Local Aid childrens charity wales

Added Boost from Local Volunteers
Local Aid have enjoyed a new venture with HSBC Direct Call Centre Staff over the past 3 months. The Bank, which employs 1,000 Staff at its Llansamlet Call Centre, has been encouraging staff to get involved in volunteering and allowing them time away from their day to day roles in order to give something back to the community whilst also learning new skills at the same time.

Volunteers have been helping out at Local Aid charity shop inClase Road Morriston every fortnight since September. On these days, HSBC staff are shown the ropes and are then left to run the charity shop for the day. The Partnership has been organised by Debbie Davies, Community Co-ordinator at HSBC Direct. HSBC has a strong commitment to support the local community and it allows its employees the chance to get involved in worthwhile causes to help others.

The willing volunteers have been making sure that goods donated are safe and suitable for sale, serving customers, arranging stock and helping with the deliveries and collections of donated items. Chair Person at Local Aid, Denise Inger said: "This has been an excellent way for us to raise awareness of our aims, which are to support local children and community special needs.

Having his extra help has given us a great boost, particularly as the volunteers from HSBC have been so enthusiastic". Debbie Davies, Community Co-ordinator at HSBC added: "The staff have also been able to use their customer service skills face to face, instead of over the telephone which is how they normally deal with their customers. This direct interaction is so valuable. In addition everyone at the charity have been so very welcoming so it has been an absolute joy helping them."

sponsoredwalk Sponsored Walk Success
Vince Young a Neath Port Talbot Tennant Support worker accompanied David Hopes from Resolven on the picturesque 22 mile South Gower walk on a sponsored walk in support of Local Aid . The duo conquered 22 miles of rugged terrain in 10hours.

The pair thoroughly enjoyed their quest, David said ‘It was brilliant , I knew we could do it. Vince has been great, we have been out practising a few times”. chairperson Denise Inger said “ I picked them up at Rhossilli after a mammoth 10 hour stint. They were both very up beat and excited to have completed the walk with a beautiful sunset to accompany them home

Local Aid ‘Buddies Project’ based in Swansea has been announced as one of 103 UK volunteering groups to win The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for volunteer groups. The prestigious National Honour recognises outstanding contributions made to local communities by groups voluntarily devoting their time for the benefit of others. It sets the national benchmark for excellence in volunteering, with the work of those awarded being judged of the highest standard.

‘Hands On’ aims to engage, raise awareness and train participants through the provision of retail experience and the opportunity to gain OCN (National Open College Network) credits in areas such as customer care, health and safety, communication skills and numeracy skills, amongst others. OCN accreditation up to Level 3 is offered and all participants will achieve at least 2 units and be personally mentored by fully trained staff. The required attendance is one day per week, for a six week placement.

Young people who will particularly benefit from the project include those socially excluded or at risk from social exclusion, those with challenging behaviour, those who are disengaged from formal educational patterns and those who have special or additional educational needs.

If you would like to get involved with ‘Hands On’ yourself or know anyone who would benefit from this exciting new project, please email Terrie Cousins, our School Link worker, or call her on tel. 07780 606946.

Not only do we collect items for donation, our drivers also offer a delivery service on products bought from our shops. These items can be delivered right to your door step for a small donation of *£10 within the Swansea area.
*(cost correct in 2008)

Our drivers work extremely hard day in day out, Rain or shine. Why should I bother visiting Local Aid when there are furniture shops everywhere? YOU WOULD BE AMAZED!!!!!

A lot of the items that are in our shops are donated by people who are simply moving house and just don’t have the room anymore for that item. This means that the furniture is in almost perfect condition and at a more reasonable price than in larger, retail outlets.

You will also be helping the environment by reducing landfill.

REMEMBER WE ARE A NON PROFIT MAKING ORGANISATION, WHAT COMES IN THROUGH OUR DOORS IS DONATED TO HELP SUPPORT SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY. So you will be supporting the charity.

The project was aimed at schools children of ages 14 to 19 of whom might find themselves being secluded to learning in a classroom environment. The project was structured to allow those children to come into local aid charity shop and under the mentoring of funded staff would be given the opportunity to actively participate in the running of the shop.

They would also be given the opportunity to undertake OCN’s (Open college network) qualifications, these are recognised qualifications and the certificates awarded could be shown to potential employers.

The OCN’s that would be undertaken would be in

giving and taking of change
introduction to recycling
health and safety
...and many others

Schools that took part in the project were
Pen y Bryn Special School
Morriston Comprehensive
Birchgrove Comprehensive
Cefn Hengoed Comprehensive
Daniel James Community School
Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr

Since the end of the project we are pleased to show the commitment of some of the schools and support workers and young adults. We have seen one young man from Morriston comprehensive joining our team on the collection and delivery service and who has also become a millennium volunteer with us.

We have a young person with the help of a support worker join us on a regular shift from Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr.

We have also continued the great link we have built up with Pen y bryn special school, and have the dedication of their staff to the promoting of local aid by allowing their children to continue coming to help in our shop on a regular basis.

The benefits to the young people that took part in the hand on project and of those who come into volunteer is quite substantial. Nearly all that come into the charity shop would go away with not only the experience of working in a shop environment, but also they would have gained knowledge about the way we can recycle things that they may have simply put in the rubbish bin. Also they would have gained a feeling of reward that they had actually helped others by working for Local Aid.

Can You Help?
Local Aid is currently looking for people to help volunteer in any of their three charity shops across Swansea. If you or anyone you know is fun and outgoing, can spare a few hours a week and would like to make a difference in the lives of children with special needs then get in touch with us!

We can offer a fun environment with a great team of volunteers, full training and a sense of achievement! Please use the contacts on the Home Page or Charity Shops page for their addresses and telephone numbers.

If you are interested in holding a fundraising event or help the Fundraising Team then get in touch! Recent events have included the 2nd Local Aid 12 hour Quiz (see above), a Cheese and Wine Party that raised £129, and an Auction which, with the help of the Swansea Rotary Club, helped to raise over £1000!

Up and Coming events include the 3rd Local Aid 12 Hour Quiz, Tesco store collections and more! Watch this space!

Don?t forget, you can increase your donation to Local Aid when sponsoring someone! Tick the GIFTAID box and we can claim back the tax from the government! Currently, for every £1 you give, you can increase it to £1.28 by simply ticking a box! Watch out for the logo!

Fundraising and sponsorship ideas:
Amanda Lervy on Amanda.lervy@swansea.gov.uk

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