1. society
2. welfare
3. social services
4. volunteering

December 2012
RSVP’s Monthly Newsletter for Co-ordinators, Organisers and Volunteers
During the preparation of this issue of FOCUS, we were deeply saddened to
hear of the sudden and tragic death of Pasquale Saggese after a fall in his
home. Pasquale was one of the ‘Savona Six’ RSVP volunteers who visited
Italy in October. We have decided not to alter any words about or pictures of
Pasquale which appear in FOCUS as they reflect the pleasure and enjoyment
he took from the experience. We would like to send our condolences to his
family and friends as they cope with their unexpected loss.
Barbara’s Christmas Column
delighted to hear that in the South West,
Hello Everyone,
RSVP’s Development Manager Phil Barker is
Welcome to the very last issue of FOCUS for
working on a new project with Knightstone
2012. December is the first of the three long
Housing Association and the
winter months and this year the
Centre for Sustainable Energy
weather has already been seato recruit and train older volunsonably cold and frosty, with
teers who will take domestic
many of you experiencing the
energy advice into homes
first snow-fall earlier this
across nine local authorities
month.
from April 2013. Knightstone
I hope you are all keeping well
already funds an exciting new
and warm as we face the start
digital inclusion project with Phil
of winter and I know that those
and the volunteers in the South
of you who transport or visit
West, and we hope this new
elderly people at home will be
partnership will go from
passing on helpful messages to
strength to strength.
them about keeping warm in
The first stage of RSVP’s Senior
severe weather. In the North
East of England, RSVP volun- Sister Superior Teresina toasts our Volunteer Exchange with
teers are supported by local RSVP exchange volunteers at the San Savona in Northern Italy was a
funding to help spread the word Giuseppe Retirement Home in Savona great success and you can look
[more pictures inside]
forward to hearing more about
about warm homes but the
the adventures of Daisy,
challenge of keeping energy
Irene, Lucy, Milton, Pasquale and Tony in a
costs down is a ‘year round’ issue for older peofuture issue of FOCUS. I was privileged to join
ple or those coping on tight budgets. I was
INSIDE: Page 3—Scotland’s Schools Page 4— Norfolk celebrates 1,000th member!
Page 5—Savona pictures Page 6— Exmouth in the news Page 7—That Manchester scarf!
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our group of volunteers for a few days at the
end of their stay in Savona and I received the
warmest of welcomes from our colleagues at
Cesavo, Anna, Davide and Marisa. I was so
impressed by the number of friends our volunteers had made during their stay and by the
interesting opportunities they had taken to
work alongside Italian volunteers in day centres
and in other care provision, as well as supporting English language learning in schools. All six
volunteers seemed very relaxed and happy in
the city that had been their home for three
weeks and they were able to give me lots of
tips on using local transport, snippets about
Savona’s history and the best—and most reasonable—places to eat! On our last evening we
were treated to a delicious meal in one of the
local community halls, prepared and served in a
most professional manner entirely by volunteers. It was also a great chance to meet the
Italian volunteers who will be coming to London
for the second stage of the exchange in March.
We have a team of London volunteers—
including the ‘Savona Six’ – who are busily planning an itinerary for our Italian visitors, supported by RSVP’s London and South East Development Manager, Karen Hamilton. They
would particularly like to hear from any Londonbased volunteers who speak a little Italian and
could give some time to help support the exchange during March. Contact Shahina Bibi
[email protected] or on 0207 643 1385 if you
think you could help and she will put you in
touch with the Exchange Team.
RSVP is certainly set to go international as 2013
approaches with a visit from the International
Longevity Centre in Japan in January. The ILC
in Japan has identified RSVP as an example of
good practice in promoting active ageing and is
sending a small delegation to visit projects in
London and interview volunteers and funders
about RSVP. They will also be visiting volunteer
projects in Belfast.
Another interesting invitation came from Germany, asking RSVP to become a partner in an
exchange project focusing on formal and informal support by volunteers in schools while in
Wales we have been approached by UNA Exchange to help them find older volunteers who
would like to take part in UNA’s first intergenerational exchange with Austria.
With all that in mind, our Widening Horizons
conference could hardly have a more apt title!
Applications are coming in thick and fast and
I’m delighted to announce that Jan Snook and
Ken Dolbear of RSVP West have agreed to
present a workshop which will include their innovative work on the Dementia Quality Mark in
Bristol, and also a practical demonstration of
their classes which are run by trained volunteers and which encourage older people to stay
physically active—while keeping them entertained!
We are also planning workshops on digital inclusion projects, a cross-generational look at
how memory sharing can bring people of all
ages together, a chance to learn more about
European exchanges—current and planned—
and the official launch of the new Organisers’
Handbook. We’ll be announcing the full timetable early in the New Year.
I want to take this opportunity to wish every
one of you a very happy Christmas holiday. For
those of you who share my good fortune in
spending your Christmas surrounded by family
and people you love, may the season bring you
happiness and special memories to treasure.
For those of you who may be spending a quieter and more reflective time, for whatever reason, I hope you will find peace and contentment and the chance to share a smile with
someone about times ahead as well as times
past. Finally, my thanks to all of you who give
your time, energy, experience and inspiration to
others through your volunteering with RSVP,
and a very special thank you to those of you
who will be giving your time as volunteers over
the holidays to make someone else’s Christmas
special.
Merry Christmas and a Very Happy 2013 to you
all,
Very best wishes,
Barbara
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Positive Impact in Scottish Schools
now I read a lot.”
Scotland Development Manager Jason Moyes reports:
The ‘feel good’ factor came across strongly, with
one Edinburgh volunteer saying, “The highlight is
Over 100 RSVP volunteers are helping in over 75
schools in Scotland, and a recent evaluation of our
work highlights the positive impact each of those
volunteers is having on the young people we work
with.
A recent whistle stop tour of local schools gives a
snapshot of the excellent work we are doing, and
the evaluation interviews with senior staff, teachers,
volunteers and pupils illustrate how a few hours of
a volunteer’s time in the classroom help with literacy, numeracy and the overall learning experience.
Teachers were asked to
comment on the benefits
of having an older volunteer come into the classroom, as opposed to a
parent helper or younger
volunteer looking to gain
experience. “We would
the feedback that you’ll get from any pupil that you
happen to be working with who has a problem.
Eventually there’s a light that goes on and they realize what they are doing and you see an improvement right in front of you—and it makes their day.
But equally, you are gratified that you have been
worthwhile.“
Most school staff who were interviewed talked
about the benefit of having another adult in the
room, particularly in classes with larger numbers.
“Extra personnel in a school
are obviously a huge benefit
to the staff to help support
different activities within the
classroom,” said Jane
Mawdsley, a Deputy Head
Teacher. She also highlighted how RSVP volunteers
expect an older person to Forth Valley knitters busy at work recently for Make a help pupils with reading and
Difference Day
literacy when perhaps they
have more life experience,
do not get the help at home. “They certainly enand be able to talk at greater length and depth
hance reading experiences for children who perabout different subjects,” noted Christine Ford, a
haps don’t get the support from parents and carers,
teacher at Bridge of Allan Primary School. “From
to give them additional practice in reading and
comprehension.”
my experience the older person has a lot more life
experience and can add an awful lot and be a lot
more comfortable probably around children.” Local
There are of course occasions when the volunteer
placement does not work, due to any number of
issues. However the schools visited for this evaluation were very positive about their experience.
“The school really welcomed it,” Jess Kemp, Principal Teacher at Claremont Alloa, said. “The work
Head Teacher Craig Rennie commented that their
commitment and experience bring great benefits to
his school. “They are bringing experience of life
and of a wide range of skills to the school. They
have a wide range of backgrounds,” he said. “Also
they are less likely to spend time developing their
skills which end up being used in a job interview,
leading to paid work and the end of the volunteering. That happens with a lot of parents—which is
understandable—but with the older volunteers
there tends to be reliability and commitment.”
these volunteers have done, their commitment—
seldom are they ever off—to whatever the class
teacher needs from them. They are more than willing to get stuck in and help.” Similarly Esther
Donald, a teacher at Balgreen Primary in Edinburgh, specifically asked for an RSVP volunteer after hearing about the project from another teacher.
Older primary school pupils who received extra support from a volunteer in the previous academic year
were able to reflect on how that had helped them:
“I searched a volunteer out because there was another class teacher who had a volunteer and I
asked her where she’d come from. I had a P1 at
the time and didn’t have any classroom help, and
she told me about the RSVP system. I got in touch
with them and Irene came through that.”
“I did spelling with her, and reading. She helped
me in the classroom lots. It’s definitely helped me
with all the spelling and reading and I like Miss
Stalker,” one said. “I went to someone for my
spelling and I got words home, but the volunteer
practised with me as well. In reading I would always struggle with big long words and now I can
read most of them. I read a lot more books. On
holiday I didn’t really read books and all that, and
The success of our work in primary schools is due
to the commitment, enthusiasm and time of all our
volunteers and organisers and we hope to continue
to expand our work in Scottish schools in 2013.
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grand lights switch on in the Forum in Norwich
on 22nd November. Our knitted jumpers and
stockings are now displayed for everyone to
see. The jumpers will all go to the International Aid Trust after Christmas, and some of
the stockings will be given to the Haven Refuge
for women and children escaping domestic violence, to use next year for the children in their
care. Our stall at this event raised nearly £150
and we also featured on local radio when a clue
for the Treasure Quest programme on Radio
Norfolk was hidden in one of our stockings!
Naturally the group continues to grow and we
already have another 50+ members to add to
the 1000!!
Norfolk 1000th
Celebrations!
Organiser Linda Brown reports on an exciting
milestone:
Knitters from across the county gathered in
Norwich to celebrate reaching our 1000th member! Pearl Gerrard who goes to the Knit and
Natter group in Taverham was the 1000th person to join Norfolk Knitters. She was presented
with a knitting bag displaying the logo Norfolk
Knitters 1000th member, which was made by
members of the group!
The whole event was
a huge success with
hundreds of members attending from
all over the county—
cars full of people
from different parts
of Norfolk crowded
into the car park, and
a mini bus came from
1000th member Pearl
the market town of
Reepham with 10 of their knitting group. There
were all the usual stalls as well as Norfolk Knitters own pen-and-wall calendar to buy. Everyone enjoyed sitting down to the tea and coffee
and looking at the huge display which showed
the items we make for all the different charities.
A grand total of £725 profit was made which
will help to pay for the rent of the Wool Loft
where we store our knitting and wool, and for
the regular four monthly newsletter which goes
out to all members. The International Aid Trust
had difficulty cramming the many sacks of knitting that had been collected into their cars at
the end of the morning.
Norfolk Knitters also had a starring role in the
Pontefract Knitters
Pontefract Knitting Organiser Sylvia Alderton
writes:
There was an enjoyable coffee morning on 6th
November at Horsforth in Leeds, organised by
Ann Holloway and Steve Twynham, Development Officer in North Yorkshire. Our thanks
to those who provided refreshments.
Two of us attended from the Pontefract Knitting
Group, but everyone else helped in schools.
Steve spoke of recent developments in CSV and
RSVP, and I told of our taking part in ‘The Secret Life of Wool’ and the receipt of our certificate of merit (for which many thanks—it encourages everyone!). Another lady explained
their use of musical instruments in the children’s free time, and how valuable it was. They
had the chance to pick up and try and move
with the music.
The following day I attended a consultation
meeting locally for those working with volunteers, or who themselves volunteer. Wakefield
district is in the process of formulating a volunteer policy. There were several questions to
discuss such as ‘what are the barriers to volunteering?’ I found it very interesting, not least
because I was the oldest! Several of the people attending worked with young volunteers,
others with people of all ages. We were a small
group and it was surprising how many groups
were not represented. Copies of the volunteering statements or extracts of same from other
authorities were issued.
Hopefully awareness of RSVP has been raised a
little. There seem to be so many organisations
with whom useful contacts could be made.
Crowds at the stalls
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Back to school for Barbara!
Wonderful Savona!
Barbara Harvey, Plymouth Organiser, reports:
All our RSVP volunteers agreed what a wonderful experience the Italian Exchange had been.
We’ll have a full report next month, but meanwhile here are some pictures.
In October, I was invited to the Pilgrim Primary
school in Plymouth to talk to the children about
life during the war, and to share my experiences
with them. I expected to go into a room where
the children would be seated awaiting our 'talk'.
It wasn't at all like this.
I arrived there along with a few other people,
and was given a really warm welcome by the
children. We were shown into a room where the
first thing I saw was a couple of tables covered
with white table cloths, and laden with plates of
scones and shortbread. I asked the children
who made them, and was told that they had
spent the morning baking!
We were told to sit wherever we wanted at the
three tables available, and although we didn't sit
in a group, we were soon surrounded by the
children. Other children served us tea or coffee,
and offered plates of the delicious food.
It was all very informal, and the children asked
all kinds of questions, like 'what did you play
with, what did you eat, what did you wear’.
They also asked about bombs, shelters, gas
masks, and school during
the war. I was able to relate quite a few personal
stories.
Being from Plymouth, the other people
were able to relate stories about
Plymouth during the war,
whereas being born in and living
in the East End of London, I was
able to talk about a different part
of the country. The children were absolutely fascinated, and listened with total concentration.
Some children made recordings of our stories,
and teachers went around with a camera and
after asking, took pictures of us. I was told that
it would all appear on their web page in due
course, and I am looking forward to seeing this.
I am sure the children gained a lot from the experience, not just from my memories, but also
from the other people who shared their memories. However, I have to admit that this experience will stay with me, and I have already
emailed my thanks to the school for allowing me
to take part. The children were extremely well
behaved, and very welcoming. I would love to
repeat the experience at some stage maybe at
another school.
Above, Lucy, Pasquale and Irene at AIAS day centre
for the handicapped, with attendee Federica. Below,
volunteer entertainer and nurse dancing at the San
Giuseppe Retirement Home.
Above, children at Colombo Junior School who had English conversation classes with Milton and Irene
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Don’t forget to book for
Widening Horizons
The Professionals Need You!
The Professionals are looking for
people to match to a range of
projects across England.
Do
you have a skill you want to
share?
A recent survey identified that
the top three most requested skills from small
volunteering organisations are:
Fundraiser,
Web Designer and Journalist. If you or anyone
you know would like to volunteer your/their
time and skills to support the community,
please do get in touch with your local RSVP
staff manager/coordinator.
A great example is Farzana
Topia [right]. A call to her
local Professionals Coordinator at BBC West Midlands
led to an introduction to
RSVP Coventry, and thus
Farzana was matched to a
project that needed support
to draft out important forms and introduce systems to obtain feedback from volunteers. Farzana is now part of the team and regularly attends events, taking pictures and obtaining
feedback from volunteers, which she then uploads to the project website.
Farzana, who was recently made redundant,
explains, “I hope to give something back to the
You have already received information about
RSVP’s Widening Horizons Conference on 13/14th
March 2013, but have you booked yet?
This conference creates an opportunity for volunteer organisers to come together to exchange ideas and information and extend skills.
It is also an opportunity to catch up with colleagues and meet new organisers.
There are still some places available. Don’t lose
out. Please return your booking form or contact Shahina Bibi on [email protected].
Exmouth Knit and Chat
Group Organiser Sandra Witts reports:
The Knit and Chat Group recently combined
with some residents at Dening Court—a local
social housing complex—to produce 48 shoe
boxes of goodies to be sent to Moldova, officially the poorest country in Europe. The boxes
were divided into boys, girls and families, and
contained lots of practical items such as
toothbrushes and toothpaste, pencils and notebooks, knitted hats and gloves and knitted
dolls, as well as fun items like toy cars and
paint sets. Dening Court allow the group to use
their facilities, and in return residents are encouraged to join in with the group, knitting for
good causes.
As a spin off, a local taxi firm used by one of
the knitters saw the boxes and said they would
like to do something to express the community’s thanks for all the group’s hard work.
They approached a local shop, which agreed to
collect wool for the group. The taxi firm also
treated all the knitters to a Christmas lunch in a
local restaurant.
Sandra was delighted that their work featured
prominently in the local press, as seen here.
community by utilising my existing skills but I
also benefit from working alongside the RSVP
team in Coventry, gaining valuable experience
and new skills that employers are looking for. I
believe that volunteering is a great way of
keeping your CV up to date and getting back
into work.”
West Waffle
A great Christmas edition of
West Waffle,
West Region’s
brilliant newsletter, featuring stories on
the
region’s
many activities.
More
next month….
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Amazing Manchester Scarf...
Christmas at the Museum
RSVP in Manchester will be working closely with
the Northwards Housing’s Victoria Square, a
listed retirement scheme in Ancoats, and one of
the residents is embarking on a fantastic project—a scarf so big it will stretch all the way
around the building!
Artist Jim Giles 83 is looking for volunteers to
help complete this project. To fit round the
Square, thought to be the oldest municipal
building in use in the world—the scarf will have
to measure 1,050ft!
Jim, an ardent knitter, graduated from The University of Salford earlier this year with an MA in
Contemporary Fine Art, and included pieces of
knitting in his degree work. As Jim says, “I love
Fun at Bethnal Green’s
Museum of Childhood in
London as RSVP’s Carole
Curtis and Betty Bryden
[above] and
Monica Rose worked with the local children to
create their own crackers to take home!
Banchory Knitters!
this building. It’s been my home for eight years
and kept me alive. I’ve chosen to do this project because a scarf symbolises and embodies
the warmth, comfort and security of my home.”
Jim is looking for help in his venture. “I’ll provide needles and wool,” he offers.
Great to hear from Sue Rudge whose Christmas Newsletter reveals ever-widening activities!
It is heartening to read from the many recipients of the group’s brilliant knitting, and here
are just two:
Like to help out? Knit a section for him as follows:
•
Approx 1 metre long
•
Approx 13 inches wide
•
46 stitches in double knitting wool
•
6.5mm knitting needles
•
Any colour wool, any stitch
Jim would also love to
have a photo of you
knitting your piece so
that he can create an
exhibition when the scarf
is finished, illustrating
how it was made.
Please send your knitted
section to Scheme Managers Office, 2 Victoria
Square, Ancoats, Manchester M4 5DX. If you’d
like to talk to Jim ring 07761 054 735.
Dear Sue, Just to let you know that Grampian Child Bereavement Network held their first activity day for children who have experienced bereavement, and all 11 children attending went home with one of your teddies…..
On behalf of the nursery I would like to thank you very
much for the lovely garments which you kindly donated
to the Neonatal Unit. These are most welcome and much
appreciated….
During 2012 Sue’s knitters have produced an
amazing amount including 405 teddies, 206
blankets, 259 jackets and jumpers, 2004 hats
and 143 waistcoats. Also they produced for
Support Our Soldiers 51 hats, 7 pairs of gloves,
6 scarves and 61 hot water bottle covers!
But Sue plans well ahead, and lots of knitted
Easter chicks have already been made!!
Medical Students’ Thank You
London HQ volunteer Mike
Caswell was delighted to receive this letter from the Administrator of London’s University College Medical School,
giving thanks for all our help in
their teaching programme.
Mike has organised over the
years regular meetings between medical students and RSVP volunteers to give them an insight into issues faced by older people.
...and new Manchester staff
Welcome to Ruqia Allana ([email protected])
who has just started as the new Project Coordinator for RSVP Manchester. Ruqia has a wealth
of community development experience and
knows North Manchester, where she will be
based, very well.
Ruqia will be joined in January by new Manchester Project Manager Becky Parsons.
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The New CRB
DIARY
24 Dec—
1 Jan
RSVP Pentonville Road offices will
be closed for the holidays from
5pm on 21st December until
9am on 2nd January
15 Jan
Age Alliance Wales event, Cardiff
23 Jan
RSVP Regional Development
Managers’ Meeting (tbc)
24 Jan
RSVP Advisory Group
13/14
Mar
RSVP UK Conference Widening
As mentioned in the last FOCUS, from 1st December a new system came into play called the
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
All projects involved with DBS checking should
continue to bear in mind that, as with CRB’s,
disclosure checks should only be undertaken when the role requires it, that is
when the volunteer will be working with children or vulnerable adults, especially where they
may have unsupervised contact.
DBS checks carried out unnecessarily can be
considered an invasion of privacy and a misuse
of funds, in addition to being a waste of time.
Therefore potential volunteers whose role
has not been confirmed at time of recruitment or interview should not be checked
as a matter of routine, only as and when
the role demands it.
For more information contact Karen Hamilton
([email protected]) or Peter Castledine
([email protected]).
Horizons
Key RSVP Contacts
Please note the change in Kim’s email
address.
Barbara Locke
Head of RSVP
Shahina Bibi
Central Support Officer
Kim Oliver
Support to RSVP Head and
CSV Director
Natasha John
Wales Manager
Jason Moyes
Scotland Manager
Phil Barker
South West Manager
Karen Hamilton
London and SE Manager
John Kinnear
NW and W Midlands
Manager
Carol Reynolds
NE and Yorkshire Manager
Betty Bryden
National Publicity and Events
Monica Rose
National Knitting Organiser
020 7643 1385
[email protected]
Editor’s Corner
020 7643 1385
[email protected]
Many excellent contributions
this month—thank you very
much.
Following our usual winter
pattern, the next edition of
FOCUS will be published on
Friday 1st February, so contributions please by
25th January.
020 7643 1332
[email protected]
02920 390477
[email protected]
01786 475800
[email protected]
Have a wonderful
Christmas break,
and Very Best
Wishes for the New
Year!
0117 908 2266
[email protected]
020 7643 1388
[email protected]
020 7643 1322
[email protected]
Colin Mason
CSV-RSVP
237 Pentonville Road
London N1 9NJ
020 7643 1335
[email protected]
01642 231 560
[email protected]
020 7643 1382
[email protected]
RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme) is part of
Community Service Volunteers (CSV). CSV is a registered charity
in England and Wales no. 291222 and in Scotland no. SCO39171.
CSV is a company limited by guarantee no. 1435877.
020 7643 1384
[USE [email protected]]
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