Community Development

Volunteers Week Raffle raises £375 for Cheadle Charities Posted 20th June 2008

The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre will be presenting cheques totaling £375 to local Cheadle groups on Wednesday 2^nd July. The money was raised by the sale of raffle tickets and plants potted by local volunteers during Volunteers’ Week, a national week at the beginning of June where volunteers are recognised, rewarded and recruited across the UK.

Cheadle’s Town Mayor Ivor Lucas took part in the celebrations and drew the lucky winners of the raffle where prizes ranging from The Regent Theatre tickets to gardening vouchers and hanging baskets and shrubs were available to win. The Volunteer Centre was delighted with the total money raised and the number of local organisations that supported the event.

Jo Phillips, Volunteer Centre Coordinator said, “The whole week was very successful and it was great to see local volunteers involved in and recognised for all the time and effort they put into the local community. None of the celebrations would have been able to go ahead though without the kind support of many local Cheadle businesses’ including Forget Me Not Florists, Draycott Nurseries, Moorlands Waste and Alton Towers and all those individuals who donated time, pots and plants to the event”.

The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre will be presenting cheques to Cheadle Rethink, Cheadle and District Home Link Scheme, Cheadle Breast Cancer Support Group and the Douglas MacMillan and Cancer Research Charity Shops in Cheadle. All the groups were involved in selling the Volunteers’ Week raffle tickets and supporting the celebrations.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the Volunteer Centre should contact: 01538 398240, email: volunteering@smcvs.co.uk or visit www.smcvs.co.uk for further information.

A new pot of money is likely to be available to help rural communities in the west and south of the Moorlands improve local services and develop community projects over the next 4 years.

“Taking the Lead” is the name of the funding that comes from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development through Advantage West Midlands. A bid to gain a share of this money for Staffordshire is being led by a public / voluntary sector partnership including Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services (SMCVS); the Community Council of Staffordshire; Staffordshire Moorlands District Council; Staffordshire County Council and Stafford Borough Council. Having successfully passed the first stage, the next step is to get local communities involved to find out more about local needs and see what ideas people have got that could be built up into projects for the plan that has to be submitted to secure the funding.

The Staffordshire bid is called “Communities Mean Business” and initial thoughts focused on the common “business” needs of both small rural service businesses, like shops and pubs, and community activities, like well dressing festivals or village halls. The idea is that there is much potential for creativity and enterprise in rural communities that could be harnessed, enhanced and supported to improve rural services, support village renewal and upgrade rural heritage. Up to £1.4m could be available for the identified area which includes rural parts of Stafford Borough as well as Moorlands villages and the market town of Cheadle. The most important aspect of the programme is that the local community is at the heart of it – only ideas that have community support will be included and representatives from the local community will be key members of the decision making process.

To find out more about the programme and contribute your ideas, come to one of the community workshops being organized by Staffordshire Moorlands CVS:

· 6pm to 8pm Monday 23^rd June – Blythe Bridge Village Hall – for the wards of Forsbrook and Checkley

· 6pm to 8pm Tuesday 24^th June – Endon Methodist Chapel – for the wards of Endon, Brown Edge, Biddulph Moor, and Bagnall and Stanley

· 6pm to 8pm Tuesday 1^st July – Moorside High School, Werrington – for the wards of Cheddleton, Werrington, Cellarhead and Caverswall

· 6.30pm to 8.30pm Wednesday 2^nd July – Cheadle Methodist Church Hall – for Cheadle wards

Don’t worry about being there at the start if that is too early – you can drop in and participate at any time during the evening. You can also come to any of the meetings if the one for your patch is on an inconvenient day for you.

Barry Shuttleworth, Chair of the Rural Partnership Board in the Moorlands and active residents of Ipstones urges people to get involved:

“Ipstones has benefited from earlier rounds of European funding and this helped us carry out many of our ideas. Today we have a busy, vibrant village including a thriving shop and an excellent children’s nursery as well as lots of community activities including the famous Ipstones Christmas Lights. “Taking the Lead” is a chance for villages that haven’t had regeneration money before to get funding for their ideas and I would encourage people to go along to the community workshops to find out more.”

Voluntary and Community groups in Biddulph will soon have the opportunity to use a Staffordshire Moorlands Community Transport minibus to be based in the town. Hollinshead Coaches have very kindly agreed to garage the 16 seat minibus with effect from 1^st May 2008. The opportunity to retain the bus in Biddulph means there will be no additional mileage included for the journeys from Leek, and will be a real benefit to users.

Sally Bentley, Community Transport Officer for Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services says “We do hope groups will use this new facility. The minibus is available for use by all voluntary and community groups in the local area.”

SMCVS has a small team of volunteer minibus drivers, including local residents from the Biddulph area, who came forward following a recruitment day in Biddulph. The service is reliant on such volunteers to drive the minibus, so groups are asked to book one-off or regular usage in advance.

To book the minibus or for further details please contact SMCVS Community Transport on 01538 371544

£750,000 to turn young people's passions into community action Posted 1st May 2008

A Voluntary Sector Consortium led by Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services (SCVYS) that was awarded £750,000 by v, the youth volunteering charity, to get young people positively involved in their communities, has now been launched across Staffordshire.

The project aims to get 1,000 young people a year aged 16-25 into volunteering placements and, in partnership with Staffordshire Youth Service, 100 young people assisting in youth groups across the county.

This is one of 152 projects across the country who will be funded by v as part of vinvolved, a new national youth volunteering programme backed by £75 million funding, which aims to inspire half a million more young people to volunteer in England.

Project Leader, Barry Halls says: “We are very excited to be part of the vinvolved programme. The funding has enabled us to employ four full time Youth Volunteer Advisers based in local Volunteer Centres, who will work directly with young people to create exciting and relevant volunteering opportunities. “

Craig Harris is the new Youth Volunteer Advisor based at the Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre in Leek – and is covering the whole of the Staffordshire Moorlands and Newcastle Under Lyme area. Craig is already working with local young people to make volunteering a compelling choice by tapping into their passions and concerns. Craig and v aim to change the image of volunteering and make it a ‘must-have’ part of young people’s lives.

Hundreds of volunteering opportunities are now available to choose from. For more information visit www.wearev.com or the young people’s portal www.vinspired.com. To speak to Craig Harris direct about volunteering in the Staffordshire Moorlands and Newcastle area, please call the Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre on 01538 398240.

Regardless of the weather, Haregate Community Centre will be offering bargains galore on Saturday 26^th April as the doors open for an Indoor Table Top Sale. Whether you are on the hunt for a glorious find, or looking to make money from your own unwanted items, doors will be open to the public from 10am - 1pm at the Community Centre on Haregate Road, Leek.

Individuals, community groups and charities are welcome to pile their stalls high for just £5 per table – but all will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, so booking early is advisable.

Doctor and Hospital appointments often seem to be at a time when it is difficult to arrange transport. The stress of having to attend in the first place is difficult enough but the worry of how to get there can cause unnecessary anxiety. The Biddulph Voluntary Car Scheme may be able to help you.

The service is provided by Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services and a dedicated team of voluntary drivers use their own cars to provide a friendly and helpful service. The service can also be used for shopping, personal business appointments and for visiting friends or relations who may welcome your visit if they are in hospital or a nursing home. However priority is given to medical appointments. The service is open to residents in Staffordshire Moorlands who have no other transport available to them and are unable to use public transport. Due to demand it may not always be possible to assist you but with adequate notice your request may be met.

A new fare structure is now in place and you will be asked to make a contribution towards the driver’s expenses based on mileage. As a guide, for a journey of up to 6 miles you would be asked to pay £3.35. A longer journey of up to 16 miles would cost £6.75. A journey of 35 miles would incur a charge of £13.65.

For all bookings and further information on the scheme please contact the local booking office on:

Tel: 01782 511659. The phone lines are manned by Biddulph Voluntary Car Scheme, Tues to Fri from 10am –12 noon.

The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre, in conjunction with Alton Castle, requires volunteers to take part in a volunteering weekend on 19^th/ 20^thApril 2008. Volunteers are invited to be a resident of the Castle for the weekend and help out with painting and decorating work and hands-on activities around the grounds over the two days.

Established as a residential youth centre by the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Alton Castle opened in September 1996. It has had a highly successful first 10 years with over 7,000 children visiting the Castle each year. It's popularity can be put down to the fact that the Castle is offering a unique experience that meets a real need within schools and community youth groups within the Midlands.

Registered as a charity (no. 234216), the voluntary nature of some of the staff’s work helps keep costs low, but there is always help that can be given and maintenance work that needs doing – and this is where your help is needed!

The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre are asking for local volunteers to help over the weekend in hands-on activity day at the castle - cleaning, painting dormitories, gardening and generally helping to spruce up the castle wherever it is needed.

Accommodation, food and transport are all free of charge and volunteers can choose to stay for the whole weekend - or if preferred - stay for a full day on Saturday the 19^th April and leave after the evening meal.

Anyone over the age of 18 is welcome to join in the fun - but booking is essential to ensure there are enough tools and equipment for everyone on the day.

For further information please call: The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre on 01538 398240 or call into the Volunteer Centre at 15 Sheepmarket, Leek. Alternatively, please email: volunteering@smcvs.co.uk or download a booking form here.

If you would like the opportunity to have your say on the issues affecting you and your neighbourhood, then the spring round of the Neighbourhood Forums is fast approaching. The first of the meetings held across the Staffordshire Moorlands is to be held on Monday 25^th February at Endon Village Hall, with meetings in Tean, Leek, Cheddleton, Biddulph, Cheadle, Blythe Bridge and Werrington to follow.

The Forums are, as always, an opportunity to hear from and speak to your Village or Neighbourhood Agent to find out more about what is happening in your local area and to put forward any ideas or concerns. For example, Biddulph residents will be able to hear about the ideas generated by the local community concerning Newpool Recreation Ground and similarly, Werrington residents will be able to hear an update of what came out of the recent Youth Consultation event that took place in the village regarding the siting of a new youth shelter. Leek residents will have the opportunity to hear about the developments taking place on the Westwood Road recreation ground and at Haregate Community Centre, whilst the Endon forum will be discussing the Endon Environmental Project.

A representative from the Primary Care Trust will be joining all of the meetings to update residents on the out of hours service consultation that is currently underway and the Patients Advice Liaison Service (PALS) will also be on hand to discuss any individual concerns that residents may have with relation to health care services.

At the last round of Forums, local residents saw a short presentation on the Local Development Framework - a document asking what local residents would like the district to look like in 2026. The 4 draft development options will once again be available to view and the Forums will be an opportunity for any member of the public to have their say on the broad principles behind development in their area for the next few years.

Following feedback from the local community, the Cheddleton Forum will once again take place at both 12 noon and again at 7pm on Monday 3^rd March. As usual, each of the meetings across the district, is designed to last no longer than an hour and complimentary refreshments are available to all who attend. Dates of all the meetings, full Forum agendas and minutes from previous meetings are available on the Neighbourhood Forums page.

Young people in Werrington will be involved in running a community consultation day at the Village Hall, on Saturday 9^th February to ask local residents about the potential options for the siting of a much needed youth shelter.

Taking place from 10am - 5pm, the consultation event is being held in partnership with Moorside High School Youth Forum, Staffordshire Police and SMCVS.

Werrington Parish Council fully supports the young people in their quest to have somewhere to go in the village. Back in June 2007, a number of young people from the village attended a parish council meeting to give a presentation on the young people of Werrington and their aspirations to build a stronger relationship with the local community. Since then, they have been working closely with the local Councillors to build a line of communication between the community and all of the young people of Werrington. Since the formation of the Moorside High Youth Forum, just over 12 months ago, anti-social behaviour by young people in the village has fallen by 44% in comparison to the same period last year.

The event on the 9^th February will be hosted by SMCVS and local police officers. Local young people from the Youth Forum and local Parish Councillors will be on hand throughout the day to talk to residents about their concerns. There will be maps of the village available to look at, showing places that may be suitable to site a youth shelter. Lots of information regarding youth shelters and their successful use in other locations across the North Staffordshire area will also be available to view.

For further information on the Consultation event please contact the SMCVS Community Development Team on 01538 381356.

Charities and voluntary or community groups need to act now on new laws to protect children and vulnerable adults. The new laws come into force during 2008 with the aim of protecting the vulnerable in our communities. Currently such organisations have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that all children under 18 years and vulnerable adults, who access their services in any way, are adequately protected and that their staff and volunteers are appropriate people to undertake such work. A new law, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, will soon make it a criminal offence for any organisation not to check that any worker or volunteer has the appropriate registration in place before allowing them to work with the vulnerable. Similarly, any worker or volunteer who wishes to work with children or vulnerable adults will have to apply for registration before they can start their work.

Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services (SMCVS) is well aware that this new law will have enormous implications for groups working in our communities, presenting challenges in terms of the cost and the complexities of the registration process.

The Independent Safeguarding Authority estimate that over 11 million people will need to register with the new scheme between Spring 2008 and Autumn 2010.

Mike Smith of SMCVS said “This new law is going to impact on almost all of our voluntary and community groups, all those who work with children and the vulnerable will have to register. Organisations need to start thinking about this now and ensure they are ready to comply with the law by Spring this year as it is rolled out by government”.

But don’t panic - help is on hand! SMCVS is organising a series of free workshops around the Moorlands to help groups understand what is involved. These will be held:

Monday 3 March 2008

Werrington Village Hall - 7-9 pm

Thursday 6 March 2008

Biddulph Town Hall - 7-9 pm

Monday 10 March 2008

Butterton Village Hall - 7-9 pm

SMCVS is a registered body with the Criminal Records Bureau and, as well as offering advice and guidance on the requirements of this new law and process, it can also offer access to registration for voluntary and community groups and those individuals seeking to work or volunteer in the voluntary and community sector, when it is required. (There is a charge for this service.)

To book a place at one of the workshops, or for further advice on CRB, please contact Mike Smith on 01538 381356 and take a look at our CRB page.

Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services is opening its doors on Wednesday 23^rd January and calling for Moorlanders to drop in, enjoy a coffee and cake and find out what SMCVS can do to help and support voluntary and community groups across the Staffordshire Moorlands.

SMCVS offers a wide variety of support services to local groups – from the moment of set up when sorting out aims and objectives and management committees is of utmost importance – through to how to recruit and support volunteers to help run your group on a week to week basis. Most local groups rely heavily on grants and fundraising to even open their doors and SMCVS can offer one-to-one advice to any group in the Staffordshire Moorlands on ideas from where to secure funding, the timescales involved, help with completing applications and developing your project ideas. The Open Day will also be the first opportunity for local groups to pick up the 2008 Funding Guide produced by SMCVS – an invaluable tool for any local group.

If your group offers weekly meetings or events and you would like to support your clients in being able to attend, then SMCVS’s Community Transport minibuses could help solve the practicalities of your transport problems. 4 wheelchair accessible minibuses are available to hire to provide transport on a regular or ad-hoc basis for voluntary, community and non-profit making groups across the Moorlands.

If you need a meeting room for volunteer training sessions or help in producing publicity material to advertise your projects, then SMCVS can also help.

Whatever your requirements, this is a great opportunity to find out what is on offer for voluntary and community groups in the Moorlands and the Open Day will be an opportunity to meet the SMCVS staff face to face in its new Reception at 15 Sheepmarket, Leek.

Open from 3pm until 7pm on 23^rd January, groups old and new are welcome to call in to ask questions, pick up information and find out how SMCVS can help and support them in the coming months.


	Voluntary & Community Support Community Development Rural Access
Home Site Map Our Members News Links Contact Details All SMCVS press releases from 2005 - 2007 are available to read here: 2007 2006 2005	*** SMCVS News Please check this page regularly for up-to-date information and news Volunteers Week Raffle raises £375 for Cheadle Charities Posted 20th June 2008 The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre will be presenting cheques totaling £375 to local Cheadle groups on Wednesday 2^nd July. The money was raised by the sale of raffle tickets and plants potted by local volunteers during Volunteers’ Week, a national week at the beginning of June where volunteers are recognised, rewarded and recruited across the UK. Cheadle’s Town Mayor Ivor Lucas took part in the celebrations and drew the lucky winners of the raffle where prizes ranging from The Regent Theatre tickets to gardening vouchers and hanging baskets and shrubs were available to win. The Volunteer Centre was delighted with the total money raised and the number of local organisations that supported the event. Jo Phillips, Volunteer Centre Coordinator said, “The whole week was very successful and it was great to see local volunteers involved in and recognised for all the time and effort they put into the local community. None of the celebrations would have been able to go ahead though without the kind support of many local Cheadle businesses’ including Forget Me Not Florists, Draycott Nurseries, Moorlands Waste and Alton Towers and all those individuals who donated time, pots and plants to the event”. The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre will be presenting cheques to Cheadle Rethink, Cheadle and District Home Link Scheme, Cheadle Breast Cancer Support Group and the Douglas MacMillan and Cancer Research Charity Shops in Cheadle. All the groups were involved in selling the Volunteers’ Week raffle tickets and supporting the celebrations. Anyone interested in finding out more about the Volunteer Centre should contact: 01538 398240, email: volunteering@smcvs.co.uk or visit www.smcvs.co.uk for further information. Help for Moorlands Villages Posted 12th June 2008 A new pot of money is likely to be available to help rural communities in the west and south of the Moorlands improve local services and develop community projects over the next 4 years. “Taking the Lead” is the name of the funding that comes from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development through Advantage West Midlands. A bid to gain a share of this money for Staffordshire is being led by a public / voluntary sector partnership including Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services (SMCVS); the Community Council of Staffordshire; Staffordshire Moorlands District Council; Staffordshire County Council and Stafford Borough Council. Having successfully passed the first stage, the next step is to get local communities involved to find out more about local needs and see what ideas people have got that could be built up into projects for the plan that has to be submitted to secure the funding. The Staffordshire bid is called “Communities Mean Business” and initial thoughts focused on the common “business” needs of both small rural service businesses, like shops and pubs, and community activities, like well dressing festivals or village halls. The idea is that there is much potential for creativity and enterprise in rural communities that could be harnessed, enhanced and supported to improve rural services, support village renewal and upgrade rural heritage. Up to £1.4m could be available for the identified area which includes rural parts of Stafford Borough as well as Moorlands villages and the market town of Cheadle. The most important aspect of the programme is that the local community is at the heart of it – only ideas that have community support will be included and representatives from the local community will be key members of the decision making process. To find out more about the programme and contribute your ideas, come to one of the community workshops being organized by Staffordshire Moorlands CVS: · 6pm to 8pm Monday 23^rd June – Blythe Bridge Village Hall – for the wards of Forsbrook and Checkley · 6pm to 8pm Tuesday 24^th June – Endon Methodist Chapel – for the wards of Endon, Brown Edge, Biddulph Moor, and Bagnall and Stanley · 6pm to 8pm Tuesday 1^st July – Moorside High School, Werrington – for the wards of Cheddleton, Werrington, Cellarhead and Caverswall · 6.30pm to 8.30pm Wednesday 2^nd July – Cheadle Methodist Church Hall – for Cheadle wards Don’t worry about being there at the start if that is too early – you can drop in and participate at any time during the evening. You can also come to any of the meetings if the one for your patch is on an inconvenient day for you. Barry Shuttleworth, Chair of the Rural Partnership Board in the Moorlands and active residents of Ipstones urges people to get involved: “Ipstones has benefited from earlier rounds of European funding and this helped us carry out many of our ideas. Today we have a busy, vibrant village including a thriving shop and an excellent children’s nursery as well as lots of community activities including the famous Ipstones Christmas Lights. “Taking the Lead” is a chance for villages that haven’t had regeneration money before to get funding for their ideas and I would encourage people to go along to the community workshops to find out more.” New bus for Biddulph Posted 1st May 2008 Voluntary and Community groups in Biddulph will soon have the opportunity to use a Staffordshire Moorlands Community Transport minibus to be based in the town. Hollinshead Coaches have very kindly agreed to garage the 16 seat minibus with effect from 1^st May 2008. The opportunity to retain the bus in Biddulph means there will be no additional mileage included for the journeys from Leek, and will be a real benefit to users. Sally Bentley, Community Transport Officer for Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services says “We do hope groups will use this new facility. The minibus is available for use by all voluntary and community groups in the local area.” SMCVS has a small team of volunteer minibus drivers, including local residents from the Biddulph area, who came forward following a recruitment day in Biddulph. The service is reliant on such volunteers to drive the minibus, so groups are asked to book one-off or regular usage in advance. To book the minibus or for further details please contact SMCVS Community Transport on 01538 371544 £750,000 to turn young people's passions into community action Posted 1st May 2008 A Voluntary Sector Consortium led by Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services (SCVYS) that was awarded £750,000 by v, the youth volunteering charity, to get young people positively involved in their communities, has now been launched across Staffordshire. The project aims to get 1,000 young people a year aged 16-25 into volunteering placements and, in partnership with Staffordshire Youth Service, 100 young people assisting in youth groups across the county. This is one of 152 projects across the country who will be funded by v as part of vinvolved, a new national youth volunteering programme backed by £75 million funding, which aims to inspire half a million more young people to volunteer in England. Project Leader, Barry Halls says: “We are very excited to be part of the vinvolved programme. The funding has enabled us to employ four full time Youth Volunteer Advisers based in local Volunteer Centres, who will work directly with young people to create exciting and relevant volunteering opportunities. “ Craig Harris is the new Youth Volunteer Advisor based at the Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre in Leek – and is covering the whole of the Staffordshire Moorlands and Newcastle Under Lyme area. Craig is already working with local young people to make volunteering a compelling choice by tapping into their passions and concerns. Craig and v aim to change the image of volunteering and make it a ‘must-have’ part of young people’s lives. Hundreds of volunteering opportunities are now available to choose from. For more information visit www.wearev.com or the young people’s portal www.vinspired.com. To speak to Craig Harris direct about volunteering in the Staffordshire Moorlands and Newcastle area, please call the Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre on 01538 398240. Indoor Table Top Sale Posted 10th April 2008 Regardless of the weather, Haregate Community Centre will be offering bargains galore on Saturday 26^th April as the doors open for an Indoor Table Top Sale. Whether you are on the hunt for a glorious find, or looking to make money from your own unwanted items, doors will be open to the public from 10am - 1pm at the Community Centre on Haregate Road, Leek. Individuals, community groups and charities are welcome to pile their stalls high for just £5 per table – but all will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, so booking early is advisable. To book a table, please call Julie at SMCVS on 01538 381356. Need transport? We may be able to help? Posted 8th April 2008 Doctor and Hospital appointments often seem to be at a time when it is difficult to arrange transport. The stress of having to attend in the first place is difficult enough but the worry of how to get there can cause unnecessary anxiety. The Biddulph Voluntary Car Scheme may be able to help you. The service is provided by Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services and a dedicated team of voluntary drivers use their own cars to provide a friendly and helpful service. The service can also be used for shopping, personal business appointments and for visiting friends or relations who may welcome your visit if they are in hospital or a nursing home. However priority is given to medical appointments. The service is open to residents in Staffordshire Moorlands who have no other transport available to them and are unable to use public transport. Due to demand it may not always be possible to assist you but with adequate notice your request may be met. A new fare structure is now in place and you will be asked to make a contribution towards the driver’s expenses based on mileage. As a guide, for a journey of up to 6 miles you would be asked to pay £3.35. A longer journey of up to 16 miles would cost £6.75. A journey of 35 miles would incur a charge of £13.65. For all bookings and further information on the scheme please contact the local booking office on: Tel: 01782 511659. The phone lines are manned by Biddulph Voluntary Car Scheme, Tues to Fri from 10am –12 noon. Volunteering Weekend Helpers Required Posted 20th March 2008 The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre, in conjunction with Alton Castle, requires volunteers to take part in a volunteering weekend on 19^th/ 20^thApril 2008. Volunteers are invited to be a resident of the Castle for the weekend and help out with painting and decorating work and hands-on activities around the grounds over the two days. Established as a residential youth centre by the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Alton Castle opened in September 1996. It has had a highly successful first 10 years with over 7,000 children visiting the Castle each year. It's popularity can be put down to the fact that the Castle is offering a unique experience that meets a real need within schools and community youth groups within the Midlands. Registered as a charity (no. 234216), the voluntary nature of some of the staff’s work helps keep costs low, but there is always help that can be given and maintenance work that needs doing – and this is where your help is needed! The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre are asking for local volunteers to help over the weekend in hands-on activity day at the castle - cleaning, painting dormitories, gardening and generally helping to spruce up the castle wherever it is needed. Accommodation, food and transport are all free of charge and volunteers can choose to stay for the whole weekend - or if preferred - stay for a full day on Saturday the 19^th April and leave after the evening meal. Anyone over the age of 18 is welcome to join in the fun - but booking is essential to ensure there are enough tools and equipment for everyone on the day. For further information please call: The Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre on 01538 398240 or call into the Volunteer Centre at 15 Sheepmarket, Leek. Alternatively, please email: volunteering@smcvs.co.uk or download a booking form here. Opportunity to have your say Posted 11th February 2008 If you would like the opportunity to have your say on the issues affecting you and your neighbourhood, then the spring round of the Neighbourhood Forums is fast approaching. The first of the meetings held across the Staffordshire Moorlands is to be held on Monday 25^th February at Endon Village Hall, with meetings in Tean, Leek, Cheddleton, Biddulph, Cheadle, Blythe Bridge and Werrington to follow. The Forums are, as always, an opportunity to hear from and speak to your Village or Neighbourhood Agent to find out more about what is happening in your local area and to put forward any ideas or concerns. For example, Biddulph residents will be able to hear about the ideas generated by the local community concerning Newpool Recreation Ground and similarly, Werrington residents will be able to hear an update of what came out of the recent Youth Consultation event that took place in the village regarding the siting of a new youth shelter. Leek residents will have the opportunity to hear about the developments taking place on the Westwood Road recreation ground and at Haregate Community Centre, whilst the Endon forum will be discussing the Endon Environmental Project. A representative from the Primary Care Trust will be joining all of the meetings to update residents on the out of hours service consultation that is currently underway and the Patients Advice Liaison Service (PALS) will also be on hand to discuss any individual concerns that residents may have with relation to health care services. At the last round of Forums, local residents saw a short presentation on the Local Development Framework - a document asking what local residents would like the district to look like in 2026. The 4 draft development options will once again be available to view and the Forums will be an opportunity for any member of the public to have their say on the broad principles behind development in their area for the next few years. Following feedback from the local community, the Cheddleton Forum will once again take place at both 12 noon and again at 7pm on Monday 3^rd March. As usual, each of the meetings across the district, is designed to last no longer than an hour and complimentary refreshments are available to all who attend. Dates of all the meetings, full Forum agendas and minutes from previous meetings are available on the Neighbourhood Forums page. Young People lead the way Posted 25th January 2008 Young people in Werrington will be involved in running a community consultation day at the Village Hall, on Saturday 9^th February to ask local residents about the potential options for the siting of a much needed youth shelter. Taking place from 10am - 5pm, the consultation event is being held in partnership with Moorside High School Youth Forum, Staffordshire Police and SMCVS. Werrington Parish Council fully supports the young people in their quest to have somewhere to go in the village. Back in June 2007, a number of young people from the village attended a parish council meeting to give a presentation on the young people of Werrington and their aspirations to build a stronger relationship with the local community. Since then, they have been working closely with the local Councillors to build a line of communication between the community and all of the young people of Werrington. Since the formation of the Moorside High Youth Forum, just over 12 months ago, anti-social behaviour by young people in the village has fallen by 44% in comparison to the same period last year. The event on the 9^th February will be hosted by SMCVS and local police officers. Local young people from the Youth Forum and local Parish Councillors will be on hand throughout the day to talk to residents about their concerns. There will be maps of the village available to look at, showing places that may be suitable to site a youth shelter. Lots of information regarding youth shelters and their successful use in other locations across the North Staffordshire area will also be available to view. For further information on the Consultation event please contact the SMCVS Community Development Team on 01538 381356. Act now on new laws to protect the vulnerable Posted 18th January 2008 Charities and voluntary or community groups need to act now on new laws to protect children and vulnerable adults. The new laws come into force during 2008 with the aim of protecting the vulnerable in our communities. Currently such organisations have a ‘duty of care’ to ensure that all children under 18 years and vulnerable adults, who access their services in any way, are adequately protected and that their staff and volunteers are appropriate people to undertake such work. A new law, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, will soon make it a criminal offence for any organisation not to check that any worker or volunteer has the appropriate registration in place before allowing them to work with the vulnerable. Similarly, any worker or volunteer who wishes to work with children or vulnerable adults will have to apply for registration before they can start their work. Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services (SMCVS) is well aware that this new law will have enormous implications for groups working in our communities, presenting challenges in terms of the cost and the complexities of the registration process. The Independent Safeguarding Authority estimate that over 11 million people will need to register with the new scheme between Spring 2008 and Autumn 2010. Mike Smith of SMCVS said “This new law is going to impact on almost all of our voluntary and community groups, all those who work with children and the vulnerable will have to register. Organisations need to start thinking about this now and ensure they are ready to comply with the law by Spring this year as it is rolled out by government”. But don’t panic - help is on hand! SMCVS is organising a series of free workshops around the Moorlands to help groups understand what is involved. These will be held: Monday 3 March 2008 Werrington Village Hall - 7-9 pm Thursday 6 March 2008 Biddulph Town Hall - 7-9 pm Monday 10 March 2008 Butterton Village Hall - 7-9 pm SMCVS is a registered body with the Criminal Records Bureau and, as well as offering advice and guidance on the requirements of this new law and process, it can also offer access to registration for voluntary and community groups and those individuals seeking to work or volunteer in the voluntary and community sector, when it is required. (There is a charge for this service.) To book a place at one of the workshops, or for further advice on CRB, please contact Mike Smith on 01538 381356 and take a look at our CRB page. SMCVS Open Day - Wednesday 23rd January Posted 11th January 2008** Staffordshire Moorlands Community and Voluntary Services is opening its doors on Wednesday 23^rd January and calling for Moorlanders to drop in, enjoy a coffee and cake and find out what SMCVS can do to help and support voluntary and community groups across the Staffordshire Moorlands. SMCVS offers a wide variety of support services to local groups – from the moment of set up when sorting out aims and objectives and management committees is of utmost importance – through to how to recruit and support volunteers to help run your group on a week to week basis. Most local groups rely heavily on grants and fundraising to even open their doors and SMCVS can offer one-to-one advice to any group in the Staffordshire Moorlands on ideas from where to secure funding, the timescales involved, help with completing applications and developing your project ideas. The Open Day will also be the first opportunity for local groups to pick up the 2008 Funding Guide produced by SMCVS – an invaluable tool for any local group. If your group offers weekly meetings or events and you would like to support your clients in being able to attend, then SMCVS’s Community Transport minibuses could help solve the practicalities of your transport problems. 4 wheelchair accessible minibuses are available to hire to provide transport on a regular or ad-hoc basis for voluntary, community and non-profit making groups across the Moorlands. If you need a meeting room for volunteer training sessions or help in producing publicity material to advertise your projects, then SMCVS can also help. Whatever your requirements, this is a great opportunity to find out what is on offer for voluntary and community groups in the Moorlands and the Open Day will be an opportunity to meet the SMCVS staff face to face in its new Reception at 15 Sheepmarket, Leek. Open from 3pm until 7pm on 23^rd January, groups old and new are welcome to call in to ask questions, pick up information and find out how SMCVS can help and support them in the coming months. For further information - please contact the office on 01538 381356.	SMCVS produces a monthly newsletter that is sent out to all of our members and any other interested organisations or individuals. If you would like to submit an article that would be relevant to our readers or insert an advert, please click here.
Staffordshire Moorlands Community & Voluntary Services
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