Autumn 2009
Newsletter
The Newsletter for Kingston’s
Voluntary & Community Sector
Call for Local Survey
At the recent Voluntary Sector
Forum, Kingston’s Voluntary
and Community Organisations’
main response as to where we
go next with National Indicator
7 was a call for a local survey.
Many of the organisations who
attended the Forum agreed
that the initial survey was
flawed and did not reflect their
views. Most were not even
contacted.
National Indicator 7 “Creating
an Environment for a Thriving
Third Sector” was the main
topic for the Voluntary Sector
Forum, which was well
attended by representatives
from a wide range of voluntary
and community organisations,
as well as Council members,
RBK’s Voluntary Sector Unit
and NHS Kingston.
Presentations from Jill Darling
from the Voluntary Sector Unit
and Dean Tyler, Community
Planning & Partnership Coordinator put NI7 into context
(available on the KVA
website).
Participants engaged in a lively
debate around the terms
“thriving” (not struggling
financially, sustainable,
responsive, innovative, worldclass), “creating” (a voluntary
sector charter, COMPACT,
drawing up a plan, listening
and looking), “environment”
(political & economic ,
infrastructure, population mix)
and “third sector” (social
enterprise, charities, self-help,
community groups).
Incorporating the
KVC Newsletter
Pages 7-10
Groups discussed the key
questions “what their
organisation wants to see” and
“what they can do to
contribute (funding,
sustainability, security, higher
profile , increased recognition
and accessible premises were
seen to be the most
important). The session ended
with group discussions on how
we can ensure that NI7 plans
are developed that are both
meaningful locally and help
against the national target.
In this Edition
The findings will be put
forward to the next meeting of
Kingston Voluntary Board and,
in turn, to the Kingston
Strategic Partnership. The
next Voluntary Sector Forum
will be held in Spring 2010.
News
2
Community
Development
3
Health & Social
Care
4-5
Children First
6
KVC News
7-10
ICT
11
Training
12
Community
Accountancy
12
Funding
13
Focus On: Euphonix 14
Focus On: Oxygen
Kingston Voluntary Action, Siddeley House, 50 Canbury Park Road, Kingston KT2 6LX Tel: 020 8255 3335
Fax: 020 8255 8804 Email: info@kva.org.uk Website: www.kva.org.uk Registered Charity No. 257551
15
Page 2
www.kva.org.uk
News
KVA Annual General Meeting
Thursday 26 November, 12.00-3.00
Hawker Centre, Richmond Road, Kingston
Kingston Voluntary Action
Executive Committee, staff
and volunteers would like to
invite you to our Annual
General Meeting.
This event will be a great
opportunity to find out more
about the work of KVA,
including Kingston Volunteer
Centre, Superhighways and
Kingston Community
Furniture Project, as well as
to network with other
voluntary and community
organisations.
We hope you will be able to
attend.
RSVP to Polly Healy at
KVA, admin@kva.org.uk
Mayors Charity Receives Official Charity Status
Registration with the Charity
Commission became official
from 19 August 2009. The
official title is 'Mayor of the
Royal Borough of Kingston
upon Thames' Charitable
Trust' and the Registered
Number is 1131219.
Please visit the charity’s
website to find out about
supporting their work and
also to find out about the
work being carried out by
their partners towards
helping the homeless.
www.kingston.gov.uk/
information/
your_council/mayor/
mayors_charity.htm
As winter draws closer it
becomes even more critical
that we raise as much funds
as possible towards getting
the winter shelter open and
running.
Contact the charity at:
Mayor’s Office, Guildhall,
Kingston upon Thames,
Surrey KT1 1EU
mayorsc@rbk.kingston.
gov.uk or mayors.office@
rbk.kingston.gov .u
Richmond and Kingston ME Group
The Richmond and Kingston
ME Group is a self-help
group supporting people
with ME (Myalgic
Encephalopath) or CFS
(Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
and who live in the
Boroughs of Richmond and
Kingston and surrounding
areas. We would like to
reach more people with ME/
CFS and their carers.
We offer members a
newsletter, a telephone
helpline, an email chat
group, a library and we hold
regular coffee mornings.
As a group, we are involved
in publicising ME/CFS, in
campaigning for better local
and domiciliary services and
in supporting biomedical
research into ME.
For more information,
please visit
www.richmondand
kingstonmegroup.org.uk
or telephone
07984 860 309
Autumn 2009
Page 3
Community Development
Community Development Work - South of the Borough
Following the Participatory Needs Assessment recommendations the following activities were
set up at the St. Mary’s Centre Chessington.
Community Connected
Wednesdays 10-11.30
•
Learning to use a
computer & internet
•
Silver Surfers
•
Applying and searching
for jobs
•
Free WiFi access
Stop Smoking Sessions
Wednesdays
Free advice, one to one or
group support and specialist
help for pregnant smokers,
under-age smokers, parents
of children under 5 years
and those at risk.
Community Hub
Cardiac Rehab Sessions
•
Exercise classes
•
Relaxation training
•
Emotional support
•
Information and
discussions
There has been no decision
yet on the Community Hub.
We will keep the community
informed once we have a
clear indication.
Future Activities
Advice and Support
•
•
•
Funding information
for small to medium
size organisations.
Help with governance
documents
•
Cook and Eat sessions
•
Weight management
•
Obesity
For further information
please contact Sohail
Ahmed on 020 81336051
at St Mary’s Chessington
or on 020 8255 3335 at
KVA.
Help with funding
applications through
Funder Finder
Communitybuilders £70m Investment Fund
The fund is designed to help
empower citizens and
communities by
strengthening multi-purpose
community-led organisations
through a mixture of
financial and advisory
support.
Development package
consisting of bespoke
business support based on
an initial needs assessment
and leadership grants of
£2,000 for staff
development and training.
Feasibility package
consisting of further
business support of up to 5
days and grants of up to
£20,000 to use towards
project development of a
growth plan. Grants of up to
£75,000 and 30 days of
support will be available for
larger projects.
Investment packages
consisting primarily of loans
between £50,000 and
£2,000,000 offered at 5%
for an initial three year
period of a ten year loan
term.
Organisations can find
more, including
investment packages and
full associated eligibility
criteria, and register their
interest at
www.communitybuilders
fund.org.uk or by calling
0191 261 5200.
Alternatively, contact
Zahida Saddiq at KVA on
020 8255 3335.
Page 4
www.kva.org.uk
Health & Social Care
Kingston Local Involvement Network
The KVA Trustee Board has agreed to take
on the Host Agency role of supporting the
Local Involvement Network (LINk) for
Kingston; to take effect from October 2009.
KVA has a long history of supporting
organisations and local people to have a say
in all matters concerning health and social
care; informing on policy and planning
issues; involving people as representatives
in strategic planning, giving service users
and carers an opportunity to contribute to
matters that affect their health and
wellbeing. Taking on the role as a Host
agency to support the LINk is just another
strand of what KVA is renowned for doing.
Over recent years our Health and Social
Care Manager has kept our affiliated
members and others up to date with the
Department of Health changes around their
duty to involve people in matters concerning
health and social care, and encouraging
them to have a say in shaping services.
From the days of the Community Health
Councils, through the era of Patient and
Public Involvement Forums for Health, to
the existing arrangements for Local
Involvement Networks, we have been
continually informing and supporting people
through the changes to become involved.
A Local Involvement Network is intended to
be a conduit for information between service
users and service providers, facilitating
communication between these two groups
with a view to improving health and social
care services in our local community. The
role of KVA will be to support the LINk in
devising and carrying out its work plan, by
ensuring that systems and policies are in
place to facilitate this. Our aim is to reestablish the LINk as an effective system for
involving people. We intend to find a LINk
office space whereby members can become
actively involved.
Currently there is 18 months of the contract
remaining and we hope that during the
coming months we can help people to work
together; to track important changes that
are happening within the health and social
care agenda and give a voice to local people
to make a difference. If you wish to be
involved in this network, KVA as a
prospective host agency has the experience
and knowledge that can help you achieve
this. We shall be inviting people to a public
stakeholder event in the near future and
hope you can come along, bringing positive
ideas to progress the LINk work.
Maria Tunmer, Health & Social Care
Manager, KVA, mariat@kva.org.uk
Shaping the Future of Adult Care - Have Your Say
The government’s Big Care
Debate offers “everybody
the chance to have their say
on the reform of adult care
and support in England”.
Shaping the Future of Care
Together sets out a vision
for a new care and support
system. The Green Paper
highlights the challenges
faced by the current system
and the need for radical
reform, to develop a
National Care Service that is
fair, simple and affordable
for everyone. Within the
Green Paper, it sets out a
number of consultation
questions and asks everyone
to provide their views about
how they think Government
can make this vision a reality
and develop a care and
support system fit for the
21st century. The
consultation document can
be found on the DH website
along with an easy read
version which explains
simply why changes are
necessary.
The consultation will run
until 13 November 2009.
Autumn 2009
Health & Social Care
Page 5
‘Towards a strategy to support volunteering in health and
social care’
This document sets out the
messages heard during a
consultation process that
was carried out through nine
regional workshops held
around England, an on-line
questionnaire; and detailed
written responses received
by the Department of
Health. It sets out the key
themes identified and
outlines how the DH intends
to take forward work to
develop a substantive
strategy on volunteering in
health and social care.
The consultation document
describes a more coherent
vision to the value
volunteering activities bring
to the health, well-being and
social care system.
Establishing a coherent
vision would: raise the
esteem and profile of
volunteering; improve
management and support of
volunteers; allow more
investment; and support
evaluation of outcomes and
benefits. To achieve this, the
vision for volunteering in
health and social care
needs:
• support for individual
volunteers;
• effective management
within organisations
• commissioning
environment and
infrastructure
promoting partnership;
and
• leadership.
•
Some debate and
discussions were raised
around specific questions,
which will need to be
considered when developing
the substantive volunteering
strategy.
For more information
contact the Department of
Health Third Sector
Partnership Team on 0113
2546259 or email
volunteeringstrategy@
dh.gov.uk. Alternatively,
contact Maria Tunmer at
KVA on 020 8255 3335.
DisabledGo – Kingston upon Thames
DisabledGo.com is an online
access guide that aims to
empower disabled people to
make their own informed
decisions as to the usability
of a venue based on their
own particular access
requirements.
The site has the unique
feature that each venue
listed has been visited by a
trained surveyor to ensure
the information is accurate
and comprehensive.
Thanks to support from
Royal London Borough of
Kingston upon Thames
Council, the guide covers
Kingston, with over 1,000
venues and services listed
for the area.
The site has recently been
redesigned and information
can be found using the
simple search function. For
example, you can search for
a bank that has a hearing
loop, a restaurant with large
print menus, a solicitor who
offers a home visiting
service or a restaurant with
an accessible toilet.
For more information or to
join the DisabledGoKingston upon Thames
Steering Group please
contact Kimberley Dixon,
Partnership Coordinator,
DisabledGo, 01438 842710
or email kimberley.dixon@
disabledgo.com
www.disabledgo.com
Page 6
www.kva.org.uk
Children First Project
Children & Young People First Project Seminars
Ways of involving children
and young people in projects
is one of the perennial
challenges facing voluntary
and community groups. The
seminar that we held at the
URC in July was a great way
for VCS groups to learn
about some new methods of
involving children and young
people in projects.
Justine Rego from RBK
Learning and Children’s
Services and Grace Over
from the Disabled Children’s
Information Service gave an
excellent presentation and
everyone left with new ideas
The Safe Network
The Safe Network is a new
national Safeguarding Unit
for the Third Sector. The
Unit is managed by the
NSPCC and Children
England.
The aim of the Safe Network
is to work with VCS
organisations to help them
to put policies and
procedures in place to
protect children.
They will also give advice on
Safer Recruitment and the
new Vetting and Barring
arrangements.
Their website is
www.safenetwork.org.uk
for participation. These
included using the
www.participationworks
website and using post-it
notes for feedback, that
people can place on walls
with their comments.
There are full notes from
this seminar on the KVA
website. The presentation
from the March seminar on
developing training plans by
Katie Law of Learning and
Children’s Services, is also
on the website.
referral agencies in Kingston
and look at how to make the
most effective referrals for
your clients and your
organisation. Ally Carnie will
be outlining the ASKK
Service which deals with
child protection.
To book a place, please
call Judith Naylor at KVA
on 020 8255 3335 or
email cwd@kva.org.uk
The seminar in November
will focus on the range of
Vetting and Barring
Scheme
The new Vetting and Barring
scheme run by the
Independent Safeguarding
Authority (ISA) is being
introduced in England and
Wales from 12th October
2009.
The ISA has created an
online toolkit of materials to
help explain the new
scheme at www.isagov.org/toolkit
More details of these two
schemes are also in the
latest newsletter of the
Kingston’s Network for
Children and Young People’s
Organisations and will be
available at the Children’s
Network Event.
Children’s Network
Event
Thursday 5 November
11.30-2
URC, Eden Street, Kingston.
This is an excellent
opportunity for VCS
organisations to come along
and “show case” your
organisation and projects.
Pop in and discover the wide
range of work with children
and young people carried by
Kingston third sector groups.
To book a place please
call Patricia Turner,
Children’s Voluntary
Sector Worker on
020 8547 6024 or email
patricia.turner@
rbk.kingston.gov.uk
KVC News
Celebrating 40 years of Volunteering in the Royal
Borough of Kingston upon Thames
This has been an incredibly busy time for
the KVC team. The impact of the economic
downturn has resulted in an increase of
volunteers for all of our projects. We all can
take advantage of this opportunity, but as
with everything, it needs to be managed
well.
We have been able to engage with new
groups who have increased the diversity of
opportunities we have available, and that is
a good thing as the types of people wanting
to volunteer have a diverse range of skills to
offer.
Part of this increase in activity is also due to
the many successful events we have been
running throughout the borough to raise the
profile of volunteering. It is great to manage
such a highly motivated and energetic team
of project workers and I would like to take
this chance to say a big “thank you” to all
members of KVC for all your efforts. As you
can see from the following articles, each
project has organised something which
promotes and celebrates the valuable work
that goes on in Kingston to benefit those
who are from our local community.
And finally, we look forward to meeting as
many of you that are able to attend our
AGM, 26 November, where all at KVC will be
on hand to discuss your volunteering needs.
Maria Jarvis, KVC Manager
020 8255 8685
volunteering@kvc.org.uk
Volunteer Co-ordinators’ Forum
Developing Volunteering Opportunities Workshop
Wednesday 11 November, 9.45-12.30
Richard Mayo Centre, United Reformed Church, Kingston
At KVC, we have seen an upturn in the
number of people who want to volunteer,
particularly those with high skills who want
to share their skills and help a local
voluntary or community group.
Come along to our workshop to find out
how you take advantage of this by
challenging the perceptions of what
volunteers can or can't do, and think more
openly about how volunteers can be used
and develop new opportunities.
For this to be fully beneficial we need you
to work with us in developing new and
diverse opportunities such as:
• Marketing and promotion
• Fundraising
• Events
To find out more and book a place,
contact Patricia Stanley, KVC
Volunteering Development Worker
outreach@kvc.org.uk
020 8255 8685
Page 8
KVC Newsletter
www.kvc.org.uk
Good Sports - Sports Volunteering
Is there someone in your club or
organisation with a background in light
engineering who may be able to spare a
couple of hours a week to assist the
Kingston Fencing Club with the
maintenance of their equipment?
These are just two of a growing number of
sports volunteering vacancies in the
borough.
If you would like to receive information
on volunteering in sports clubs or
could advertise sports volunteering
opportunities at one of your club’s
events or within your facilities, please
contact Hedley Featherstone, Good
Sports Project Co-ordinator on 0208
255 8685 or goodsports@kvc.org.uk
Do some of your volunteers or people in
your organisation like to mull over the
football results and the performance of their
teams? Corinthian Casuals FC, whose rich
and illustrious history in amateur football
guarantees anyone with an interest in
football an enjoyable volunteering
experience, have a number of volunteer
opportunities.
Getting People Back to Work
The project has been running for a number
of months and has already successfully
placed a number of people into suitable
volunteer placements and provided them
with tailored support to suit their needs.
The volunteers are finding the support to be
very valuable which has made their
volunteer experience very memorable.
We are still looking to increase the number
of organisations involved in the project. The
training, advice and information on offer
will help your organisation develop good
practice in volunteering. This will enable
you to:
•
Improve the way all volunteers are
managed - a happy, productive volunteer
base
•
Attract and keep more volunteers longer skilled volunteers
•
Avoid high turnover of volunteers - save
time spent recruiting extra volunteers
•
Create a diverse volunteer base different volunteers with different skills
But most of all, you will build a team of
able, committed volunteers.
To discuss the project in more detail,
please contact:
Veronica Mulenga, Project Worker at KVC
on 020 8255 8685
gettingpeoplebacktowork@kvc.org.uk
Autumn 2009
KVC Newsletter
Page 9
Buddy Birthday Celebrated in Style
On Friday, 4th September, Kingsmeadow
played host to what is sure to be one of the
most spectacular birthday parties of the
year.
The Buddy Scheme held its 10th anniversary
at the special event celebrating people with
disabilities’ right to have fun and ‘Stay Up
Late’.
The venue was packed and the celebrants
danced the night away whilst enjoying a
live set by Heavy Load as well as a disco.
The band, who played at Glastonbury
Festival earlier in the summer, were keen to
lend their support to the Buddy Scheme’s
celebrations and started the national ‘Stay
Up Late’ campaign.
Local MP, Edward Davey, came along to the
party and led everyone in a chorus of Happy
Birthday before cutting the cake together
with some of the Scheme members. All the
members of the Scheme were presented
with certificates and the audience also
enjoyed the first full screening of The Buddy
Film.
The evening featured a presentation from
the Kingston Disability Parliament who spoke
about their fantastic work in representing
those in the Borough and fighting for their
right to ‘Stay Up Late’.
Paul Vitty, Buddy Scheme Co-ordinator
buddyscheme@kvc.org.uk
The Buddy Scheme, over the past 10 years,
has been recruiting and supporting
volunteers to befriend adults with learning
disabilities. Together, they engage in leisure
activities and the one-to-one nature of the
scheme helps offer genuine choice enabling
its members to share hobbies and interests,
as well as try out new activities.
Incident Support Team (IST) - Swine Flu
The IST have been asked to assist the
Kingston Primary Care Trust in running an
Antiviral [Tamiflu] Collection Point (ACP) if
there is a second wave of Swine Flu later
this year.
Several of the IST recently had a briefing on
what support is required. Essentially it will
be very similar to the Reception in a Rest
Centre - a role the team has previously
expected to be asked to do. Those
attending the ACP will be friends of patients
- not people with Swine Flu.
The ACP ran for a few weeks during the
summer staffed by volunteers from admin
staff of KPCT. The principle is that normal
frontline medical/care staff should not be
diverted from their roles in order to maintain
the best medical and social service.
We have been asked to help as a higher
level of demand is anticipated in the next
wave.
Douglas Craik, Incident Support Team
Volunteer Co-ordinator, ist@kvc.org.uk
Page 10
www.kvc.org.uk
KVC Newsletter
Celebrating the Contribution of Young
Volunteers: A Snapshot
The Youth Volunteering programme at KVC is all about increasing and improving
volunteering for young people aged 16 to 25. The programme is part of V – the national
youth volunteering charity – inspiring young people to get positively involved in their
communities and celebrating their contribution.
MP Edward Davey presented Event volunteers with their vAwards at the Buddy (Stay Up Late) event to mark
10 years of befriending adults with learning disabilities. Pictured here are volunteer DJ James Jarvis (aged 18)
and volunteer photographer Martin George (23).
“I really enjoyed it. I’m now thinking of doing more volunteering. It looks
great on your CV and you come away feeling good about it too.” James
Peer Motivators: Farah Sadiq, Aadam Sadiq (both aged 16) & Derek Eboigbe
(23) supported other young people to take part in activities offered by the
Summer Uni programme. They were awarded their V Thank You certificates
at a celebration event at the Rose Theatre.
“The volunteering helped me build my self-confidence, presentation skills
and teamwork. It was great doing something that made others and me
happy.” Derek.
12 young people volunteered with Kingston Refugee Action on its summer projects.
Pictured here are Rhiannon Bone (aged 17), Gurpreet Kalsi (18) and Bilal Davis (24) – all were presented with
their vAwards by Meena Kapila, Youth Volunteer Advisor at an awards event hosted by Starbucks.
Meena Kapila, Youth Volunteer Advisor can help your
organisation to:
• create new and varied volunteering opportunities for
young people
• recruit young volunteers
• develop good working practices with young volunteers
• give recognition to your young volunteers through the
national certificate scheme, vAwards.
Contact Meena Kapila,
Youth Volunteer Advisor
on 020 8255 8068
youthvolunteering@kvc.org.uk
Autumn 2009
Page 11
ICT
London ICT E-Bulletin
Superhighways and London
Advice Services Alliance are
collaborating to produce a
monthly London ICT
e-bulletin targeting a pan
London readership and
funded by London Councils.
It is aimed at smaller
voluntary and community
organisations, managers,
circuit riders and accidental
techies and aims to keep
you up to date with the
latest in ICT.
There are regular sections
covering:
• ICT news
• Events and training
• Funding
• Resources
• Practical tips
• Tools and applications
Subscribing is easy. Sign up
at www.lasa.org.uk/
lasa/mailing-lists
You will then receive future
copies of the bulletin in your
inbox every month, with the
option to forward to a friend
or unsubscribe at any time.
Kate White,
Superhighways Project
Manager,
katewhite@super
highways.org.uk
Free Websites for Community Groups through VOICE
VOICE is a powerful
publishing tool that allows
community groups, schools,
statutory bodies and
Councillors to create free
websites using a selection of
templates and applications,
which require no knowledge
of website design or
programming. VOICE
websites are listed in a
community directory on the
Kingston VOICE portal at
www.e-voice.org.uk/
kingston-upon-thames
Wednesday 25th November.
The morning session is
aimed at beginners, either
organisations setting up a
new website or additional
staff/volunteers from
organisations who already
have a VOICE website and
need to be able update their
site. By the end of this
session, you will be able to
set up a basic site with
documents, images and
links.
This service is made
available to groups in
Kingston by the Royal
Borough of Kingston working
in partnership with Kingston
Voluntary Action.
The afternoon session will
look at more advanced
features, such as the events
diary, private area, forms
and statistics. This will
allow you to develop a fully
interactive website.
Superhighways deliver
regular training on using the
VOICE system and the next
sessions will be on
The training costs £20 per
half day session. This
subsidised fee also includes
guidance before the course
to assess your website
needs and full technical
support after the course to
allow you to develop your
website.
You can register for a
VOICE site at
www.e-voice.org.uk/
kingston-upon-thames.
Full details of the training
session along with a
booking form are
available on the KVA
website www.kva.org.uk
Page 12
www.kva.org.uk
Training / Accountancy
Workforce Development and Training
As part of the Kingston
Infrastructure Support and
Development Project,
funded by the BIG Lottery,
KVA has been running a
programme of training
courses. This programme
continues with the courses
listed below and will resume
again in Spring 2010.
Sanja Kane, Workforce
Development and Training
Co-ordinator, will be
carrying out a Needs
Analysis to assess which
courses would be most
useful to Voluntary and
Community Organisations in
Kingston.
As part of this project, we
will also be looking to
support ten management
committees with their
development using the Code
of Governance and
introducing National
Occupational Standards and
ten community development
workers to develop their
roles. Further details will be
available shortly.
29 Oct: Using PowerPoint
for Presentations
Full details, including
times and prices can be
found on the KVA website
www.kva.org.uk
If you have any
suggestions for training or
would like to receive the
support outlined above,
please contact Sanja Kane
on 020 8255 3335 or
training@kva.org.uk
14 Nov: Child Protection
25 Nov: Developing a
Website in VOICE
Community Accountancy
Mafaz Ansari is the
Community Accountancy
Adviser covering Kingston,
Richmond and Hounslow.
Her expert advice includes:
Financial Health Check
For groups who have limited
capacity, and financial
processes being overseen by
trustees or volunteers.
One to one support
For all groups with questions
about financial record
keeping and spending
These services are fully
funded by London Councils,
which gives groups access
to professional suport at no
cost to their own budgets.
We strong advise you to
take full advantage of this
service.
Management accounts
For groups who are
managing budgets, and
need to report quarterly or
monthly to Trustees
Project accounting
For groups working with
restricted income
The project also has a
newsletter, with the latest
issue focusing on the role of
the Treasurer. This can be
found on the KVA website.
Book Keeping Courses
These invaluable courses are
aimed specifically at small to
medium voluntary and
community organisations
and are suitable for
beginners or those looking
for a refresher.
6 Nov:
Cash Book & Petty
Cash
13 Nov: Nominal Ledger &
Fixed Assets
Mafaz Ansari is based at
KVA on Fridays, but can be
contacted on 07879335390
or communityaccountant
@richmondcvs.org.uk
throughout the week.
Autumn 2009
Page 13
Funding
Safer Kingston Partnership - ‘Prevent’ Grants
The Safer Kingston
Partnership has launched a
special grants programme
that aims to meet the
government’s strategy to
prevent radicalisation and
violent extremism.
Applications are invited from
voluntary and community
organisations for projects
which will achieve one or
more of the following:
Challenge the ideology of
violent extremism and
support mainstream
voices
• Support individuals who
are being targeted and
recruited to the cause of
violent extremism
•
•
Increase the resilience of
communities to resist
violent extremism
Much of the Prevent activity
takes place in and with
Muslim communities
because the greatest threat
at present is from terrorists
who claim to act in the
name of Islam. However,
the principles of Prevent
apply equally to other
communities who may be
the focus of attention from
violent extremist groups.
Grants can be for up to
£10,000, although it is
expected that most awards
will be in the range of £500
to £1,000.
Funding can be requested
for any relevant project
costs including staff costs,
equipment, premises hire,
publicity, volunteers’
expenses, etc.
This is a rolling programme
and grant applications will
be considered by the
Prevent Executive Group at
its monthly meetings up
until 30th September 2010.
For further details and an
application form please
contact Gillian Pennington
on 020 8547 6072 or
Barnaby Hopson on 020
8547 6068 at the RBK
Voluntary Sector Unit.
Comic Relief
The Hardship Fund
Funding Updates
Thames Community
Foundation is distributing
funds raised through Red
Nose Day and Sport Relief.
Grants of up to £10,000 are
available to small, locally
based Voluntary and
Communities Organisations
working in deprived or
disadvantaged areas, using
a range of activities,
including sport, to increase
community cohesion, help
socially excluded or respond
to local economic needs. Full
details can be found on their
website
www.thamescommunity
foundation.org.uk
Administered by the
Community Development
Foundation (CDF), the
Hardship Fund offers grants
between £50,000 and
£250,000 to organisations
delivering frontline services
to the most vulnerable and
disadvantaged in society.
The fund is available to
organisations suffering
financial hardship that is
impacting on their ability to
deliver services in health
and social care, housing
support, education and
training, and advice,
information and guidance.
Visit the website at
www.cdf.org.uk
Details of other funding
opportunities are available in
the Funding section of the
KVA website
www.kva.org.uk
In the near future, we will
also be sending out a
regular funding bulletin. To
be added to the mailing list
for these updates, please
email Justine Forrest,
Information &
Communications Coordinator at
communications@kva.org.uk
Page 14
Focus On: Euphonix
www.kva.org.uk
Euphonix – a community choir with a difference - seeks new
members
When the community choir Euphonix first
registered with KVA a couple of years ago it
was just a dream – it didn’t have a name
(only a provisional one, “A Choir With a
Difference”), a committee, a bank account
or, most crucially, a Musical Director. The
dream was to form an inclusive community
choir, run by volunteers, singing popular,
essentially secular, music. No one would be
excluded because they couldn’t read music
or were nervous of auditions or singing solo,
or couldn’t afford it.
It wasn’t until late in 2008 that a young
musician, Dominic Stichbury, offered - via
Volunteering UK - to be our Musical Director
– and then it was all systems go. A steering
group formed, we talked to the Rose
Theatre about using a space there for
rehearsals, we brainstormed until we found
a name that we all liked, we updated our
website (a Voice one, another benefit that
came via KVA), and we sent out as much
publicity material as we could with no
funding at all. We held our first rehearsal in
February 2009, with no idea of how many
would turn up, who they’d be and how
much they’d be willing to pay into our
“honesty boxes” each time they came.
In fact, we have had enough singers to
make a good sound right from the
beginning, and we have been able to cover
our costs, even some unexpected ones, with
the help of our members’ weekly
contributions and a small grant from the
Royal Borough of Kingston.
After the first few weeks, word of mouth
was enough to keep us growing to the point
where we had to operate a waiting list, until,
on October 7th, with the kind permission of
Rose Theatre management, Euphonix
“cloned” to form a second rehearsal group
on Wednesday mornings. So once again we
are recruiting, this time, with the help of the
RBK grant, more actively from “hard to
reach” groups in Kingston. If readers of this
newsletter have clients or members who
they think would benefit from singing in a
choir and would like to join us, please do
send them in our direction, or if you have a
notice-board or display case that could take
our flyers, do ask for some.
One reason that we wanted to share our
enjoyment of singing was that we knew it
was good for people in all kinds of ways,
physical and psychological, and our first few
months have confirmed that. There is a
palpable sense of achievement and
camaraderie when we sing really well or
perform in public. Members tell us singing in
our choir brings them “happiness, challenge,
something to look forward to” and that it
has helped them to feel good and make new
friends: “I’ve developed my voice and my
social life in one go!” We have realised how
much some of our members value, even
depend on, “the highlight of the week”, as
one of them put it, and so we try to keep
going every week.
To find out more please contact Marilyn
Mason, Chair, Steering Committee,
Euphonix www.euphonix.org.uk
info@euphonix.org.uk
Autumn 2009
Focus On: Oxygen
Page 15
Friday Night Project: £1 for 1 minute
The week is over, the weekend has begun,
it’s Friday night so what are you going to
do?
After a hard week’s work, all of us enjoy
changing gear on Friday’s, whether it is with
a movie, meal or meeting up with friends,
we enjoy the opportunity that Friday night
brings. For the young people of Kingston
Borough, Friday nights are no different, they
too want to switch off, want to enjoy the
start to their weekend after a busy week of
school and coursework. Yet for a growing
number of these young people, what to do
on Friday nights, how to switch off and
enjoy, has had a decreasing amount of
possibilities.
Whether it is due to a lack of imagination or
a perceived lack of opportunity, for many
the decision to be made about Friday nights
has become one about where to go drinking.
It is not, therefore, surprising to learn that
between 2004 and 2006 there was a 28%
increase in the number of young people
under 16 years who have attended Kingston
Hospital A&E with a primary diagnosis of
alcohol or apparently drunk. Kingston now is
the London Borough with the second highest
hospital related alcohol admissions for young
people. A recent PCT youth survey found
that 64% of local young people admitted
being drunk in the last month and 43%
admitted to taking some kind of illegal drug.
Local Christian Youthwork charity Oxygen
has been working with young people across
Kingston Borough since 2001. During this
time they have met thousands of young
people, run hundreds of different projects
and helped many young people overcome
their challenges. Now Oxygen is turning its
attention to the problem of Friday nights.
Oxygen is working in partnership with the
YMCA to launch a £1 a minute Friday Night
Project at the basement, a new youth café
in central Kingston. This will enable young
people to run some great Friday night
events for other young people. From
comedy stand-up shows to battle of the
bands and movie nights, every £1 donated
to Oxygen will enable it to run another
minute of activities for young people.
Oxygen is now looking for those who are
interested in joining in with its Friday Night
Project. They can be those who are
interested in performing, those who would
like to help out, or anyone or organisation
who is interested in either donating, or
undertaking a fundraising challenge to
support the work.
For more information contact
Richard James
richard.james@oxygen-online.org
www.oxygen-online.org/fridaynightproject
Page 16
About Kingston Voluntary Action
Mission Statement
KVA leads community engagement, creating
opportunities for organisations and
individuals to become empowered to reach
their full potential so they make a difference
in their communities.
Kingston Voluntary Action
020 8255 3335
Hilary Garner
Lynda Evans
Keith Morton
Maria Tunmer
Zahida Saddiq
Chief Executive
Deputy Chief Executive
Business Manager
Health + Social Care Manager
Community Development Team
Manager
Sanja Kane
Workforce Development &
Training Co-ordinator
Justine Forrest Information & Communications
Co-ordinator
Judith Naylor Children + Young People First
Project Worker
Sohail Ahmed Neighbourhood Based Community
Development Worker
Yared Ashenafi Finance Worker
Mafaz Ansari
Community Accountant
Polly Healy
Administrator
www.kva.org.uk
Kingston Community Furniture
020 8942 5500
Jim Christmas
Adrian Collins
James Deane
Bart Ricketts
Chris Williamson
Projects Manager
Administrator
Volunteer Co-ordinator
Eco-Op Project Co-ordinator
Recycling + Repackaging Unit
Supervisor
Superhighways
020 8255 8040
Kate White
Colin Cregan
Maher Al-Ugaily
Yaarub Aisa
Sue Quilter
Manager
ICT Support Worker
ICT Support Worker
ICT Support Worker
Admin Worker
Kingston Volunteer Centre
020 8255 8685
Maria Jarvis
Paul Vitty
Meena Kapila
Veronica Mulenga
Pat Stanley
Manager
Buddy Scheme Co-ordinator
Youth Volunteer Advisor
Project Worker
Volunteering Outreach
Worker
Hedley Featherstone Good Sports Project
Co-ordinator
Newsletter Information
The Newsletter is distributed free of charge four
times a year, to all known voluntary organisations in
the Borough, key personnel in the statutory sector as
well as to local councillors, libraries, doctors’ surgeries
and schools.
The Newsletter, along with the KVA website, provides
opportunities to promote voluntary and community
organisations and events. If you would like to submit
details of inclusion, please contact Justine Forrest,
Information & Communications Co-ordinator
communications@kva.org.uk.
Inserts can be sent with the newsletter by prior
arrangement. Please contact Polly Healy
admin@kva.org.uk for costs and deadlines. If you
would like to amend the contact details or you would
prefer to receive the newsletter by email, please also
contact Polly.
The current and back issues of the Newsletter are
available in PDF format on the KVA website. The
newsletter can be put on tape if required.
Next Edition: January 2010.
Deadline for Copy: 11 December 2009
Membership of KVA
Membership is open to all voluntary and
community groups who are based or
work in Kingston. For details of how to
become a member contact Polly Healy,
admin@kva.org.uk
Disclaimer: information contained in the Newsletter and inserts come from a wide range of sources. Opinions or statements expressed
may not necessarily reflect those of KVA. KVA aims to ensure all information is correct and up to date.