Sharing good practice

Who is in the room?

Our village: Whissendine North West of Rutland One of largest of Rutland villages At least 1000 years of history - mentioned in the Domesday Record Two fine Grade 1 listed buildings: – St Andrews Church one of the largest in Rutland with an impressive 100-foot tower – Working windmill. 600 homes: a mix from thatch to 21st century conversions and new developments Primary school, two pubs, village hall, village shop, sports and social club and hair and beauty salon No GP surgery or post office 1253 residents, 111 are 75 and over and 33 live alone Source: statistics Source: Whissendine web page

In addition to Whissendine Good Neighbours Scheme (WGNS) Age UK Happy Circle Pre school / play group Brownies WI Youth Club Stars etc Handy man Gardening Electrician Painter and decorator Carpets Kitchen design Cattery Kennels etc Source: Whissendine web page

Whissendine: good weather

Bad weather

WGNS: started in 2010 Current structure Management group of 9 who meet every two months 30 volunteers All volunteers undergo safeguarding checks – Issued with an id card to be shown for all assignments Getting started The parish plan Needs analysis Steering group Public meeting Recruitment Publicity

From the WGNS website Who are we? The Whissendine Good Neighbour Scheme uses voluntary effort from local people to provide help for anyone in the village who needs assistance with transport, household tasks, companionship, practical support following illness, letter writing, form filling, and more... How does it work? Call between 8am and 8pm. A co-ordinator will arrange for one of our registered volunteers to help. Be prepared to leave a message, the co-ordinator may be busy. How much does it cost? The only charge is for petrol and parking. There is no charge for transport within the village. All the other services are free.

Volunteers asked which type of work are they able to do Driving to hospital/clinic/doctor Shopping/errands/collecting prescriptions/pensions Help with (non legal )form filling Gardening/domestic work in an emergency Internet/IT advice Befriending Assistance with pets Administration of the Good Neighbour Scheme Holding the Mobile phone for a week on a rota basis

WGNS volunteer activity

WGNS management group recent evaluation What we do well Fills a gap for lonely or isolated people in the village Usually able to help: flexible Wide range of help offered Continually developing: introduction of wheelchair Social events: for volunteers and clients get to know one another - engenders trust Where we could improve Raise awareness of the scheme amongst more people in the village More emphasis that it is not just for transport or for elderly people

Advice we would give to others starting out Don’t look for a need that is not there Establish the parameters to decide what you can and can’t do: you cannot meet every need Maintain a good management group: share responsibility and power Have volunteers who are keen to make it a success: drivers especially in demand Celebrate success Things change: clients and volunteers Don’t try to do it by yourself: use the experiences of others WGNS management group

December 2013: WGNS receives award from Red Cross and Rutland Times for 'Being inspiring and doing inspiring work in the local community of Rutland’ Summary Establish the need Recruit Deal with bureaucracy Find funding Publicize Start Evaluate Celebrate

Questions and comments

Whissendine Good Neighbours Scheme (WGNS)