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Important new laws proposed for volunteering and charities The Government consultation on new laws which could mean significant changes for charities and volunteering.
The government consultation (closes 2 Oct) on sexual harassment in the workplace could mean lots of changes for charities, both as employers and as volunteer-involving organisations. @shaundelaney outlines the issues, proposed changes and how to respond. For more information pop over to NCVO
Community Development Commission Brief Final August 2019
East Cleveland Villages BL Plan FINAL 190516 (002)
Love your Village Hall?
Want to showcase all the wonderful things that happen there and the fantastic facilities you can offer users in your community?
Want to attract some new trustees?
How about celebrating volunteers?
Village Hall Week is a national celebration that gives you a chance to shine the spotlight on your hall or community venue.
We’ve got some exciting plane for Village Halls Week 2020! If you want to join the celebration sign up here and receive a FREE marketing pack.
More information available from ACRE – Action with Communities in Rural England
#villagehallsweek #ACRENetwork
The Prince’s Countryside Fund – a charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales to help the British countryside to flourish – has launched their Village Survival Guide, a vibrant manual filled with tips and advice on how to build a strong community.
This colourful guide is an entertaining collection of case histories, checklists and practical advice, which will enable those living in the countryside to utilize the talents available in their own communities, and benefit from the examples of many others to tackle some of their own challenges.
It follows on from the Fund’s 2018 research Recharging Rural, which saw over 3000 people tell the charity about the challenges they faced living in rural areas, and how they were pulling together to overcome these.
Available in hard copy to buy, or to download for free, the Village Survival Guide features contributions from more than 40 local groups across the UK, as well as from experts and organisations such as ACRE, the Plunkett Foundation, and Pub is the Hub.
Claire Saunders, Director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “Over the past nine years, the Fund has distributed more than £10 million in grant funding, to hundreds of inspiring community groups and charities. We realised that what people had learned from these successful projects could help to inspire others to take the initiative and transform their local community; the projects run by these groups deliver essential services at a local level, often making up for shortfalls in other provisions.
“The fantastic response we had to Recharging Rural showed the huge appetite there is for this type of approach, and so we’re thrilled to be launching The Village Survival Guide. The 100-page
handbook covers everything from how to set up a committee, to installing digital infrastructure, and where to go to get funding for your project. We hope that this is a really useful, empowering
resource that makes it easier for people to put their ideas into practice.”
The guide covers topics including how to set up shops, pubs, and hubs; rural housing; transport; business development; digital infrastructure; and how to get help when you need it. There is also a Village Sustainability Top 10, which looks at the key things that communities must do to safeguard their future viability. The recent House of Lords report, “Time for a strategy for the rural economy,” highlighted the need for, amongst other things, a rural- strategy, reenergised rural proofing and place-based solutions. The Village Survival Guide helps communities to seize the opportunity and create some of their own local solutions, to both social and economic issues in the countryside.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund would like to thank all those who contributed their expertise and story to The Village Survival Guide, and players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their support of the digital version. The guide is available to purchase in hard copy or download for free from www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/VSG and is available from 1 st August 2019.
Tees Valley Rural Action are super happy to be supporting River Tees Discovered at their Heritage Festival – A FREE FAMILY FUN DAY! Saturday 17th August, 11-4pm
TVRA will be providing free community use mini bus services getting the community to and from the event by our fantastic volunteers
Celebrate the history and heritage of the Tees Valley at our free family day including activities, re-enactments, Displays throughout the day, storytelling, heritage crafts, and much more!
Our TVRA shuttle bus will also run between the Head of Steam Museum & Piercebridge.
Refreshments on sale in the church, or bring a picnic. Please check out the posters for event running times and bus pick up points.
Location:
Tofts Field, Piercebridge
(next to the Roman Fort)
DL2 3TA
The Best of Darlington Award Ceremony was held on the 14th June 2019. Congratulations to all winners and finalists – you really are the Best of Darlington!
For more photos and the full list of all finalists and winners, please visit www.onedarlington.org.uk.
Exceptional Volunteer was Sponsored by Tees Valley Rural Action
The judges award this to an individual or group who has shown outstanding commitment in their voluntary field without expectation of reward or recognition. This might be the length of time someone has volunteered, the breadth of responsibility that they have taken or the sacrifice they made in order to volunteer.
2019 Winner: Team JJ at Café JJ
Café JJ first opened in October 2007 with two learning disabled young men as volunteers. Now, over eleven years later, 12 learning disabled people volunteer for five hours every Monday and five hours every Tuesday to prepare food and serve customers from the local community
All the work hard to gain catering and waiting on skills. They come to their volunteer jobs full of enthusiasm and keen to do all they can to serve customers in the local community.
In 2016, Team JJ were awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service Through their dedication to volunteering, the twelve members of Team JJ have demonstrated what learning disabled people are capable of when given a chance.
Award presented by our very own Rita Lawson, Tees Valley Rural Action
We would like to say thank you to all those who have attended our launch and networking event at Rushpool Hall Saltburn. We are extremely grateful for those who made the time and travelled across the country to attend.
We hope everyone valued the opportunity to make new connections, as much as we did, while giving food for thought to major issues that effect rural communities
A major thank you to our board of trustees whose support, advice and faith have kept us going. As Rita our CEO says new beginnings and let’s do this.
Thanks to our partners who were key note speakers on the day
ACRE Action with Communities in Rural England and Community Transport Association 
The voluntary and community sector (VCS) has continued to support and strengthen civil society in Tees Valley over the last twenty years. It has done so in the context of a great deal of economic, social and political change. The aim of this event is to bring people together from the VCS, charitable foundations and the public sector to enter into a positive debate on the future funding landscape and what that promises for the wellbeing of Tees Valley.
Perhaps surprisingly, the VCS has kept on going at more or less the same size over the last decade – this has been achieved as individual organisations and groups have looked at new ways of accessing resource through trading, fundraising, public sector contracts, winning grants from regional and national foundations and from social investment banks. The mix may have changed in the sector’s basket of funding, but the overall volume of income seems to have remained much the same.
But it has not been easy and many VCS organisations say that they have had to work harder than ever to keep themselves going and supporting local causes that are important to them. With all these changes in mind, it seems like a good time to ask people to get together for an event. The event will be small but productive, with just 60 places, bringing key stakeholders from the VCS, public sector and charitable foundations together from across the five boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.
At the start of the event, a panel will present views on the future financing of the VCS in Tees Valley and its surrounding areas. The event will be chaired by Councillor Chris McEwan, Darlington Borough Council.
Speakers will include:
Nancy Doyle-Hall, Executive Director, Virgin Money Foundation: on the role of charitable grant making foundations and trusts in supporting civil society
Alison Collins, Investment Manager, Northstar Ventures: on the role of social investment in developing VCS sector strengths
Tony Chapman, Policy&Practice, St Chad’s College, Durham University: on changing funding relationships between the public sector and the third sector.
Following table discussion there will be a second panel to debate with the audience the current situation across Tees Valley and its environs and the future prospects for the development of civil society.
Mark Davis, CEO, Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency
Karen Grundy, Community Programme Manager, Catalyst Stockton
Rita Lawson, CEO, Tees Valley Rural Action
Mike Millen, CEO, Redcar and Cleveland Voluntary Development Agency
The seminar is free to attend, but places are limited and will book up quickly, so please register your attendance via:
Janet Atkinson, Institute for Local Governance, Durham University janet.atkinson@durham.ac.uk.
The Institute for Local Governance is a North East Research and Knowledge Exchange Partnership established in 2009 comprising the North East region’s Universities, Local Authorities, Police and Fire and Rescue Services.
Further information about the content of the event can be obtained by contacting:- tony.chapman@durham.ac.uk or john.mawson@durham.ac.uk
IT’S TIME FOR A RURAL STRATEGY:
A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK WITH LOCAL DELIVERY
Please join us for The Rural Strategy Regional Roadshow;
Thursday 11 July 2019 (11am – 4.30pm) The Great Hall, The Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4JA
Registration & Coffee from 11.00am for 11:20am start.
Organised by a partnership of The Rural Services Network, Action with Communities’ in Rural England, The Rural Coalition, The Plunkett Foundation and the Northern Rural Network.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the last Rural White Paper, we believe it is time to look again in a comprehensive way at the opportunities and threats facing rural areas and communities in England. I hope, therefore, that you will accept our invitation to join with a range of rural advocates and practitioners from your Region to consider how a new Rural Strategy can deliver for England’s rural communities and to join the campaign calling on the Government to produce such a strategy.
Today the challenges facing rural areas often leave residents and communities feeling isolated and largely overlooked by a political and financial system that is seemingly focused on towns and cities. Yet, nearly 20% of England’s population live in the countryside, more in total than in Greater London. There is a genuine need for their voice to be heard.
“Rural” all too often conjures up imagery of idyllic countryside living, but this stereotype is massively to the detriment of those living and working there and does a great disservice to the genuine challenges they face.
This event aims to champion a new Rural Strategy to raise the profile of rural issues and address the challenges faced by the communities of rural England, with the intention of achieving genuine equality for future generations of people living and working in rural England. We will look at a range of issues and opportunities, related to community and governance; connectivity and access and essential services in developing the building blocks of a new Rural Strategy.
On 1st March 2019 the Rural Services Network launched a campaign calling on the Government to produce an urgent comprehensive, cross-cutting strategy for rural areas, in the light of a warning that people living in our towns and villages “simply cannot afford to wait any longer for politicians to take their concerns seriously and act on them”.
The call is the result of concern that deep-seated challenges to the sustainability of rural communities, including rural economies and service delivery in rural areas have been inadequately addressed for too long and the situation is now urgent. The significant outflow of people from rural areas to urban-based jobs and services continues to be a source of concern. There is a prevailing sense that the potential of rural areas is being squandered, despite projections that unlocking their digital potential could add at least £12bn of extra productivity each year to the UK economy. There is also the continuing uncertainty of the impact of Brexit and the fear that the UK’s exit from the EU will serve to compound these existing challenges, especially in those areas currently heavily impacted by EU policies and reliant on EU funding streams.
The case for a Rural Strategy has been considerably strengthened by the recent House of Lords Select Committee Report on the Rural Economy, published on 27 April 2019 and entitled ‘Time for a Strategy for the Rural Economy’.
Following an initial event in Taunton in March, the discussion on 11 July will be the first in a series of Regional Roadshows and will seek to address questions such as;
(a) What should a Rural Strategy cover?
(b) How should we take things forward – who should be involved and how do we make it happen?
There will be focussed discussion on how a rural strategy would help in your Region and whether there are any different regional perspectives to highlight and specific actions needed.
We are inviting representatives from local government, business (including community business) and economy, government agencies, community, voluntary organisations and others with an interest. We do hope you will be able to join us and we look forward to working with you on 11 July.
TO BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE FOR THE RURAL STRATEGY ROADSHOW – FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW.
You can access the House of Lords Report by clicking this link LORDS REPORT
You can also access The RSN’s Campaign and Template Strategy by clicking this link
The RSN’s CAMPAIGN AND TEMPLATE STRATEGY
This event is kindly supported by Calor
On Friday 5 April Nottinghamshire MP Robert Jenrick and Defra Minister for Rural Affairs Lord Gardiner launched a £3m grant for the improvement of village halls.
There are 10,000 Village Halls in England and many are key for rural communities; they provide a space for shops, pubs, cafes, fitness, social, healthcare and even education.
Speaking from the launch event in Oxton Village Hall, Mr Jenrick acknowledged the importance of village halls saying, “Village halls are at the heart of rural communities; places where people come together.” He also shared his understanding that “it’s challenging for communities to raise funds.”
Lord Gardiner said, “This launch is to see how we can enhance and improve the facilities, and this will make a big difference for a large number of communities with village halls.”
The scheme will fund up to 20% of eligible costs, with a minimum grant of £10,000 and a maximum grant of £75,000 payable. This means overall scheme costs would be between £50,000 and £375,000.
ACRE Chair, David Emerson CBE said, “We are hugely grateful for the ongoing recognition from government of village halls.”
The grant is now open for applications and will be managed by Action for Communities in Rural England (ACRE) on behalf of Defra. ACRE provides support and advice to rural communities via a national network of 38 member organisations. To find out more about the fund and to apply, visit the ACRE website at ACRE
