Community empowerment is the central theme of the White paper Communities in control: real people, real power published July 9th. The aims are to:
· pass power into the hands of local communities

· generate local democracy in every part of the country

· give real control over local decisions and services to a wider pool of active citizens

· shift power, influence and responibility away from existing centres of power, into the hands of communities and individual citizens.

The third sector - through charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises - has much to offer from its traditions of purposeful altruism and selfless volunteering. Unleashing genius and talent - "empowering citizens and communities is an urgent task for us all.

"This is not about making people sit in meetings on wet Tuesday nights, it is about helping citizens to get involved when they want to on their own terms - paving the way for a new style of active politics that not only gives people a greater say but ensures that their voices are heard and that their views will make a difference." Gordon Brown, Prime Minister

"With the right support, guidance and advice, community groups and organisations have a huge, largely latent, capacity for self-government and self-organisation. This should be the hallmark of the modern state: devolved, decentralised, with power diffused throughout our society." Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

There are 7 chapters:
· active citizenship and volunteering
· access to Information
· influence
· challenging authority
· redress
· standing for office
· ownership and control.

for more information log on to www.communities.gov.uk

As we go to press, I am working hard on tenders for the Local Involvement Network and Countywide Infrastructure Organisation to support the VCS in Leicestershire.

These are being developed jointly with North West Leicestershire CVS as bids to Leicestershire County Council via ESPO. If successful we will be expanding the services we offer to reach out further around the county. If we are not successful, we shall be reducing in size and scope from April 2009.

By Neil Lambert

Groups and organisations are contacting Vicci for her support, due to the recognition that PQASSO, a quality assurance system, now has in the voluntary sector.

PQASSO is a self-assessment tool that provides a step-by-step approach, which enables groups and organisations to look at what they are doing well and what can be improved. Quality standards, such as PQASSO, offer groups the opportunity to demonstrate the value and quality of their work and places them in a good position to receive funding and move forward.

The 3rd edition of PQASSO has been launched, which has a sharper focus on outcomes and impact and also links into the newly developed PQASSO quality mark, accrediting the voluntary and community sector, which in turn will give potential funders the confidence to fund your organisation.

Vicci can be contacted on 01509 631787 or vicci.barrett@voluntaryactioncharnwood.org.uk

By Vicci Barrett

During the first week of June, the Volunteering Service Team celebrated Volunteers’ Week with a programme of events designed to cover as much of Charnwood as possible and highlight the theme of ‘recognise, reward and recruit’.

The team was able to thank many volunteers for their valued support, talk to people interested in becoming volunteers and organisations looking to develop new volunteering opportunities. They were particularly pleased with the number of young volunteers who came to speak to them. The impressive display of photographs showing local volunteers in action conveyed brilliantly the benefits of volunteering to both community and volunteers and the give-a-way of stickers, key-rings, balloons and sweets were popular. They also built on their working relationships with local organisations and were able to spend time at the Great Central Railway and Loughborough University.

Meeting local volunteer managers provided an invaluable insight into the work involved in co-ordinating volunteers and groups of volunteers. The team agreed it had been a really enjoyable week as well as a learning experience and consider it to be their best Volunteers’Week to date.

The team will submit an application for re-accreditation through Volunteering England during September 2008, requiring the preparation of a substantial body of work over the next three months to show how both Volunteer Centres cover the six core functions designated by Volunteering England.

Finally, please contact the team about any volunteering issues you may have, as they are keen to represent local issues and influence decisions made at local, regional and national level.

Contact Becky and Elaine at Volunteer Centre Loughborough on 01509 631770 or Joanne and Sally at Volunteer Centre Shepshed on 01509 508040 or volunteer@ voluntaryactioncharnwood.org.uk

By Elaine Salt