Networking for charities and services to improve the lives of older people in Cambridge
So far 16 different organisations and services benefiting older residents in Cambridge have met online to share what they are doing, make useful contacts and collect valuable information.
The aims of the network are:
to come together to establish an informal network that meets regularly.
find out what others are doing and to examine challenges together and share experiences.
collaborate more effectively and avoid working in isolation
Attendees have expressed interest in pursuing a number of initiatives including mapping services in the City for older people, sharing communications and creating an event in the Autumn aimed at promoting activities and services for older people in the community.
The network is chaired by Cambridge United Community Trust following an initiative from U3AC and COPE with organisational support from CCVS. The next meeting will be in June. To join the network or find out more get in touch with Christine.
Our CCVS logo and branding was designed some years ago. It has served CCVS very well, but was beginning to look dated and in need of an update.
It’s been a lengthy process but we’re really happy with the end results which we’re sharing with you today.
Once we had the backing and agreement from our Trustees, we began to think about what we wanted in a brand refresh. We decided which elements we would like to keep, namely, a recognisable purple colour; the CCVS part of the logo; and some sort of roundel, in keeping with other CVS’s and NAVCA.
We worked with Chris Gooch, of Open Design Agency Limited, to chat about what we had in mind and put together our initial brief. Chris studied our annual review, our values and our website to gain a real flavour of our work, aims and objectives. As we had been considering updating our Vision and Mission too, Chris advised getting those in place first, so that the vision could become our new strapline for the logo.
Mark, our CEO, put together a proposal document for the Vision and Mission which was circulated for comments and suggestions among our team and the trustees. Some great suggestions gave us plenty to think about and we finally settled on something we were all happy with. This was then put to the Trustees for approval which we’re happy to say was given!
Our Vision
We wanted something short, sharp, and meaningful, aspirational words that would look good on our office wall to show what we’re about. We wanted the vision to drill down to the heart of everything we, and our local organisations do, namely, focussing on community.
Our new Vision is:Fair, Strong, Connected Communities
This has been added to our new logo and gives an immediate flavour of our work and values.
Our Mission
We recognised that our Mission needed to be longer. The Mission describes what it is CCVS does, how we achieve our Vision, and becomes our elevator pitch. It gives us the who, why and how of what we do.
Our new Mission is:
We work with individuals and organisations in communities to help them build places that anyone would want to live in, work in, or visit. We:
Promote relationship building and collaboration with individuals and organisations working in communities
Provide practical support to build the knowledge and confidence of those working in organisations in the community
Amplify the voices of those in communities so they can influence policy makers
Our logo and branding
After many emails backwards and forwards, online chats, and revisions, the logo and brand evolved, and Chris was able to share the final files with us. We’re thrilled with the results.
The CCVS initials have kept a similar purple but have been redesigned in a different font and have had shadowing added. The new Vision has become the strapline.
The roundel, which is made up of individual icons representing people, was reduced from 12 icons, to 6, to match the number of our values. Each of the 6 icons has been given one of our new brand colours.
We wanted the logo to give us flexibility, so as well as using the main logo as a whole, we are able to pull out the different elements to use separately. We have the option of using the roundel in one single colour, on its own, or with the CCVS initials. We can also pull out individual icons to use as we wish. We have the logo in files of different size and formats, in black, white and greyscale, and a logo without shadowing should we need it. Now all we need do is to start using it!
You will notice a very gradual transformation. We don’t have the capacity to do a major launch and change everything all at once. We plan to update things as we use them, so our old logo will be around for some time to come. We need time to think about templates for various aspects of our work, and need to find a balance between looking professional, but having time to get on with what we do best – supporting organisations.
If you’re considering a refresh, here are some tips we’ve learned along the way:
Be open minded from the start, your ideas may undergo many evolutions before you get to the final result.
If you’re going to appoint a designer, find someone you can have an honest conversation with, who listens to your ideas, and is open to change, but willing to challenge you if necessary.
Involve your team in some of the brainstorming and seek opinions. Even though someone may have to have the final say, hearing other people’s ideas can open a whole new way of thinking.
Trust your instincts! Put your ideas out there, be bold if you wish to.
Work with your Trustees, after all, they will need to agree with your proposals, especially if there is a budget involved.
If any organisations wish to chat to us about the process in more detail. Do get in touch. We’d also love to know that you think of the new branding.
Our next big project will be updating our website, but that will take some time.
Since returning to work in January, I have spent nine days travelling within the UK, attending conferences, events, trainings and making site visits for a consulting client. These have been the first opportunity to leave home on business since the middle of March 2020. I’ve loved it. But will it continue?
Let’s be clear. Going anywhere for the last two years hasn’t been sensible. The risks to health from Covid-19 have been real and serious.
Selfishly, the impact of the worst effects of long Covid on me would have been disastrous. If I’m too ill to work, I don’t earn my income. The bills go unpaid. No sick pay, no government help. Less selfishly, I would never have lived with myself if I’d been a one-man super-spreader.
But now, with all the progress we’ve made, the return to in-person work is possible. Of course, we are all — individually and…
Hello! It’s Amy here again and I’m writing about how to find a new voluntary role. If you haven’t done voluntary work before, it might help you to know how to go about it and this article should give you some guidance.
Voluntary work is similar to a job (but you don’t get paid for it). It can be quite daunting doing something new, but there are ways of getting support as you take this step towards volunteering. I can say from my own experience that it will be worth it!
If you need support, get in touch with Ellie from CCVS who will offer you an informal chat where you will be able to discuss what kind of roles you’re interested in and all the steps you will need to take. At the moment meetings are only online or over the phone. That can be challenging for some, and you might want somebody to help you with it, but it’s good to try to do this independently if you feel that you can. This will show what you can do for yourself. Doing things for the first time helps build your confidence and can prepare you for future work interviews. CCVS knows a lot about charities and volunteering, and they can really help. If you’re uncomfortable with a 1:1 chat, there is an online group option which you may prefer.
You can get in touch with ellie@cambridgecvs.org.uk for more details.
Another option would be to ask people that you know (friends or family) who are already volunteering or can help guide you towards the right opportunities, but bear in mind that sometimes what works for them might not work for you. For instance, you may disagree on what kind of volunteering would be good for you.
Doing research on the internet might help (but you’ll need to know what you’re looking for). If you know the name of some places or organisations that offer the kind of work you want to do, you could look them up on Google and look at their website. Sometimes websites are not up to date, but whatever barriers you face in looking for voluntary work, don’t give up! If you use social media (like Facebook or Instagram), you could look for opportunities on there.
Do- it website is dedicated to help matching people and organisations locally, but it can be a little bit difficult to use. However always a good starting point to see what is out there.
Visiting the place where you’re interested in volunteering might give you more of an idea if it’s right for you, but you may need to ring first to make an appointment. You’ll be able to ask to speak to someone about volunteering, if they are recruiting (which means looking for) volunteers and finding out about the application process. Visiting beforehand gives you a chance to see if the place would suit you, is it too busy, too noisy, too big, or will it send you into a sensory overload.
Every organisation or group that recruit volunteers have different procedures. You may be required to send a CV, an application form or cover letter or both. Some places may want you to come in and have an induction meeting and spend a bit of time working at the place to see what it’s like. In some cases, you may be asked to come for a meeting and then wait to be contacted about whether, and when you can start your volunteering. You may be asked why you want to do the role and what it is that makes you a good volunteer to take on and what skills you have. There will be an opportunity to talk to them about the kind of support that would help you best.
Myself and CCVS can help with interview tips, we’ll dedicate a whole piece on that alone in future.
No matter how it goes, do celebrate your achievement: it is challenging to find a suitable role, and you should be very proud of yourself for having taken the challenge on!
The last couple of years has resulted in many of us rethinking how we do things. In early 2022 CCVS decided to host some free online volunteer fairs, aimed at the public, to support local voluntary groups with the challenging task of recruiting the volunteers they need. Our aim was to capitalise on people’s New Year resolutions and the loosening of Covid restrictions and help raise the profile of volunteering for local groups. Although the fairs were tied in with the City Council Volunteer for Cambridge initiative, many of the groups involved are looking to recruit volunteers throughout the county.
We know from research1 that to attract more people into volunteering groups need to be visible, accessible and flexible. People showed during the pandemic that they were interested in helping others, but now with their lives starting to return to something like normal, many feel they lack time to commit and don’t know where to find roles that are a good fit for them. Our volunteer fairs looked to highlight a few of the many volunteer opportunities available, with varying levels of flexibility and time requirements. It also gave people the chance to put a face to a group and invited them to ask questions and fill in a simple form or contact the group direct to hear more.
We worked with 10 voluntary groups supporting them to produce 5-minute recordings outlining their volunteer opportunities. We hosted the fairs as two lunchtime sessions to which any member of the public with internet access could sign up and where the groups showed their presentations and answered questions live.
As a result of a lot of promotional effort nearly 100 tickets were booked for the two fairs. Everyone who signed up to the fairs has received links to all the presentations and the contact form and have been encouraged to share the information with friends and family – we hope this will extend the impact of the fairs beyond the events themselves.
The Initial feedback from the public suggests they enjoyed being able to easily hear about different opportunities and ask questions without leaving their desks or their homes. Some of the voluntary groups taking part have reported increased traffic to their volunteer pages on their websites and some have already seen an increase in people getting in touch to find out more about volunteering. We’ll be checking in with the groups to see if this increase in interest converts to more volunteers supporting their work in the community. If the feedback is positive, we’ll consider running more online fairs in the future.
To watch presentations from groups who attended our Volunteer Fair in early 2022 visit this link
ccvsblog 