Sharing good practice
Who is in the room?
Our village: Whissendine
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North West of Rutland
One of largest of Rutland villages
At least 1000 years of history - mentioned in the Domesday Record
Two fine Grade 1 listed buildings:
– St Andrews Church one of the largest in Rutland with an impressive 100-foot tower
– Working windmill.
• 600 homes: a mix from thatch to 21st century conversions and new
developments
• Primary school, two pubs, village hall, village shop, sports and social club
and hair and beauty salon
• No GP surgery or post office
Source: Whissendine web page
1253 residents, 111 are 75 and over and 33 live alone
Source: www.neighbourhood statistics
In addition to Whissendine Good
Neighbours Scheme (WGNS)
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Age UK
Happy Circle
Pre school / play group
Brownies
WI
Youth Club
Stars etc
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Handy man
Gardening
Electrician
Painter and decorator
Carpets
Kitchen design
Cattery
Kennels etc
Source: Whissendine web page
Whissendine: good weather
Bad weather
WGNS: started in 2010
Getting started
•The parish plan
•Needs analysis
•Steering group
•Public meeting
•Recruitment
•Publicity
Current structure
• Management group of 9
who meet every two
months
• 30 volunteers
• All volunteers undergo
safeguarding checks
– Issued with an id card to be
shown for all assignments
From the WGNS website
Who are we?
• The Whissendine Good Neighbour Scheme uses voluntary effort from local
people to provide help for anyone in the village who needs assistance with
transport, household tasks, companionship, practical support following
illness, letter writing, form filling, and more...
How does it work?
• Call 0750 059 9635 between 8am and 8pm. A co-ordinator will arrange for
one of our registered volunteers to help. Be prepared to leave a message,
the co-ordinator may be busy.
How much does it cost?
• The only charge is for petrol and parking. There is no charge for transport
within the village. All the other services are free.
www.whissendinegns.org.uk
Volunteers asked which type of
work are they able to do
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Driving to hospital/clinic/doctor
Shopping/errands/collecting prescriptions/pensions
Help with (non legal )form filling
Gardening/domestic work in an emergency
Internet/IT advice
Befriending
Assistance with pets
Administration of the Good Neighbour Scheme
Holding the Mobile phone for a week on a rota basis
WGNS volunteer activity
90
80
70
60
2012
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2013
40
2014
30
20
10
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
WGNS volunteer activity
WGNS management group
recent evaluation
What we do well
Where we could improve
• Fills a gap for lonely or
isolated people in the village
• Usually able to help: flexible
• Wide range of help offered
• Continually developing:
introduction of wheelchair
• Social events: for volunteers
and clients get to know one
another - engenders trust
• Raise awareness of the
scheme amongst more
people in the village
• More emphasis that it is
not just for transport or
for elderly people
WGNS management group
Advice we would give to others starting out
• Don’t look for a need that is not there
• Establish the parameters to decide what you can and can’t
do: you cannot meet every need
• Maintain a good management group: share responsibility
and power
• Have volunteers who are keen to make it a success: drivers
especially in demand
• Celebrate success
• Things change: clients and volunteers
• Don’t try to do it by yourself: use the experiences of others
December 2013: WGNS
receives award from Red
Cross and Rutland Times
for 'Being inspiring and
doing inspiring work in
the local community of
Rutland’
Summary
• Establish the need
• Recruit
• Deal with
bureaucracy
• Find funding
• Publicize
• Start
• Evaluate
• Celebrate
Questions and comments
Whissendine Good
Neighbours Scheme (WGNS)
www.whissendinegns.org.uk/