Put a spring in your step and try volunteering!

We are now recruiting volunteers for the second round of the Volunteering into Pathways project. The project will start in April and we are holding an information session on 7th April at Volunteer Centre Oldham. Contact Sian for more details 0161 633 6222.  

It's half term, so some of our volunteers get a week off - lucky them!

The Duke of Edinburgh group aren't volunteering this week as it is half term so they are getting a week off - lucky them! They will be straight back in there next week with lots to do and I'll be going along to make sure there is no slacking... :)  

The positive steps crew are attending individual interviews for their roles at Positive Steps. As they are working alongside young people there are lots of procedures and precautions they need to take. It will all be worth while once they start their volunteer role. 

All the volunteers are having their personal development meetings with me this week (see earlier post) and next week they'll be attending the Self Care training with the Health Improvement Team from the NHS. They are going to look at how to manage stress, build confidence and how healthy eating and physical exercise contribute to how he we feel. 

Keep posted to see how they get on....

How are the springhead group getting along?

The Springhead group are doing a great job up at the scout hut, each week there are massive improvements and you can really see the progress they are making.  

See Trevor and Tizita below who are making a pathway around the side of the buidling.

Damian and Danny have been busy filling the skip all day, getting rid of all the debris. Danny even found an old 10 pence coin from 1976.

Finally, Gary was very busy replacing the rotten floor boards with new ones....can't wait to see what they're up to next week.   

This week, it's all about the goals and aspirations of the participants....

This week, the participants are setting their own personal goals and targets for the project. They are all meeting individually with me (Sian) to put together their own personal development plan. Firstly they are going to look at what skills, experiences and qualifications they already have (and trust me, they already have lots!!) and then together we're going to write some personal goals that they want to achieve by the end of the project.

One main goal, that all the volunteers share, is to get a job, they wouldn't be part of the project otherwise! Unfortunately, getting a job isn't something we can guarantee but what we can be sure of is that each individual will be more employable by the end of the 12 weeks and will have more confidence in the work place. 

Once we have written the personal development plan, the participants will receive a copy and it will become a working document that they and I will refer to throughout the project, to ensure they are keeping on track to reach their goals. 
   

Apart from volunteering, what else are the group up to?

Alongside the volunteering element of the project, the participants are also attending a series of 6 training sessions. The training consists of a pre-volunteer course, self care training and employability training.

Today they completed the pre-volunteer course, where they looked at the definition of a volunteer, what their expectations are and how they can develop new skills as well as share existing skills through volunteering. These are useful tips that they will be putting into use in their volunteer role.

Here they all are with their certificates

What about the rest of the 6 participants!?!

On Tuesday this week, Jonny, Naim and Liz all went along to DofE Oldham to start their volunteer role. They received a very warm welcome from Drew, one of the lead volunteers within the DofE team. The group will be there to assist with the workshops, helping to set up the room, preparing presentation boards, sorting and labelling photographs and updating the website plus much more. They are keen to get stuck and see what will be happening next week!

On Wednesday, Candice, Dionne and Mohammed aka Akkey, went to meet Janet at Positive Steps Oldham to find out what volunteer roles are available for them to choose from. It was a really positive meeting and all 3 have chosen an area within Positive Step's  large range of services to volunteer within. Akkey has chosen to volunteer with the young carers team and both Dionne and Candice are interested in volunteering with OASIS, the alcohol and substance misuse team.

Here they are waiting to meet Janet... looking rather apprehensive but excited too!

Week 2 at Springhead Community Centre

On tuesday this week (15th Feb) we had 3 new recruits for Springhead Community Centre. Trevor, Tizita and Kyle joined the team to help renovate the scout hut. They have made tremendous progress so far with walls knocked down, bars taken off windows, rotten floor boards pulled up and lots more and that’s only after a day and a half!! We can’t wait to see what it’s going to look like after 12 weeks.

Here they all are tucking into a well earned portion of chips!

Volunteers first day at Springhead Community Centre

Damien, Daniel and Gary all began volunteering at Springhead community centre on Tuesday 8th February. They are helping to renovate the scout hut over a 12 week period on our Volunteering into Pathways Project. They are gaining valuable work experience to become more employable in the construction world. For most of the day, they spent time clearing the hut of all the debris and knocking down walls.

6 of the participants on our Volunteering Into Pathways project have chosen to volunteer on the construction project at Springhead Community Centre. They are helping to renovate the Scout Hut at the back of the centre, which once completed will be used by the local community for creches, yoga classes and so on. The video below will show you what the centre looked like before the volunteers got their hands on it....

New year, New start, New You: Volunteering Into Pathways

In January, Volunteer Centre Oldham launched a new project: Volunteering into Pathways. The aim of the project is to support individuals who are unemployed to gain practical work experience and new skills through volunteering, to then become more employable. It is a 12 week project and individuals will volunteer once a week in a small team of 4 / 5. The projects consist of Construction roles at Springhead Community Centre, Administration roles at Duke of Edinburgh and Youth Work roles at Positive Steps.

Alongside the volunteering, participants will also attend a 6 training sessions, which will cover; pre - volunteer course, self care and employability skills training. In addition to all of that they will be going out on a team building challenge, where they will be rock climbing, abseiling and lots more in the great outdoors of Dove Stones in Greenfield.

Throughout the 12 week programme, participants will develop their own portfolios which will include certificates from the training and photographs from volunteering. They will also receive a reference from leaders at community projects will put them in an excellent position when applying for jobs.

Follow our blog to see how they get on.......