Oxfordshire v team August newsletter

We hope you're having a good summer so far, welcome to the 2nd e-newsletter from the vinvolved Oxfordshire team which we are sending out monthly to all our volunteers (& to all of you that have yet to start something), to keep you updated with what’s happening with us, and to inform you of some of the great opportunities we have on our system.

Meet the team

Each month we will profile one member of the team for you to find out a little more about us, each of us will answer the same 10 questions

This month.... introducing LUAN

1. Who are you & what do you do? Luan Brothwood- Youth volunteer adviser Oxford city
2. Describe yourself in 3 words – Game for a laugh ( that’s 4 but never mind)
3. Who was your hero as a child?- Monkey Magic ( 1980’s cult TV programme for those who don’t know)
4. What do you like most about your job? Any bad bits?- Meeting new volunteers- of course NOT....
5. What’s your claim to fame?- Winning my first hairdressing competition in London when I was 17
6. If you could have one super human power what would you choose?- Invisibility
7. What have you learnt from volunteering?- To think outside the box
8. If you won the lottery, how would you spend your millions?- On myself, my family & friends (Oh and give a bit to charity as well)
9. Do you like bananas?- Yeh
10. In your opinion, which is the most interesting volunteering opportunity that young people can do in Oxfordshire at the moment? They are all exciting !!!!!!!!!! but it would have to be the FREE first aid training by other young people & the British Red Cross

News

CALLING ALL OXFORDSHIRE YOUNG PEOPLE - ARE YOU UP FOR THE V CHALLENGE?

We need you to nominate young people 16-25 yrs old for the v awards which are - unite / genius / fresh / inspire / transform / bridge / eco / legend / enegry / shout - the different awards apply to different types of volunteering. If you have a friend group (or even your own youth action team) that you think snould be recognised for their fantastic volunteering, now's the time to put them forward for one of the awards. Check out www.vinspired.com/awards/national-awards to nominate. Or contact the vteam for more information. The event will be held at the Indigo @ The O2, London, and will feature celebrity guests, regional and national press, hosts, entertainment and will be a spectaculat evening! WE WANT THE SOUTH EAST TO WIN AND HAVE THE MOST VOTES. DEADLINE IS 31ST AUGUST SO BE QUICK!!

HAVE YOU GOT A GREAT YOUTH VOLUNTEERING PROJECT THAT NEEDS FUNDING?

Then your organisation could get a grant of up to £10,000!!! V are looking for community organisations that can create projects for 16-25 years old to volunteer. Your innovative ideas will give other young people the opportunity to experience volunteering whilst helping the community and your organisation. The grants will be distributed across England to a diverse set of projects that deliver volunteering opportunities for 16-25 year olds. This may include supporting other people in your community, deliverying sport workshops, or assisting in media, music or arts projects. So don't delay e-mail vapplications@thisisglobal.com to request an application form. All applications have to be in by 4th September 2009

Opportunities

We currently have over 1,300 volunteering opportunities on our database, each month we will highlight some of the organisations who are looking for more young volunteers -

1.Thriving Sustainably - This inspiring community event on Oct 17th in West Oxford will bring together an exciting range of well known speakers and facilitators to move towards co-creating our sustainable future. Looking at the challenges of climate change and peak oil, there will be talks, workshops and films on transition and a low-carbon future; sustainable food production, energy, technology, etc; eco-psychology; and examples of local projects' campaigns and actions – as well as fun workshops for kids. URGENT need for volunteers to help with publicity, fundraising, and event management. Great experience all round! REF 1290/1296/1300 opportunities county-wide

2.Girl Guding - Unit Leaders needed - 18-25? We are looking for Unit leaders to help support Rainbows / Brownies / or Guides sessions.This is an idea opportunity to support the local community and have a postive impact on young people. REF OCV1248 opportunities county-wide

3. Style Acre - Befriender - 16-25 yrs old? Friendly, genuine, responsible? Fantastic opportunity to share your good nature, get out and do stuff with people, and gain experience working with disabled people - all in one! Our organisation supports people with learning disabilities, some of whom also have physical disabilities. You will accompany individuals in all manner of day-to-day activities that they might be too vulnerable to do otherwise - going for a walk along the river, playing badminton, going bowling or to the cinema, hanging out at a local carnival or festival.. Whatever they (and you) would like, to make life as normal as possible. REF OCV 1114

4. Azad Hill Football Club - Coaching Assistant - 16-25? Azad Hill is currently looking for young adults to help out at our growing club!! Do you want to make a difference in your community? Are you passionate about young people? Do you have a least 1 hour to spare a week? Interested in Football and want to learn more? We need volunteers to help us in the running of our club, whether you want to be involved in the football coaching, or helping more generally. Volunteering at the club is extremely rewarding - passing on your enthusiasm, skills and knowledge of football; bringing together kids from different communities within the area; and possibly getting to know individuals beyond sport itself, listening, chatting, seeing how youth work can be done in a less formal way. REF OCV 1173

5. COIN - City Mobiliser for The Wave - 16-25? Help build The Wave, the UK's biggest ever demonstration on climate change! Do you live in Oxford? Do you know your local climate campaign scene? Are you happy talking to people, organising meetings, publicising events, networking with a range of local organisations? On Saturday 5 December 2009, ahead of the crucial UN climate summit in Copenhagen, tens of thousands of people from all walks of life will flow through the streets of London to demonstrate their support for a safe climate future for all. We need a friendly and helpful volunteer to help build The Wave, working one-two days per week from the COIN office in Oxford. REF OCV 1215

To find out more about these opportunities please e-mail us on vteam@ocvys.org / or contact your Youth Volunteer Adviser direct (01865 403 304) quoting the ref number. To check out the other new opportunities visit www.vinspired.com

How are you getting on?

Congratulations to Jennifer Douglas on getting your v 50 certificate!!

Well done to the 9 volunteers from Vox Inc who completed a volunteer project and recieved a v thank you certificate - great jobs guys!

You could be featured here next month - Please keep us up to date with what you are doing, so that we can then support you to achieve your v50 / & v impact awards.
We’ll also invite you to a celebration event in your area!

Volunteer of the month

Each month we are going to feature one of the many young people who currently are volunteering in Oxfordshire, asking them the same 5 questions -
Introducing ... CLAIRE BALL

Q1.What volunteering do you do/ have you done?
I don't do any at the moment due to illness, but I did befriend a lovely girl with difficulties, taking her to the pub for lunch and to the cinema every week or so.

Q2.How did you hear about the vinvolved team?
I did a job centre search for volunteering and saw befriending which then forwarded me to your site.

Q3.What have you enjoyed most about volunteering?
I love helping people and making someone else happy, even if it is just for a couple of hours. Meeting new people and making new friends is always fun.

Q4.How has volunteering helped you? / How do you feel it will help you in the future?
It made me feel really good about myself. After suffering with depression it made a really nice change and gave me some really positive ideas for the future. I feel after I have my illness figured out and under control I could make a career out of social care or something which helps people, the V team (especially Gert, who I love to pieces, and is absolutely insane in a good way) really helped me see the positive of life.

Q5.if you could have dinner with a famous person who would it be and why?
This is really tough as I would love to have dinner with so many people for so many different reasons. I reckon I'm going to have to choose Miley Cyrus though. She is an inspiration to young people as she really does have her head screwed on straight and loves to help make things better for people. Her song 'The Climb' has really helped me feel better about myself and has a really positive message to it 'It's not about how fast I get there, not about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb'. I think that is some really good advice. Listen to the song it's great. Also I think because she is 16 she will be a lot of fun compared to some of the other people I would meet.

Thanks Claire!! If you'd like to be featured in next month's newsletter please get in touch!

Youth Action Teams - YAT's

In this section every month we hope to give you an update on one of the YAT's (Youth Action Teams) we are currently working with. If you are a member of one of our YAT's get in touch to share with others what you are currently doing and the difference you have made so far.

Roots Allotment Youth Action Team

Roots Allotment Project runs at the Cutteslowe Allotments over the bridge next to the community centre.
They work with all kinds of young people growing veg and herbs which are then given to the community centre to make food for old people, people on low incomes and homeless people.
The project has been running for nearly a year now and the young people involved have planted and harvested several crops including the lovely runner beans in the picture!
If you’re feeling green fingered then please get in touch with the V Team as we can find you a placement working with a group like Roots in your area!
You might also like to pop down the allotment on the 4th September between 11am and 1pm for the Roots open day!

What have we been up to?

Each month we're going to give you a snap shot of what we've been up to and where we've been!

This month we said a sad farewell to Mike Watkinson and Judy Brown who have been the v team's voluntary managers for some time now, they've done an excellent job and we all really appreciate all the hard work they've done!! Lucky for us they are sticking around as trustees

We have also welcomed Catherine Lacey who is OCVYS' new Chief Executive to the office who will be over seeing the v team work.

Gert has been in Thame, Claire has been in Witney, Lorna in Banbury, Chris in Jericho, Luan in Rosehill and Jenn in Abingdon to name but a few places where we've been putting up our posters promoting the project! Have you seen one of our posters in your local community? If not let us know and we'll zoom there and put one up - better yet could you help us put the posters up and spread the word of the project? Get in touch if you can lend a hand!!