Volunteering Focus - 21 June

Volunteers Week 2024

For the 40^th anniversary of Volunteers Week we celebrated and recognised our young people across Renfrewshire. 

Engage, in partnership with Erskine Arts hosted a Youth Volunteering Celebration evening during Volunteers Week. It was a chance to recognise, celebrate and thank Renfrewshire’s incredible volunteers for all they contribute to our local community, the voluntary sector and society as a whole. A huge thank you to Erskine Arts, our fantastic stallholders and speakers, and of course all the young people who attended on the night! It was fab!
Another massive thank you to all that sent over and shared your fantastic volunteers week case studies, quotes, pictures and events with us for our social media campaign and Volunteers Week newsletter.
If anyone missed the newsletter, you can read it here Newsletters | Engage Renfrewshire

Alan McNiven, Chief Officer shares his experience attending the event below, as well as his reflections on the importance of sharing lived experiences and personal testimonies.
In the centre of it all, in th | Blog | Engage (engagerenfrewshire.org)

Volunteer Managers Forum

Engage are delighted to welcome THRE (Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities) to our next Volunteer Managers Forum.
THRE is a nationwide project led by GCVS, in partnership with HTSI and EVOC. They develop resources, training and networks to support third sector organisations towards taking a human rights and equalities first approach to their organisational development and delivery.
More information here Home - Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities - THRE
This session will cover how a Human Rights and Equalities First Approach is relevant to your organisation’s volunteering programme, and how you can implement it.
When: Monday 26 August, 10-12pm
Location: Engage Renfrewshire
This session will cover –

• What is a human rights and equalities first approach?
• How Equalities legislation applies to volunteers
• What methods can be used to create flexible volunteer roles
• How to create a volunteering recruitment process that is as accessible as possible
• What it means to establish a culture for human rights and equalities

We look forward to seeing you there. Eventbrite link below.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/volunteer-managers-forum-tickets-925190729377?aff=oddtdtcreator

An update from Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services

As of the 10^th of June, VSDS are operating under Disclosure Scotland’s Online Result Service. The Online Result Service will replace the current Certificate Process. It will be a faster, more user-friendly, and accessible experience for our customers. This change is also an important development in moving towards the implementation of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020.
As part of the new Online Result Service process, you will notice the following changes in the current practices:

1. The 'Online Application Request Form' will be updated for the 10th June.
2. The email you receive to confirm that your applications have been processed will now include a reference number for each applicant. The reference number will resemble 'T00000000', and we will refer to this as your T number.
3. The 'Sample Disclosure Tracking Form' will be updated for 10th June to reflect the new service. It is recommended you use this to store your T numbers along with the applicant’s name and date of birth.
4. The Online Results will now be shared with you via your applicant. More information on this process is detailed below.
5. The 'Sample Secure Handling Policy' will be updated for 10th June.  You must update your existing policy to reflect the new service.

 
For additional guidance you can refer to Volunteer Scotland’s Online Application Guidance Pack, on this date, which will also reflect these changes.
To find out more, you can book your place on Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services training, including PVG and signatory training (online and in person), which will cover the new changes. Link below.
Next face to face session – Tuesday July 09, 10am
PVG & Signatory - Face to Face Training Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

Next online session – July 04, 10am
Signatory Training Registration, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

Do you organise volunteers within Scotland's heritage sector? Join Make Your Mark for a session about widening access to volunteering.

When: Thursday 27 June, 2-3pm
Where: Online
Creating volunteering pathways for people accessing mental health support Registration, Thu 27 Jun 2024 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

What else is on?

Renfrewshire Youth Voice (RYV) Band Night. Youth Services would like to share information of an upcoming event ‘Night at The Bungalow’. Held on Wednesday 24^th July, 7-10pm at The Bungalow. Please share information of this event with any young people or groups that might be interested.

COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEERS’ NIGHT

As part of Volunteers’ Week this year and also to coincide with World Environment Day, CLAD hosted a Volunteers’ Event at Southend Action Centre on Wednesday 5^th June. This provided an opportunity for our Adult Learning and Team Up to Clean Up Volunteers to view a wonderful environmental film “Why Not Scotland?” as well as contribute some of their ideas to our new Community Learning and Development Plan.
“Why Not Scotland?” is an Environmental Awareness Film about the possibility of re-wilding Scotland and is being shown as a national campaign by Scotland the Big Picture to encourage people to be more nature-aware in their activities.  The volunteers’ enjoyed the film and were treated to cakes and seeds for planting in their own gardens.

Shared on behalf of Isobel Sinclair, Community Learning and Development.
 

Local Transport Strategy

Renfrewshire Council is developing a new Local Transport Strategy for Renfrewshire and we’re asking everyone in Renfrewshire to help us by completing a survey  to help us set out our local transport and travel priorities over the next 10 years.
 

The strategy will support making Renfrewshire a great place to live, work and visit and help us to meet our responsibilities to: 

• Make bus and train journeys more accessible 
• Support Scottish targets to travel less by car 
• Encourage more walking, wheeling and cycling 
• Protect the environment 
• Reduce carbon emissions and work towards net zero 

 Feedback is invited from members of the public and stakeholders via a survey, which is available to access on the Council’s website at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/travel-renfrewshire-2035
The survey will be available to complete until 11:59pm on Thursday 27 June 2024.
Paper copies of the survey will be available at Renfrewshire libraries from Monday 20 May and can also be requested by emailing ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk, with “Local Transport Strategy Survey” as the email subject. Paper copies are also available by phoning 0300 300 0300.
Comments can also be added to an online map; the link is also available on the Council’s website at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/travel-renfrewshire-2035 . The map allows comments to be added to a specific location and to be categorised as positive, neutral or area for improvement.
Please have your say on transport in Renfrewshire.

Renfrewshire Council is developing a new Local Transport Strategy for Renfrewshire and we’re asking everyone in Renfrewshire to help us by completing a survey  to help us set out our local transport and travel priorities over the next 10 years.

Renfrew YMCA

We are starting a new project at Renfrew YMCA called Y Mentoring and are looking for mentors and mentees for this project. Mentors will receive training and support and mentees will receive a mentor who will support them with whatever they may need. Mentees need to be between the ages of 9 and 14 if this is something you think either you or a young person you know could benefit from please get in touch to be matched with a mentor.