GAVCA

Small Charity Week 2012 takes place from 11 to 15 June. There is a different theme every day:

• Monday, 11th June: Campaigns day
• Tuesday, 12th June: The big advice day
• Wednesday, 13th June: Policy day
• Thursday, 14th June: Fundraising day
• Friday, 15th June: Celebration day

Find out more about what’s available to small charities on each day of the week from the website www.smallcharityweek.com/fundraising-day

Voluntary and community organisations are invited to share in the celebrations of Gloucester Day, which this year will take place on Saturday 1 September. The event will feature a parade, a reception and stalls at Gloucester Cross.

To find out more and book a stall for your organisation, please contact the Gloucester Town Crier, Alan Myatt, by emailing alanmyatt@blueyonder.co.uk or ringing 07973 472896.

Attachments:

File	File size
Draft Volunteering strategy group minutes 30 april 2012.pdf	88 Kb
Volunteering Strategy group update April 2012.pdf	84 Kb

An update from the Volunteering Strategy group, and minutes of its most recent meeting, are now available. Download them using the links, above.

For more information about the Volunteering Strategy group, please visit the Gloshub website.

The Gloucestershire Work and Wellbeing Alliance (GWWA) is a multi agency group, working together to address the problems facing people with disabilities and mental health issues who seek access to paid work, voluntary work and meaningful activity.

There are a number of mechanisms for you to become involved in the work of the Alliance:

• become a member of the core group, which is actively taking the GWWA Action Plan forward
• join the wider Alliance membership circulation list and occasionally attend meetings
• receive the GWWA Newsletter.

For more information about any of these options, please contact the GWWA Membership Secretary at info@gwwa.org.uk

Volunteering England, in collaboration with Locality, NCVO and NAVCA, has published a guide to the legalities of substituting paid job roles with volunteers. The Guide to Job Substitution can be downloaded from the Volunteering England website (PDF), alongside more information on this topic.

The Gloucestershire Community Energy Co-op has just launched its share offer for the first community owned "power station" in the county, inviting local people to own a part of the massive array of Solar Panels on the City Works building in Alfred Street, Gloucester. Investors will get interest on their shares, expected to be around 5% pa. The panels are expected to generate approximately 40,000 kWp of electricity a year, equivalent to the electricity used by 12 households.

The Gloucestershire Community Energy Co-op is already exploring opportunities for additional solar projects, as well as energy saving, wind, hydro and other renewables in the county. Prospectuses and membership forms can be obtained from City Works, downloaded from www.gloscommunityenergy.coop or call 01452 348508 and one will be sent to you.

A Day in the Life is a free work shadowing initiative that provides a unique opportunity for staff in government and Civil Society to step into each other's shoes for a day and learn about how the 'other side' operates.

The application process is now open, and closes on Friday 13 July. Find out more information and apply on the NCVO website.

The Hardwicke & Quedgeley Healthy Living Festival runs from 22 to 30 June. It aims to promote and preserve good health by encouraging community participation in healthy recreation and has three main strands:

• Local clubs and groups offering well being, health and sporting opportunities will be encouraged to hold free taster sessions during the period. Such groups will be offered space at the Quedgeley Show on 30 June and will be able to apply to a fund created by this project for grants towards the costs of these activities
• An online directory of such opportunities will be created and widely promoted. A written summary will be delivered to every house in the area and widely available through other channels such as major employers, supermarkets, schools and so on.
• To promote community cohesion by making residents more aware of what is going on in their local community and the benefits of joining and getting involved with such groups and activities. Also to encourage such clubs, groups, the schools, statutory organisations to work even more closely together for mutual benefit.

To get your group or organisation involved, please contact Andy Jarrett of Quedgeley Community Trust on 01452 883450 or at andy.jarrett@ymail.com

The Olympic Torch Relay is coming to Gloucester on 24 May 2012, and may also be passing through other parts of the county. Volunteer stewards are needed to help with this exciting event.

Voluntary and Community Organisations are asked to encourage their members and service-users to consider volunteering as stewards for this event.

To volunteer, or for more information, contact Karen Pearson at Gloucester Guildhall by ringing 01452 396 382 or emailing karen.pearson@gloucester.gov.uk