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Voluntary Action South West Surrey is pleased to announce details of our 2025 Conference
When?
Tuesday 8th April 2025, 09:15 - 15:30
Where?
Rik Medlik Building, University of Surrey, GU2 7XH
Theme
One Community
Booking Information
Early bird tickets for the conference are available now for £25
Ticket prices will increase to £30 from Monday 10th March
Book tickets here
Our Theme
'One Community'
We are pleased to announce that the theme of our 2025 Conference will be ‘One Community’. The voluntary sector, and by extension our local community, has been faced with a number of challenges in recent years. From funding and service cuts, to struggles with volunteer recruitment, increasing pressures on voluntary, community and health services, our communities and voluntary organisations have had a lot to face, but the sense of resilience and cohesion in the sector remains. This event will give delegates the chance to explore how the charity and voluntary sector can overcome its challenges by working together to create a vision of ‘One Community’, where we share our experiences and adapt to meet the needs of our communities.
The event will allow for a day of interesting discussion, debate and networking, with a line-up of expert speakers and workshop presenters. There will also be an opportunity to visit our marketplace – a space where delegates will have the chance to meet an array of businesses whose services support the voluntary sector.
Schedule
The Annual Conference will consist of three main elements: guest speakers, interactive workshops, networking opportunities
Speakers
The crux of the morning programming will consist of a series of talks and panels from a range of amazing guest speakers, starting with an opening address.
We are pleased to announce that our keynote speaker will be Sam Hutchison, Executive Head of Communities Guildford and Waverley Councils, who will address the challenges being faced by the voluntary sector and the communities we operate within.
We are also excited to be joined by Dr. James Adams (Royal Surrey Foundational Trust) who will look at how we can better support our communities through common goals and collaborative working between the voluntary and health sector.
We are pleased to announce a Question Time-style panel discussion, hosted by VASWS Joint CEO, Caroline Keith, and featuring Becky Jeffrey (Citizens Advise South West Surrey), Tanya Stafford and Mandy East (Brigitte Trust), Joe Nicolson (Carer Shore), who will bring their experiences of managing challenges around volunteering in their organisations.
Finishing our line-up of speakers and panels, we are happy to announce 'In Conversation With...' a unique interview panel discussion with VASWS's David Rose discussing all things volunteering with three individuals who have a passion for volunteering. It promises to be an extensive and varied discussion, likely to cover a plethora of topic areas, and will be of great interest to prospective volunteers and organisations looking to learn about what drives volunteers and how they can adapt their own volunteer offer moving forwards.
Workshops
Our workshops will allow delegates the opportunity to gain more specialist knowledge in a variety of areas, or indulge in something creative and different to their traditional work. We will run two sessions for workshops, giving delegates the change to engage in a variety of options.
Our 2025 workshops will offer a range of key areas for delegates to delve into including charity funding, inclusive volunteering, charity law and governance, and much more.
Fresh from spearheading our Volunteer Connections project, we are excited to announce that Alice Sheppard and Kate Jones (Voluntary Action South West Surrey) will be leading a workshop titled 'The changing landscape of volunteering'. Another colleague, Diana Rang (Voluntary Action South West Surrey) will be delivering a guided Paracise class workshop, utilising her experience as a Health and Wellbeing Coach.
We are pleased to announce that we will be joined by Maria McEvoy (Inclusive Volunteering) who will lead a workshop titled 'Why we need trauma informed practice in volunteer management.' We will also be joined by Delivered Social for a pertinent workshop titled 'How can we get the best out of social media?'. Helen Harvey (H3 Lawyers) will be delivering a workshop titled 'Board with dealing with the board?', whilst Ben Collins () will be leading a workshop on safeguarding, ensuring organisations are using safeguarding approaches that are proportionate and appropriate.
Networking
As our conference will be attended by a variety of individuals in the Charity and Voluntary Sector, it will provide a great opportunity for delegates to meet new individuals and network, with the aim of forging connections that can develop long after the conference itself.
We will also be running a charity marketplace with a variety of stalls from organisations involved in the charity sector.
Speakers
We look forward to sharing full information of our 2025 line-up of speakers very soon!
You can see who joined us at our 2023 Conference here.
Workshops
View our diverse options of workshops from our 2025 Annual Conference.
How to bring trauma-informed principles to volunteer management?
Maria McEvoy, Inclusive Volunteering
Organisations across the third-sector are all working to bring trauma-informed care into the way we interact with service users but it’s often rare to see these policies extend to staff and volunteers. In volunteering we are often supporting volunteers with lived experience so it’s just as important to have these practices within volunteer management.
Join our Trauma-Informed Practice in Volunteer Management Workshop, where we’ll explore the 6 key principles of trauma-informed care and how they can be integrated into your volunteer onboarding and management processes.
This workshop will help you:
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Ensure safety: Learn how to create environments that prioritise the physical, emotional, and psychological safety of your volunteers.
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Build trust: Develop transparent processes that foster trust and open communication with your team.
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Provide choice: Empower volunteers by giving them a say in their roles and responsibilities.
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Collaborate effectively: Work alongside volunteers, valuing their input and experience to shape your organisation’s future.
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Amplify empowerment and voice: Create space for volunteers to feel heard and in control of their journey.
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Foster cultural inclusion: Develop anti-oppressive practices that celebrate diversity and create a welcoming environment for all.
About the facilitator
Maria McEvoy has been working in the voluntary sector for 10 years but her life as a volunteer is much longer. She has led volunteering programmes at the Sea Cadets, London Fire Brigade, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline and The Kids Network. She now leads the Grandmentors programme at Volunteering Matter supporting Care Experienced Young People through volunteer mentoring and has just launched her own company Inclusive Volunteering to share what she has learned about making volunteering accessible, inclusive and trauma-informed with the rest of the sector.
The changing landscape of volunteering
Alice Sheppard and Kate Jones,
Voluntary Action South West Surrey
Since the covid pandemic the landscape of volunteering has changed considerably. Our workshop will address the nationwide drop in volunteering. We will explore and discuss as a group the possible reasons why and collectively look for solutions.
Fundraising in the current climate
Helen Stanley,
Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre
We look forward to providing more information on this workshop and our facilitators in due course.
Guildford-based digital marketing agency Delivered Social will be offering tips and good practice to get the best out of social media to help charities and organisations promote themselves.
Diana will be running a Paracise class workshop inclusive to everyone, which can also be done seated.
Her 3 Golden Wellbeing Rules will increase your chances of having a relatively trouble-free and independent old age:
1. Become fitter - even if you already have one or more long-term conditions.
2. Actively reduce your risk of developing disease (through leading a healthy lifestyle).
3. Adopt a positive attitude to life, its problems and opportunities.
What is Paracise?
Gentle on the joints yet effective, Paracise flows smoothly through movements designed to improve posture, balance, mobility and flexibility, whilst improving your muscle memory. Exercise to fabulous music leaving you feeling refreshed and invigorated.
About the facilitator
Diana is a Health and Wellbeing Coach who has worked in wellbeing for several years as she enjoys chatting to people from all walks of life to help them identify areas of their lives where they may benefit from making some positive changes to enhance their wellbeing, lifestyle, enjoyment, and connection. She also runs FUN seated and standing exercise classes for seniors to fabulous music. She is passionate about keeping everyone active to help us live longer and feel better and prevent in an inclusive community.
Workshop Content
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Keeping trustees engaged
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Identifying new trustees
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How to prevent issues arising
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Managing board meetings and relationships
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Unauthorised trustee benefit and conflicts of interest
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Disaster Planning
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Reporting obligations.
Delivered through a mixture of slides, discussion, case studies and workshops.
The Charity Commission says that "Protecting people and safeguarding responsibilities should be a governance priority for all charities. It is a fundamental part of operating as a charity for the public benefit.” But it’s not always easy to know that you’re getting right. This workshop will help you think about your current approach, whether you have considered the risks specific to your organisation, and whether what you have in place is appropriate, proportionate and fully up-to-date.
To note, this is not a safeguarding training session - that’s for another time. But it will help you consider the different types of safeguarding training and what could be right for your organisation.
About the facilitator
Ben Collins is a Surrey-based, independent social worker and consultant, with over 30 years experience of working within the voluntary and community sector.
Gallery
To help understand what our conferences look like, enjoy some of the highlights of our 2023 Annual Conference, as documented by our brilliant volunteer photographers Chris and Colin
