Village and community halls everywhere have felt keenly the impact of COVID-19 on their ability to provide social and recreational events. For many the ongoing lack of income has presented a tangible financial crisis. How much more so then, for a brand-new community hall, whose planned launch coincided with the first pandemic lockdown in March 2020?
Every VCSE organisation has a duty to safeguard volunteers, staff members, participants and donors, and to have appropriate and proportionate policies and procedures in place. Likewise, staff and volunteers themselves need to aware be aware of their individual responsibilities to themselves and to their clients, service users and hirers.
The Benjamin Foundation is well known across Norfolk and Suffolk for its sterling work in bringing hope, opportunity, stability and independence to children, young people and families experiencing life’s challenges. This includes working to prevent youth homelessness, offering emotional wellbeing support and providing positive activities for young people with limited opportunities.
There are definite benefits to registering as a charity, not least of which is credibility when applying to potential funders. Making your case to the Charity Commission needs to be done in an organised and planned way.
The organisers of activities and events are responsible for ensuring people’s safety and wellbeing during their time there, but it doesn’t mean the village hall volunteers and staff are absolved from responsibility. it’s helpful to have a closer look at why it’s especially important for hall committees to have the right policies and procedures in place.
The clocks ‘went back’ on 25th October. The following week saw the highest recorded levels of extreme loneliness since the first lockdown began in March.
We often feature articles about the inspiring initiatives happening in response to Covid-19. Except they don’t just happen – they’re the result of innovative, often spontaneous efforts by local individuals who see a need in their community. Mattishall Volunteer Hub (MVH) began life in the very first week of the lockdown in response to the Coronavirus pandemic and is still going strong.
At CAN we have been conducting research to assess the impact of COVID-19 on VCSE operations and service delivery. You can read about this here. We are featuring here regular examples of how groups and organisations have adapted their particular services. This week we’re focussing on Norfolk Community Action Network.