Volunteering Kirklees – We are with you

People Helping People – what next for your mutual aid or voluntary group?

June 24, 2020Kirklees Council

Third Sector Leaders Kirklees are hosting an online event on Thursday 25th June 2020 for mutual aid groups and other voluntary groups in Kirklees. You can get help with information about funding, volunteering and support.

If you’ve been helping run a Mutual Aid Group or other voluntary group over the last few months, you might now be wondering about how to develop your group and keep it going for the benefit of your community. This event will help you explore what the possibilities and options are, enabling you to continue the invaluable work you have been doing.

You will no doubt have already faced operational challenges over the last few months. Third Sector Leaders Kirklees recognise this and through working in partnership with Kirklees Council’s Democracy team and other experts, will be able to support you with a considerable range of advice and insights to take your next steps.

The meeting will take place on Zoom, from 6pm to 7.30pm.

Find out all the details and how to register:

People Helping People Network

Welcome Mentors Service – support for migrants

June 9, 2020Kirklees Council

Kirklees is rich in diversity when it comes to our communities, with people from many different countries making their homes in local places and enriching our community life.

It isn’t always easy for migrants coming to live in a new place. One of the ways migrants can now be supported is through the Welcome Mentors programme, provided by Third Sector Leaders Kirklees.

The Welcome Mentors programme offers a volunteer support and befriending service to help reduce some of the barriers and alleviate the feeling of isolation some migrants may feel.

The Mentors are there to help refugees, asylum seekers and migrants settle in Kirklees and help them navigate through what can be a complicated process for starting again in a new environment.

You can find out in detail just what the Mentors can help with on the Kirklees Welcomes blog:

What is the Welcome Mentors project?

In this short video Steffi Rogers, the Welcome Mentors Co-ordinator at Third Sector Leaders Kirklees, explains more about the role of the mentors:

What is a Welcome Mentor? (video)

For things like the Welcome Mentors project to work, willing volunteers are needed and it’s always nice to hear first hand the stories of those directly involved. These stories from Volunteering Kirklees say more about the practical help that Mentors provide to migrants, along with what the volunteers get out the experience as individuals. It’s heart-warming stuff.

Read Itziar’s story

Read Antida’s story

Spring cheer from Clem’s Garden & Mutual Aid Groups

May 1, 2020May 15, 2020Kirklees Democracy

Community spirit blooms in partnership with Kirklees mutual aid groups

Clem’s Garden are working with Lindley Covid Mutual Aid Group to brighten up the lives of local people in the area. Clem’s Garden CIC is a social enterprise in Huddersfield. It’s run by local volunteers who don’t have children or grandchildren to channel their care, skills and experience into. They work together to grow and sell flowers, supporting local charities and community projects with the profits.

Their locally grown flowers are included in essential deliveries of food and medicine for those neighbours who don’t have family around or at the end of the phone for support. The group are also supplying HRI staff with bunches of flowers, to show their love and support for NHS staff.

Golcar Mutual Aid Group’s Food Buddies are also working with Clem’s Garden, delivering beautiful bunches of flowers once a fortnight to those who are unable to leave the house.

The Clem’s Garden volunteers have also pitched in to help with writing letters for care home residents who feel isolated, as part of a project co-ordinated by Volunteering Kirklees.

Find out more & Get involved

Clem’s Garden welcome new participants, including adult volunteers who have their own family, as ‘Friends of Clem’s Garden’.

Clem’s Garden

Could you write a letter or draw a picture to brighten someone’s day?

Volunteer to be a letter writer

Find your local mutual aid group

Find your local group – Covid Mutual Aid UK

Had a lovely catch up with the brilliant @ClemsGardenHQ this morning! Not just delivering flowers but their awesome volunteers have been more than willing to help with our letter writing project at the drop of a hat too! Lovely write up @kirkdemocracy 😊 https://t.co/yCerIc6kMb

— VolunteeringKirklees (@vckirklees) May 1, 2020

Introduction to Zoom – 45 minute training

April 30, 2020Kirklees Council

Zoom (whom many of us had probably never heard of a few months ago) is an online platform for meetings, chats and conferencing , enabling us to keep connected at this time.

If you’re part of a community group or organisation in Kirklees and want to learn more about using Zoom, you can join in one of these 45 minute interactive sessions delivered by James Bulley (Calder IT), who is donating his time to run these sessions for Volunteering Kirklees.

Due to the interactive nature of these sessions, places are limited to a maximum of 10 attendees, but there are regular sessions to choose from. If you book on and then find yourself unable to attend, then please do cancel your place to allow another group in Kirklees to take part.

Introduction to Zoom training – book your place

ID cards for Covid-19 volunteers in Kirklees

April 4, 2020May 1, 2020Kirklees Council

Kirklees Council volunteers

Hundreds of new volunteers have signed up to support others using our Community Response online form or helpline. We are screening potential volunteers and where they have a DBS check we are recording this. These volunteers will be working directly for the council, with tasks allocated by one of our volunteer co-ordinators, including:

Collecting shopping and dropping off on the doorstep (or other items)
Telephone befriending – a chat which may help reduce loneliness or isolation
Helping to link people to what other help and support there is locally

We are not asking people to go into people’s houses or do any activities that will go against current guidance from the NHS and government about How to help safely. We are asking all volunteers to follow NHS guidelines on keeping social distancing and maintaining safe practice, so they do not put themselves or others in danger.

One of our volunteer co-ordinators will talk through the process of getting an ID badge with the people who have registered with us.

Sign up to help your community with the Covid-19 response

Mutual aid groups and local organisations

Kirklees Council are also providing photo ID cards for volunteers in local organisations, including our VCS anchor organisations and mutual aid groups in local neighbourhoods. All of these groups are a vital part of the co-ordinated Community Response in Kirklees.

If you’re part of one of these groups or organisations, you can apply for Covid-19 Volunteer ID online. We’ve shared the link with groups who are already on our contact list.

To request the link, please email:

Luc.Bride@Kirklees.gov.uk

Authorisation letters for local groups

Third Sector Leaders have previously provided authorisation letters and volunteer cards for local Covid-19 volunteers, and these have also been shared by councillors with local groups.

For more info about support for local groups email: Bridget@tslkirklees.org.uk

How to request support or offer support

March 28, 2020November 18, 2020Kirklees Council

We’re working alongside our citizens and local organisations to make sure that together we can all support our neighbours and communities over the coming weeks. Our Community Response is aimed at supporting those who are most vulnerable and in need of support, and who cannot currently get this help directly from friends, relatives or neighbours.

Please let us know about the things you (or someone who you are concerned about) need help with. You can also tell us how you (or your organisation) can support others.