From secret gardens to bursaries, we bring you all the latest news from the voluntary and community sector in brief.
The race is on to find the UK 's most inventive and successful fundraiser for an online competition. Mycharitypage.com, a social networking site dedicated to promoting fundraising, has received more than a thousand registrations since it launched in March. To celebrate, the site is now offering a £500 donation to the winner's chosen charity. The site, set up by Adam Foyster, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, lists charity events and fundraising activities which site users can sponsor or attend. Mr Foyster said: "Competition entries will be judged on the nature of the event and the amount of money raised. The fundraiser deemed to have best used the features of mycharitypage.com to further their cause will win a £500 donation to their fundraising page."
A mill estate garden which is being restored in line with the original vision of its 18th Century founder is opening to the public. The garden at Quarry Bank Mill, Wilmslow, Cheshire, is being restored in a five-year National Trust project. The Trust described the estate as one of the UK's greatest industrial heritage sites. Head gardener Alan Knapper said: "The garden restoration is part of a five-year project which has involved careful archaeological surveying, patience and a lot of hard work. None of this would have been possible without the help of over sixty volunteers, including local children, staff from various companies and inmates from Styal prison.They have all played an integral part in bringing the spirit and design of the original garden back to life." The National Trust has removed 60 tonnes of earth, used 200 tonnes of surfacing to repair paths and removed decaying trees to open the garden to the public. The Trust purchased the garden in 2006 and said this had allowed it to restore the gardens developed by mill owner Samuel Greg.
A massive increase in the number of disabled people taking part in environmental conservation activities is reported by BTCV, the UK’s largest practical conservation charity. According to the BTCV Diversity Report 2008 , the greatest rise was amongst BTCV’s key volunteers, where the proportion classing themselves as disabled has gone from zero to one-in-ten in just two years. For all BTCV volunteers, the figure has moved from 9% to 11%, while the percentage of paid staff reported as disabled has more than quadrupled from 2.5% to 12%. Conditions range from limited mobility and hearing impairment to Dyslexia. “The results highlight the success of BTCV’s policy to include individuals and groups traditionally under-represented in the environmental sector,” says Tom Flood, BTCV’s Chief Executive. The figures also show a healthy diversity across the board, with BTCV involving over 80,000 individuals in diversity-related work, with over 20,000 (25%) from a BME background. The survey for the first time also identified 9% of BTCV staff as White but not British, giving a combined total of 12% BME and ‘White Other’, as compared with 7.9% of the UK population. 37% of all people involved in BTCV activities come from communities under-represented in environmental volunteering; for example refugees and asylum seekers, those at risk of offending and people living in poverty.
A £50 million fund is up for grabs to community groups in England looking to regenerate their local areas . The Civic Trust is calling on groups to apply for a share of the cash, which can be used to boost residents' quality of life through projects such as creating or improving play areas, community gardens, parks, wildlife habitats, ponds and village greens. The charity works with communities, government and business to improve towns and villages and also manages the Green Flag Award scheme which last year recognised 554 green spaces across England and Wales. Civic Trust Community Spaces manager Julie Bustos said: "This is a hugely exciting initiative to be involved in. We are appealing to all community groups out there - including friends groups of Green Flag Award winning parks and green spaces - to get their share of funding and boost the fantastic work they are already doing or even spark new ideas to improve their local communities."
Charities with an income of less than £500,000 have been offered the opportunity to attend one of the three major political party conferences this autumn. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) wants to ensure the voices of smaller charities are heard by politicians and is covering hundreds of pounds' worth of costs through its Conference Bursary Scheme. Last year, 15 charities with limited incomes were given bursaries for a pass to either the Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat conferences, plus transport and accommodation. One of the delegates on the scheme, Jim Vaughan of the British Federation of Youth Marching Band Organisations, who went to the Liberal Democrat conference in 2007, said: "For a totally voluntary youth group such as ours to access a political conference was a valuable experience. Speaking at the fringe event meeting gave me the opportunity to raise issues that affect wider voluntary youth provision. It enabled me to raise concerns about formulation and implementation of policy with an audience who were subsequently involved in wider discussion on relevant party policy." Organisations wanting to apply for a bursary should visit the NCVO web link on the right hand side of this article.
Jersey's first aid charity, the St John Ambulance, has revealed in its annual report that it needs more volunteers. According to a BBC News report, the service said there had been an increase in the number of public and sporting events which needed its services. Volunteers gave a total of 24,000 hours of their time to the charity. In 2007, about 4% of the population in Jersey took a first aid course with the St John Ambulance. For further details please see the link on the right hand side of this article.
