Communities 1st

We are delighted to announce that our #C1stConference Keynote Speaker is Emma-Jane Hampsheir Gill! She will be presenting on Approaches to Engage Youth Volunteers. Emma-Jane is the National Youth Participation Lead (volunteer) for St John Ambulance and a trustee for Oxfordshire Youth. She works with Participation People designing and delivering a range of youth participation initiatives with young people for charities, local authorities, brands, and education providers. She is a trained facilitator working within the Lundy model of practice. Passionate about youth social action, and a strong advocate for the importance of volunteering, Emma-Jane is a self-proclaimed 'serial volunteer'. She has been an Assistant Leader with Girlguiding, an #iWill Ambassador, and National First Aid Advocate and Regional Youth Development Officer with St John Ambulance. Emma-Jane attended our AGM and conference in 2023 and hosted a brilliant workshop on Engaging Young Volunteers. To find out more about our workshop speakers and advice surgeries, visit the link in our comments. https://buff.ly/3WIP8KZ

A big thank you to the volunteers that supported our Interview Skills event at Yavneh College this morning. It was a really productive session and will help young people to prepare for the experience of job interviews in the future. Eurovia UK Cox Automotive Inc. reallymoving DOHR Ltd Sky Hertsmere Borough Council Communities 1st

Robert Varney will be hosting the workshop on How Local Businesses Can Help You at our #C1stConference on Tuesday 16 July at St Peter's Church in St Albans. Rob leads is Assistant Manager for Community Engagement and Enterprise Development, and leads on Communities 1st’s Better Business programme. Better Business creates and encourages partnerships between local businesses and the voluntary sector. This takes several forms including skill-share, employer-supported volunteering, Communities 1st’s Inspire Education programme, partnership opportunities, and projects. Rob also oversees the delivery of community engagement at the Communities 1st Better Day Hubs across Hertsmere, St Albans & District, Broxbourne Borough, and East Herts. Rob represents Communities 1st externally on the Abbey Line and New River Line Community Rail Partnerships and the local Employment and Skills Partnerships. Visit the link in our comments to learn about our other speakers and advice surgeries, and to book your place.

Donate your old laptops to help bridge the digital divide in Hertfordshire. Community Action Dacorum is delighted to announce that we have secured a grant for the next three years from The National Lottery Community Fund for our Hertfordshire-wide digital inclusion project, "Staying Connected". This groundbreaking digital inclusion project relies on the donation of second-hand equipment which means that there is greater digital access but also makes a significant impact on the environment. The project works in partnership with Community Action Dacorum, Communities 1st, Community Alliance Broxbourne and East Herts, W3RT CVS, Welwyn and Hatfield CVS and North Herts and Stevenage CVS using each of our strengths and local knowledge and networks.  By donating second-hand equipment, businesses can play a crucial role in bridging the digital divide. Staying Connected ensures that all donated devices are securely wiped, providing a certificate of proof to guarantee the security and privacy of the donor’s data. This meticulous process has earned the trust of prominent organisations such as Lumina Technologies, Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), BUPA, and the NHS. The Staying Connected project addresses the pressing issue of electronic waste. By repurposing used equipment, the initiative reduces the environmental footprint associated with manufacturing new devices and disposal of old ones. This sustainable practice helps in conserving natural resources, minimising landfill waste, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Security is paramount in the donation process. Staying Connected employs industry-leading data wiping techniques, ensuring that all personal and corporate information is completely erased before the devices are redeployed. Donors receive a certificate of proof, providing peace of mind that their data has been handled with the highest standards of security. “Staying Connected’s initiative is not only a beacon of hope for digital inclusion but also a testament to their commitment to security and sustainability. We are proud to support an initiative that brings digital access to those in need while being environmentally responsible. Our partnership with them has been nothing short of exemplary.” – Herts LEP Join Us in Making a Difference - Staying Connected invites businesses across all sectors to participate in this transformative project. By donating your second-hand equipment, you can make a lasting impact on communities in need while promoting environmental sustainability. “Please donate your redundant IT equipment to the project via your local CVS. We are particularly interested in making links with companies who wish to donate as part of their ESG or CSR strategies. All kit will be securely wiped and repurposed to help people in need” - Cindy Withey from Community Action Dacorum. For more information on how to donate, please visit https://lnkd.in/gxQHnwsw

Alix Bedford will be hosting the Environmental Sustainability and the Role of the Voluntary Sector workshop at our #C1stConference on Tuesday 16 July at St Peter's Church in St Albans. An enterprise risk professional with 20 years’ experience working both with and within the public and private sectors, Alix is passionate about the value of risk management as an enabler and in driving improved resilience of organisations and communities. Her current role involves looking at key emerging and evolving areas of risk now and in the future and leading Zurich’s response to these, particularly through thought leadership and insight. Alix is also a Sustainability lead at Zurich, both internally and externally, with a focus on environmental and social risk areas. Alix has experience in a variety of fields including strategy and policy development, corporate planning, performance management, programme and project management and business resilience. Starting her career as a Strategic Risk Consultant, Alix then spent 7 years as a lead officer at a unitary local authority before returning to Zurich to manage the Public Services segment. Visit the link in our comments to learn about our other speakers and advice surgeries, and to book your place.

Sue Pearlman will be hosting a Relationship Between CEO and Chair workshop at our #C1stConference on Tuesday 16 July at St Peter's Church in St Albans. Sue has worked in the charity sector for over 30 years. She is a former charity CEO and since 2004, has been a consultant to charities, advising boards of trustees and senior management of charities of all sizes. She is passionate about good governance and understands the challenges for both trustees and their staff. Sue mentors charity CEOs and is also a trustee of a new charity, Wellspring. She is an associate with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Lloyds Bank Foundation and Hertfordshire Community Foundation where she is the Lead Trainer on Governance. She was formerly a Chair of the predecessor of Communities 1st, Community Action Hertsmere, and is now a part of Communities 1st trustee board. To join Sue's workshop, register for your place via the link in our comments.

Grant-giving organisations Hertfordshire Community Foundation, Hertsmere Borough Council and St Albans City & District Council will be joining us to provide 1:1 funding advice surgeries during our #C1stConference Places are limited so please book now via the link in our comments to avoid disappointment! We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 16 July from 9:30am - 2pm at St Peter's Church in St Albans 😀

We're excited to be able to provide three advice surgeries during our #C1stConference on Tuesday 16 July! If you need some help with your impact reporting, bid writing or trustee recruitment, register for a session when you book to attend. Sessions will be hosted by our experts Leanda Richardson, Juli Riley and Isobel Hatfield. Book your place via the link in the comments.

Joel Hogan from Charity Digital is speaking at our #C1stConference! His workshop will be on Keeping Your Charity Safe Online - very topical! Joel is the Customer Success Manager and has been delivering impact to the UK and global nonprofit sector in a variety of ways for 7 years. Managing many of the product programmes via Charity Digital such as Cloud implementation and Cyber Security Solutions, Joel also provides consultations on services available via Charity Digital to UK charities. Joel regularly presents webinars and Q&As on various topics, such as ‘Moving to the Cloud with Microsoft’, ‘Best Free Tech for Charities’ and most recently ‘How Charities Can Use Meta Quest to Improve Their Services’. Joel's legacy knowledge of Charity Digital provides support to the Customer Success team from frontline support to strategic perspectives. Read more and register your attendance for Tuesday 16 July via the link in our comments.

Some more snaps of the venue for Communities 1st #C1stConference 'Supporting an Inclusive and Sustainable Future' on Tuesday 16 July. This is the beautiful St Peter's Church in St Albans. The conference line-up looks fab! Speakers include: - Alix Bedford - Ben Jowitt - Frances Warwick - Joel Hogan - Robert Varney - Sue Pearlman - Keynote: Emma-Jane Hampsheir There are also limited 1:1 funding and advice sessions. Find out more and book your place via the link in the comments.