About Us

Connecting People, Growing Communities.

• Our Mission:  “To achieve positive social change by developing active resilient communities and transforming lives through social action”

How we do this:

Helping local groups to develop and grow

Our staff offer support to community and voluntary groups. We work with them to identify the support they need in order to grow and have impact within their communities. We work with them to identify gaps and to source resources whether this in in the form of local community assets – people, equipment, venues etc, or funding.  For example we worked closely with 52 community groups last year and our current work includes development support for  5 volunteer- led community centres.

Leading on Volunteering

Community CVS is the nationally accredited Volunteer Centre for the borough.

We take a lead on volunteering in the borough by;

• Identifying the assets and skills of local people and matching them to our directory of community and voluntary groups seeking volunteers.
• Delivering a rolling programme of Volunteer Passport training –   a generic induction programme open to all volunteers in the borough,
• Maintaining a Volunteer Bank of trained and skilled volunteers.
• Encourage the growth of volunteer involvement in community groups through good practice support in one to one
• volunteer programme surgeries, networks and resources.
  We are the local accredited Advisor for the Investing in Volunteers National Quality Standard ( NBlink this to the quality page).
• We work with partners by driving the strategic development of volunteering in the borough.

Supporting Vulnerable People

Community CVS runs targeted programmes that aim to help people to help others in their community. We working with and nurture people’s capabilities and potential, to lift barriers to community involvement for people that may have experienced stigma and social isolation. The impact is the growth of assets in the community, and enhanced well-being ( through connecting, learning, giving, taking notice and being active).

Our programmes include Fast 4wd, Volunteering on Prescription, Inclusive Volunteering, Volunteering for Offenders, Volunteering in Care Homes, Social Inclusion Football, SENDIASS and joint work with VOICE, Suicide Safer Communities and Nightsafe mentoring for 16 – 25yr olds .

CVS also hosts the Older People’s Forum, a body which helps people over the age of 50 in Blackburn with Darwen to enjoy an active and fulfilling life, by providing access to social opportunities, activities and education, and an officer working for the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Skills, Funding and Advice

Community CVS staff provide advice to individual community and voluntary groups on constitutional, financial, organisational and legal issues. We produce a regular bulletin containing useful information about community events, training, new legislation, volunteering opportunities and funding sources. We are currently developing a knowledge bank for groups to source on-line resources and training.

We seek to run several training workshops a year including:

• funders workshops, and
• volunteer passport training
• volunteer manager training programmes
• sources external training opportunities through partner organisations for groups and individuals.
• CVS also provides help to groups on writing funding bids, administers small grants programmes and distributes and monitors funds to successful community groups.

Building networks and bringing people together

Community CVS brings  voluntary and community groups  and members of the community  together  to discuss issues of common concern, brings  vulnerable individuals together for peer support , encourages a collaborative approach to asset based community development.

For example, Community CVS hosts and or organises:

• Practitioner and Volunteer Coordinator network
• Older People’s Forum
• Community centre peer support meetings
• VOICE recovery group
• VOICE Breakfast Club
• VOICE Family Club
• Volunteers Week programme.
• Developing Social Action

Community CVS helps organise social action in communities by connecting people.

Examples:

• Fun days at Mill Hill an Darwen Valley Community Centres
• Canal clean-ups
• Volunteers Week celebration events and fairs
• Care Homes residents arts activity days
• Social Inclusion football league
• In partnership with VOICE – Family club days

Boulevard Centre

In our Boulevard Centre, Community CVS offers  meeting rooms for hire, a state of the art conference room for up to 70 people, and office space (subject to availability). Current tenants are N-Compass, the Families Health and Well-being Consortium and Nightsafe.