Impact Report Wokingham Volunteer Centre Celebrating 50 Years of Providing Local Support through Volunteers 10 iifju98 2023-24 An aiLiard-'%>iiniiing local charity, backed by incredibLe voluiiteerc enabling us to offér esceiitiaL support to no3rLy 1,000 re" -idents throughout 'okiiighim Borough, Th• Qu••nl Aw•rd for Voluntsry 5•rvlc• A1861or%olunlevgrr44
Our Purpose • The reuel In need af vulnerable eldwly and dlsabled people for the publk benefft wlthln. but not excluswy, the WoklrrJham 8orough wea In partlcular by the provtsion of basSc, volunteer-based and subsld159d. low cost services and slgnposllng them to addltlonal stattrtory and volunteer sources of help to ern2ble thom to contlrth Uvlng kn thelr own homes arKI not requlre m¢*lng Into care. To Fyomots the efficlencg and effectiveness in chpJitsble adlvitles of not-for-profft organisatlons. voluntary gr¢)ups and Char wk for the benefit of th8 pubuc In the flelds of comrnunlty health and soclal car& ActSvlUes In fUrtheRn of thls purpose VAU Indudo tha prov151on of a volunteer brokerage servlce to both potential volunte5 arKI charltsble/voluntary organisations wlshlng to recrult volunteer asststar. Projects Details Outcomes Volunt••r Supportlng local charlues and voluntary orgarSatIonS to attract new Kilunteers . More volunteers for more charftles DeLlverfng great•r Impact for good Communlty TransPOrt Supportlng older resldents to get to vitaL medicaL appolntsnents and soclal events Narrowlng health irwuallt Uvlng heaLthlLy at home tor longer Reduclng loneuness Groon h, Tldy GardonlrKJ Enabling safe enjoyment of outdoor spaces Keeplng residents safe from rogue trader5 unable to marjage or afford a commercial se.rvicè to k&p thelr gardens safe and tidy
Chair's Welcome Dr. Julian Thompson It's my prlvilege to Introdu The Wokingham Volunteer Centre's Impact Report for 2023-24, With It being our 50th anniversary, this has been a special year and has provided an opportunity for us to reflect on our Journey and values as an organisation. From the very beginnlng, gardening, transFX)rt and voLunteering have been central to TWVC'S mission and as you'll see. they remaln key pillars of our work today, In what Likely I'efLects the br03drJr chdllenges facili9 JCOClatS', the demarid for our services continues to lice, Lind so do our efforts to IM=£,t that demand. This ieport higliLights thoJee effortr alongaeid-Tr our coiitiiiuino coimmitment to thts viilnerablè r¢sidents of tho Wokingliani Boi"ough area, and the crucial rolo that vcluntecring playa in our commuiiity. On behilf of tlie Board of TKLlStees, I woiild like to extend a huge tlidiik you to our amaLing Lrolunteorb. Staff, donor>, and partiiei'b. Your dadic3tion niakes eiierything do possible, all0,1n9 Tli.JVC to coiitinua being a retiable rource of support aiid Cdre for OLir commuiiity.
Chief Officer's Report Nick Fellows Celebratlng our 50th Anniversary this year gives great cause for celebration, not just for the fact that we've bn around for so long as a local charlty but also to mark the exceptionaL support we have been able to provide to so mary residents, thanks to the efforts and commitment of such a large number of willing voLunte8rs throughout that time. IECOME AVOLuwts a Reflectlng back on the origln arKI hlstory of KISOMEThING the centre has also highughted the fact that the challenges to society that were I: prevalent In the 1970's are still wlth us today. Flndlng more volunteers to address issues of (oneliness, transport challenges and support with gardening were all at the forefront of people's mlnds when The Woklngham Volunteer Centre began Its work In 1974. Since Llien, nikn111y niore chdrities hab'e spiung LIP and life ha¥ changed in oo 1ii4ny wails, but still tlie fundaniental chaLlangee remain, Wliilst ..2 have b&n able te pcnd and gro'w OLir seii'ica provision, in tho last féw years in particuLar we.hai'e seen a neiv sui'ge in deniand from IoG)I r&¢idents in naed, In the pa¥t yecir wie h3i'e récruited, and SUPF)orted the placènient of more volunteers than.ever bofcrL. We have expaiided our capacity v.'ithin oiir comnilinitii transport scheiiies and have seeii tlie nLimber of di'ii'es completed grow acccrdingLy. but we ale stilL unable to fLilfiL aLL reqiiests and Fiave a gro'wing v.,'aiting list. We have put in pLacL resource to double tha nLiniber of garden> W""è can tend oli a fortnightly basis bLIt, despite thi , the laIting liyt has risen by half agaiti! Despite thesè challenges l am deLighted to be able to rOrt that thts CLintro continLJes to flc>Lirish aiid aclapt to the e'er-clianging wcrld, EnabLing Us to do this is tho terrific JUPPQrt Vie enjoy fi'om cur snidll arniy of ifolunLeers, fioni oiir supporters, fundei- and other partners in V¥hat is a sti.ong and thrii'ing local voLuntaiy and commLinity sector. For this suppott 10 remain eAtrenieli/ grataful and Vo'e COlTrniit to continuing to bling a strcng retLirii on that inveotment ancl to tailoi'incJ our Se.iCe5 aCOlding to demand as Vie move in+0 thL) Iltsxt half-ceiitLIII.
Treasurerfs Report DurfrvJ the last flnancial perlod the charlty was depent on serce contracts and grants from local councils for more than half Its IrOrne. The Charlty vlas well supported by Woldngham Borough CndL The chartty showed a small surplus for the year. Trustees have agatn approved a smalL defldt dget for 2024-25 with a medlum- term plan to meet breakeven. The Reserve5 remaln strong and the flTh3nclal sltuation Is robusL Martin Jeater Our Impact IMPACT IN NUMBERS The real impact of our work is the beneflt we provide to local resldents, supporting them to continue livlng In their own home for lon er and thus preventing, reducing and deLaying t e need for them to access or move into formal care. The retum on investment we provlde, however, is considerable, Increasing this year to 5.9X the value of our formal service contracts when full value is calculated. This represents £56ok of output for an Input of just £95k. VALUE of volunteer TIME Volunteer hours SUPPORT Instances of help PEOPLE helped regula¥ly 5.9x ROI
Volunteer Services The Volunteer Brokerage scheme continues to provide support to those who live in and around Woklngham Borough to find the right role for them. We work closeLy with community, voluntsry and charitsbLe groups across the Borough to help them recrult voLunteers. Helena Badger Volunteer Fairs As piit of tlie iiik3lu3bla servi¥4e we pi'ok'ide, we hold Vclunteer F¥?il's to én.4bl• as n13ny people a- Possible to access as niaiiy cliaritie> clu PO>sible on a face-to-faKve bJsi5. During this periocl, we held a iumber of Vclunteer Fairs at I'L3riOUS libraiies acroc£ Wckinghain EoroLigli and our tw'o Imain Saturday Fairar at Wokinghani Town Hall in October YLO?3 and February 2024. Acro¢ all file Fair) we lield dLifing tliis poriod, li'e lielped suppcrt oijer 300 Pctentiiil iolunteers into a iialuntoui'ing 1.ole and oiJer 40 different charities L?tid i'oluntary oi'ganisations to I"ecruit volunterrs. **
VoLunteer Services continued ly value thw• not ecaus• thoy arn a gY•at nly ABC do. It alw provld•s us wlth "I tithTk lingolng t buslofr In redr•moirtthan when I was worklng, as . there *e great cause5 hore and I wantto help them all!•b".oIUnteer attend•d the nteer Fak pot•ntlal vdunt••rn th• day. Brlluant •dv•rtls•d and rynlwd . thank youl" ABC to R•ad. fdlowl Volunteer Brokerage .1 c:, I, inisal;,ons to recruit volui)teers', Kiol'k'tiig with vo ijnteers to find the right role forthem. Tlie volunteering portal conLtnues to be our maiii sourcè of volunteei's and th• best Vlaiy for niost ckiarilies to adv&rtlJe for hat tliey n&d. Kva continiie to proinote volunteering eenSIvel5,. throLigli tha V4'eek'ly colunin in ,1 the W'ok.ingham Paper. 4rociaL medi¢l. Parish nowslatter> and Loal pubLicalions such a: the Wc,k'ing113m ,0¥d. I dLo ta>:e tli... opportunity to advartl>e w'liat w'e can do to support kx)tli charities and iolLifiiée": - thrcughuut the s'ear then it hai tied iii Koitli évènts on a local aiid natliinal level,
Volunteer Services Buslness and Networklng Event In Partnership with WBC, we hosted a Corporate Volunteering Network Event at Wokingham Town Hall on Wednesday 8th November. The event was aimed at how buslnesses could support L(KaL charities through volunteerlng. We had 10 charities in attendance. all of which had the opportunity to present and then to network It proved to be a successful evenL Posltive feedback was received from ljoth the charities and buslnesses arKI we hope to hold slmiLar events In the future. Charfty continued 'A huge thank you to The Wokingham Volunteer Centre for puttlng together a networking event for charitles In the local area, It was great to talk to businesses & other charltles that want lo contrlbule to our community and help out" . Me 2 Club Posltlve feedback Our most recent Survey of charftles attendlng our VoLunteer Falrs retumed many posltlve comments: loo% of respondents sald the FaSrs were extremely/very eff8Ctiv8/somewhat effective for networking opportunltle& 90% of respondents said ther some or all thelr volunteers had contacted them due to the Volunteer Centre's help or supporL 100% of respondents said rated our support as helpful or very helpfuL ' 90% of respondents sad the Ptal was extremeLy/very effectlve/somewhat effectlve for thelr volunteer recruitrnent Measures of satlsfactlon
Green'n, Tidy Gardening Service Our basic gardening service Is almed at helping to keep gardens looklng t and usable thrghout the year and supports residents who have often loved sperKllr thelr time tending thelr gardens for themselves Paul King Changing clrcumstsnces may mean tl are no longer able to do this and have no one close by 0 can take over for them. In turn. thelr Fyide and joy can become a wory, as well as a dangerous and overgrown space so our volunteers come to the rescue and make sure their (xrtdoor haven can contlnue to be enloyed all year round, whllst detering potenthL rogue traders and other crlminal actlvlty. In November we responded to the ever- lenghtenlng vrdltlng Ilst by purchaslng a second van and recruiting new volunteer teams, along with all the equlpment requlred. We were supported financially by generous grants from the Natior)al Lottery, Our blggest challenge remains the Earley Charlty, Berkshire Communlty recruitment of mcye volunteers and Fourthtlon, Woldngham Commurty Team Leaders to enable us to keep Safety Partnershlp. Woklngham Lions Club up with escalatlng demand but the and Easthampstead Rotary Club and we return for voLunteers is the are extemely grateful for all their sUPPOrt opportunlty to build frlendships wlthln and confidence in the value of our projecL the team as welL as helping others
GnT Impact Green 'n' TY Performance Measures J• 0ratIng 511 days Ferwk throusPoA w, fc,rtri9h1l gros1 ond W9• c.Jlthg In Sullr (ty)i CLEWa.¢5 kn the wlinter. Thank you to all our wonderful voLunteers: adding Life to years and years to Life" Iil'hc FArley fharirj INGHAM BERKSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Rotary ?¢ ' kl()klNiL,IIAN4
Community Transport Schemes The Wokingham Transport Scheme has been running for many years and provides a vltsl service to help older residents to get to essential appointments with the support of a friendLy volunteer driver taking them from their home to the appointment and back home again. A low-cost voLunteer dependent transport scheme for elderly and disabled resldents in Wokingham, Wokingham With¢JuL Winnersh. ArborfieLd, Barkham, WoosehiLL and Flnchampstead as well as a scheffE covering the Earley area too. Over 700 cLlents supported by more than 100 drlvers - and a growing waiting LISLI Providlng transport to more than a dozen h05Pitals as well as GP surgerles, dentlsts and optlcians, as weLL as social drives and shopplng trlps. Supportlng Friendship Alliance activities and events speCifallY to help reduce Lonellness. A:, tli.3 qi iFII iilLI_tI'_ cl-i iiiiiJ li.- have dceen a fiiitlitr riJe in the nLimber of dri .es coinpleted. by an incieGliblG 347. IlJe continugb to recruit more di'ii'trfknj t113n e'er before to create additioiial cap3City but, despitti this, tran" .port reniaiiis a critiCLiI i<su.e for many EorougPI resideiitb wlio cannot drive or iiae PLiblic tr3nsport arid need additioiial support. Drlves By Catryory IVIA
Sources of income We are fortunate to have some diversification in our income streams although, in reality, we are heavily dependant upon the public sector. Our Serv1 contracts comprise just over half of our income but cb'ent contributions. fundraislng, grants, Interest and donatlons now make up 26%, We are very grateful for the regular support we receive from Woklngham Borough Council and our Town & Parish Councils as well as Wokingham United Charities, Easthampstead Rotsry Club, Wokingham Lions Club. Berkshire Community l.". Foundation and many generS irKllviduals Sources of Income 'i4.rn Thank you to aLL our voLunteers, donors and supporters. We couLdn't have managed the Last.. 50 years without.: you! "eec Gr••il • * VolunteerOk-VQLOrg.uk Charlty& CommunSty Hub. Waterford Hous8, Erftsladt Court, Wokingham RG40 2YF 18 977 0749 woklnghamvolunteercentre.org.uk