Training: Project Management for Community Projects

Thursday 10th July, 6.30pm to 8.30pm at the Council Chamber, West Berkshire Council, Market Street, Newbury, RG14 5LD.

Come and learn about the various aspects of managing community projects that commonly result in the success or failure of a project.

This training will enable you to: 
1. Embark on community projects with increased confidence
2. Improve your chances of delivering successful community projects
3. Avoid common pitfalls in project management

You may also wish to come along to share some of your experiences in running community projects. If so, you are welcome to join us. 

The evening will be run by Bob Lyon from Frilsham's Future and Tessa Hall from CCB

Please contact Tessa via e-mail: tessa.hall@ccberks.org.uk or phone: 07966 236408 for more information.

To book please click on this link and fill in the booking form-  https://ccberks.wufoo.com/forms/project-management-for-community-projects/  

Hoarding Disorders UK launch support group in West Berkshire.

Hoarding Disorders UK CIC (a community interest company) was launched in Newbury on 22nd May by Jo Cooke and Amanda Peet to combat the increasing problem of hoarding.  

Hoarding Disorders UK holds free support group meetings on the fourth Thursday of each month from 7pm to 9pm at Broadway House, The Broadway, Newbury. Anyone suffering from hoarding disorders or their families is welcome to attend. The venue for the support group has been provided by Greenham Common Trust.

With 2.5% of the population estimated to suffer with the condition, which has recently been recognised as a mental illness, it’s thought that there could be more than 3,500 households in the West Berkshire area who need help.

Amanda and Jo believe the key to helping people who suffer from varying levels of hoarding disorder, ranging from people who are chronically disorganised to extreme hoarders, is patience and non-judgement.

Jo said: “Often, people find themselves in a situation that’s not of their own making. It can be that someone in their family has died, leaving them lots of stuff, or it could be a traumatic event such as grief, loss or divorce that a person can’t cope with, which manifests itself in hoarding. I am working with a gentleman whose late wife was a hoarder.  His wife’s compulsive shopping impacted on the couple’s finances and the spare room was lost to the accumulation of clothes and meant friends couldn’t stay. When the boiler broke down, he was so embarrassed at the state of the house that the boiler was never fixed.

“He now realises that hoarding is a mental health disorder and it has helped him in his grief to understand that his wife did not choose to compulsively buy and hoard.  I have been helping him clear his house bit by bit. Having lived with the hoard for over 20 years, it was important to work at a pace that suited him.  We are gradually organising the house so that he can regain some space for himself and transform what felt like a storage unit into a home.”

An expert in decluttering and an accredited member of the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers (APDO), Jo points out that “clutterbugs” and hoarders are very different.  Having 40 handbags does not necessarily make you a hoarder.

The plan for Hoarding Disorders UK is to expand the support group and its services to the whole of the UK.

More information can be found at http://hoardingdisordersuk.org/ and donations to continue the work are welcome at www.findmeagrant.org

Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services 2015

Do you know an inspiring voluntary group? Nominations for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2015 are open and you have until 30 September 2014 to submit your nomination.

The award is the equivalent to an MBE and winning groups may also be invited to a Royal Garden Party. So if you know a group that your community couldn't do without, nominate them here.

Winners of the Award for 2014 can be found here.

Mortimer Village Partnership wins the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2014

Last summer Mortimer Village Partnership was nominated by West Berkshire Council and the Community Council for Berkshire for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for voluntary groups.

This is what Danusia Morsley - the MVP Chairman had to say about the experience.
‘As you can imagine we were over the moon to be even nominated. CCB contacted us for some details about our activities for their nomination and they requested letters of support from people and groups who have benefitted from what MVP does. Later we heard that the nomination had been accepted and we were interviewed by two Deputy Lieutenants of Berkshire representing the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. They wrote further reports on what we do and this was sent in to a national review’.

Danucia pointed out that the award has been given as a result of the work of all those who have volunteered for any of the activities that MVP organise: ‘all of the MVP  committee members,  many giving a great deal of time to the village, all those who serve at the Lunch Club, pick up litter at the Spring Clean, sell refreshments at the pantomime, put up tents and clean toilets at the Fun Day, deliver newsletters, administer our Facebook page, collect Bag2School bags from pavements, organise the Sports Weekend, maintain our website, local businesses that offer sponsorship and practical help, and many, many more. It was the range and number of volunteers, all in different ways serving the good of the village, which impressed the very serious judging panel that decided the award. We all do this because it is good for our community but it is wonderful to have that recognised.’

For more information on the Mortimer Village Partnership, including a full account of their big day out in London, see http://www.mortimervillage.org.uk/index.htm

Fire Brigades Union strike action tomorrow

A message from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service:

As you may be aware, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has announced that further strike action will take place From 10am to 5pm on Saturday 21 June (7 hours)

Although RBFRS has contingency plans in place, during any period of industrial action we will have significantly fewer resources. We will therefore be prioritising ‘life critical’ incidents, such as house fires and road traffic collisions where people are trapped.

We therefore need you to take extra care. 

RBFRS will still be responding to 999 calls but we are asking people to reduce demand by calling us only in a genuine emergency.

For information and advice, please see the RBFRS website at http://www.rbfrs.co.uk/

Creating Councils

Local councils (parish, town, neighbourhood, village, community or city) are the first tier of local government in England. There are around 9,000 local councils in England made up of nearly 80,000 local councillors. They deliver a range of services at a community level and their role is to represent the local community, provide services to meet local needs and improve quality of life and community wellbeing.

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has long supported the need for a fundamental shift of power to local people and supports the establishment of local councils in all areas – urban and rural – so that people can benefit from first tier representation and opportunities for service delivery.

There are 200 more local councils in England now than just over ten years ago, with communities now taking more control over their decisions and services through the establishment of new local councils.

The main factors to consider before creating a new local council in your area are:

• Why you think the council is needed
• What benefits it will bring to your area
• Likelihood of gaining sufficient valid signatures on your petition
• Receptiveness of your authority to alternative methods of community governance
• The outcome of previous attempts (if any) to create a new local council in your area

Much of the detailed information regarding how to create a new local council in your area can be found in a publication from NALC: Power To The People. This publication contains case studies, detailed step-by-step advice on the moves to make in your campaign and explains the pitfalls to avoid – based on the experiences of local councils around England.

Essentially a new local council can only be created after a Community Governance Review has been triggered in your local authority area. Your Unitary Authority can choose to undertake a Review or a community can trigger one by securing enough signatures on a petition and making proposals to the principal local authority.

The Berkshire Association of Local Councils is available to help if your residents or community association is interested in trying to become a parish council. Drop an email to Christine.Lalley@ccberks.org.uk or call 0118 961 2200

Volunteer Centre West Berkshire is 40!

Dear Volunteer Groups,

Re: Invitation to Celebrate our 40th Anniversary Yard Party on Friday 25th July 2014, 10.30 am to 2.30 pm

You are cordially invited to help us celebrate our 40th Anniversary on Friday 25th July 2014 in the Yard at 1 Bolton Place, Northbrook Street, Newbury, RG14 1AJ from 10.30 am.

We have been established since 1974 and our organisation has been recruiting volunteers, delivering services and been at the centre of community activity for 40 years, and we hope to be around for the next 40 years!!

Come along to find out more about our current services and you will have an opportunity to meet with other voluntary and charitable organisations with whom we work.

Please RSVP to info@vcwb.org.uk or telephone 01635 49004.

Yours sincerely, 
Garry Poulson
Director

Establishing Befriending Schemes Training
Wednesday 25th June 6.30pm to 8.30pm
The Council Chamber, West Berkshire Council
Market Street, Newbury, RG14 5LD

Please note that this training event has been cancelled. For further information, please contact Tessa Hall on 07966 236408 or email tessa.hall@ccberks.org.uk