Voluntary Action spreads wings
VOLUNTARY Action Maid- stone now officially covers the Malling area, after members agreed to make changes to its articles of association. Those present at the annual meeting voted overwhelmingly in favour of expanding the charity’s remit to cover the wider area around the county town. The changes formalise an ap- proach already taken by VAM to provide some services out- side the Maidstone borough when needed. For example, the Maidstone and Malling Carers Project has been doing so since it was established 19 years ago. More recently, a volunteer cen- tre has been established at the St James Centre in East Malling onWednesdays. The meeting, held at VAM’s Marsham Street headquarters, received an update on a num- ber of the charity’s projects: Council for Voluntary Serv- ice – Project manager Natalie Smith said CVS had provided 125 one-to-one advice sessions to voluntary and community associations. It had supported schemes such as a Kent wood- land employment project, offer- ing coppicing experience to people in the North Downs. Volunteer Centre – VAM’s shop in the Town Hall is be- coming well established, with an average of 28 daily visits for services that include IT support and hearing aid help. A team of seven volunteers man the desk and spread the word about vol- unteering, with a total of 744 volunteers recruited in the space of a year, with a success- ful placement rate of 40%– one of the highest rates in the county. The survey was rated as excellent by 92% of volunteers responding to a survey. V Team – The project’s remit
Volunteers, staff and trustees who help out at VAM in Maidstone
has been to provide work in the community for volunteers with extra support needs and offer- ing help in the homes and gar- dens of the elderly and disabled. In the previous year volunteers became involved in other activities, such as running a marathon to raise funds and helping out at Mote Park. Maidstone and Malling Car- ers – The project provides in- formation and support for carers, with 2,010 now regis- tered, including 335 new carers. The project assisted carers in claiming a total of £516,395 in benefits. A support group had started for people affected by somebody
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decisions I have made,” she said. “Whenyou see elderly peo- ple arrive you can chat to them and they are happy to see you. “Putting on this purple top makesmy day. It has improved my confidence so much. It is not just about meeting and greeting, this prepares you for the next stage of your life.” Michelle Evans (39), of Box-
ley Road, Maidstone, said: “I was going through personal dif- ficulties and it has helped me
Lions aiming to save lives MAIDSTONE Lions Club set out their stall during VolunteerWeek at the
ChequersMall to publicise their Message in a Bottle project. The scheme
helps people with a medical condi- tion to record and store their med- ical needsina specially marked plastic container foruse inanemer- gency. To date, Maid-
stone Lions have distributed more than 3,000 bottles tomembers of the public in Maid- stone, via doctors’ surgeries, chemists and at fetes and events. They gave out another 50 during VolunteerWeek. Lion John Stout said: “The scheme allows the emergency services to
render safer and speedier first aid by speeding up time-consuming en- quiries about the patient.” Anyonewanting further information aboutMessage inaBottleorMaid- stone Lions Club can ring 01795 841439
6 East
else’s substance misuse. Brighter Futures – The proj- ect for older people runs the successful older persons’ forum, which meets quarterly. There are a total of 124 volun- teers supporting 674 older peo- ple. A total of 1,946 places had been filled at exercise classes in Maidstone, Coxheath and Sta- plehurst; 160 older people were being befriended by volunteers and 216 isolated older people were called by telephone be- frienders every week. Platform – Gives mental health service users the chance to become involved with the planning, delivery andmonitor- ing of local services. The atten-
rebuild my confidence. “I go there a couple of hours a
week and I get so much help and advice. It is really worth- while and I hope it carries on.” Both volunteers hailed the impact of project worker Rachel Coppins, who said: “This has really brought volun- teers into the community in a similar way to the GamesMak- ers. We also help volunteers learn first aid, customer care, sign language and get them in- volved in educational classes.”
A RECITAL by Bearsted Choral Society with the choir of Holy Cross Church, Bearsted, boosted the Holy Cross organ fund. The choral society was con- ducted by Peter Ashley and the Holy Cross choir by Christine Tate and Tom Lee. Trevor Brear- ley accompanied the singing on piano and the organ. Holy Cross choir performed
works by Monteverdi, Faure, Purcell and Handel, and the combined choirs sang a rousing
BEARSTED Choral Society’s Christmas concert is at 7.30pm on Saturday, December 8. Come to Holy Cross Church,
in Church Lane, Bearsted, to hear the singers perform the beautiful Christmas Cantata by Bush, the Messe de Minuit pour Noel by Charpentier, and a se-
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk
dance rate for meetings rarely falls below 80%. Transport – The self-funding scheme sees drivers using their own vehicles to take those un- able to use public facilities – through age, illness or disabil- ity – to a range of places. It has been running for 35 years but continues to expand, with driver numbers increased to 45 and 850 different clients now being helped. There has been a particularly high demand from people needing transport to the Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury. Drivers are known for going be- yond the call of duty, even going shopping on behalf of clients. Kent Event Team – The part- nership project with KCC sup- ports one-off sport, leisure and cultural events held for com- munity benefit. Over 400 KET volunteers helped the smooth running of the Olympic torch relay over four days in July KET also supported events in- cluding BBC Antiques Road- show, Modern Pentathlon European Championships in Gillingham and various Hal- loween events. There are 2,132 registered volunteers.
Gateway project facing funding cut Volunteers all have some
form of extra support need, find other volunteering difficult to access or could be feeling iso- lated or socially excluded. CharlotteOsborn-Forde, chief executive of VAM, said: “It’s vital we find the funding to keep this project going – we know how much it has im- proved people’s lives in Maid- stone.We have approached the lottery again for funding and currently await their re- sponse.”
Choirs boost church organ fund
Hallelujah Chorus. Following the interval Bearsted Choral Society sang classical and more modern works finishing with an upbeat number Hail Holy Queen from the film SisterAct. The evening closed with the combined choirs singing the beautiful Lit- tle Organ Mass by Haydn. There were organ solos from Christine Tate and Peter Ashley who played music by Langlais and Bach.
Concert to set scene for Christmas
lection of popular carols. Tickets are £8 from choral so-
ciety members, call 01634 666730, or from Music Matters shop 114 Week Street Maid- stone, or on the door. For more details, call 01622 674384 or go to
www.bearsted-
choral.org.uk
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