MONTHLY NEWSLETTER: OCTOBER

Welcome back to the monthly Year of Volunteering newsletter! Here we will keep

you informed about what is happening with the campaign, as well as providing

updates on all the activities going on across the county this month and the next.

OCTOBER’S

THEME

This October, the theme around

young people and learning

continues! Read on for more

volunteer stories that

demonstrate all the fantastic work

done by volunteers to help young

people, as well as all the time

that young people themselves

dedicate to help others.

Not only this, it’s an exciting

month for events, from Herts and

Middlesex Wildlife Trust’s ‘Apple

Day’ to Hertfordshire County

Council’s volunteer recognition

awards. We also bring you

information about a quality

standards e-conference next

month, which offers help in

working towards these

accreditations.

ACTIVITIES THIS MONTH

1st October is International Day of Older

Persons – how do your volunteers help older

people? Let us know for next month’s edition!

9th October is this year’s Apple Day! Run by

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, this

afternoon event for all the family is a celebration

of all things apple and couldn’t happen without

the incredible effort of volunteers

10th October is World Mental Health Day –

volunteers across the county work tirelessly to

help raise awareness of mental health and help

those in need of support

10th - 16th October is Local Democracy Week,

which is all about promoting the importance of

having your say in local decisions that affect you

19th October marks Hertfordshire County

Council’s volunteer recognition awards. This will

be an exciting event to celebrate all the fantastic

work that the council’s volunteers do to make

Hertfordshire a better place

QUALITY STANDARDS E-CONFERENCE

Come and learn more about quality standards in volunteer management at #TeamHerts

Volunteering’s FREE Quality Standards Conference on 2nd November from 9.30am-

12.30pm. With speakers from NCVO, you can also hear first-hand from organisations

that have achieved quality standards and the benefits it can bring to your own

organization. You will also have the opportunity to sign up for 1:1 support to help you

work towards these accreditations.

Visit the events webpage here to sign up today or email enquiries@teamherts.org or

phone: 01462 689409 for further information.

Karen Morely-Hayes from Broxbourne

volunteers with CHEXS charity, based

in Waltham Cross, supporting the local

community by offering family support

and enrichment projects to children

and young people. She has helped to

run a free family art and craft sessions

in the CHEXS member schools and

supported CHEXS with a willow

sculpting project with local schools.

Karen says that she will always tell

people to try volunteering, because if

you are looking to get into employment

you can build your confidence, try

different activities that match your

interests and learn a lot about yourself.

YOUR VOLUNTEER STORIES…

Laura Waller and Jennifer Doel jointly run a

drop in session at Barleyfields Childrens

Centre, where mothers can come to talk

about any aspect of breastfeeding. The aim

is to support mothers who are struggling

and therefore empower them to keep

breastfeeding for as long as they want to.

Laura says “Breastfeeding is such a

personal thing and mothers feel so

pressured to give their baby the best, I

wanted other people to know that everyone

feels like this and support them to do what

they choose and not what they feel

‘pressured to do’.”

LOCAL BUSINESSES TEACH PUPILS HOW TO

LAND A JOB

Three schools in Hemel Hempstead took part in an Employability Skills event for their

Year 10 pupils during 2016 organised and run by Connect Dacorum. The pupils were in

groups of around 8-10, and each group had a facilitator from local businesses or charity

who had given up their morning to help the students with CV writing and interview skills.

The event was interactive for the pupils – interviewing their facilitators, putting

themselves in the mind of an employer looking at CVs for a new trainee graphic

designer and critiquing them before moving on to looking in more detail at their own CVs

and giving advice. The second session concentrated on interview skills with mock

interviews and also a fun “speed interviewing” game. The pupils came away with lot of

helpful feedback and advice directly from employers about what they look for in a CV,

covering letter and throughout the interview process.

Cindy Withey, Manager of Connect Dacorum organises this with the schools and

recruits local businesses to volunteer their time, building that all important connection

with schools and businesses.

Hemel Hempstead School said that “the feedback from students and teachers has been

overwhelmingly positive and appreciative. Our senior leadership team were extremely

impressed when they called in to see the event in progress, and they heard from

students afterwards that the event was very useful.”

The facilitators come from a wide variety of backgrounds and businesses, all willing to

give up their time to help shape the future generation and pass on valuable advice.

The event is running again in 2017 so if there are any businesses who would like their

staff to be involved and become a facilitator for these events next year please contact

Cindy Withey at Connect Dacorum on cindy.withey@dacorum.gov.uk

WHO NOT WHAT

In August 2014, there was little support or services for young LGBT+ in the county and

through the use of Twitter, and the support of HCC Youth Connexions, young people

came forward from across Hertfordshire to help shape new services and support groups

for their community. Of the fifteen members of Who not What, thirteen young people

aged 13 - 19, have been volunteering for the project for the last 12 months working for

the benefit of their peers in the LGBT+ community.

In 2015, they held their first consultation with young LGBT+ across county and have

repeated this valuable task in 2016 gaining a wealth of information that will assist

Hertfordshire County Council and its partners, in equality, health and service provision.

They have also volunteered for the Young Commissioners’ training to strengthen the

commissioning and co-production practices in the county.

In June 2016, hard work and partnership working, secured first place in the Stonewall

Equality Index Education for Hertfordshire County Council and Stonewall fed back that

the voice of young people, when talking about their own experiences in being involved,

bought the work across county, to life.

Their aims and objectives for the future have also been recognised by The Big Lottery

Fund that is now supporting their work to the tune of £165k for the next three years.

Volunteering with HCC Youth Connexions has enabled LGBT+ support/social groups to

be established across county enabling young people to access support, and meet new

people, local to where they live. Not only have improvements been seen in service

delivery and opportunities for others, the young people’s volunteering has enabled them

to grow in confidence about who they are as individuals as well as part of a community,

feeling less isolated than previously, and more able to manage their emotional wellbeing.

YOUTH PARLIAMENT HAVE THEIR SAY

Hertfordshire currently has ten Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) who each

represent one of the ten districts and are supported by HCC Youth Connexions.

Members of Youth Parliament are an apolitical group who are passionate about

ensuring young people’s voices are heard locally and nationally. MYPs put themselves

forward as candidates back in October 2015 and the successful candidates were

announced at the end of February by Richard Roberts, Executive Member for Children

Services.

MYPs are in post for a year and so are just over half way through their term. MYPs

work closely with Herts1125, an unelected group of young people across Herts, to

consult with young people on the top five priorities that were voted on during the

elections. The priorities are bullying, mental health, access to health services, equality

in Herts (focussing on gender equality in schools) and body confidence and self-image.

Since April, MYPs have been extremely busy writing consultations and engaging young

people in their local area to have their say on these important issues. MYPs did a

fantastic job of co-ordinating this in their local area and ensuring young people were

heard. The results of the consultations will be published in the Hertfordshire Young

People’s Manifesto, launching on the 15th October. The Manifesto will also include two

priorities from Who Not What, the LGBT+ strategic group, two priorities from Young

Carers and two from Children in Care. In total, an amazing 9,535 people participated in

the consultations from schools and youth projects.

MYPs also had the opportunity to represent Hertfordshire nationally at the Annual

Sitting in July and will soon be attending the House of Commons where they, along with

250 other MYPs, will decide the national campaign for the following year. They are also

being trained as Young Commissioners to ensure that services are co-produced with

young people.

NEW VOLUNTEERING ROLES IN THE GREAT

OUTDOORS

As part of Hertfordshire’s Year of Volunteering, Hertfordshire County Council is launching

a number of new ways for people who love the outdoors and want to make a positive

difference to their local environment to get involved.

The new roles have been created by the council’s Countryside Management Service, who

work with communities across the county to care for and improve Hertfordshire’s amazing

landscape.

As a county we are well served by an extensive network of public rights of way, giving us

all access to the beautiful, varied and productive Hertfordshire landscape that surrounds

our homes and places of work.

If you are interested in walking, off-road cycling or horse riding we would like you to help

us to manage and maintain our footpaths, cycle tracks and bridleways to a high standard.

Simply get in touch and find out how to join our ever growing network of volunteers and

benefit from our award winning approach to training and support.

Teresa Heritage, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Localism and Libraries said – “It’s

great to see our officers working together to engage our communities in their work. These

new roles will provide opportunities for our residents to: gain new skills, meet new people

and get involved in healthy outdoors activities. This is what the “Year of Volunteering” is

all about.”

Derrick Ashley, Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning and Transport said – “For

residents who take great pleasure from walking (as I do), cycling or riding through

Hertfordshire’s countryside this is a great opportunity to contribute to the upkeep of our

Footpaths and Bridleways. The options to take part mean that however much or little time

you have available there will be something you can do and in the knowledge that the

whole community will benefit”.

For more information visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/cms or call us on 01992 588433.

To keep up-to-date with the Year of Volunteering visit: facebook, twitter, webpage.

If you would like to unsubscribe or have these emails forwarded on to another

member of your team, please contact corporate.policyteam@hertfordshire.gov.uk.

COMING UP NEXT

Next month marks the start of a new theme based around support for vulnerable people.

We know that there are hundreds of volunteers out there that put in considerable time and

effort to help those who need it. If you have any stories or case studies relevant to this

theme, do get in touch and we will share and help raise awareness of this fantastic work.

LEND A HAND THIS WINTER

‘Everybody needs good neighbours’ the theme tune to a well-known Australian soap tells

us, and that message is truer now than ever before, with recent figures suggesting that the

UK is one of the loneliest countries in Europe. Loneliness can be felt by people of all ages,

but older people and those with physical and learning disabilities are particularly

vulnerable.

The impact of social isolation can be significant; research suggests being lonely can be as

bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Better news is that getting to know

and spending time with your neighbours has a positive effect on your health and

wellbeing.

Colette Wyatt-Lowe, Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Health, said: “As the days draw

shorter and temperatures drop, why not take time to check in on your neighbours,

particularly those who are more vulnerable. Even small things like doing someone’s

shopping, sharing a meal or putting the bins out, can make a big difference.”

If you are feeling lonely why not give HertsHelp a call on 0300 123 4044. They’ll be able to

let you know about activities and support available near you, including lunch clubs,

community groups and befriending services.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust are looking to recruit

a new team of Volunteer Gardeners to care for and

develop their wildlife garden at Grebe House in

Verulamium Park. The garden is popular with park

visitors and a wonderful opportunity for the Trust to

show what individuals can do for wildlife at home. More

information and a role description can be found here.