Welcome to the 3rd edition of Volunteer News in 2024. You will notice that we are promoting Neighbourhood Watch Week very heavily in this edition and that is because it starts in less than a week. It is a week of celebration of the work that our volunteers do in their local communities and we are so happy that this means we are celebrating YOU!
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH WEEK STARTS THIS SATURDAY
We are excited here at Neighbourhood Watch Network to celebrate Neighbourhood Watch Week with you. The week is about letting our communities know who we are and what we do, as well as our opportunity to celebrate our volunteers across our network. It kickstarts the Month of Community, where community charities are highlighting their work.
Our overall theme this year is “Local Actions, Big Impact”. This is to highlight the work of our volunteers. That by doing small actions in our communities, we have a big impact to those that live there. Whether it is taking action to reduce crime, improve awareness or resilience, increase the sense of wellbeing or to improve our environment, it all makes a difference to our community.
How you can support during the week…
Celebrating the positive impact of local community activities
Our volunteers have committed their own time to improving the lives of neighbours and friends in their communities, whether that's through organising litter picks; sharing crime prevention advice and updates; offering to help a vulnerable neighbour with groceries etc; or by simply saying hello! We want to celebrate the positive impact that these actions have within communities, and beyond. We know that active volunteers help reduce loneliness and isolation, build resilience in communities, and support crime prevention through sharing information and advice. If you'd like to share a story from your community, where Neighbourhood Watch volunteers and activities have had a positive impact, get in touch! Email comms@ourwatch.org.uk.
Inviting people to join your scheme
Want to expand your group but not sure where to start? You can choose to do something big or small. Why not start by ordering a range of promotional material from our shop, such as memberships flyers, join postcards, crime prevention booklets, promotional items (mugs, pens, lanyards), or road signs and window stickers? With some of that material in your hands you can knock on your neighbours doors to say hi and start a conversation with them. Or you may choose to arrange an event and invite neighbours to it, such as a tea or coffee morning, a litter pick event, a big lunch, a street party or a treasure hunt. Do what works for you. For more ideas and support, such as conversation starters, visit our BETTER PLACE TO LIVE page.
Find out more about Neighbourhood Watch Week, by visiting our webpage – Neighbourhood Watch Week
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION AWARDS - NOMINATIONS OPEN IN 6 DAYS
To celebrate the amazing things Neighbourhood Watch volunteers and groups do across England and Wales, why not nominate a group, a Coordinator or other Neighbourhood Watch volunteer into our Volunteer Recognition Awards 2024. Nominations open on Monday 3rd June.
We were so humbled by the amount and quality of nominations last year, that we just had to do this again. We have increased the categories this year to 5 and they are:
Innovation and Reach
Crime Prevention
Community Health and Wellbeing
Young Volunteer Award
Special Recognition Award
Find out more about our Volunteer Recognition AwardsHERE.
DON’T MISS OUT – SUPPORT PAGES MOVE TO KNOWLEDGE HUB
Next week sees the new look Knowledge Hub relaunch. This is YOUR place to find help, support, forums, resources and opportunities to develop your knowledge base. Many of our support pages that are currently on our main website will be moving to the Hub very shortly and we encourage you to register now.
Developed just for our volunteers, we are delighted to invite you to join the Hub.
How to join the Knowledge Hub – it’s as easy as 1,2,3
Wait to receive your login information from myhubintranet.com
Use your login to access the hub and join the conversation.
It is important to note that once we receive your registration, we process this, and it takes up to 10 working days to receive your confirmation.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT – DANIEL SWAIN
We would like to highlight the work that Daniel Swain, a local volunteer for Neighbourhood Watch, does in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. He joined the Association a little over a year ago and was voted in as Vice-Chair and after the reorganisation of the committee, he has taken up new challenges to support the volunteers in his area.
This includes the work of an MSA, which is another role within Neighbourhood Watch, who’s role it is to welcome new members and volunteers to our network, but also to maintain the extensive database, connecting them with local policing teams and to other like-0minded volunteers in their local area. With the support of Sam Payne, Project Manager with NWN, Daniel is enjoying building the connections with volunteers. As part of his role, he visits new volunteers to offer support, making sure that they want to start a scheme for the right reasons and are aware of what the role entails, offering guidance and direction.
Although only doing this for a short while, Daniel has immersed himself in to the role and is already feeling the satisfaction in helping the Neighbourhood Watch grow.
If you would like to be considered to be our next volunteer spotlight, then please email our Head of Membership and Community Engagement - Cheryl Spruce -cheryl.spruce@ourwatch.org.uk.
OUR TEAM HAS GROWN – SAY HELLO TO…
We are delighted to be able to introduce new members to our team. Starting with our Young People’s Programme Manager, Ashley Fontain, who joins us with a wave of knowledge and expertise in the voluntary and youth sector. The post is initially funded by the National Lottery Community Fund for the next three years.
Jean-Louis Lebaga is our new Young People’s Community Lead for London and again brings a wealth of experience to the role. This post has been funded for the next two years by the City Bridge Foundation.
As part of our partnership with British Telecom to ensure more rural landline users are aware of and can ask questions about the switch over to the Digital Voice service, we welcome four new staff members: Veronica Ghobert as Project Manager, Emma Drozd, Volunteer Coordinator for the South East, Paul Sunners as Volunteer Coordinator for Wales and Elaine McHarrie, Volunteer Coordinator for the South West.
To find out more about our team please visit our webpage HERE
DIGITAL VOICE WORK BEGINS
Veronica and her team will shortly be joined by a further two members of staff who are yet to be recruited but will cover the East of England and the North-West of England. The project is due to last for just over a year and will see us deliver 250 events across the 5 regions. Our volunteers will be speaking to BT customers about the switchover and to also promote Neighbourhood Watch to the local community in each venue.
Look out for more information coming soon about the digital voice project.
VISIT OUR ONLINE SHOP
Pick up resources, signs and stickers along with a selected range of branded goods from our online shop - https://nwnshop.myshopify.com/
