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Find out more about how Kingston Voluntary Action are supporting voluntary and community groups through changing times in our latest annual review.
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Chair’s Report
This is my third year as the Chair of The Trustees of Kingston Voluntary Action.
It has been a year in which, at last, I have been able to understand more fully the workings of KVA.
It has been a year, not surprisingly, of concerted effort from the whole organisation to manage the
difficulties encountered in the current financial climate.
Sadly, some members of staff have been lost due to the cuts, but the spirit of the management,
staff and volunteers has not been dimmed and they continue to strive to deliver an ever-growing
programme for the benefit of voluntary organisations and community groups.
The major thrust of everyone within KVA is to ensure that sufficient new grants are generated to
enable existing programmes to be delivered and new opportunities are investigated as they arise.
It has been a very challenging year for KVA staff in general and for me in particular. The Board of
Trustees continue to give their total support to Hillary Garner and his team in the pursuit of their
goals. We are greatly encouraged by the successes that have continued during these difficult times
and the plans for the future give us cause for great optimism.
Paul Cox
Chair
Supporting Change
Changes in the economic, political and social environment - including the Government’s BIG
Society Agenda - continue to have an impact on voluntary sector organisations and community
groups in Kingston.
A key role for Kingston Voluntary Action is to ensure that we constantly adjust to the changing
needs and requirements of organisations, ensuring that we support change, through the
development of the services and support we deliver.
We continue to transform and develop our training and capacity building, information and advice,
partnership and strategic working, communications and volunteering support.
Transforming Volunteering
Developing Training and Capacity Building Support
During the period April 2010 - March 2011, Kingston Volunteer Centre registered and referred
over 1,544 potential volunteers to local community, voluntary and statutory organisations. The
majority of these were female, in the age bracket 19—25 years old, and unemployed. Over half
of those volunteers interviewed had some sort of disability.
Kingston Volunteer Centre will be rebranding this year to GO Kingston
Volunteering, and will fundraise to develop and build upon the work of
the Good Sports Project. We aim to recruit 500 extra volunteers to get
involved in the local Cultural Olympiad diary of events, and fulfil
Kingston’s 2012 volunteering legacy.
In rebranding, the Volunteer Centre will not only be leading on volunteering and helping to bring
the 2012 Cultural Olympiad alive in Kingston, it will be challenging tradition, identifying its
strengths and weaknesses and seeking to put in place a service reflective of organisations and
volunteers’ expectations in 2012 and beyond.
So far, through our BIG Lottery funded Kingston Infrastructure Support and Development Project,
we have delivered 67 training courses attended by 690 participants from the voluntary and
community sector. In partnership with the National Association of Voluntary and Community
Action (NAVCA) under their Skills and Knowledge in Local Development (SKiLD) programme, we
delivered a ‘Supporting Communities Development’ programme of 5 training courses designed to
help development workers in the borough with their role.
We have also worked in partnership with Kingston College in supporting managers from 7 local
voluntary organisations to obtain the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Diploma in
Management and Leadership at Level 5.
Through the development of our training programme and work-
shops, our aim has always been to provide training that is
relevant and meets the changing needs of the sector. This has
included training on commissioning, developing social
enterprises, developing outcomes, using ICT tools and social
media for fundraising and monitoring and evaluation purposes.
Kingston Voluntary Action has secured funding from the City
Bridge Trust to continue providing and developing capacity
building advice and support. This will include organisational
development support, identifying and promoting funding
opportunities, providing support to local organisations with fundraising through grants and
supporting organisations in income generation, commissioning and procurement.
Developing Information and Communications Support
The Superhighways Project continues to deliver services that ensure that VCS organisations keep up
with changes and developments in IT communications. This includes online tools that can improve
efficiencies in work practices and social networking applications, such as Twitter and Facebook, that are
a good way for organisations to reach potential beneficiaries.
Cloud Computing is still the big focus in the IT world and we are working with the South London CVS
Partnership’s BESPOKE Project to investigate just what advantages this new way of working could bring
to voluntary organisations, along with the implications in terms of, for example, cost and security.
Kingston Community Furniture has faced a challenging year during which
stock donated was not always consistent with market demand. This
reflected economic uncertainties nationwide. Nonetheless, the project
ended the year in a stronger position and succeeded in building some
strong collaborative working ties.
As a direct result of collaboration, the Project is actively reviewing its
future governance and is currently considering the possibility of a merger
with the Vine Project. This will lead to improved service delivery, reaching
a wider community in South West London and Surrey.
Managing Project Change
The local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in Kingston is informed about developments through
KVA’s communication systems; disseminating information through the KVA website, quarterly
newsletters, e-bulletins and email distributions, and through face-to-face communication with
individuals and via our local networks.
KVA facilitates a range of forums for the sector, providing an opportunity to exchange information
about any new or emerging needs and potential ideas/solutions for tackling these needs. These
include the Community Development Network and Voluntary Sector Forum.
KVA chairs the Kingston Information and Advice Alliance (kiaa) that develops both policy and strategy
for the advice sector. Kiaa supports a diverse range of agencies to work together, to identify needs
and collaboratively work towards solutions.
KVA also chairs the Kingston Advisors’ Forum bringing together front-line advisors from all agencies.
The Forum is a platform for front-line advisors to take forward cross referral initiatives, update on
legislation changes and enjoy all the benefits of networking.
KVA hosts the Information and Access to Advice project Kingston-i for
residents in the borough of Kingston. The project is supported by community
and voluntary organisations, in partnership with Kingston Council. It is a web-
based directory of services, with telephone support. The aim is to help keep
people well and maintain their independence, by providing greater choice for
people using services throughout Kingston, by giving accurate, consistent and
timely information.
Strategic Development and Community Cohesion
With the increasing emphasis on Localism, empowering and involving residents and
communities, voluntary and community sector organisations (VSC) play an even greater role
in delivering services.
It is important that during these changing times, VCS organisations have a voice … and a
key role of KVA is to ensure that we represent the sector at a local and strategic level.
We represent the sector through the Local Strategic Partnership and under the Localism
agenda, which includes the Community Engagement Strategy, the Voluntary and Community
Sector Strategy, the Grants’ Review, the Social Enterprise Strategy, and the One Norbiton
Working Together Project.
KVA is responsible for the dissemination of information, and provides a range of
communication and networking opportunities for VCS organisations to meet each other and
work collaboratively. The strength in this function lies in enabling groups to have a voice,
to participate collectively and to respond to an immediate issue that affects the community.
Following an attack on Kingston Mosque in November 2010, there was a tremendous
community response from organisations, community leaders and residents united in wanting
to express their solidarity with the attacked community. Also wanting to express the view
that an attack of this sort ran counter to the way that the Kingston community works and
lives.
Kingston’s response was widely recognised as an example of best practice, in terms of how a
community could come together to respond to such an incident. Community leaders have
met since, and it has been agreed that we want to maintain momentum and find new ways
to champion cohesion and enjoy commonality.
Taking this forward, it has been agreed that Kingston Voluntary Action will be the Chair of
the newly formed Community Cohesion Group, with key partners from Kingston Police,
Kingston University and Kingston Council being involved in supportive roles.
The key aims of the Group will be to nurture a safe and enjoyable environment for
communities in Kingston, especially those which experience isolation, or feel vulnerable to
attack.
Kingston Volunteer Centre 020 8255 8685
www.kvc.org.uk
Maria Jarvis, Manager
Richard Craig, Buddy Scheme Co-ordinator
Pat Stanley, Volunteering Good Practice Worker
Hedley Featherstone, Good Sports Project
Co-ordinator
Kingston Community Furniture
Adams House, Dickerage Lane, New Malden,
KT3 3SF 020 8942 5500
www.kingstoncommunityfurniture.org.uk
Adrian Collins, Project Manager
Sean Murray, Business Manager
James Deane, Operations Manager
Bart Ricketts, Eco-Op Project Co-ordinator
Chris Williamson, Recycling/Packaging Supervisor
Sue Ilsley, Support Worker
Sam Carrey, Support Worker
John Legate, Bike Project Mechanic
Registered Charity No. 257551
Kingston Voluntary Action Siddeley House, 50 Canbury Park Road
Kingston KT2 6LX
020 8255 3335
www.kva.org.uk
Hilary Garner, Chief Executive
Lynda Evans, Deputy Chief Executive
Keith Morton, Business Manager
Maria Tunmer, Health & Social Care Manager
Zahida Saddiq, Capacity Building Manager
Sanja Kane, Workforce Development & Training Co-ordinator
Chris Wingrove, Kingston-i Project Manager
Judith Naylor, Children & Young People First Project Worker
Polly Healy, Administrator
Rianne Eimers, LINk Manager
Debra McCarthy, LINk Support Co-ordinator
Superhighways 020 8255 8040
www.superhighways.org.uk
Kate White, Manager
Colin Cregan, ICT Support Worker
Yaarub Aisa, ICT Support Worker
Sue Quilter, Admin Worker
Contact
Funders
We are extremely grateful to all our funders who funded our work throughout 2010-2011.