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Archive News
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Gen-Up project wins at Adult Learner Awards - 8th September 2009
Volunteer Centre Borders were delighted to receive national recognition for their new ‘Gen-Up’ project at the Adult Learners Awards in Glasgow on 8th September. The award, in the group category of Young Learners Awards, was presented to a delighted Kristiana Le Mar, who lives in Melrose.
‘Gen-Up’ is an innovative intergenerational project which was launched by young volunteer Kristiana, and supported by Volunteer Centre Borders. It aims to create an understanding and friendship between young and old, and Peebles High School 6th year pupils are the first to take part in the pilot project. Guided by Kristiana, they have set up a weekly visiting programme at Dunwhinny Lodge Residential Home, and by sharing experiences and opinions with the residents, the pupils hope to encourage more positive links between young and old. Kristiana worked hard to develop the project from an initial idea, which grew from involvement in a national campaign encouraging young people to look at issues which they felt were important in the Borders. Along with Niall Cameron, they identified the need for a better awareness and consideration between generations, and ‘Gen-Up’ is the result.
‘Gen-Up’ will run in Peebles for a year, and it is hoped that over the next few months, other High Schools will pick up the idea and similar projects will be run throughout the Borders.
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You-Vol Awards - June 3rd 2009
SOME of the Borders' youngest volunteers had their previously unsung efforts applauded at this special awards night, held in the Corn Exchange, Melrose on June 3rd. Organised by Volunteer Centre Borders, the event was aimed at recognising the contribution young people make to the local community. Overall winners Bryn Cross, 22, and Eleanor Pitt, 11, received their awards from Pat Nevin. Bryn won the young achievers 16-25-year-old section, while Eleanor scooped the 11-15-year-old section.
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community research VC Borders is continuing its audit of voluntary organisations across the Borders, and is still looking for volunteers to gather information. This is a flexible opportunity but may require some evening or weekend contact. No experience is necessary but access to a landline and the ability to work independently are important. Expenses will be covered, and training will be given to introduce you to the role. If you would like to be involved, please e-mail enquiries@vcborders.org.uk or telephone 0845 602 3921 for further information.
For those voluntary organisations interested in filling in the audit themselves, the form can be found here. Please complete the form and email it back to us at enquiries@vcborders.org.uk. For assistance or further information please call 0845 02 3921.
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COMMUNITY RESEARCH
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Volunteer Centre Borders launches new You-Vol Awards - May 2009 click here for printable nomination form The contribution that young people make to volunteering in the Borders is well known – just ask organisations like the British Red Cross or one of the many Youth Clubs in our area, but until now, the contribution of very young volunteers has never really been acknowledged. In a bid to change this, Volunteer Centre Borders has launched a new awards scheme – the You-Vol Awards for 11-15 year olds. At present, a national scheme exists for 16-25 year olds – the MV Awards. Started in the Millennium year, the MV Awards have developed since then into a well established system for recording and rewarding the hundreds of hours that young people give of their own time to benefit their communities. 50, 100 and 200 hour certificates are now presented as a result of projects and organisations signing up for the scheme through Volunteer Centre Borders – and it is their way of saying thank you to their young volunteers for all the hard work they do. Not only is it a national acknowledgement of achievement, but also a valuable piece of evidence of community work when applying for college, a job, or further voluntary work. The You-Vol Awards for 11-15 year olds will follow the same format – groups, projects and organisations are being asked to sign up for the awards scheme with VC Borders, who will provide all the guidance and advice needed. If you have a young volunteer who has made a significant contribution, now is the time to register them for the new awards. Whether they have achieved 50, 100 or 200 hours, either in school, the community, sport, international work, or they are a great ambassador for your community, VC Borders would like to hear from you. Further details about the criteria for awarding certificates are available from Susan Swan or Tina Cameron, who are co-ordinating the Awards Scheme for the Scottish Borders. Susan Swan was enthusiastic about the new awards - ‘We know that there are young people who give an enormous amount of their own time to helping other people, and we want to reward their efforts. All we ask is for the groups that use these volunteers to get in touch with us to register their hours, and we’ll do the rest of the paperwork.’ There is a time limit however, because to mark the launch of the new awards, there will be a presentation night – as park of National Volunteers Week – on 3 June, so Tina Cameron urges organisations to act fast to get their volunteers nominated. ‘We really want to be able to make this a special celebration for all our young volunteers. To do this we need names and details of their achievements by 15th May so we can make sure they are included. We have all the paperwork for You-Vol and MV Awards prepared, so just ring us and we’ll send it to you.’ And finally, there is a special award presented on the night, for which VC Borders is also looking for nominations. For some young people, volunteering can be an exceptional achievement – for many reasons - and the amount of hours spent volunteering may not be the most important factor. So if you know a young person who deserves recognition for what they have done, we would like to hear about it. Individuals or organisations can nominate young people for this Award, which will also be presented on the night. Get in touch with VC Borders on Telephone 08456023921or email Susan Swan or Tina Cameron if you would like more information. Click here for printable nomination form
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ANTHONY NOLAN TRUST: March 2009 This lifesaving leukaemia charity is set to open the latest of its very successful Court Tea Bars with Selkirk Sheriff Court. The charity currently operates volunteer run Tea Bar facilities within seven Sheriff Courts throughout Scotland. This is a very valuable and much appreciated service to the courts system. The Tea Bars all range in size but all offer hot and cold drinks, pre packed snacks, confectionary and a friendly face to those who are attending court and the courts staff. Every penny profit from the Tea Bars is donated to the lifesaving work of The Anthony Nolan Trust. The project is solely run by volunteers and they need people to come forward. There are several volunteering opportunities available, from project Co-ordinator, Treasurer to Volunteer. Volunteering at an Anthony Nolan Sheriff Court Tea Bar may only require a regular commitment of 2 or 3 hours a week or even a fortnight. So far the Courts Tea Bar project in its entirety has raised in excess of £100,000 for the charity all of which is used to recruit many more lifesaving donors onto their Bone Marrow Register which means that any one of these very special people could be the very special person a leukaemia patient is waiting for to save their life. If you are interested in these opportunities please contact us by email at Volunteer Centre Borders or call 08456023921, or if you require more information about the Anthony Nolan Sheriff Court Tea Bar in Selkirk please contact Allan Johnston, the charity’s manager in The Borders, on 01896831718 or 07968145901 or email allan.johnston@anthonynolan.org.uk
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Community Survey : February 2009
VCB has now started the survey of volunteer-involving organisations, and over the next few weeks, our volunteer researchers will contact your group/project by phone. We aim to create a comprehensive record of volunteering activity in the Scottish Borders, and hope to renew the information annually. If you would like to know more about the survey, or would like to take part and think you may not be on our contact list, please get in touch, either by phoning 0845 602 3921, or by e-mail to enquiries@vcborders.org.uk
master Composters required! This is a new programme, where volunteer master composters are recruited and trained to show others how they can take responsibility for the waste they produce, and give them the support they need to compost their food and garden waste at home. The Volunteers will promote the programme in their own communities, focussed in the towns of Duns, Kelso, Melrose and West Linton. Scottish Borders Master Composters Programme is run by BCCF Environmental, a charitable company formed by the Community Councils in Berwickshire. For more details about how you can get involved, please contact the Co-ordinator, David Scott Aiton, on 01573 410274, e-mail David@BCCFEnvironmental.org.uk or call us at Volunteer Centre Borders 0845 602 3921, and we will pass on your enquiry.
School Sports and Activities Volunteers needed now! : January 2009
Newly appointed Active Schools Coordinator, Debra Martin, has been in touch with VCB looking for volunteers to help out with sports activities in schools throughout the Borders. As Springtime approaches, she would like to recruit volunteers of all ages to increase the opportunities for pupils to learn and improve their sporting skills – but she needs an army of volunteers to make it work. If you would like to help out, please contact Debra direct – she will be organising a short training session in February/March, and will give support, information and assistance when required. To get in touch, use the following contact details; Tel: 01573 227 346;
E-mail: dmartin@scotborders.gov.uk or visit www.sportborders.org.uk/active-schools.html.
Volunteer Centre Borders is looking for community research volunteers. In Feb/March 2009, we will be carrying out an audit of voluntary organisations across the Borders, and would like to recruit a team of 8-12 volunteers to gather information. This is a flexible opportunity but may require some evening or weekend contact. No experience is necessary but access to a landline and the ability to work independently are important. Expenses will be covered, and a day’s training will be held towards the end of January to introduce you to the role. If you would like to be involved, please phone Brian Hitchcock 0845 602 3925 or e-mail him b.hitchcock@vcborders.org.uk for further information.
Digital Switchover Advice Points - November 2008
From a volunteering perspective, this was a very successful project for VC Borders.
Volunteers were recruited through newspaper advertising, Volunteer Centre Borders database search and leaflets to public access points, and were trained over three days, using a mixture of presentation materials from Digital UK and discussion on practical problems which might arise as a result of the Switchover.We had enough recruits to supply 7 Advice Points with two volunteers over a total of six days. Some were quiet; others were very busy – depending on how near to Selkirk you live! Volunteers were congratulated for their expertise and calm approach.
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year, in the first week in June, the nation celebrates the contribution
which volunteers make to our community. It is time to acknowledge and
reward those people – young and old – who give thousands of hours of their
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