Introducing Team
Kensington and Chelsea
and how to get involved
June 2015
www.rbkc.gov.uk
CONTENTS
Foreword from Councillor Gerard Hargreaves
2
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea
3
What we will do 4
Why volunteer? 6
Case study: Supporting the K&C Ambassadors
7
Who is involved 8
Resources and further information
9
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
1
FOREWORD
Councillor Gerard Hargreaves
I am delighted to launch Team Kensington and Chelsea.
This new initiative, led by the Council with the support of
a variety of partners, aims to make it easier for people to
get involved in local life and to increase volunteering in
the Royal Borough.
Kensington and Chelsea has an array of talent and resources
in its residents, community groups and local businesses
who possess invaluable skills and experiences. Local people
want to lend a hand, pitch in, and help grow activities that
have a positive effect upon the happiness and wellbeing of
residents across the borough.
The aim of Team Kensington and Chelsea is to improve the
information available about volunteering opportunities, enhance
volunteer experiences and provide more accessible and more
regular ways in which people can get involved.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our partners involved
in this initiative, Volunteer Centre Kensington and Chelsea,
the Kensington and Chelsea Foundation, Westway Trust,
and other representatives of the local voluntary organisations
who have signed up to this programme of activities and who
will work with us on its delivery.
Cllr Gerard Hargreaves
Cabinet Member for Voluntary
Organisations and Resident Engagement
2
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
INTRODUCING TEAM
KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA
Volunteering improves people’s lives,
enhances the places where people
live and strengthens communities.
Through Team Kensington and
Chelsea, local public, voluntary and
private sector organisations will
work together to create more
opportunities for volunteering.
Where we are now
Suggestions for improvements include better
advertising and promotion of opportunities, better
information and more informal volunteer placements.
We have taken these views into account in designing
Team Kensington and Chelsea.
Where we want to be
Our ambitions are
•to offer residents more, and more varied,
opportunities for volunteering
•to make it easier for organisations to offer
volunteering opportunities, and for residents to
take advantage of them
There is already a rich tradition of volunteering in
Kensington and Chelsea with surveys and reports
suggesting around a fifth of residents volunteer
regularly, 40% of whom volunteer at least once a
week, usually close to where they live.
Residents have told us that there are things that
prevent them from volunteering, such as lack of
time and unpredictable diaries. Sometimes residents
find that opportunities are not accessible or that
they do not know how to get involved.
•to continue to fund voluntary organisations that
promote or support volunteering, such as the
Volunteer Centre
•to promote and support schemes that encourage
greater business involvement in volunteering
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
3
WHAT WE WILL DO
In order to achieve these ambitions
the Council and its partners will take
forward a variety of activities.
We will also support the Volunteer Centre Kensington
and Chelsea to improve information on borough-wide
volunteering opportunities in local community groups
and to launch a new website.
Through Team Kensington and
Chelsea we will:
Support the development of K&C Ambassadors
We will support Volunteer Centre Kensington and
Chelsea to run the K&C Ambassadors project, which
supports residents who want to be involved in high
profile events and in busy, exciting tourist attractions.
Enhance information on volunteering
opportunities
We will introduce dedicated webpages at
www.rbkc.gov.uk/volunteer that will provide clear
information about council volunteering opportunities
and signpost anyone interested in volunteering to
useful information, advice and guidance.
We will showcase online volunteer experiences via
case studies and short films to help raise the profile
of volunteering and encourage others to get involved.
4
Enable volunteering brokerage
We will continue to support the Volunteer Centre to
promote volunteering opportunities to residents and
to help community groups to recruit, induct and
support volunteers.
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
Provide new volunteering opportunities
We will work with Council managers to create more
volunteering opportunities, advise them on good
practice in volunteer management, produce a
directory of Council volunteering opportunities and
make it easier for volunteers to gain valuable new
skills and experience.
We will encourage more informal and one-off
opportunities that suit volunteers who find it difficult
to commit time on a regular basis, and explore
whether there are other innovative ways of helping
such people to get involved.
The City Living Local Life programme (CLLL) provides
ward councilors, residents and community groups
with dedicated support and resources so that they
can develop and deliver projects which improve local
life. Within CLLL we will introduce specific volunteering
programmes (for instance, developing a pool of
community reporters who can write or blog about
local news and information). We will also establish a
network of City Living, Local Life Champions who will
promote the benefits of involvement in local life and
encourage community projects.
Encourage businesses to get involved
The K&C Foundation, in partnership with the
Volunteer Centre Kensington and Chelsea, run the
‘Business and Community Together’ programme
which offers volunteer placement services for
businesses within the Royal Borough.
How we will know what we
have achieved?
Sign up to Team London
By affiliating with the wider ‘Team London’ network,
Team Kensington and Chelsea will enable residents
to access volunteer opportunities around the Capital
and attend Team London events held in the borough.
The organisations involved in Team Kensington and
Chelsea will periodically evaluate the success of
these activities and identify lessons to be learned,
to ensure our ambitions are delivered.
Explore best practice and encourage innovation
The Government is keen to see councils and other
public bodies release their staff to participate in
local volunteering. We will learn from organisations
that are already developing such schemes with a
view to introducing our own version in Kensington
and Chelsea.
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
5
WHY VOLUNTEER?
People choose to volunteer for a
variety of reasons. What unites them
all is that they find volunteering both
challenging and rewarding.
•feel valued and part of a team
Volunteering England has produced a campaign
on YouTube which tells five inspirational stories from
people who volunteer. The films can be viewed at:
www.youtube.com/user/volunteeringengland
•act as a route to employment or improving
job prospects.
Some of the reasons people
choose to volunteer include to:
•give something back to an organisation that
has had a positive impact on a person’s life
•help improve the lives of others
•improve the environment
•spend quality time away from work or a
busy lifestyle
•gain confidence and self-esteem
Volunteering also appeals to people because of
its social benefits, including meeting new people
and making new friends; a chance to socialise;
and getting to know the local community.
Organisations who use volunteers benefit too,
by developing stronger links with the local
community, by inspiring people who then promote
their activities to the wider community and by
tapping in to local knowledge and skills that may
not exist within the organisation.
•help those who are less fortunate or without a voice
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Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
CASE STUDY
Supporting the K&C Ambassadors
As friendly local faces and
champions of the borough, the new
K&C Ambassadors welcome visitors
to a range of world-famous cultural
destinations and activities in
Kensington and Chelsea, offering
information, advice and support.
With Ambassadors aged from 17-77 years old
and with 17 native languages between them,
the Ambassadors have assisted along Exhibition
Road, Creative Quarter Day and the Westway
Christmas Festival. Many of the ambassadors have
busy schedules but the fluidity of the programme
means that volunteering can fit around, and
become part of, their lifestyle.
Two residents who volunteer
said about the scheme:
“It has really built my confidence – getting to meet
such a lovely group of new people and talking to
all the visitors! I was really nervous but we had a
great Volunteer Manager and the materials were
really useful.”
The K&C Ambassadors
The project is run by Volunteer Centre Kensington
and Chelsea who recruit, train and retain local
people as ambassadors, as part of Team
Kensington and Chelsea.
Find out more
For more information call 020 8960 3722 or visit
www.voluntarywork.org.uk
“This experience has been simply enriching and
very memorable. It was great to work with such
a range of people and I learned so much. I really
enjoyed the opportunity to be helpful to others...
It is also allowed me to better know parts of my
borough I never go to. And if someone asks me
questions about the museums or the area, I can
explain to them with passion all the things that I
have seen and learnt that day.”
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
7
WHO IS INVOLVED
In order to achieve our aims for Team Kensington and Chelsea,
we need support from residents, and our partners in the
voluntary, community and private sectors. Whilst the Council
has a key leadership role to play with the initiative, it is essential
for us to work together to ensure success.
Our partners include:
Volunteer Centre
Kensington and Chelsea
Team Kensington and Chelsea is built upon the
expertise of the Volunteer Centre in matching
people’s skills, interests and experiences with
relevant opportunities in the borough’s voluntary and
community sector while working with organisations
to support them to recruit and manage volunteers
to the highest standard.
K&C Foundation
Team Kensington and Chelsea
supports the Business and
Community Together initiative
which aims to encourage local corporate
organisations to volunteer locally. The programme is
enabled by the corporate services innovative project
funding and led by the K&C Foundation with the
Volunteer Centre Kensington and Chelsea.
Team London
Team London aims to help all
Londoners, whatever their
background or age, to come
together to address our city’s
greatest needs: making our communities a better
place to live, and increasing opportunities for young
people. By Kensington and Chelsea becoming part
of the wider Team London network, there will be a
number of opportunities around the capital and
residents will have access to Team London events
that happen in the Royal Borough.
Westway Trust
The Westway Trust, a registered
charity, manage and regenerate land
on behalf of the local community
around the Westway Flyover. As well
as offering education and training programmes,
health and fitness services and facilities, and provide
opportunities to individuals, businesses, enterprise,
artists and charities, they run a range of volunteering
initiatives. Team Kensington and Chelsea will work
alongside these to create opportunity and access
for those most in need.
Want to get involved?
All partner organisations will have access to
the Team Kensington and Chelsea brand and
dedicated resources – aiding the visibility of the
initiative and its aim to encourage those who want
to volunteer, but think that it is out of their reach,
to get involved in the huge array of opportunity
there is in the Royal Borough.
8
If your organisation is interested in being part of
Team Kensington and Chelsea, or would like to
find out more get in touch with the Community
Engagement Team on 020 7598 4633 or email
[email protected]
If as an individual you would like to volunteer and
make a difference, then please go to the ‘resources
and further information’ section of this guide or
visit www.rbkc.gov/volunteer
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
RESOURCES AND
FURTHER INFORMATION
There are lots of resources, guides and websites
which can support anyone wishing to make a
difference. Specifically for Team Kensington and
Chelsea these include:
Volunteer Centre
City Living, Local Life
Volunteer Centres are local organisations that provide
support to volunteers and the organisations that
involve them. If you want to find an opportunity in
the Royal Borough, the Volunteer Centre Kensington
and Chelsea is an ideal place to start. Visit
www.voluntarywork.org.uk or call 020 8960 3722.
The Council’s City Living, Local Life is the borough’s
flagship response to the localism agenda. The
initiative encourages residents to share ideas and
start something good to enhance quality of life across
the 18 wards that make up the Royal Borough.
Many projects offer opportunities for local people
to get involved. A dedicated website provides
community organisation directories, local information
and volunteering opportunities.
‘Do-it’ volunteering database
Every 45 seconds someone in the UK finds a
volunteering opportunity thanks to Do-it. Do-it is
the national database of volunteering opportunities.
Search more than one million volunteering
opportunities by interest, activity or location and
apply online. Visit https://do-it.org to find out more.
Connect with others on ivo
ivo is a social network for the community minded,
connecting people and organisations that want
to make their worlds a better place. It allows you
to search through over 25,000 volunteering
opportunities and jobs available in the not-for-profit
sector. Visit www.ivo.org to sign up.
Royal Borough of Kensington
and Chelsea
A range of opportunities exist for those who wish
to compliment community services provided by
the Council across the borough. Team Kensington
and Chelsea will list all available roles from hands-on
work in parks, volunteering in local libraries or
getting involved in adult learning, to name but a
few examples. Visit www.rbkc.gov.uk/volunteer
to find out more.
Visit wwwcitylivinglocallife.org
Team London
Lots of volunteering opportunities exist across London
supported by the Mayor’s Team London initiative.
Visit www.volunteerteam.london.gov.uk to find
our more and sign up.
Kensington and Chelsea Compact
The Kensington and Chelsea Compact is an
agreement to working together successfully
across public, voluntary and community sectors.
The compact contains a set of principles which
assist partnership working including good practice
and advice on volunteer management. The compact
has been signed up by hundreds of organisations in
the Royal Borough and supporting information can
be viewed at www.rbkc.gov.uk/compact
Introducing Team Kensington and Chelsea and how to get involved
9
© By:design June 2015. By:design: 020 8753 3926. Ref: 164_7at
If you would like this document in
another format please contact us at
[email protected] or 020 7598 4633
www.rbkc.gov.uk/volunteer