Our Project Highlights
Through our Volunteer Connections project, we aim to increase the level of volunteering amongst small charities and voluntary organisations in South West Surrey to enable them to deliver their services more effectively.
Our latest project has already produced some exciting moments, with great events, networks and meetings happening on a regular basis. See some of our highlights so far of the Volunteer Connections project below.
Volunteer Connectors Network
Monday 3rd June 2024, Volunteers Week
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To kick off Volunteers Week, our team held a face-to-face network meeting in Godalming on the 3rd June. It was a great chance to introduce our new project Volunteer Connections to the organisations that came. We all had the chance to chat and share experiences and challenges and to offer support and ideas with volunteering in the future. There were a range of services attending from the RSPCA, good neighbour charities, Home Start, FareShare and several more! We shared tea, cake and really enjoyed getting to know the organisations better. The project team are excited to follow this up with more meetings - face-to-face and on Microsoft Teams - and to further our relationships with our local services. You can view our upcoming events here.
Volunteer Connections Fishing Trip
Thursday 6th June 2024, Volunteers Week
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As part of Volunteers’ Week, we offered volunteers from organisations in Guildford and Waverley to a fishing day with Godalming Angling Society. Volunteers’ Week is a chance to thank and recognise the contribution these wonderful individuals offer to the local communities and charities.
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Eight people from Reskilled, Waverley Parks and Recreation and Surrey Fire and Rescue attended, with several sharing it was their first time fishing. We previously had great success running these days as part of our supported volunteering project, Welcome to Volunteering, so we were excited to do it again.
Our day started with a cup of tea, an introduction and a lesson on how to handle maggots! Our team of volunteers were then shown how to use the equipment and sent off to their various places around the lake. Our brilliant coaches Dave and Kevin were on hand all day to offer support and encouragement.
Below is some feedback we received from the volunteers:
“It was my first ever time fishing and I was actually surprised how much fun it was! I enjoyed the fact I caught a fish (or two!) I loved the setting and the instruction was really positive and encouraging. I might even give it another go :-)”
“I loved having the chance to try fishing, guided by experts. It was a delightfully relaxing day!”
Overall the day was a great success. The weather stayed dry and we all enjoyed fishing in this beautiful spot. We hope to offer this to more volunteers in the future as the benefits are far reaching.
