Still here, still volunteering

by | 14 August 2020 | Gainsborough, Local Charity, Notice

Heather Arnatt at Voluntary Centre Services West Lindsey has seen first hand the immense kindness that was shown within our communities in the first few weeks of the UK lockdown. Several weeks on, as we begin to see the easing of some restrictions she wants to remind everyone that the Voluntary Centre Services team is still here to support the local community, especially those who continue to be vulnerable and isolating.
At Voluntary Centre Services they offer four core services to their communities across West Lindsey, all of which continue to be offered via telephone or online.
Their Volunteer Centre offers information to those who would like to give some time to their community, as well as support and advice to groups who are looking to recruit volunteers. Until the middle of March this had always been a face-to-face service, where would-be volunteers could book an appointment at their Guildhall offices to find volunteering opportunities in the local community. They feel passionately that volunteering should be based on your skills and interests and their trained advisors, usually volunteers themselves, are highly skilled in identifying roles that will suit you. They have continued to take telephone volunteering enquiries throughout lockdown and you can find the latest volunteering opportunities in their Facebook group ‘Volunteering in Lincolnshire’.
The support and advice services offered by Voluntary Centre Services allow community groups, whether they are larger registered charities or small community groups that meet twice a year, to access free advice about governance, funding, policies and procedures, DBS checking, safeguarding and even free online training for the staff and volunteers in the group. They understand that groups have been heavily impacted by the lockdown, either financially or through a loss of volunteers, and they have a specialist advisor available to help get you back up and running.
They continue to offer 1:1 support services over the telephone via their Social Prescribing service, which is a free service to help individuals connect with their community. Similar to their volunteering advice service, social prescribing offers people the opportunity to find community groups that are able to support them, as well as telephone access to a link worker who can support and encourage them to access services.
Finally, they continue to offer advice specifically to people aged 16 to 30, whether that’s related to employment, education or wider lifestyle issues that affect young people. Known as the YES project, this service supports anyone who needs someone to talk to about the issues affecting them.
For more information about all of their services you can visit www.voluntarycentreservices.org.uk, call them on 01427 613470 or email westlindsey@voluntarycentreservices.org.uk.