Volunteer Centre Newcastle

Reducing Barriers to Volunteering for People who are Refugees or Seeking Asylum

Reducing Barriers to Volunteering for People who are Refugees or Seeking Asylum Your chance to influence policy and practice As part of the Modernising Volunteering work being carried out in the north east by the Policy Action Community Team (PACT) led by CSV Volunteer Centre Newcastle, you are invited to attend a ‘Model Action Day’ on Wednesday 17th March 2010 at Westgate College from 10.30am to 2p.m. The aim of the event is to involve a wide cross section of agencies in shaping a new toolkit to help volunteer involving organisations to promote equality and diversity and reduce the barriers to volunteering for people from the refugee community. If you are involved in recruiting volunteers, (especially within a local branch of a national volunteer- involving organisation), or in supporting people who are refugees or seeking asylum, we would like too hear from you. Those attending the event will have the opportunity to gain inspiration from our speakers, share their own ideas with others, comment on the draft materials for the toolkit and ask a panel of experts to address those all-important questions. All of this and a delicious free lunch into the bargain! Please let us know as soon as possible if you can come along on the day as places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. A quick e-mail to kpatton@csv.org.uk will secure your place.

Festive Closures

Dear All The volunteer centre will be closed from 12 noon on Thursday the 24th December until 9am Monday 4th January If you are interested in volunteering over Christmas Day or Boxing Day there is only one role available in the City that we are aware of – please contact Crisis Skylight on volunteering.newcastle@crisis.org.uk to express your interest If your New Year Resolution is to become more involved in your local community and you want to look at your volunteering options then please log onto www.do-it.org.uk - this is a postcode based search engine so if you live outside of Newcastle then please use the name of the town OR your home postcode to begin your search. If you apply via do-it for volunteering your enquiry is sent directly to the organisation or volunteer centre that is advertising the role – so if it is us, Volunteer Centre Newcastle, then please remember you will not get a response before the 4th January Many thanks The Team Adam, Gemma and Karen

Volunteer Voice - Make a Difference Day 09

CSV Make a Difference Day is the UK's biggest annual day of volunteering! Volunteer Centre Newcastle's Positive Choices project decided to have a day to promote wellbeing and positive mental health through volunteering. Firstly we had to select an activity that could be completed in a day by a group of volunteers that had never met before. Our chosen activity was cleaning up Lort Burn in Leazes Park and we set the date for Friday 23rd October. Here’s what some of the Volunteers thought of the day… “I have enjoyed preserving Leazes Park; I have met many more friends and hope to work in the park in the future.” “I had a brilliant time.” Read more about it…

Newcastle Volunteering Forum

In particular we will cover the mechanics of one off and long term recruitment, how the do-it website works, how we refer people to your organisations, how you can tap into best practice advice, how we campaign and research on your behalf (and how you might use this information within your organisation). If you are unsure about any aspect of how we work with you, then here is your chance to come and ask us questions. We feel this is your chance to influence how we work with you for the benefit of volunteers and volunteering within Newcastle. Anyone who represents an organisation registered with Volunteer Centre Newcastle is welcome to come along. If you receive our weekly emailing to organisations your organisation is registered with us. If you would like to attend the forum and your organisation has not registered with Volunteer Centre Newcastle please contact us.

Make a Difference Day 2009 – important changes

Unfortunately the allotment where we had planned to makeover for winter had to withdraw its offer for our services. We have however managed to arrange a different venue so that the day can still go ahead! Thanks to Groundwork we will now be doing a gardening and conservation project for the morning at Leazes Park. All places are now full for this event, thanks to everyone for their interest. If you are interested in future one off gardening events, please contact us or look at the newsletters for our monthly updates.

World Mental Health Day 2009

Don't forget Volunteer Centre Newcastle will be at Monument on Saturday 10th October from 10am - 4pm to celebrate World Mental Health Day. You can come along and have a chat about volunteering and also find out more information about our new project Positive Choices which is aimed at people who have mental health issues and would like extra support to become volunteers.

Make a Difference Day 2009

Make a Difference Day Friday 23rd October 10am-12noon and 2pm – 4pm Would you like to contribute to the community but feel that your health could stop you? Do you feel anxious at the thought of going it alone? Positive Choices supports people with mental health issues to gain increased health, wellbeing and independence by becoming volunteers. This year for Make a Difference Day we are giving Ouseburn Farm allotment a winter makeover as part of the launch of Positive Choices. If you identify yourself as having a mental health issue and would like to come along and help out on one or both of the sessions, please contact Gemma Finch on 0191 232 6616 or email info@volunteercentrenewcastle.org.uk to book your place. There are a variety of roles available however spaces are limited.

World Mental Health Day

Don't forget Volunteer Centre Newcastle will be at Monument on Saturday 10th October from 10am-4pm to celebrate World Mental Health Day. If want to come along about volunteering Gemma from Positive Choices will be there from 10.30am

World Mental Health Day

Don't forget Volunteer Centre Newcastle will be at Monument on Saturday 10th October from 10am - 4pm to celebrate World Mental Health Day. You can come along and have a chat about volunteering and also find out more information about our new project Positive Choices which is aimed at people who have mental health issues adn would like extra support to become volunteers.

Make a Difference Day

Make a Difference Day Friday 23rd October 10am-12noon and 2pm – 4pm Would you like to contribute to the community but feel that your health could stop you? Do you feel anxious at the thought of going it alone? Positive Choices supports people with mental health issues to gain increased health, wellbeing and independence by becoming volunteers. This year for Make a Difference Day we are giving Ouseburn Farm allotment a winter makeover as part of the launch of Positive Choices. If you identify yourself as having a mental health issue and would like to come along and help out on one or both of the sessions, please contact Gemma Finch on 0191 232 6616 or email info@volunteercentrenewcastle.org.uk to book your place. There are a variety of roles available however spaces are limited.

Volunteer Centre Temporary Closure

Due to redecoration of the Volunteer Centre Office we will be unavailable by email or telephone from Weds 7th – until Friday 9th Oct We will be open for business as usual on Monday the 12th October and will return your messages as soon as we can Many thanks for you patience Karen

Make a Difference Day 2009

CSV Make a Difference Day is the UK's largest day of volunteering, As part of the Make a Difference Day celebrations Volunteer Centre Newcastle are launching their first one off Positive Choices session on Friday 23rd October Positive Choices encourages and supports everyone with mental health issues to take part in volunteering. We are giving the Ouseburn Farm allotment a winter makeover and there will be many tasks on the day not just gardening. We are joining forces with Groundwork and have two gardening sessions, 10am – 12pm, then 2pm – 4pm, or you could stay all day. If you would like to discuss which other roles may be available to you on the day, please get in touch. We will provide all volunteer enquiries with a fact sheet with information about contact details, refreshments, suggested clothing to wear, meeting points and a map of the area. All equipment needed will be provided. Interested please contact info@volunteercentrenewcastle.org.uk

New changes at Volunteer Centre Newcastle

Welcome Gemma Finch to the Volunteer Centre Team. Gemma will be taking the lead on our new project Positive Choices which aims to support anyone with mental health issues who would like to find out more about volunteering. Gemma is looking forward to developing the new service and meeting more of our partner organisations. Some of you got a chance to meet her at the recent Newcastle Volunteer Forum meeting. If you are an organisation or individual who wants to talk about Positive Choices contact Gemma on 0191 232 6616 or email gfinch@csv.org.uk We will be adding more information about Positive Choices to the website soon.

Vol Week Prizes

The weather forecast was dreadful but it didn’t seem to put anyone off and the Volunteers’ week event in the centre of Newcastle on Saturday 6th June was a remarkable success, especially considering how many other attractions the event had to compete with. The ‘launch pad’ containing the Volunteer Centre team, Ouseburn Valley Volunteers, the Vinvolved team and some of their youth Action team was located at the top of Grainger Street near to the Monument where a lively rally against the BNP was taking place. Meanwhile, round the corner in Northumberland Street, Newcastle Libraries were holding an event that included a furry dinosaur! However, despite the competition and the lack of sunshine, the enthusiastic Volunteers’ Week crowd still managed to attract their fair share of attention, engaging with over 250 people who were interested in talking about volunteering and giving out over a hundred leaflets about volunteering for young people aged between 16 and 25, as well as a huge number of leaflets about the 5 steps to wellbeing through volunteering for people of all ages. Current volunteers also visited the ‘launch pad’. Some were presented with their Volunteers’ Week certificates and thanked for their on-going contribution. All of them were encouraged to enter their names into the Volunteers’ Week prize drawe organised by the Volunteer Centre in conjunction with the many organisations they work in partnership with. Neil Watson an Ouseburn Valley Volunteer sounded as though he had fun during Volunteers Week in particular on the Saturday. “It’s such a wonderful place and I’ve met lots of lovely people [the public]. That’s what you get out of bed for. I wanted to come here to help people and meet people. I’m improving my people skills. It’s the most successful day of volunteering I’ve had so far.” Well done to everybody who took part. On Friday 12TH Heather Niven the CEO of Newcastle Society for Blind People agreed to support our “Thank You” Draw by being our official independent name puller! Volunteers from the following organisations won the prizes donated by John Lewis,Lush and the staff of CSV 1. Newcastle Advocacy Service (John Lewis) 2. Community Living Independent Project (CLIP) (Lush) 3. Ron Eager House 4. Outlook x 2 5. Ouseburn Valley Volunteers x2 6. Oxfam Heaton x2 7. North of England Refugee Service 8. Mencap 9. CARE Home Project x2 10 National Trust – Inner City Project 11. Samaritans Tyneside 12 Henshaws 13 The Mentor Project 14 DAN – Develop Autism Now 15 West End Refugee Service 16 Victoria Tunnel 17 Virtual Volunteers 16 Mining Institute Library 17 Comfrey Project Thank you very much to both John Lewis and Lush who continue to support our requests during Volunteers Week When I told the winner of the John Lewis voucher she said “Fabulous – what a brilliant start to a Monday morning” So thank you to all 289 people who entered their name into the draw Volunteer centre Newcastle Team

Volunteers' Week is over

A big thank you to all the people who helped us to promote Volunteers' Week on Saturday, and those who helped us out on in the build up to the event. Watch this space for further information about how the day went. The Volunteers' Week prize draw is still open! The draw will take place at 3.30pm on Friday 12th June - if you volunteer in Newcastle you can enter the draw.

Volunteer Centre at The Monument

Welcome to the Summer 2009 edition of Volunteer Voice, the volunteering newsletter of CSV Training and Enterprise North East. We would like to thank Paul Whitlock of CSV Virtual Volunteers for producing the newsletter to coincide with Volunteers’ Week 2009. Volunteer Voice 2009 Summer Edition If you are in town this Saturday look out for the Volunteer Centre who will have a walk-in truck parked near the Monument to celebrate Volunteers’ Week. We are there to thank everyone who volunteers in Newcastle, and to promote volunteering to those who are thinking about giving their time in the future. If you currently volunteer please come in and enter our free prize draw. If you are unable to make it into town on Saturday but would still like to enter the draw please email us with your name, your address, and the name of the group or organisation you volunteer for. There are 25 prizes to celebrate 25 years of volunteers’ week celebrations.

Other Volunteers' Week events

Recyke y’Bike are offering a venue tour to volunteers and some cake on Monday 1st 10am and 4pm June. Dorothy Craw - 0191 266 2327 - www.recyke-y-bike.org Scotswood Community Gardens - Kate Dickenson 0191 200 4706 - www.sncg.org.uk Just wanted to let you know we have a volunteer focus day on Wednesday 3rd June, 10am -3pm. planting up hanging baskets and pots to brighten up the community garden. To get involved call Kate

Volunteers' Week

On the Launchpad truck we will be showing a selection of DVDs about volunteering, we'll be talking to the public about volunteering. If you are a volunteer please pop into our truck and add your name to our FREE prize “Thank You Draw” which includes donations from John Lewis and Lush. There are 25 prizes to celebrate 25 years of Volunteers' Week. If you work supporting or managing volunteers why not show your appreciation by printing off one of our Volunteers' Week certificates for your volunteers. Volunteers' Week Certificate (PDF) Volunteers' Week Certificate (Word) 5 steps to wellbeing (Word)

DWP Volunteering Programme

CSV Training and Enterprise North East (TENE) is pleased to inform you about a new volunteering initiative being funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). CSV TENE, through its experienced staff based at Volunteer Centre Newcastle, will offer qualifying individuals information and advice on volunteering opportunities that should help them gain skills and experience for the workplace. Our role is to take referrals from the Jobcentres, meet with any perspective candidates and match them with an organisation where they can volunteer for a short, unspecified period of time. If the Jobseeker and potential volunteer agrees, we will then help them find a volunteering role. The qualifying criteria for clients are: they must be claiming Jobseekers Allowance they must have been claiming JSA for 6 months or longer they have been referred to us by a Jobcentre Plus office. they have not chosen the 6 month volunteering option before CSV TENE have been awarded a contract by the DWP to provide this service for the geographical area covering the North East of England north of the Tyne. Our aim is to facilitate a volunteering opportunities for these DWP clients. Our experience has shown that volunteering can help individuals who are looking for work to build up a routine, improve their self-confidence, increase their motivation as well as help them gain new skills and knowledge. For the purposes of this referral system the volunteering option they choose must provide them with work related experience. This could range from turning up on time and carrying out simple tasks at a one-off event to something more involved and longer term if this has the agreement of all parties. CSV TENE have been clear with the DWP that any referrals are individuals who genuinely want to volunteer their time in the hope of making themselves more employable. The scheme is entirely voluntary and there is no question of the volunteer having their benefits sanctioned for not turning up or for choosing not to engage with this volunteering option. Organisations that are willing to take volunteers on short-term placements under this scheme will receive a £50 placement fee for every volunteer that attends. If your organisation would be willing to consider individuals referred by this scheme you will need to: complete and sign a checklist confirming that you have adequate insurance cover and effective health and safety policy and practice. arrange a time to meet with the prospective volunteer and to offer them a chance to do some sort of task that will help your organisation and will provide an opportunity to gain confidence, skills, knowledge or experience which will ultimately improve their chances of finding a job. liaise with CSV TENE staff on the volunteer’s attendance of the initial meeting. The volunteer’s expenses will be met by the DWP so providing a placement will not have any hidden costs. However, if the volunteer changes his/her mind or does not turn up at all, you will NOT receive the £50 placement fee. If you are interested in taking volunteers under the above terms and conditions, please complete the attached Health and Safety checklist and return a signed copy to us at Volunteer Centre Newcastle, CSV Training and Enterprise North East, 3rd Floor MEA House, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8XS We cannot guarantee that we will place volunteers with you and completing the checklist does not commit you to taking any volunteers that you may feel are unsuitable for the roles you have within your organisation. The decision about whether an individual starts volunteering for you remains a joint one between you and the individual prospective volunteer. If you are interested in engaging with this scheme, and receiving £50 per volunteer referred through this scheme, then please return your signed declaration about Health and Safety and Insurance. If you would like to talk informally about this scheme please feel free to call us on 0191 232 6616 and talk to Kath Patton, Adam Stewart or Karen Watson

Job opportunity!

We are recruiting someone for 28 hours per week to work with Adam and Karen based here in MEA House. The purpose of this post is to extend the service offered by VCN to ensure that adults with mental health issues are enabled to participate successfully in a wide range of volunteering opportunities. For more information, and to download an application pack, visit: http://www.csv.org.uk/Jobs/Vacancies/Volunteer+Centre+Officer+%28Newcastle+upon+Tyne%29.htm

Staff absences

We are aiming to process all our volunteering enquiries as quickly as possible but you may have to wait a week or two before we can get back to you. While our Volunteer Centre will work with anyone interested in volunteering in Newcastle we are giving priority to Newcastle residents at present. If you have used Volunteer Centre Newcastle before please contact us directly on 0191 232 6616 rather than making another enquiry or application through the 'Do It' website.

The future of lottery funding

Anyone who is keen to make sure that the VCS continues to receive the major share of Big Lottery Funding in the future should respond to a new consultation before the end of February. The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) - the largest distributor of National Lottery funding - is consulting on how and what it should fund from 2009-2015. Many people and communities have benefited from BIG's funding , so make sure you have your say on its future funding policies. The BIG thinking consultation asks 10 BIG questions, including whether BIG should maintain its commitment to allocate a percentage of its funding (currently 60-70%) to VCS projects after 2012 when this commitment ends. It also asks for feedback on its two proposed funding themes - 'transitions' and in particular communities in transition, and 'isolation'. The question about funding the VCS has unsurprisingly caused a stir, with some people seeing it leading to more lottery money going to the statutory sector beyond 2012. BIG disputes that this is intended and the document states that 'the large majority of our funding will continue to go to the voluntary and community sector'. Visit www.big-thinking.org.uk to answer the questions online and add your comments to this discussion forum. Voluntary Centre Newcastle will be submitting a response and will urge you to respond on behalf of your organisation

Evaluation results

The results of the evaluation are available in the following Word document: VCN evaluation report.

Holiday closing

We have been informed this week that the organisations running events on Christmas Day have enough volunteers. For all of you looking to volunteer in the new year we suggest you visit the national database of volunteering at www.do-it.org.uk and search for the roles you are interested in.

Welfare Benefits Reforms

The impact of the proposed changes on the voluntary sector was discussed at a seminar attended by Adam Stewart of Volunteer Centre Newcastle. His place at the seminar was funded by The Pentagon Partnership to enable representation from Tyne and Wear for this event based in London. To read Adam's extended report on how the proposed reforms will affect local volunteer involving organisations click on VCN's report on Welfare Benefits reform.

Volunteer Voice

Volunteer Voice is the quarterly publication of CSV. Volunteer Voice is CSV's internal newsletter for volunteers produced by Paul Whitlock of CSV Virtual Volunteers. We are working closely with Paul to promote the Ouseburn Valley Volunteer launch and Make a Difference Day which are both featured in his latest newsletter. To view this form in PDF format please follow this link.

Catch up with our newsletters

We send out monthly newsletters to volunteers with all the latest information which might be of interest to volunteers. Please contact us if you think you have something that might be of interest to the hundreds of prospective volunteers who read this emailing and web based newsletter.

Voucher Winner

To enter the draw we asked everyone who has used our service in the past two years about their experience as a volunteer and what difference volunteering can make to people who decide to volunteer. It was clear from all the responses what a positive impact volunteering can have. The quotes can be found in the Volunteer Voice newsletter which you can find on the Good Practice page of this website

Volunteers' Week

Volunteers' Week is here. To show your appreciation to your volunteers why don't you use our 'Certificate of Appreciation' template - designed by a CSV Virtual Volunteer. It can be found on the Good Practice page under Organisations & Groups on this website.

Volunteers' Week

Volunteers' Week is a national celebration of volunteers and volunteering which takes place at the start of June each year. During Volunteers’ Week there is a burst of activity as events take place across the country to increase awareness of the UK’s volunteers. Volunteer managers and co-ordinators organise events to publicly thank their volunteers and highlight their contribution to local groups and the wider community, while individuals are encouraged to use the Week to find out more about volunteering. Everyone is invited to join this national celebration of volunteering; it's up to you to decide exactly how you join in. Please tell us how you plan to thank your volunteers for all their efforts.

Volunteers' Week

Volunteers' Week is a national celebration of volunteers and volunteering which takes place at the beginning of June each year. It plays a huge part in raising the profile of the UK's millions of volunteers while encouraging others to get involved. If you are volunteering please take time to send us an email telling us about your experience – do you do something unusual? Has volunteering made a difference in your life? Please tell us about your experience and share it with someone who may need that little bit of encouragement to get involved. All volunteers who response will have their names entered into to a free Prize Give away of £20.00 worth of Eldon Square vouchers

Goodbye from Chrissy

Chrissy will be leaving Volunteer Centre Newcastle on Friday 14th March. This is due to a loss of funding which has reduced the number of staff at the centre. Fortunately she is moving to a new role at Stepney Bank Stables. Volunteer Centre Newcastle's services will continue to operate from the CSV office with Karen and Adam.

Festival of International Culture

The 3rd Annual Festival of International Culture opens its doors to doors to the whole community on Saturday 8th March 2008 on Newcastle University Campus from 10am to 5pm. This vibrant celebration of languages and culture combines a whole range activities designed for all ages from primary through to higher education, for teachers, for beginner language learners, and parents too. Come along to improve your knowledge of global languages and cultures. For more information visit www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/northeast/events.html and www.volunteercentrenewcastle.org.uk/festival.pdf or contact Ruth O’Rourke on 0191 222 3496.

Volunteer Centre Newcastle passes with flying colours!

Volunteer Centre Newcastle is very proud and happy to announce that we have passed the Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation and not only that we received full marks!! This is a great achievement for the centre and we would like to thank all of you who have used and benefited from our services.

Christmas and New Year opening

Our opening day for 2007 will be Friday the 21st December and we will be closed until January 2nd 2007. You can still register your interest in volunteering through the 'Do-it' website and we will get back to you in the New Year.

Fundraisers needed on Sunday

They are desperately looking for Volunteers at the Metro Centre to Promote/Recruit for our Tyne Bridge Abseil and also help sell raffle tickets. For more information please contact Nathan Money on 01642 531 248

Gold Star Regional Seminar

Samantha minds the GAP, as GoldStar comes to Newcastle on 5th September. Samantha Gray from Gateshead describes her decision to become a volunteer at a local project for people with disabilities as ‘the best thing I’ve ever done’. Samantha, 30, who is a wheelchair user herself, volunteers at the Gateshead Access Panel (GAP) – one of a network of local projects funded by the GoldStar volunteering programme - which aims to boost the numbers of volunteers recruited from socially excluded groups including disabled people. GoldStar will be staging a seminar, to show how people can take advantage of the programme, at the Centre for Life in Newcastle on Wednesday 5th September. Samantha believes that the voluntering she does has a double-edged benefit – as it not only helps people with disabilities to make the most of living locally but has also done wonders for her own confidence and personal development. She explains: “Our work here is improving the lives of people with disabilities and long term illness in the community. We give guidance and advice to make life easier for our service users. We’re helping people like ourselves and that’s something worth working for. “GAP also provides training and help that disabled volunteers like myself need to be able to come to work. It’s really nice working with people who understand that, for some of us, things can take a bit longer to achieve. I’ve been able to build up my confidence and ability in small steps without feeling under constant pressure to deliver.” She adds: “Working at GAP has given me an equal chance to get a job and do the kind of work I really want to do. I love the idea of helping other people and be able to learn new things. Best of all, it’s just brilliant being involved. I can’t wait to get out of bed in the mornings.” Anyone who would like to find out more about the GoldStar programme - and the lessons it can teach recruiting volunteers from groups who traditionally shy away from volunteering – can attend a seminar being staged in Newcastle at the Centre for Life on Wednesday 5th September. More information about the event is available from the ‘Events 2007’ section of the GoldStar website – www.goldstar.org.uk

Upcoming Training

The new winter training brochure from NCVS is now available. The Brochure includes training courses being offered and/or facilitated by Volunteer Centre Newcastle. For more information please go to the training section of this website.

Green Festival pictures

The Mayor came, our volunteers came, loads of people came. We all enjoyed ourself and lots of doughnuts were eaten. To find out more visit the Events page on our website.

Newcastle Celebrates Volunteers' Week

Volunteers' Week is the UK's annual celebration of the contribution volunteers make. During the Week events are held across the country to recognise, reward and recruit volunteers. Volunteer Centre Newcastle and the Newcastle Volunteering Forum have organised a Volunteers’ Week event within the Green Festival, Leazes Park on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th June from noon each day. The Volunteers’ Week celebrations will be in it own tent, which YOU will be able to visit and contribute to a short film being made about YOUR volunteering experiences. If you’re feeling a little shy then you can contribute the ‘Thought Tree’ by writing about your experiences of volunteering. The Newcastle Community Green Festival is an annual community based environmental festival that aims to use creative artistic and musical activities to raise awareness about environmental issues and demonstrate positive environmental solutions to these problems. It is a vibrant weekend of diverse music and stalls, attracting thousands of people so come along and join us in the Volunteers' Week Tent

Green Festival

Volunteer Centre Newcastle will have a tent at this year's event. Please come along to share your experiences of volunteering where we will have an ideas tree and we will also be videoing people who want to talk on film about their volunteering lives.

Volunteers' Week Event

Volunteer Centre Newcastle and the Newcastle Volunteering Forum have organised a Volunteers’ Week event within the Green Festival, Leazes Park on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th June. Volunteers’ Week * is a perfect opportunity to thank volunteers for their huge and unique contribution to the City. The Volunteers’ Week celebrations will be in it own tent, which YOU will be able to visit and contribute to a short film being made about YOUR volunteering experiences. If you’re feeling a little shy then you can contribute the ‘Thought Tree’ or participate in an art project to celebrate volunteering. If you are a Volunteer Involving Organisation and would like to book time at the Volunteers’ Week tent to give a special ‘Thank You’ to your volunteers please contact us on the details below. Visitors to the tent will be entered into a prize draw upon completion of a short feedback form. So come and join us and enjoy the atmosphere of a vibrant community festival, meet other volunteers and the Volunteer Centre Team. If you would like more information about the event, information on volunteering opportunities or involving volunteers in your organisation please contact: Volunteer Centre Newcastle Tel: 0191 232 6616 / 0191 232 7445 or Email: info@volunteercentrenewcastle.org.uk

Relaunch of website

Volunteer Centre Newcastle is pleased to reveal its redesigned website with more information and new accessibility features. With the help of two volunteers we have aimed to produce a site which is both informative and accessible to all users. We welcome any comments you may have about the new look site which you can add using the Feedback section on the home page.

Future of volunteering

The Commission on the Future of Volunteering is holding a consulation day in Newcastle. The event will be held on Wednesday, 7th March 2007 at the Mariott Hotel, Gosforth Park, where questions such as "What do you think is happening to volunteering in the North East?" will be discussed.

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