Voice
Top class effort all round
The Magazine of Victim Support Scotland
March 2014
Getting the message across: The Coatbridge High meeting was attended by VS North Lanarkshire and partners in the domestic abuse campaign
THE message of European Victims
Week 2014 went out far and wide
across Scotland with a series of
successful events from schools to
hospitals and shopping centres...
and even a tent.
In an innovative way of taking
victim issues to the core of the
community, VS North Lanarkshire
have been working with Police
Scotland in a campaign to prevent
domestic abuse.
Fifth and sixth year pupils have
been visited in a number of local
schools including Coatbridge High
and Caldervale High, as part of the
multi-agency campaign to engage
young people and their
communities to tackle domestic
A week to remember
Pages 4&5
abuse, raise awareness and
educate people about the problem.
Police in the Coatbridge and
Airdrie sub-division are working to
enforce domestic abuse legislation
and to tackle the problem by
promoting responsible behaviour
and establishing closer ties with
their community.
Victims Week provided a chance
for VSS to take the campaign to
Coatbridge High where students
heard about the issue.
The service has also been invited
to take part in a campaign on
doorstep crime, again with other
agencies, and over the next couple
of months will be involved in a
joint approach on internet safety.
Elsewhere around the country
Continued on Page 2
2
Voice of Victim Support Scotland
Vision starts to
become clearer
By John Evans,
Partnership Development Manager
IN December an invitation
went out to all volunteers
and staff to take part in a
consultation process to
review our Corporate Plan
and to offer views and ideas
on our Vision, Mission,
Values and Strategic
Themes to take us forward
towards 2020.
A total of 167 colleagues,
board members, volunteers
and staff, took part in an
online survey and a further
30 people took part in
Focus Groups to discuss
the issues in greater detail
and in open debate.
The groups were held in
Edinburgh, Glasgow and
Perth and all were
characterised by forthright
views and lively debate.
A Stakeholder Workshop
was held in Glasgow on
March 27. Representatives
of several of our key partner
agencies attended and
gave a “critical friends” view
of our current strategy and
the review process.
The next stage will be to
present the findings so far
to the Strategic Oversight
Group of the Executive
Board in mid April and a
progress report to the full
Board in May 2014.
Our thanks go to all who
have taken part in the
review process so far for
their effort in sharing their
views and experiences.
Victims ‘deserve respect’
Pledge: Mr Pearson speaks at the Perth conference fringe meeting
SCOTTISH Labour will
review the criminal justice
agencies to ensure they
work better for victims if it
returns to power at the
next Holyrood election.
Justice spokesman
Graeme Pearson told a
VSS fringe session at
Labour’s conference in
Perth on Saturday, March
22, that there was a great
need for official agencies
to refocus on the needs of
the customer in a way
that had been ignored for
10 or 15 years.
Mr Pearson told the
meeting, chaired by VSS
chair Bob Leitch, that
victims still felt their
needs were not being
taken account of and
justice agencies had to
treat people with 21st, not
19th century respect.
Top class effort all round for European Victims Week
Continued from Page 1
services put on a myriad of events during the February
17-24 week.
In the Highlands a PR drive was carried out using local
radio, while in the Shetlands, schools were again involved
with a project to discover the impact of crime on young
people.
Shopping malls from Greenock to Kirkcaldy were the sites
of information and awareness stalls, while politicians all
over the country were invited to visit their local services.
VS Dundee held a recruitment fair and an awareness
event at Dundee Ice Rink, while VS Aberdeen set up a
community stand in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
And the tent? VS Edinburgh drafted in a gazebo which
was sited outside the office in Nicolson Square where
volunteers braved the cold holding a stall for three days.
What an effort!
Voice of Victim Support Scotland
3
A Royal seal of approval
Warm welcome: The Princess arrives for the ceremony, listens to the speeches and meets volunteers and staff in a tour round the new offices
THE Princess Royal, President of
Victim Support Scotland, declared the
charity’s new Glasgow offices officially
open in a ceremony on Wednesday,
February 19.
Official guests, including the Cabinet
Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill
and Glasgow’s Lord Provost Sadie
Docherty, joined VSS Chief Executive
David McKenna and Chair Bob Leitch
to welcome the Princess to the new
premises in Abbey House, 10 Bothwell
Street in the city centre.
In a speech, Mr MacAskill thanked
Her Royal Highness for taking the time
to visit the city and perform the
opening ceremony.
Mr MacAskill said: “We are truly
grateful to Your Royal Highness for
taking the time to come here and for
showing your commitment to this
organisation and to helping the efforts
towards making the lives of individuals
that much better."
The Princess heard how the new
offices were proving a great benefit in
It’s official: The Princess Royal signs
the visitors book and, below, unveils
a commemorative plaque
Thank-you: Kianna Adair, nine, daughter of Glasgow
staff member Ann Marie Adair, presents the Princess
Royal with a posy as she leaves the offices
helping victims in the Glasgow
area where referrals have risen by
more than 200 per cent.
She then toured the two floors of the
new accommodation and spoke at
length to guests, volunteers and staff
before unveiling a commemorative
plaque. She also met a crime victim
and heard how he has been supported
by VSS.
4
Voice of Victim Support Scotland
Voice of Victim Support Scotland
5
From Shetland to Gretna, it was a week to remember
In the Northern Isles it was school pupils working on a project to discover the truth about how crime really impacts on children, while the Borders
welcomed visitors to an open day and along the way there was everything from a new website for Ayrshire to stalls in hospitals, shopping centres
and colleges. Across Scotland, European Victims Week 2014 was a huge success thanks to the strength and commitment of our volunteers and staff
Top team: North
Lanarkshire had
an information
stall at B&Q in
Coatbridge with
local partners
Student days: West Dunbartonshire volunteer Jackie
Scobie-Fagan with students at the publicity event
held at West College Scotland’s Clydebank campus
And Teddy came too: Falkirk
volunteers Joyce Burns and Ray
Macleod had a cuddly co-worker
at the awareness-raising event
held at Forth Valley Royal Hospital,
Larbert, on February 19 and 20
Top of the pops:
Volunteers and
staff in Perth
and Kinross
raised £1,644.19
at a one-week
“pop-up” charity
shop in Coupar
Angus. Among
items sold, after
some months
gathering up
furniture,
clothes and
bric-a-brac, was
a snooker table.
Gala day: Holyrood Justice Committee chair and SNP
MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and
Lauderdale Christine Grahame was among the
guests at an open day held in the VS Scottish
Borders office in Galashiels
The money will be used
for local activities and
Service Delivery
Officer Jo Armstrong
said: “It really was a fan-
tastic effort – and the
general feeling was that
volunteers actually
quite enjoyed running
the shop.”
Class act: Four pupils from Anderson High School in
Lerwick, Shetland, have designed and distributed a
questionnaire to students to find out whether they
have been affected by a crime, how it affected them,
whether they have reported it and if they know
about VSS. They plan to analyse these statistics and
present them to fellow young people in the islands
Canvassing: Edinburgh and the
Lothians handed out more than
1,000 leaflets from a tent set
up in Nicolson Square in the
capital. Area Chair Harvey
Macmillan – who attended all
three days of the event – David
Lipetz, Christine Hawkridge,
Tirion Seymour, Janet
Nicholson, Pat Chisholm,
Anne Turgoose, Aini Ghafoor,
Patricia Tweeddale, Suendoss
Burwaiss, pictured seated right,
Allana Bell, pictured seated left,
Ros Newton and Tammy Connell
all helped out
Web feat: The Ayrshire services welcomed guests including local MPs and MSPs to the launch of the
new website for the county which was officially commissioned by the Lord Lieutenant John Duncan,
seated right, at a ceremony in the Ally McLeod Suite, at Somerset Park, Ayr on Thursday, February 20
Shopping drop-in: VS Inverclyde and Greenock Witness
Service staff and volunteers greeted members of the
public at a publicity day in Oak Mall, Greenock
6
Help us put the fun into fundraising
Voice of Victim Support Scotland
We are looking for your ideas and initiatives to help bring in cash. But the ball is already rolling...
volunteers can get involved. Many corporate charity
relationships are decided by staff votes, so unless we
already know people within an organisation it’s tricky
FundraISInG isn’t rocket science, it’s about
to achieve success. But, as many companies are keen
friendships, relationships and sharing our passion for
to support local charities we are well positioned to
the cause and people we support. By inspiring others
make the most of our geographical spread.
and embracing our own inner fundraiser – which really
a starting point could be getting our name on the list
means “who do we know that
of charities that are promoted
could help?” – we will succeed in
internally for payroll giving. If you do
our aim of raising money.
have a contact and want to explore
as you will be aware, most of our
the possibilities further, please get in
funding comes from the Scottish
touch with Fundraising so we can
Government and local authorities,
there is always a gap between this
support you.
income and our costs and
Collecting donor information –
fundraising is vital to fill it.
an aspect that we want to focus on is
There are already some great
creating a database of supporters
things happening within the
and donors. One way we can do this
organisation, but no one idea will
is by collecting names and contact
fit every region or what we can
details of people who are keen to
achieve nationally. If something is
hear more from us. We have a form
working well for your area, please
(see intranet) for anyone who is
share it, using the channels
interested, and this could be used at
available like Voice and the new
events or on information stands.
intranet forum which has just
The forms just need to be sent to
been launched.
Fundraising, we will add them to the
Here are some of things we have
database, and then we can keep
been focusing on so far…
people who are interested in our
Collection Boxes – these have Boxing clever: Linsey with one of the new cans work up to date with what we are
now been issued to all areas. Even
doing and the different ways they can
just having them in the local offices is a great way to
support us. Even just a name and email address would
raise awareness that we are a charity and do accept
be great!
donations. If you know of a local café, shop or
And finally don’t forget Gift Aid – if someone is a
business that would be interested in taking one let us
taxpayer they could gift aid their donations and we
know, we have spares! We have 77 boxes in use, so
could claim an additional 20% on top of their gift from
please, please get them out on display wherever it is
HMrC. again, you can find this form on the intranet.
feasible.
If you have any contacts or leads you want to share
Corporate Relationships and Payroll Giving –
do not hesitate to get in touch with me on 0131 662
two areas in which every member of staff and
5406 or [email protected]
By Linsey Shields, VSS Fundraising Officer
Voice of Victim Support Scotland
Volunteers make it 15 in a row
Badge of honour: Alison Stewart, left, and Frances Lander, far right, receive their awards from Wendy
VICTIM Support Central
said a big thank-you to two
volunteers who have
completed 15 years with
the charity.
Area Committee member
Alison Stewart and
volunteer Frances Lander
Alan calls
it a day
received their long-service
certificates and badges at
a ceremony during the open
day for volunteers to visit
the new Stirling office.
Alison has been on the
committee since starting
with the Stirling area and
FIFE volunteer
Alan Moss is
retiring after
almost 12 years
with the Witness
Service at
Dunfermline
Sheriff Court.
Friends and colleagues, including volunteers old and
new, were there to wish him well with a retirement
lunch held at the City Hotel, Dunfermline, on Friday,
January 31. Witness Service Assistant Service
Delivery Officer Gemma Nicolson said: “We wish Alan
well in his retirement and will miss him greatly.”
Frances is a volunteer with
the Victim Service.
Service Delivery Officer
Wendy Stephen, who
presented the awards,
said: “We are so grateful to
Alison and Frances for all
their work over the years.”
Michael joins JCC
THE Joint Consultation Committee
has a new member following the
election of Training Officer Michael
Salkow.
Michael was elected as the
representative for National Office
(Edinburgh and Glasgow) and once
he has settled into the role, will
establish a process to ensure that
National Office staff have the
opportunity to input their views to
the committee.
Fundraising Officer Linsey Shields
will act as deputy if Michael is
unable to attend meetings.
7
g LOUISA King is our new
PA/Executive Secretary
providing secretarial
support and
assistance
to Chief
Executive
David
McKenna
and Senior
Directors. She will be
based at the National
Office in Hardwell Close,
Edinburgh.
Louisa has 12 years’
experience in public
and voluntary sector
administration, most
recently with Sacro
criminal justice services
in Edinburgh, and has a
History and Politics degree.
g THE National Office HR
team has a new member,
Iona Robertson, our new
HR Administrator assisting
with recruitment, disclosure
and administration.
Iona is an
Associate
member
of the
Chartered
Institute of
Personnel
Development and joins
VSS after 24 years working
in HR with the Civil
Service.
8
Get your views
across on the
new forums
Voice of Victim Support Scotland
THE latest stage in the
plan to improve internal
communications in Victim
Support Scotland is the
introduction of staff and
volunteer forums on the
intranet.
Over the last two weeks
692 people have been
invited to register and
create a password giving
them access to the forums,
where they can share views
and suggestions for further
improving the functions of
the charity.
The 692 figure means that
all staff and more than 75%
of volunteers can now be
contacted via email. The
Voice is published by
Victim Support Scotland
15/23 Hardwell Close,
Edinburgh EH8 9RX
Tel: 0131 668 4486
Fax: 0131 662 5400
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
www.victimssupportsco.org.uk
VSS is a company limited
by guarantee
Registered number 110185
Recognised as a charity by
the Inland Revenue
Scottish Charity No SC002138
remaining volunteers have
chosen not be be contacted
via email or do not access
to a computer.
They will continue to
receive news updates via
the Voice magazine or via
Team Brief. They can
continue to make their
views known by their usual
channels.
The next few months will
see the introduction of a
new VSS website. Tenders
from four suppliers are
being further considered
and the target is to have the
new interactive website up
and running prior to this
year’s annual meeting in
September.
A staff communications
group has been established
to ensure that the new site
contains up to date and
relevant information. This
requires the content of the
current site to be reviewed
and amended where
required.
The current priorities for
the Home Page of the new
site are an outline of what
VSS is and does; how to
contact services; how to
Shining stars of Lanarkshire
A GROuP of around 50 volunteers and staff turned out for the
Lanarkshire equivalent of the
BAFTAs…. the Lanarkshire Volunteer Awards dinner on March 27.
Alan McCloskey, Director of Operations, presented long service
awards to volunteers John
Jamieson (25 years), John
Dougan (20 years), Nora Donnelly (15 years) and Elizabeth
Smith (5 years) and staff members Margaret Mitchell (20
years), Marie Burke , Linda Neil
and Jacqueline Smith (all 10
volunteer; and how to help
us raise additional funds.
All members of staff and
volunteers have been
invited to contribute ideas
for inclusion. This can be
done via the intranet
forums, by email to
david.sinclair@victimsup
portsco.org.uk or via your
Business Delivery Manager.
David Sinclair, Head of
Designed and edited by The Words Agency, 20 Minto St, Edinburgh, EH9 1RQ Tel 07896 259277
years). Long service award recipients who were not able to
attend also included volunteers
Sally Elder (5 years), Pat Bolton
(25 years) and Corina McCann (5
years), and staff member Julie
Maxwell (15 years).
A number of local volunteers
were also presented with accreditation certificates and specialist training certificates, and
all staff and volunteers were
given a Certificate of appreciation from VSS for their ongoing
contribution.
Communications, said it
was the charity's aim to
ensure that there was a
regular flow of information
about all developments
across VSS being made
available to all staff and
volunteers. He added that it
was important to give staff
and volunteers the best
tools to make suggestions
or respond to proposals.
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