February 2025

Dear Colleagues and Partners,

Hopefully you have already received our Conference Special Newsletter, sent out earlier this month. Please see a reminder below. We have a fantastic line-up of guest speakers and workshops to attend, so don't miss out on this opportunity, especially with the Earlybird Tickets only available until 3rd March!

If you have any news items, paid or volunteer vacancies or any events coming up that you would like to include in our next edition, on our social media platforms or on our website: Home | Voluntary Action South West Surrey | Strengthening Our Voluntary and Community Sector

Please email: info@vasws.org.uk

VASWS Annual Conference Reminder
Volunteering Opportunities Booklet (Meeting the Mayor)
Open Morning
Better Impact Training
Wellbeing Walks
Corporate Volunteering
Lunch & Learn
Litter Picking
The Therapy Garden - Fundraising Event & Seeking Volunteers
FREE Webinars - Inclusion Confident Communities
FREE Home Safety Checks in East Waverley
NHS Initiatives: Tepeat Prescriptions & Breast Screening
ReSkilled - Information
Virtual Dementia Experience
The Sunflower Cafe in Godalming
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

Voluntary Action South West Surrey Conference 2025

There's still time to grab your EARLYBIRD ticket - before 3rd March

Don't miss out!

Tuesday 8th April, 9.15am– 3.30pm

Rik Medlik Building, University of Surrey

For more information and to book:

Volunteering Opportunities Booklet

New Edition Available Soon!

Kate, from our Volunteer Connections Project, attended the Ockford Wellbeing in Community Event held at a local school in Godalming, courtesy of Phillipa Secretan, Community Link Officer for Waverley Borough Council

This was an Open Community Event for the public and to provide a networking opportunity for various organisations.

Picture shows Kate with The Mayor of Godalming, Councillor Paul Rivers, along with his wife, Penny Rivers, who is also a Waverley Borough Councillor and Surrey County Councillor.

They are showcasing our Volunteering Booklet which gives information about some of the many volunteering opportunities across Guildford and Waverley.

A new edition of our free Volunteer Opportunities booklet, listing plenty of ideas and suggestions for people who want to volunteer, is being prepared and will be available later this spring.

For any further information, email: info@vasws.org.uk Or see the Volunteering Opportunities on our website.

Open Morning

Our Volunteer Connections Team are hosting an Open Morning on Friday 21st March which is in conjunction with our funder for the Project, the National Lottery.

Pop along for coffee & cake (or tea), to let us know your news, have a chat and to meet the team.

We look forward to seeing you!

Better Impact (Volunteer Database)

Training Available

Kate and Alice, from the Volunteer Connections project, were thrilled to offer their first face-to-face training session at The Guildford Institute. They taught volunteer coordinators the basics of managing their volunteer listing on our Better Impact database. This included showing them tips and tricks to make their listing stand out to potential volunteers and giving them time to practice these new skills.

One participant said “Being a tech dinosaur I very much appreciated your kindness and understanding, l am leaving with a much better understanding. Thank you.”

To register your interest for future workshops like this please contact Alice at a.sheppard@vasws.org.uk

Wellbeing Walks

Don't forget our monthly Wellbeing Walks with David Rose.

It does us all the power of good to get out and about in the fresh air, meet new people and get some gentle exercise.

Meet at The Hive in Park Barn, enjoy a short, friendly walk exploring the local area and round it off with an optional cuppa in the cafe.

Just turn up and join in!

Corporate Volunteering

In late January, we practiced what we preach and had a VASWS Team Volunteering Day, with our own Staff and one of our Volunteers, at the Phyllis Tuckwell, Hospice Care Sorting Centre in Farnborough.

A great time was had by all, including a bit of fun 'dressing-up' by Helena!

If you would like to know more about corporate volunteering opportunities in and around Guildford or Waverley, please email: info@vasws.org.uk

Or check out our website: https://www.voluntaryactionsws.org.uk/

Lunch & Learn

Another opportunity to join our monthly, online, Lunch & Learn session on Tuesday 25th March.

This time, we are joined by Farnham Assist Home - Farnham Assist

and Fareshare FareShare Sussex & Surrey

Take 30 minutes out of your lunchbreak to hear about these fantastic charities and their volunteering opportunities.

Hope to see you there!

Join the meeting now

Litter-pickers Needed

Join us on a litter picking session in the local community and we will provide the refreshments.

Help us make our local communities a better place to live!

Email: k.jones@vasws.org.uk

The Therapy Garden have a fundraising event – Walk for Wellness 25 – on 26^th April.

This will be a great opportunity not only to support the Therapy Garden but also enjoy the garden at its finest during the Spring!!

They are, also, always on the lookout for volunteers to help with their clients:

Do you have 5 hours to spare each week?

Want to help those with challenges in their lives?

They are looking for Client Support Volunteers to assist in the Garden alongside their horticulturists in the supervision of their adult clients and teenagers with a variety of disabilities.

Volunteers work in the garden with clients, helping them with various tasks such as planting, harvesting, pruning and mowing to name but a few, under the guidance of their team of horticulturists.

As well as general gardening work you will be assisting their clients, both children and adults with the opportunity to achieve a qualification in horticulture.

Other tasks that volunteers help with include general garden maintenance, DIY tasks or craft/cookery activities.

No gardening experience is required, just the ability to get along with others and muck in! This can be a great stepping stone to further education or work opportunities.

At present, they are looking for Volunteers who can offer a regular weekly commitment.

Website

Are you a children’s session leader, volunteer or team member of play and youth groups, arts and sports organisations, uniformed groups, faith communities, charities, community groups and local organisations in Surrey?

You are invited to join a FREE webinar designed to provide you with valuable knowledge, practical ideas and resources. The aim is to help you feel more confident in effectively and successfully including children with additional needs and disabilities.

How can I understand behaviour, and supporting the emotional wellbeing of children with additional needs and disabilities?

Friday 14th March 1-2.30pm ONLINE

Secure your ticket now

Co-delivered by Surrey Youth Focus, Eikon, SCC Speech and Language, Appeer

This session will focus on understanding behaviour as a form of communication, helping you feel more confident in supporting children during sessions. It will cover the use of inclusive language and effective communication techniques, along with strategies to promote social skills development. The session will also explore the causes of parental and child anxiety, providing guidance on how to recognise and address these factors to encourage participation.

What does it mean to “create an inclusive environment” for children with additional needs and disabilities?

Friday 21st March, 12-1.30pm ONLINE

Secure your ticket now

Co-delivered by Surrey Youth Focus, All Age Autism, SCC, and SCC occupational therapist.

This session will explore how you can adapt your session environments including considerations for layout, resources, and sensory-friendly spaces that can help children feel comfortable, secure and have a sense of belonging.

Free Home Safety Checks

Are currently available for patients in the East Waverley PCN area, but due to expand across Guildford and Waverley in the future.

Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, in conjunction with NHS Surrey Heartlands are piloting this project for the GP Practices listed in their poster.

The purpose of this “Home Safety Check Advisor Referral” (HSCAR) Risk Assessment is to enable staff to carry out an effective evaluation of Fire and Fall Risks to Vulnerable Adults. This assessment should be used by all organisations who are responsible for delivering care and support services to adults in care facilities as well as in their own homes.

Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership

Have two major initiatives running at the moment:

Repeat prescriptions – Only order what you need
It is estimated that 1.2 million repeat prescription items are wasted in Surrey Heartlands each year.
Pharmacists and GPs across Surrey Heartlands are asking people to only order the medicines they need from their repeat prescriptions.
Unused medicines cost the NHS around £300 million every year and a large amount of medicine items are wasted. We need your help to reduce this.

And, encouraging ladies to attend their Breast Screening appointments:

"Taking your bra off at the end of the day feels great.

And so does getting your breast screening sorted.

It can detect cancer before you can feel it. Or more likely, put your mind at rest.

So when you're invited, save the date. It could save your life"

nhs.uk/breast

ReSkilled

ReSkilled is a Christian charity based in Guildford who aim to reduce social isolation and give people back self-esteem, choices and hope, by enabling them to re-discover the fulfilment and benefits of being in employment.

We do this by using a wood workshop to raise individuals’ confidence and teach general work skills, then encouraging Participants to engage with our Voluntary work partners with the purpose of entering sustainable employment.

We work with people from Guildford and Woking – ages 25 up to retirement age – who are still unemployed after a year; particularly those who have been homeless. It’s also for people who may have been made redundant, perhaps been caring for someone long-term, suffered long-term health difficulties – mental or physical or may be recovering from alcohol or substance abuse.

See What it Feels Like?

Pop along to The Hive in Guildford on 5th March to have a virtual dementia experience to increase your knowledge and understanding, with the:

Guildford Borough Community Wellbeing Team

The Sunflower Cafe

Care UK and Right at Home are hosting the, monthly, Sunflower Cafe at Godalming Baptist Church.

This cafe is aimed at those living with dementia and their carers as an opportunity to meet with others in a welcoming environment.

This is an opportunity to enjoy refreshments and snacks, on the house, and have a good old chat!

Please pop along if you can.

Grant Information

About

We are a grant making foundation giving grants to small and medium sized local organisations in the UK with a demonstrable track record of success working to address local issues in communities of extreme urban deprivation and deprived rural districts.

Our Mission

Trusthouse’s mission is to help address disadvantage and deprivation in communities in the UK.

Our Values

Trusthouse has identified the following core values to underpin our work:

Focussed: The Trust’s focus is on supporting organisations working with the most disadvantaged groups in the UK.
Evidence-based: The Trust endeavours to identify underfunded areas of particular need and makes its grant decisions based on the evidence of this need and the effectiveness of the work.
Supportive: The Trust aims to be helpful and supportive in all its relationships with its applicants and grantholders, which includes making its application and reporting requirements as straightforward as possible.
Independent: The Trust retains its independence from all political parties.
Effective: The Trust strives continually to improve its effectiveness by learning from its work and keeps its processes under review in order to ensure its resources are used to best advantage to achieve the greatest impact.

Website

Thank you for your continued support.

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Suites G09 & G10, Ground Floor
Old Millmead House
Guildford
GU2 4BB
United Kingdom