Voluntary Action North Somerset (VANS)

VOLUNTEERS' WEEK - AWARENESS AND FUND RAISING

As well as raising an awareness of the value that volunteers have on our communities by highlighting some of the good news stories that we've been made aware of pre and post COVID, we also want to give back to those groups who work tirelessly to provide support to people who need it across North Somerset. We have launched a GoFundMe page and have challenged ourselves to raise £5,000 during Volunteers' Week. This money will donated to VCSE community groups across North Somerset to support them and facilitate volunteer initiatives. We hope you will support this cause and you can do so by donating below:

DONATE HERE

You can contact our Office between 9am-4.30pm Monday - Friday on 01934 416486. You can email us on the following address:

COVID-19 INFORMATION - 15/4/20

In response to COVID-19, VANS provides regular updates to the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector, if you would like to be included on this distribution list to receive these updates directly, please email us. To receive the monthly sector newsletter, you can subscribe here.

National Policy Guidelines – the most up to date and relevant guidelines for the sector can be accessed through the NCVO website. The .Gov Business pages provide more detailed guidance for employees, employers and businesses. Government have now announced a package of support for charities equating to £700m nationally, more details of this support can be found here.

Local Funding and Business Support - Quartet Community Foundation have launched a COVID-19 Community Response fund, follow the link to it on their website to find out more - https://quartetcf.org.uk/grant-programmes/coronavirus-response-fund/. An updated list of funding across the West of England and Nationally can be found on the VOSCUR site here.

The Economic Development team at NSC have created a COVID-19 business support page, including details of national grants/loans and other useful information for businesses.

Mutual Aid and Community Support Offer – VANS are capturing the details of community support groups such as Mutual Aids, Town and Parish Councils and Facebook groups, as well as businesses offering complimentary services through this time. Over 150 groups have been mapped across North Somerset, their details published and updated on daily. In tandem we are requesting groups requiring volunteer support to register with us using the form available here or email - info@vansmail.org.uk, and we will identify suitable individuals to join you.

North Somerset Together - is a local authority initiative that aims to help residents who have no support from family or friends and who are socially isolated to access the support they need during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. North Somerset Together will also help those who want to donate to link up with the foundations and signpost businesses to relevant information. The service provides a single point of access to enable those with greater needs to be identified and escalated to suitable wellbeing support.

Volunteer Training and Resources – in partnership with Weston College, VANS has developed a accredited induction in volunteering for existing volunteers and those wanting to get involved. To register your interest, email the Adult Learning team on adultpathways@weston.ac.uk and quote “VANS Volunteer Induction Course” as the title of your email.

The team at VANS are on hand to help, please contact us on 01934 416486 (9am-4.30pm, Monday-Friday) if we can be of assistance.

Stay happy and healthy…

Paul Lucock

Chief Executive Officer (Interim)

COVID-19 Resources & Information

Community Volunteers programme

Working in partnership with commissioners and providers, VANS has launched a coordinated volunteer initiative to help broker individuals to meet demand in health and social care roles and within other statutory service provision throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

Individuals wanting to volunteer:

If you are an individual who would like to register to volunteer then click on the following pink button and complete the registration form

We will be in contact with you within 48-72

hours to process your registration to

volunteer.

I want to volunteer

COVID-19 North Somerset Community Volunt

Service Provider needing support from volunteers:

If you are a service provider with an identified need for support from volunteers, contact the VANS team on 01934 416486 or email info@vansmail.org.uk and let us know what additional support you require, what, if any experience they should have and whether they need to have a current DBS certification.

Alternatively complete the following word document

and email it back to us at:

Templates PDF.pdf

COVID-19 North Somerset Communities providing support

We are collating information about the organisations and community groups providing support to residents of North Somerset. By clicking HERE, you will be able to add the relevant information about your community group/organisation which we will ensure is posted on our website and kept up-to-date.