Project information
Volunteer Mentoring Project
Our Volunteer Mentoring Project gives opportunities to those with high support needs, including those with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health issues, to volunteer with us.
The Project is ongoing
Charity information: The Newbury Community Resource Centre Limited
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Need
Need
We offer informal and formal Open College Network training in practical skills such as warehousing and furniture repair both to volunteers with high support needs. We were previously unable to offer ongoing volunteering opportunities once training was complete, due to insufficient support staff.
Solution
The Volunteer Mentoring Project recruits and trains volunteer mentors to work on a one-to-one or small group basis with those volunteers with high support needs, often due to learning or physical disabilities, or mental health issues.
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Aims
Aim 1
To extend our volunteering opportunities to those with high support needs.
Activities
» Involve 100 volunteers in the project over the course of a year.
What success will look like
Success will be...involving over 100 volunteers with support needs over the course of a year
Aim 2
To provide interesting and challenging opportunities in a real working environment.
Activities
» Ensure we offer a wide variety of volunteering opportunities, including furniture repair, woodwork, bicycle repair, customer service, horticulture.
What success will look like
Success will be...meeting the needs of every volunteer in terms of enjoyment, learning and achievement.
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Impact
Impact
Involving those from hard to reach groups, providing support and experience, with a view to volunteers entering or re-entering employment where possible. We will continue to monitor and track progress of our mentors and volunteers using our robust data collection processes, measuring success through numbers involved with the project and feedback from volunteers.
Risk
The project could not continue without volunteer mentors. We recruit volunteers from all sections of the community, from customers, word of mouth and many local organisations, and we would be able to draw on all these ongoing relationships to recruit more volunteer mentors if required.
Reporting
We provide regular reports back on the progress of the project, detailing current and planned activities, and achievement against targets. These are usually six monthly, but we are always flexible as to a donor's wishes.
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Budget
Budget - Project Cost: £29,841
Loading graph....Amount Heading Description £24,156 Salary 2 pt Volunteer Mentoring Officer salaries to support mentors and volunteers £4,125 Volunteer expenses Inc external training, transport, lunches, PPE £1,560 Premises costs 10% of heat, light and maintenance Current Funding / Pledges
Source Amount Self-generated income £560 Guaranteed External funder £3,768 Guaranteed -
Background
Location
The Community Re-use Centre, New Greenham Park, Newbury and The Community Furniture Project (Basingstoke) - covering West Berkshire and Basingstoke and Deane area of Hampshire
Beneficiaries
Volunteers with learning difficulties, physical disabilities, mental health issues and other reasons for requiring additional support.
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Why Us?
Why Us?
We have been running this project successfully for four years now, and it has already become invaluable to local organisations referring volunteers to us. Our volunteers benefit from engaging in real work in both indoor and outdoor settings, learning and developing new skills and most importantly becoming a full member of a team dedicated to supporting the local community.
Read more about the Charity running this project.
People
Kelvin Hughes
Kelvin is the Chief Executive of our organisation, and was instrumental in getting the project off the ground.
Joe McKay
Joe is the manager of the Community Re-use Centre, and initially came up with the idea for the project to meet the needs of our volunteers.
Stuart Wintrup
Stuart is one of our Volunteer Mentoring Officers, providing support to our mentors and volunteers, without whom the project would not be a success.
Jonathan White
Jonathan is one of our Volunteer Mentoring Officers, providing support to our mentors and volunteers, without whom the project would not be a success.
