Empowering people to have greater influence and voice over local decision making and the delivery of services is the aim behind a new survey.

Charnwood CVS is working with the Strategic Partnership and Leicestershire Together to run a questionnaire measuring Social Capital in Loughborough’s Hastings Ward.

Social Capital is described as where a community looks out for each other, puts time back into it, looks outwards to other similar organisations and campaigns to be heard.
The results of the survey will contribute towards a delivery plan to enable communities and those working with them to decide for themselves the appropriate interventions needed to strengthen their community.

Capacity Builder at Charnwood Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) Vicci Barrett said Hastings Ward is one of 20 chosen across Leicestershire.

“Locally trained interviewers from the voluntary and community sectors may call at the door of those living in Hastings Ward during July to ask people to fill in a questionnaire about their opinions of living there,” said Vicci Barrett.

“Please help by answering. It will take about 20-30 minutes but check the volunteer’s badge first,” added Vicci.

Those questioned may be re-interviewed in three years time.

The results will be looked at first by faith groups, community and voluntary groups, school governing bodies and parish councils. It is hoped they will help to build stronger more cohesive and inclusive communities with increasing local participation and governance.
by Susan Newcombe

Over the last financial year the CVS website www.charnwoodcvs.org.uk front page had a record number of 12,505 ‘hits’.

More and more people are now using the website, with the highest visits to Jobs page 2336; Services 2083; John Storer House 1913; Volunteering 1852 and Contact Us 1546. News 1345. and About Us 1338, pages follow closely.
The CVS Information Strategy is primarily electronically based and the website is a key tool in promoting John Storer House, the Volunteer Centre and the CVS’ services and projects.

The CVS website continues to develop as Cath Walker, Marketing & Information Officer, is working with Leicestershire Rural Partnership and web designers, Cuttlefish in bringing information to you in the most accessible manner. The site is now a Triple A Standard, the highest accessibility rating. And we strive to make the site’s content as accessible and useful as possible to our users. Future marketing plans include holding a website users focus group to inform us of how we are doing and how best to develop the promotion of the CVS services for the benefit of Charnwood’s community groups, voluntary organisations and volunteers and CVS project users.

Exciting new developments to the website include a news database which means that articles can be uploaded at any time, appearing firstly on the front page and then being archived accordingly.

More photographs have been added and main pages re-designed. A new events page and compliments, comments, complaints form have also been added, which enables people to feedback electronically.
We would be very interested to hear your comments, suggestions and views about the site. Please contact Cath Walker on 01509 631784.
by Cath Walker

Photo: Alison Reeve, Manager for Leicestershire Community Safer Sex Project, speaking at the Community Development Forum.

A recent Community Development Forum heard from a range of speakers on the theme Health: Tracey Palmer, Teenage Pregnancy Strategy Implementation Worker; Alison Reeve, Leicestershire Community Safer Sex Project; Celia Fisher, Leicestershire AIDS Support Service; Meeta Madhani, Public Health Development Specialist for Charnwood & North West Leicestershire PCT and Sallianne Thomas, Health & Social Care Link Worker for Charnwood & North West Leicestershire. For details about the Forum, please contact Vicci on 01509 631787.

Photo: from left Molly, volunteer, Pam, Deputy Manager, Kerrie, Manager.

Less than a week into post I don’t have much to say yet, but I wanted to introduce myself as the newly appointed Volunteering Service Manager following Maggie Cherry’s move from the area. Initially I will just be covering the Loughborough area, but I look forward to working closely with colleagues in Shepshed and Syston as the proposed merger progresses, and also with Louise Hall who will take up the new post of Volunteering Broker for Loughborough.

For the last 10 years I have been manager of a Volunteer Centre in Cambridgeshire, moving back to the Midlands recently to be closer to family. Since last October I have also worked part-time for the network of Volunteer Centres in Leicester Shire on a project to build closer links and ways of working between Volunteer Centres in the county. However I’m very new to Loughborough! For this reason I’m very grateful to Pam Cox for postponing her retirement to make sure that I have a thorough hand-over.

I look forward to meeting and working with you all over the weeks and months to come. Please do get in touch! I can be contacted on 01509 631770 or kerrie.fletcher@charnwoodcvs.org.uk
By Kerrie Fletcher

Loughborough Lions Club whose motto is “We Serve” is launching a scheme that brings real benefits to the community, Message in a Bottle. It is a low tech, simple to use, emergency information scheme that has the potential to save lives. It is endorsed by the emergency services, is a comfort to user, family and friends and is free. Loughborough Lions Club will cover the cost.

The Lions Message In a Bottle scheme is a simple idea designed to encourage people to keep their personal and medical details on a standard form and in a common location - the Fridge.

Whilst it is focused on the more vulnerable people in our community, anyone can have an accident at home, so this scheme can benefit anyone, including you. To use the scheme: complete the details on the form. Put it into the bottle supplied and place
in the door compartment of your fridge. The Emergency Services will know to look
for it in the event of being called to your home. They will be alerted by the use of the two special Green Emergency/Green Cross stickers. One should be stuck on the fridge door The other sticker is placed on the inside of the front door.

All Emergency Services are aware of the Lions Message in a Bottle scheme, and will, in an emergency, locate the bottle, use and then pass on the information to medical personnel.
Loughborough Lions will be distributing Message in a Bottle, from September 11th 2006.

If you would like to know more, please contact Robin Duke, Message In A Bottle Co-ordinator, 01509 568631or robinduke@hotmail.com. I would be delighted to make a short presentation to your organisation and answer any questions that you may have.
by Robin Duke

The Story of the Dispensary and Hospital in Loughborough, 1819-2003 has been published by Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society on behalf of the Charnwood and North West Leicestershire Primary Care Trust,This new book is a well-illustrated account of its services to the town and the surrounding area between 1819 and 2003.

The authors have ranged widely for information. Appeals for help enabled them to draw upon reminiscences of patients, nurses, doctors, and other medical staff, administrative and support staff. The two full pages of acknowledgements reveals the generous assistance received for the project.

This book shows how attitudes towards to the ‘poor sick’ in the early days were very different from treatment received by all patients by the start of the twenty-first century. One outstanding achievement was the continuous voluntary funding of dispensary and hospital. This only ended in 1948 when the National Health Service took over. Unlike some large hospitals the Loughborough Hospital was solvent.

Local people remained active in raising money for the needs of the hospital that were not met from public funds. The role of the League of Friends and the Hospital Broadcasting Service receive their due as dedicated supporters of necessary services. After years of argument the Hospital in Baxter Gate finally closed in March 2003. At last, funds allowed the completion of the new Loughborough Hospital on Hospital Way.

The six authors (John Brownlow, Ian Keil, Teresa Keil, George Lowe, Janet Slatter and Don Wix), members of the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society, gave their services free so that the hospital in Baxter Gate has a fitting permanent memorial. The charitable fund of the Primary Care Trust paid the costs of making the book. It is hoped that its outlay will be recouped by sales of the book.

The book costs £9.70p and is obtainable from The Book Company, Ottakar’s Bookshop, and WRVS shop and Loughborough Hospital.
Copies may be obtained by post, at an additional charge of £3.25, from Hospital Book, 177 Forest Road, Loughborough, LE11 3HS.
Cheques should be for £12.95 and be payable to 'Melton, Rutland and Harborough Charitable Fund 11001'.
By Ian Keil

Never before have we heard of "Revolution" in meetings of the Charnwood Mental Health Forum but this is the word that our speaker Joy Mather used at our June meeting. She was using it to describe the way views on mental health have changed over recent years. It used to be thought that all knowledge about mental health resided with qualified medical and social service staff but now it is accepted that communities and the general public can develop confidence and appreciate the importance of mental health issues as they affect their own families and work places.

Training courses are in the process of being set up of varying length from two hours to longer courses offering nationally recognised qualifications. More information is available from the Forum on 01509 233475. The next meeting of the Forum is on Monday September 4th 2.00 p.m. at John Storer House and everyone is welcome to come along and learn more about the changes taking place locally in mental health.
By Stan Cramer

The Care Home Advocacy Project, CHAP, supports and empowers older people, who are in long-term care, either residential or nursing, in the county of Leicestershire. CHAP, originally established in Hinckley and Bosworth is now operating county-wide. Local placements are available for volunteers in Charnwood.

The aim of the project is to provide the more vulnerable or isolated residents with an advocate, who can support, or speak up on the resident’s behalf. Advocacy is about empowering the individual so that they can live their life as full as possible. The Advocacy Project takes referrals from many sources: care-home staff, social workers, friends, families and residents themselves. Below are some examples of issues that we deal with:

• access to services
• finances e.g. helping someone to open a bank account
• family issues
• supporting a resident through a difficult period e.g.decision to move home’s
• applying for funding e.g motorised wheelchair, etc.

Volunteers will have an induction period and training before taking up any case work. On-going support and supervision is provided by the co-ordinator. Out-of-pocket expenses are paid. We are looking for people who have or would like to develop:

• skills and knowledge
• good communication skills
• friendly and approachable manner
• flexibility
• empathy and patience
• trust and integrity.
A commitment of four hours per-week is desirable.

For further information, please contact Phillipa Stanbridge on 01455 847666
By Phillipa Stanbridge

The Leicestershire Funding Toolkit is now live on www.fundingtoolkit.org.
The toolkit is a one-stop website which provides FREE funding information and advice to Leicestershire’s voluntary and community organisations. It has been developed to help improve the ability of voluntary and community sector organisations to successfully bid for funding.
A key feature of the toolkit is a searchable database of over 4000 funding sources including the government, lottery, local government, trusts and charitable givers. The website allows you to access application forms, confirm whether your application is eligible, browse guidance notes, along with the requirements of potential funders.
The website also includes a 5 step guide to making successful applications including help with preparing and writing applications.
Links are also provided to key documents that you may need to refer to in your application such as local and regional strategies. There is a news section highlighting application deadlines, new funding schemes and, we hope, your own success stories.
We know that having the information you need is not the whole story so we will be including a list of Funding Advisors that you can call upon for help with answering questions on application forms and a range of other support.
The toolkit is provided through Leicestershire Together with the support of Leicestershire County Council. Considerable advice and guidance on the development of the website has also been provided by the voluntary and community sector. In the future we hope to increase the level of practical support that you will be able to access to help you secure the money you want and need.
Until that happens, log on and explore how it can help you and keep coming back to see how you can get further help.
By Oliver Savage

Gerry Jacobs has taken on a new role to improve services and develop staff. Gerry will work closely with staff in each of our services to see how best to improve what we do. This could be more of the same, but to more and different people. Or, it could mean doing something we already do well, but doing it better.

We will need to ask you, as our “customers”, whether you are satisfied with the services we provide, or if you have any suggestions for improvements. If you aren’t asked, but have an idea, please mention it.

Gerry will also ask all staff about their future development and what learning opportunities they would like. This is a CVS policy which hasn’t had enough attention in the past and Gerry will now ensure everyone is encouraged to learn and develop.

by Neil Lambert, Chief Executive