Do you need to build your confidence? Would you like to meet like minded volunteers? Tees Achieve are holding a workshop on Friday 20th January at the Robert Atkinson Community Centre between 12.30pm and 3.30pm. Places are free, if you would like to attend please contact Sarah at Viva on 01642 260860

I am delighted to invite you to a FREE Sport maker workshop on Thursday 8th December, 10-1pm at The George Hardwick Foundation in Stockton.

The workshop is for volunteers interested in volunteering in sports and becoming a Sport Maker.

What Are Sport Makers ?

Sport makers are people that make sport happen. Some might organise sport informally for themselves and their friends, colleagues or neighbors, for example by:

• >> Organising a friendly tennis session to help work colleagues get to know each other
• >> Rounding up half a dozen mates for a regular five-a-side football kick about
• >> Encouraging five friends to do a local run in the park once a week, celebrating with breakfast afterwards and keeping them motivated.

Others won’t take part themselves, but will do all those things that make sport possible, such as:

• >> Organising a fundraising fun-run for their village with the help of other Sport Makers
• >> Creating a multi-sport event or festival for the local community with other people
• >> Welcoming new participants at a local hockey club, helping them play the game and encouraging them to keep coming back.

Becoming a Sport Maker will give you the knowledge, information and connections to get better at making sport happen.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more or book onto our FREE workshop please get in touch with me either via email: info@viva-volunteers.org.uk or by phone on 01642 260872.

To mark the European Year of Volunteering 2011 we’ve launched a blogging competition. If you’ve got a tale to tell about your experience of volunteering for a charity or project or from managing a volunteer programme or centre then we want to hear from you!

Tales that inspire, amuse, challenge or move are especially welcome. Top prize is a fistful of Amazon vouchers to spend on what you want plus runners up will be featured on the homepage where they will be read by thousands..

Everything you need to know about entering is here: http://www.i-volunteer.org.uk/spotlight/tell-us-your-story-and-you-could-win-a-prize

Closing date is 30th of November, so get your keyboards out!

Volunteering shouldn’t affect your right to benefits, as long as the only money you receive is to cover your volunteering expenses. For example, expenses to cover travel from home to the volunteering location.

There are no limits on the amount of time you can volunteer for, nor any restrictions on the types of organisations you can volunteer for.  The only requirement is that you continue to meet the conditions of the benefit or tax credit you are receiving.

For example, if you are claiming Jobseekers Allowance, you can volunteer full time as long as you still actively seek employment. You must also be able to attend job interviews at 48 hours notice and available to take up paid work at a weeks notice.

Please be aware that applying for voluntary placements may not count as ‘contacting employers’ for your Jobseekers Agreement.

• Download ‘Volunteering while getting benefits’ (PDF, 371.79kb) Opens new window

New Skills Consulting is currently undertaking an independent evaluation of the Viva Volunteers project.  The main purpose of the evaluation exercise is to identify both the good and the not-so-good aspects of the project and to provide feedback which will be used to ensure that Viva can continue to meet the needs of volunteers.  It is extremely important that the evaluation includes the views of volunteers who have first-hand knowledge of using Viva’s services, so we are hoping that you will be kind enough to spare a little time to let us know about your experience of volunteering.

The following link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VivaWeb will take you to a questionnaire designed to gather your views and opinions. If you are, or have been a Viva volunteer, please answer all of the questions in the survey and simply click on the “Done” button at the end of the document.  Most of the questions require only a tick response so it should take around 10 – 15 minutes to complete the survey. Please note that all information provided will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed.  We would be grateful if you could submit your responses by 28^th October at the latest.

We hope you will take up this unique opportunity to participate in the evaluation exercise and influence the future of volunteering in Stockton.

Community Placements are part of the innovative programme of medical education which is being delivered at Durham University’s Queen’s Campus Stockton.  Each year approximately 100 medical students undertake a community placement in one of a range of settings across the Teesside area.  The aim is to produce doctors who respect and relate well to patients and colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds, understand the nature of health, illness and well-being at the community level, and who will maintain a community-centred approach to medicine in their future careers.  Through experiencing health and social care at the grass-roots, community level in this way, we believe students will become better practitioners in whatever field of medicine they choose to enter.

The placement is for 60 hours over one calendar year: three hours per week during term time (Thursday afternoons) is the allotted time for placements.  However, there is flexibility around this to meet needs of placement providers and their service users.  Other times can be negotiated with the student, including evenings and weekends. We are always looking for placement experiences which can cover a very wide range of health and social care issues at the grass-roots, community level.  Whether you are a voluntary organisation, a statutory body, a care and support group or a charity – if you provide health and social care in community based, broadly non clinical contexts on Teesside then we would be delighted to hear from you.

For more information please contact: Sarah Hodgson at Viva Volunteers on 01642 260871 or sarah@viva-volunteers.org.uk

Tees Valley Professional Services Group (PSG) are Viva Volunteers are delighted to be merging with Tees Valley Community Foundation from the 1st July 2011.

The merger brings together over 40 years experience of philanthropy and giving in the area with investment of over £14million.

The newly merged charity will provide a ‘one stop shop’ for local giving ensuring the community can access grants, free professional support and volunteers.

PSG & Viva brands will continue and all the team at Viva are looking forward to a bright future.

Over the coming weeks Viva will be launching challenge days taking groups of individuals out into the community to conduct a challenge or task.  Viva Challenges are available to local businesses who are wanting to become more socially responsible or individual members of the public wanting to do a short snappy day of volunteering.  For more details on how you can get involved please email lesley@viva-volunteers.org.uk

The North of England Cancer network is seeking NHS staff, partners, stakeholders and volunteers to support their ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaign at the 12 Race for Life events taking place in the North East and Cumbria over the next couple of months.
The campaign aims to improve the general public’s awareness of the symptoms of cancer and as a result increase the number of people in the North of England surviving cancer.
The key message of the campaign is to significantly increase the awareness of the general public that finding a cancer early enough makes it more treatable and could save their life. Be clear on cancer looks at five cancers including bowel, breast, lung, cervical and ovarian.
The North of England Cancer Network has partnered with Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life and Bauer Media who operates Magic, Metro Radio in Tyne and Wear, TFM on Teesside and CFM in Cumbria and are working together on a host of awareness raising activities involving real life patient survivor stories.
Now we are seeking volunteers from NHS staff, stakeholders, partners and others who would be willing to give a few hours of their time to help out at race for life events – so we can continue to spread the message of how we call need to be clear on cancer.
Volunteers would help us to engage with the families and friends of the race for life runners attending the events, to help people to understand the key messages of the campaign that finding early symptoms of cancer make it more treatable and could help save many people lives in the North East and Cumbria.
There are 12 events taking place over three months and would involve a couple of hours of your time – an hour before the start of the race and a short time afterwards.
If you can help – please email the North of England Cancer Network on necn@sotw.nhs.uk. stating your name, contact details and which event you could support.
Many thanks for your support – and together we can help more people in our local communities survive cancer.

Race for life events

Gateshead Sun 15 May 2011
11:00 5k

Sunderland

Sat 21 May 2011
11:00 10k
Sunderland Sun 22 May 2011
11:00 5k

Middlesbrough (Ormesby Hall) Fri 27 May 2011
19:30 5k

Middlesbrough (Ormesby Hall)
Sat 28 May 2011
10:30 5k
Middlesbrough (Ormesby Hall) Sun 29 May 2011
10:30 5k

Hartlepool Sun 05 June 2011
11:00 5k

Darlington
Sun 12 June 2011
11:00 5k
Durham
Sun 03 July 2011
11:00 5k
14:00 5k

Carlisle
Sun 10 July 2011
11:00 5k
15:00 10k
Newcastle
Sun 10 July 2011

09:30 5k