When you take on new volunteers it is important that they inform their own car insurance company that their employment status has changed.
Most insurers require notification of any volunteer work, even if the nature of the volunteer work does not involve the use of the volunteers’ car.
A few insurers may charge extra for policies with volunteer work included, however you can view a list of insurers and volunteer policy information on the Association of British Insurers website.

We were delighted that The Mayor, Councillor Irene Chamberlain was able to officially open the volunteer centre at Chelmsley Wood on Wednesday 30 November. She was joined by over 20 representatives of the various groups and organisations that are working together to ensure the successful development of this exciting new project.

The Chelmsley Wood Volunteer Centre is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm for drop-in enquiries as well as appointments for anyone wanting to find a volunteering opportunity.

Organisations wishing to promote their volunteering opportunities are also encouraged to contact the centre.

Contact the Chelmsley Wood Volunteer Centre

Chelmsley Wood Volunteer Centre
Solihull Connect Office
West Mall
Bluebell Centre
Chelmsley Wood
B37 5TN
(Near to Asda and library)

Tel: 0121 704 6789
Email: volunteering@svcuk.org

Back in October you completed a survey about the support services you needed and that information is has already been used to help us make a bid for funding from the Cabinet Office’s Transforming Local Infrastructure fund.

According to the survey, many of you are looking for support in things like business planning, forging links with the private sector, finance, funding advice, governance, HR, PR & marketing and all sorts of training.

We are currently looking at how we can meet these support needs across and within the sector, but there is also support available outside the sector.

Solihull Council and other statutory and private sector organisations are now running ‘Employer Supported Volunteering’ (ESV) schemes. ESV is the term used to describe all forms of volunteering carried out by employees which are supported by their employer (ref: Volunteer England).

The scheme at Solihull Council entitled ‘Sharing our Skills’ allows staff to take up to three days (22 hours) a year, out of their day job, to support our Voluntary and Community Sector.

Solihull Council employees have a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience that they are ready to share with you.  In addition to the areas that came out in the survey, their staff can also offer support in administration, archiving, child welfare, IT, legal, project management, research plus other practical skills like cooking, DIY and listening. 

Initially Solihull Council employees will only be able to offer a maximum of 3 days as part of their working week but some may wish to continue to volunteer with organisations in their own time.

The Volunteer Centre, who is acting as a broker for ESV in the borough, would welcome your short term opportunities for employees looking for volunteering roles in Solihull. Opportunities can be for any duration up to 22 hours, for individuals or groups. These can be completed in one block of time or spread over a number of weeks to suit your needs.

To register your opportunities now, please complete a simple ESV opportunity registration form, which you can download below, and we will do the rest!

 Download the ESV Registration form here

For more information, contact Maureen Shepherd on 0121 711 3148 or email maureen.shepherd@wayc2.org

A new report “Pathways through Participation” has been issued by the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR). The report looks at why people get involved in their local communities, what makes them stop and how does their involvement change over their lifetime.

The final report and summary report can be found on the Pathways to Participation website.

The IVR is a research and consultancy agency specialising in volunteering.  It is an initiative of Volunteering England in partnership with Birbeck, University of London and  Their latest e-newsletter is now available.

The September 2011 bulletin from the Children & Young Peoples Trust is now out.

Download it here

SUSTAiN, Enable, the SILC Consortium, Young Solihull (aka SCVYS) and Sport Solihull are working in partnership to secure funding aimed at strengthening infrastructure support services for charities, voluntary organisations, community groups, sports clubs and youth organisations in the borough.

We need your help to ensure that our project application is matched to your needs.

Please spare a few minutes telling us what you need.

Thank you

Click for Online Survey

Please place a single vote for one of the following candidates, being mindful of the thematic areas most relevant to the work of your organisation. The candidates are:

• Anne Hastings

• Alice Singleton

• Barbara Bland

• David Lane

• David Williams

• Deb Jones

• Jenny Mahimbo

• Nasheima Sheikh

Their details, personal statements and thematic areas covered can be viewed by downloading the document below.

Candidate Profiles

Cast Your Vote Online Here 

Paper Voting Forms

If you would prefer a paper based voting form you can download it here

The Solihull Volunteering Forum has just issued it’s first Newsletter and intends this to be a regular feature.

The Newsletter covers:

• The AGM on 30th September
  A Christmas Get Together on December 9th
• Volunteers’ Week Celebration Event
• Youth Volunteers Awards
• A New Volunteer Centre for Chelmsley Wood_
• Upcoming Events

You can read the SVF newsletter here.

You can also follow the Forum on

Their website

On Twitter

The Baptist Community Centre has an office available and is open to offers! We’ll be honest, it’s not the perfect office, it’s upstairs and the building is a bit sorry for itself and gets a bit leaky when it rains. Also, we do have plans to refurbish the building next year so it would be on a short term let (but hopefully could be continued into the refurbished building). That aside the people here are great and the centre is right at the heart of community life here.

Anyway, if that sales pitch has got you interested, give Neil a ring on 0121 770 8590

Have you got any messages that you would like to share with parents? 

Solihull Council’s Family Information Service can help.  Over 1000 parents have signed up to receive information through our Parents’ Network so they can be kept up to date with what’s happening in the borough.

We send a newsletter every term and an eBulletin every month.

Items can include:

• Events and activities for children, young people and families
• Important information that parents need to know
• Information that will help parents
• Opportunities for parents to give their views

If you have any information that you would like to pass on to parents, please let Claire Cook know at Solihull Council on 0121 704 8474 or clcook@solihull.gov.uk

The deadline for eBulletins is the 25^th of each month.

To join the Parents Network and to view our latest newsletter and eBulletin visit: www.solihull.gov.uk/parentsnetwork