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Autumn 2014 ◊ Issue 60
News and Information for Carmarthenshire’s Voluntary Sector
Carmarthenshire
Association of
Voluntary
Services
Jane Hutt AM attended CAVS’ stand at the National Eisteddfod
Carmarthenshire Third Sector stand at the Eisteddfod For more information please turn to page 8
CAVS Trustee, Peter Loughran, pedalling for a smoothie on the iSmooth bike
Llais Myrddin | Autumn 2014| Issue 60 2
The Mount 18 Queen Street CARMARTHEN
SA31 1JT 01267 245555
[email protected] / www.cavs.org.uk
Weekday Meeting Room Rates (9 a.m.—5 p.m.)
Commercial Community Group
Community Group
CAVS Member
Half Day £54.00 £42.00 £31.00
Full Day £100.00 £73.00 £55.00
Rooms can be booked on an hourly basis Evening and weekend sessions available on request
CAVS Llanelli Office:
10 John Street
LLANELLI
SA15 1UH
01554 778601 [email protected]
Copydate for next edition Please send your contributions for the Winter 2014 edition of Llais Myrddin to Admin by Tuesday 16th December 2014. To contact, Email [email protected], or phone 01267 245555.
Carmarthenshire Volunteer Organisers’ Network meetings
2014 and 2015
Wednesday 15th October 2014
Wednesday 11th March 2015
Wednesday 15th July 2015
Wednesday 14th October 2015
10.30 am – 12.30 pm
at The Mount, 18 Queen Street, CARMARTHEN SA31 1JT
Email [email protected]
3 Llais Myrddin | Autumn 2014 | Issue 60
A Volunteer Case Study Another of Leonard Cheshire’s volunteer befrienders
What sort of volunteering have you been doing? Befriending with disabled people at Leonard Cheshire Disability. I have been volunteering for four months now. I spend time with people on their own and in small groups, chatting, socializing and sometimes playing games.
Why did you get involved? I am trying to get work in a care setting and I think my experience of volunteering will help me to get a job.
What made it easier for you to volunteer? Did you get support from anyone? I met somebody at the Volunteer Centre in Carmarthen. We talked about my interests and what I would like to do. Then the co-ordinator at Leonard Cheshire rang me and we got together to talk about how I could help.
How did you get interested in volunteering? The Job Centre suggested it would be a good idea to get some hands on experience to help me get work. Also at school I had done a work placement at a care home for the elderly.
What do you get out of volunteering? Has volunteering helped you to do other things I enjoy volunteering,I have made some new friends. I was really shy at first but feel much more confident now I know people at Leonard Cheshire better. It has helped me to decide that I would really like to work as a carer.
What helps you to keep going? It is good fun, and I feel that I am doing something useful with my time and learning things that will help me when I get a job.
Is there anything (including different volunteering) you would like to do in the future? I hope I get paid work in a caring role soon. I would also be interested in working, or volunteering with children in a nursery.
JobCentre Plus Carmarthen – Youth Hub There is a new, innovative development at the Carmarthen Job Centre. Every Wednesday, young unemployed people get the opportunity to meet different agencies who may be able to help them gain skills and experience to help them into employment. CAVS Volunteer Centre have been invited along to provide information about what is available
and how to get involved in volunteering as a way to develop skills and increase employment
prospects. A Volunteering Officer will attend the Wednesday sessions whenever possible. It
gives us a great opportunity to engage with young people, introduce ourselves and explain
how we can help.
CAVS Volunteer Centre CAVS Volunteering Officers have the amazing experience of meeting a wide range of inspiring people in their daily work. Individuals who are seeking to volunteer, come to us bringing many different skills, experiences and personal qualities which they choose to use to help individuals and their communities. People have different motivations for seeking voluntary roles. At its best, volunteering is a two-way street, with volunteers gaining as much as they give by getting involved. CAVS Volunteering Officers can offer information and support to help people find a suitable volun-teering placement with an organisation. There are a vast range of different volunteering activities throughout the County. If you are interested in finding out more about what is available, contact us: Telephone 01267 245555 E.mail [email protected] [email protected] Visit the website www.volunteering-wales.net or www.cavs.org.uk
Llais Myrddin | Autumn 2014| Issue 60 4
On Thursday 7th August, KITe had an interactive stall at the Eisteddfod with a digital drop-in where people could try out a Touchscreen Windows 8 laptop and an iPad. We showed people how to
take a selfie or photo using an iPad upload the photo to the internet email the photo to themselves or a friend
For more information on the KITe Project, please
contact Clare Pilborough on 01267 245555, email
[email protected] or visit itkite.wordpress.com.
Connect, communicate and keep up to date with friends, family, community, the world. KITe started in September 2012 with funding from Comic Relief’s Older Person Programme. It is a three year project which aims to
support older people throughout Carmarthenshire to become included and active in today's digital world. We offer training, advice and
guidance to older people in basic computer skills.
Are you interested in hosting a young volunteer to support your work and deliver a volunteer project in their local community? GwirForce are working to increase representation and promote youth volunteering across Wales, providing more opportunities for young people to begin volunteering. This is a pilot programme to identify young volunteers (aged 16-24) to work with their local Youth Volunteer Advisor and Volunteer Centre to promote youth volunteering and develop new opportunities. Young volunteers would also be supported to take part in a range of activities with GwirForce and represent young people on the GwirVol partnership. The duration and content of the project would be decided by you and the volunteer. Examples of projects could include collecting case studies of young volunteers in your area, supporting you at volunteer fayres or organising a showcase event for young volunteers but we would particularly like to see an emphasis on innovation and tapping into new audiences. GwirForce are able to cover travel and lunch expenses for your volunteer, as well as any necessary project costs (e.g. venue hire or equipment purchase). Youth Cymru would be able to offer accreditation for the volunteer, as well as access to a range of funding opportunities for the young person to continue their volunteering journey. Volunteers will become member of GwirForce and would have the opportunity to represent the views of young people at GwirVol Partnership meetings and on the Grants Advisory Panel. If you are interested in finding out more about this opportunity, please contact Rachel Benson at Youth Cymru on [email protected] / 01443 827840
5 Llais Myrddin | Autumn 2014 | Issue 60
Bishop’s Pond, Oxbow SSSI
THE WELSH HISTORIC GARDENS TRUST -
THE TYWI GATEWAY PROJECT
The Welsh Historic Gardens Trust (WHGT) is a national organisation campaigning to save historic gardens and parks from neglect, indifference, insensitive planning and planting for future generations. In this anniversary year it seems appropriate that the latest WHGT restoration project might be in the Towy valley (where it all began) with work being undertaken on the ‘Tywi Gateway’ project at what is now the County Museum in Abergwili and which is situated in a fine example of informal, and ambitiously planted landscaping of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This relatively small site combines and contrasts cultural, historical and ecological features of great importance to the heritage of Wales. With this in mind, WHGT have submitted a Round 1 application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, ‘Parks for People’ programme which
can be summarised as follows: ‘In this 'Garden of Wales' the Tywi Gateway will be an all-year destination with reinvigorated pleasure
grounds, kitchen garden, a flood-plain meadow and ox-bow lake, complete with a secret island. With the Museum it will celebrate
the beauty and history of the Tywi valley and the spiritual and academic heritage of Abergwili. Above all the degree to which local
people are engaged with the park and its heritage will be the measure of the project’s
success.’
For more information about the work of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust please see their
website www.whgt.org.uk where you can also find information about the
Carmarthenshire branch of the organisation.
Photographs kindly provided by Dyfed Archaeological Trust
Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services (CAVS) is the county voluntary council for Carmarthenshire. We’re inviting you to become a member of CAVS for just £20 per year. The great membership benefits to your organisation will be:
Voting rights at CAVS’ Annual General Meeting
An opportunity to become a CAVS trustee member
Discounts on meeting room hire
Discounts on photocopying services
Discounts on CAVS fee paying training courses
Discounts on ‘Bus’ hire (a mobile office suitable for
promotional / recruitment purposes)
Discounts on basic PA system
Discounts on hire of PAT tester
2 for 1 offer on Pick and Play resources
SUPPORT US TO
SUPPORT YOU!
Your membership is valuable to CAVS because it will help us to:
provide information and support to the voluntary and
community sector, not-for-profit groups and social enterprises in Carmarthenshire
recruit volunteers for Carmarthenshire groups
promote volunteering and the work of the voluntary sector
provide training, and networking and information workshops
support groups to be represented in local strategy planning and decision-making.
To join CAVS:
Fill in an online form on the following webpage http://www.cavs.org.uk/online-membership-form/, or
Email [email protected] or phone 01267 245555 requesting a membership form.
Walled Garden Bothy
Llais Myrddin | Autumn 2014| Issue 60 6
CWM Community and Environmental Fund Grants are available for community and environmental projects located in Carmarthenshire, particularly those which can demonstrate the enhancement of biodiversity. Priority is given to applicants that clearly understand, and can demonstrate, the social, economic and environmental benefits that their project will provide. Grants range between £5,000 and £50,000 and approximately £200,000 in total is available per year. Grants are available for community and environmental projects. Grants are also available for capital improvement works to public amenity projects, such as the following:
Village halls.
Village greens.
Public playgrounds.
Sports fields and facilities.
Nature reserves.
Community centres.
Cycle paths.
Country parks. Any not-for-profit organisation, such as community groups, can apply. For further details please see www.grantscape.org.uk, or email [email protected].
Commissioner’s Fund - Dyfed-Powys The aim of the Commissioner’s Fund is to reduce demand for policing services and the harm that crime and incidents cause the public. Projects are nominated by frontline police officers and Dyfed-Powys Police staff working with charities, voluntary organisations and community groups to develop ideas that have a positive impact on the area they serve. Projects should reflect the priorities of the 2013-18 Police and Crime Plan for Dyfed-Powys. Activities must focus on a specific part of the plan or contribute to the plan, aimed at providing services to educate, protect or support vulnerable groups as well as changing the behaviour of potential or persistent offenders. Examples of eligible costs include the following:
Educational toys and games.
Sports kit.
New sports equipment.
Equipment hire.
Publicity materials for use in the project.
Sessional workers.
Training.
Transport costs.
Venue hire.
Volunteer expenses.
Contribution towards running costs. Grants of up to £5,000 are available. Grants of over £5,000 may be available in exceptional circumstances. Applications must be submitted by a Dyfed-Powys Police Officer or other member of staff no higher than Sergeant Level working with a voluntary or community organisation, school, charity, or sports club. Applications completed by or received directly from external organisations will not be accepted. The deadline for Round 3 applications is 22 October 2014.
Application forms are available from the Office for the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner website: www.dyfed-powys.pcc.police.uk/ or from [email protected]
Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust Open to Applications in Wales
Grants of up to £2,500 are available for not-for-profit
organisations in Wales that have a remit to serve their local
community or town.
Funding is available for projects in the following four areas:
Sport
The Arts
The Environment
The Community The deadline for applications is 21 November 2014.
For further information please see the website www.millenniumstadiumtrust.org.uk.
If you are applying to the Big Lottery Fund’s People
and Places programme, you can access the Better
Bids service for FREE to help you develop a better bid
and deliver a successful project.
For further details contact 0800 999 2829
or e-mail [email protected].
7 Llais Myrddin | Autumn 2014 | Issue 60
The national St David Awards 2015 – nominations are open! Do you know someone exceptional? Do you know someone in Wales who has done something exceptional? People doing good and making things better? Do you work with a colleague who always goes the extra mile? Someone who really deserves national recognition, who stands out for what you feel they have achieved? Do you admire people who may live abroad but give of their best to promote Wales on an international stage? People in a team or association who have a huge impact? If you do you should go online and nominate them for a St David Award now. There are nine St David Awards: 1. Bravery 2. Citizenship 3. Culture 4. Enterprise 5. Innovation &
Technology 6. International 7. Sport 8. Young Person 9. First Minister’s
Special Award
The St David Awards annually recognise and celebrate the exceptional achievements of people in Wales. They acknowledge people who are making a real difference for this country – either at home or abroad. They are great marks of distinction and the highest accolades that Welsh Government confers on our citizens nationally. The St David Awards operate over the entire country – they are the “awards of awards” and the natural destination for all those who have won other sectoral or community awards. Visit the website www.stdavidawards.org.uk and nominate now. You can nominate for the St David Awards 2015 until 28 October 2014. Follow all the latest news about the Awards on Twitter as well on @stdavidawards or visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/stdavidawards
Will you be a Tidy Winner?
Keep Wales Tidy is once again calling on volunteer groups, schools and organisations across Wales to put their names forward for the Tidy Wales Awards. Could this be the year you are a category winner and get your hands on a £250 cash prize?
The Tidy Wales Awards recognises groups throughout Wales who work tirelessly to improve their local environment. These unsung green heroes have inspirational stories to tell of how their volunteering has improved not only their local environment through reducing litter and protecting wildlife habitats but have also created links in communities, bringing people together and in some instances reducing the impact of poverty.
Does your group deserve recognition for their hours of volunteering and environmental work? For your chance to win, download an application form from the Keep Wales Tidy website www.keepwalestidy.org or e-mail [email protected]
ECO-SCHOOLS
CELEBRATE 20 YEARS
Schools across Wales will have the opportunity to be part of a national celebration this October as an environmental education programme celebrates its 20th anniversary. Eco-Schools is run in Wales by environmental charity, Keep Wales Tidy. It is the largest sustainable schools programme in the world and this year, it celebrates its 20th anniversary in Wales as well as internationally. As part of the month-long celebration, schools across Wales will celebrate their environmental achievements this October by fundraising in aid of Keep Wales Tidy, making an eco-wish that’s important to them and their school and creating a time capsule for the pupils of the future! For more information, please visit: www.keepwalestidy.org/eco-schools
Llais Myrddin | Autumn 2014| Issue 60 8
During the first week of August the National Eisteddfod came to Llanelli and CAVS were very pleased to be a part of it. Under the banner Third Sector Carmarthenshire, CAVS hired out four units at the Eisteddfod in order to make one large stand which as well as housing us and our projects also enabled us to offer space to Third Sector organisations based in or working across the county. Setting up on a wet and miserable Friday, we wondered what we had let ourselves in for but the week (and the weather) improved as it went along. Manned by staff and trustees, we enjoyed an interesting week on the stand, meeting new people enquiring about the services CAVS can provide and catching up with those from the county that we have worked with over the years. During the course of the week Jane Hutt AM (Welsh Government Minister for Finance), Christopher Salmon (Police & Crime
Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys) and Jonathan Edwards (MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) also visited the stall. Visitors had an opportunity to find out about CAVS projects and activities, including:
CAVS Volunteer Centre Making the Connections Enterprising Communities Third Sector Brokers Purple Routes Kite Project Investors in Carers
Also joining CAVS on the stand were a number of Carmarthenshire Third Sector organisations including Rathbone, Alzheimer’s Society, Age Cymru Sir Gar, Parkinson’s UK, The Stroke Association, Llanelli Ra ilway Goods Shed Trust, Llanelli Community Partnership, Amman Valley Mencap and Carmarthenshire Family Adviser Service (FAS), iSmooth Community Cafe (Ammanford), Carmarthenshire Carer’s Service (Crossroads) and Ramps Skatepark (Llanelli). All in all it was a very interesting and productive week, giving CAVS the opportunity to promote our work and the services
available as well a being a great networking opportunity with the other organisations sharing the space with us.
Investment readiness for social enterprises – Meet the funder event
Investment readiness says that a social enterprise has the
capacity and capability to seek, secure and utilise investment.
If you would like to find out what it takes to secure financial
growth within your social enterprise, meet social loan
providers and hear from social enterprise practitioners who
have successfully raised investment, then this event is for you.
This event is a partnership between Wales Co-operative
Centre, WCVA, the Charity Bank, and Unity Trust Bank.
8 December 2014 10am - 1pm. National Botanic Gardens, Llanarthne,
Carmarthen
Who should attend?
Anyone involved with an established social enterprise who is
interested in becoming investment ready and seeking
investment!
This event is free, but you need to book to secure your place.
For more information, please visit: www.walescooperative.org/investment-readiness-
