Community Champions Partnership Working

• Welland Park Academy which has hosted Community Gatherings for us – students served seasonal refreshments to Community Champions clients and volunteers, sat and talked to them, and put on a special Christmas concert with musical performances. “That was the best Community Gathering I have been to – when are we coming back here?” asked one client. We have now held three gatherings at the school with more events in the diary.
  

Robert Smyth Academy It has been a delight to work with Robert Smyth on a Human Library Project. Students can ‘borrow’ a member of the project and find out their story.
To find out more about this please click on this link.

Students decorated a blank postcard with an image of their hobby, and wrote a message on the back. These were shared with CC volunteers and clients, who reciprocated. It was interesting to see how people of different ages have similar ( eg, reading, music, craft) and different hobbies ( eg, video games)

Leicestershire County Council Communities share resources about how individuals and communities can tackle loneliness  and build vibrant cohesive communities. In May 2022 members of Community Champions worked with Culture Leicestershire and Leicestershire Adult Learning to record their memories for the Platinum Jubilee.

Harborough District Council sits on the Community Champions Steering Group and runs Dementia Friends training for us.

Leicestershire Adult Learning Service offers sociable group learning for our volunteers and clients eg, Sleep and Wellbeing, Effective Communication, Assertiveness, Reducing Plastics, Sugar and Salt

Leicestershire Libraries enable monthly Digital sessions run by CC Digital volunteers to take place at Market Harborough and Lutterworth Libraries

We have links with Harborough and Oadby and Wigston MP Neil O’Brien, who is a former Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group ( APPG)  on Loneliness. In January 2018 Neil O’Brien MP invited Rohini Corfield, Community Champions Manager to attend a Jo Cox Loneliness Reception at number 10 hosted by the Prime Minister

VASL publishes a regular blog in The Harborough Mail and our Charity Manager has a regular spot on local radio Harborough FM updating our communities about VASL news

Community Champions Steering Group The CC Steering Group is made up of current clients, volunteers, VASL staff and partner eg, Harborough District Council, Harborough Community Buses, a Local Area Co-ordinator and Social Prescribers.. We meet 3 times a year to discuss the progress the project is making against its aims, to seek feedback from different stakeholders, share community information and discuss new ways of tackling loneliness. Information gathered at the Steering Group is also used in our annual reports to the National Lottery Community Fund
“I thought the Steering Group last week was excellent – it was interesting that partners had so much local information to share. You make it easy for people to contribute, thank you. I really enjoy these lively meetings” Client

The National Lottery Community Fund provide financial support to a variety of loneliness projects, and share learning between projects

Befriending Networks is a charity encouraging best practice in befriending through offering training, information and guidance.

The National Academy of Social Prescribing is an organisation offereing regular training opportunties about developments in all aspects of Social Prescribing.

Leics County Council Communities
“LCC worked closely in partnership with VASL Community Champions  to develop a Loneliness Toolkit for Leicestershire. Quite simply, without the input of VASL’s dedicated staff team, the Loneliness Toolkit would not have come to fruition.”

NS Funding Manger Leics CC

Befriending Networks
“At Befriending Networks, we consider CC to be one of our ‘beacon’ projects which we often refer newer projects to look at as an example of a successful and professionally run project.  They are always happy to share knowledge and resources with other befriending projects across the UK”

DC Befriending Networks.

Leicestershire Adult Learning
“It has been invaluable to me as an Adult Learning Coordinator and Tutor, to work with people who are so open and forward thinking and trust me to develop appropriate learning sessions for the Community Champions project.“

JE Leics Adult Learning