Swansea volunteers recognised
by The Queen with prestigious Award
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.
Buddies in 5k run Young people at Buddies took part in this year Admiral Swansea
Bay 5K Race held on 27th September. The event was a huge success with young
people making a massive effort to cross the finishing line with their families
and Buddies staff.
The day was enjoyed by all and as well as being a fund raising
event for the charity, it was also an excellent opportunity for families, staff
and young people to socialise outside of our normal environment and take part
together.
Well Done to Sam, Mark, Daniel, Nathan, Charles and Hywel
who will all be wearing their medals with pride.
Spreading ‘Hands On’ across the Community Following a successful pilot project, Local Aid
has received 3 years’ funding
from the Big Lottery Fund to roll out their innovative ‘Hands On’ project.
Utilising two of Local Aid’s charity shops (Ravenhill and Morriston),
the project encourages young people aged 14 -25 to build intergenerational
skills through personal training
‘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.
Drivers' Dedication We have been blessed at Local Aid that we have been able to build
up a good reputation over the years with the use of our delivery and
collection service.
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.
Hands on project success Since November 2006 Local Aid has been successfully
running a pilot project called ‘HANDS ON’
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!
Drivers' Dedication 
