• 10 tips for community fundraising

• Theory for change

And to top it all off, we have three ‘Funder’s Speed Dating’ sessions where you will get to talk directly to a number of funders including Tameside 4 Good; Children in Need; Sported; Forever Manchester and The Big Lottery Fund.

It looks set to be a great event but places are limited so book yours now. A full programme of the event is enclosed with this newsletter, or see the expo page on our website for the latest www.cvat.org.uk/expo2014

14 — FOCUS ON...EXPO 2014

Welcome to Learning ZoneCVAT is excited to announce a brand new learning opportunity for volunteers, staff and trustees of local community, voluntary and faith organisations in Tameside. Learning Zone is an online learning portal where you can access a wide range of interactive training and learning opportunities with each topic designed in bite sized sections to provide flexibility for working through them at a time and pace that suits you.

Annual membership to learning zone costs just £18 per person. Membership gives you access to over 30 different courses you can access at a time and place to suit yourselves. Courses include: Confidence and Assertiveness, Health and Safety, Customer Service, Managing Others Effectively, Deliver that Project, Minute Writing, Running Successful Events, Time Management, Great Meetings, Equality and Diversity and Essential Skills for Managers.

Evaluation from our recent e-learning pilot (funded by NLDC funding) found 88% of learners reporting an increase in knowledge and 88% reporting their skills have increased as a result of the learning. 100% agreed it encouraged them to undertake further learning/training and over two thirds said they would recommend eLearning to others.

For more information contact Vashti or Lisa on 0161 339 4985 email lisa.hannibal@cvat.org.uk

To join Learning Zone, please register at www.cvat.org.uk/cvat-workshops

Get your fundraising skills qualifiedCVAT has teamed up with fit4funding, nationally recognised quality provider of training and support on all aspects of fundraising and commissioning to offer new accredited training opportunities.

Funding for Community GroupsTuesday 11 February, 9.30am – 4pm

An excellent introduction for anyone new to funding for community and voluntary organisations. The course covers:

• The importance of taking a planned approach to fundraising

• Different kinds of funding available and the advantages and disadvantages of each

• Key elements of successful funding bids

• Sources of support and further information

The course is a Level 2 Open College Network-accredited course. In addition to the day course, you will also have to undertake a bit of extra work (approx 3 hours) to achieve your qualification. Thanks to funding from Tameside Community Learning Fund, we are able to offer this course at the reduced price of £45 per person (normal price £120), for volunteers or staff of local community, voluntary or faith organisations in Tameside.

For more information and to book on the course, visit www.cvat.org.uk/cvat-workshops or call Lisa on 0161 339 4985 email lisa.hannibal@cvat.org.uk

Become a Volunteer MagnetThurs January 16 10.00am – 4.00pm Voluntary Action Oldham

Magnets attract and repel. What attracts and repels volunteers? Top 10 things that attract and repel is an interactive session that explores new ways of attracting volunteers whilst taking an honest look at why volunteers leave. Discover why, as volunteer managers, we have to attract people to our programmes as volunteers. It’s time to magnetise your approach to recruitment in 2014 and beyond!

Managing VolunteersTue 25 February 10.00am - 4.00pm Volunteer Centre Tameside

All the hard work that goes into recruiting volunteers is often lost due to poor management of volunteers. We will use a variety of learning methods to help you identify ways that you can support your volunteers to become outstanding!

For more information and to book on the course, visit www.cvat.org.uk/cvat-workshops or call Lisa on 0161 339 4985 email lisa.hannibal@cvat.org.uk

15 — TRAINING & EVENTS

Training

See our website for the latest training workshops: www.cvat.org.uk/workshops

For all the latest events, see: www.cvat.org.uk/events

Development Services

One-to-one capacity building support, including funding information and advice, for Voluntary & Community Organisations in Tameside.

Contact Naomi, Dawn, Amanda or Lisa on 0161 339 4985, naomi.sampson@cvat.org.uk, dawn.acton@cvat.org.uk amanda.benson@cvat.org.uk lisa.hannibal@cvat.org.uk

Breaking the Record

Supporting volunteer involving organisations to recruit ex-offenders as volunteers.

Contact Vashti, 0161 339 2345, email vashti.holland@cvat.org.uk

Policy & Participation

Supporting groups and providing a policy function and developing the voice of local community and community action via a range of networks and associated activity.

Telephone the team on 0161 339 4985 or Voice ben.gilchrist@cvat.org.uk BME and BME Women’s Networks mohamed.seedat@cvat.org.uk Older People’s Network, Faiths United mohamed.seedat@cvat.org.uk Health and Social Care Network anna.hynes@cvat.org.uk Children & Young People’s Network veronica.hyde@cvat.org.uk

Volunteering Services

Including brokerage (matching both individuals and groups interested in volunteering with appropriate opportunities in the local community); marketing volunteering locally and promoting good practice in volunteer management to organisations; developing local volunteering opportunities; identifying and responding to proposals or legislation that may impact on volunteering.

Contact Sasha or Vashti on 0161 339 2345, sasha.jackson@cvat.org.uk or vashti.holland@cvat.org.uk

Miles of Smiles

A community transport scheme using volunteers to help people attend medical appointments.

Contact Sam on 0161 339 2345 or sam.ross@cvat.org.uk

Timebanking

A project that encourages people to exchange skills and time. One hour given to another earns one time credit which they can save, donate or spend.

Contact Elaine or Julie on 0161 339 2345 or elaine.watkins@cvat.org.uk or julie.cunliffe@cvat.org.uk

Tameside 4 Good

An initiative to help local people and businesses give time, skills and money to local good causes.

Contact Amy on 0161 339 4985, amy.watson@cvat.org.uk or Riona on 0161 339 2345, riona.doidge@cvat.org.uk

Central Services

Facilities management, financial control and administrative support, personnel management.

Contact Helen or Sam on 0161 339 4985, helen.tallents@cvat.org.uk, samantha.mcnicholls@cvat.org.uk, or Kelly on 0161 339 2345, kelly.chadwick@cvat.org.uk

Marketing and Communications

Promote your message locally through CVAT’s Newsletter and eBulletins. We can also provide marketing & design support services for your group under CVAT plus+

Contact Duncan or Michael on 0161 339 4985, duncan.craig@cvat.org.uk, michael.withington@cvat.org.uk

Senior Management

Chief Executive, Tony Okotie, 0161 339 4985, tony.okotie@cvat.org.uk Director of Volunteering and Deputy Chief Executive, Sue Vickers, 0161 339 2345, sue.vickers@cvat.org.uk

If you’re interested in having an article in CVAT News the deadline for the next issue is 30 January 2014. Articles should be sent to newsletter@cvat.org.uk, tel 0161 339 4985.

You can also submit articles to our weekly CVAT ebulletin, sent every Wednesday Lunchtime – send your articles to ebulletin@cvat.org.uk

Community and Voluntary Action Tameside (CVAT) is a Registered Charity (No: 1148056) and Company Limited by Guarantee (No: 7930346)

16 — STAFF