Category: Latest News | Volunteer Centre Daventry

A Rose of Northamptonshire

4th February 2021 by Chris

We are delighted to announce that Daventry Volunteer Centre’s Nicola Toms has been awarded a Rose of Northamptonshire in honour of her efforts during the current pandemic.

The award has been given by Northamptonshire County Council alongside the High Sheriff’s Office and Lord Lieutenancy and looks to recognise the unsung heroes who have been helping communities all across our county. Nicola, who manages our Happy@Home befriending project has been coordinating Daventry Volunteer Centre’s district-wide response, supporting our volunteers to help those affected by restrictions including those who are shielding or isolating.

“I am incredibly grateful and flattered that I was nominated for this award as a reflection for the work we have been doing here at DVC. None of this would be possible without the tireless and selfless efforts of our team of fantastic volunteers – in sun, rain and snow – for almost a year now. While this an individual award, I would like to share this with every one of our volunteers who have gone above and beyond to reach out and help those in need during this difficult time. You are all heroes!

So to our team of fantastic volunteers – Thank You! To find out more about the Rose of Northamptonshire Awards, or to nominate someone you know who has helped keep our community safe please visit the Northamptonshire County Council website.

Local Funding Opportunities

14th October 2020 by Chris

Charities, community groups and clubs of Northamptonshire! There are a number of funding opportunities open this month for local organisations to apply for. For more information on these services do contact the awarding body directly where possible, or get in touch with us at the Daventry Volunteer Centre to be added to our mailing lists….

Available funds

Yelvertoft Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund. The fund will support a range of charitable, educational, environmental and general community amenity projects to benefit residents in the local community around the wind farm site. This area includes Clay Coton, Crick, Lilbourne and Yelvertoft. Groups are able to apply for up to £7,000 or up to £20,000 for an exceptional project. For more information please visit NCF.uk.com . The deadline for applications is 4th December 2020.

The Winwick Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund. Groups are able to apply for grants of up to £5,00 for projects that benefit residents in the parishes of Winwick, Cold Ashby, West Haddon and Guilsborough. The deadline for applications is 4th December 2020 and more information can be found through NCF.uk.com.

The Compton Fund supports arts, culture and heritage projects across Northamptonshire. The fund will offer awards between £500 and £5000 with the deadline for applications More information included deadlines can be found online.

Northamptonshire Federation of Disability Sport Fund is a bursary scheme designed to support the county’s sports clubs, groups and non-profit organisations. The fund will offer grants of up to £1,000 for sport activities catering for any disability, sensory impairment and/or mental health problems. The deadline for applications is 4th December 2020.

Winter Well-being activities to protect and help older and vulnerable people in supported environments during the winter months. Grants are awarded for £250 and £5,000. The deadline for applications is 4th December.

and finally, Coronavirus Phase 3 Funding will be funding for recovery and response activities. The fund will be open from the 12th October. This will be awarded on a rolling deadline.

A visit of thanks from Chris Heaton-Harris MP.

4th June 20203rd June 2020 by Chris

Last week we were delighted to welcome our local MP, Chris Heaton-Harris down to our centre to meet a few of our fantastic volunteers. We are all so grateful to him for taking the time to show his support for the emergency help our volunteers have been providing the community. Chris spent some time talking with our volunteers, swapping stories and experiences of the situation so far and underlining how valued their efforts are to everyone.

We were also delighted that the Pharmacy Manager of Spackman & McKenzie’s was able to join for the morning of thanks. Their understanding and openness to involve volunteers to improve patient safety during this crisis has been a great help to our team and it has been a real pleasure to work with them so closely. As well as the Pharmacy Manager and Nicola Toms from DVC’s Happy@Home, Chris met our volunteers Shannon, Dan and Charlie – all pictured. We’ve mentioned how brilliant Dan is before, but Shannon and Charlie have been just as invaluable. Charlie has been a sea of calm, and has probably ‘done it all’ with us to help the local community (with very short notice at times!), while Shannon has been meeting and helping so many of her neighbours with prescription collections and food parcel drops from Daventry Food Bank, volunteering after her busy night shift at work.

No one thing will ever be able to provide enough thanks to all of our volunteers, but we hope the increasing recognition of their efforts is one small step.

Intern Opportunity – Happy@Home Project

25th April 20199th April 2019 by Chris

We have a great opportunity for someone to learn about how a charity project works and gain an insight into how social isolation is tackled in Daventry District.