Background Information
About Lambeth Voluntary Action Council (LVAC)
LVAC is Lambeth’s Council for Voluntary Service (CVS). Most boroughs in England have a CVS, which provides support to and represents the voluntary and community sector in their borough.
LVAC is an independent charity providing a range of support and representational services to Lambeth’s voluntary and community sector. LVAC was set up in 1994 and is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. We have our own shop front premises between Brixton and Clapham Common (Head Office) and a Volunteer Centre in the heart of Brixton.
LVAC is a member organisation, with membership open to any voluntary or community organisation working for the benefit of Lambeth residents. LVAC has a database of over 1,000 contacts and our membership is continuously growing. The LVAC Board of Directors/ Trustees is made up of our member organisations.
Lambeth is a large and diverse borough with a population of around 270,000, with 38% of the population coming from ethnic minorities and approximately 150 languages being spoken. The make-up of Lambeth’s voluntary and community sector is reflective of Lambeth’s population. Change Up 2005 estimated there to be over 2,000 organisations, and the majority of these are small Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee community organisations working at a grassroot level. This is likely to have increased since 2005.
LVAC’s Vision:
To meet and exceed the support needs of Lambeth’s diverse voluntary and community sector to improve the quality of life of all who live, work and visit Lambeth.
LVAC’s Mission:
To provide representation, capacity building and other forms of support to Lambeth’s diverse voluntary and community sector, to ensure its growth, effectiveness and sustainability.
LVAC’s Purpose:
To develop, enable, promote and support local voluntary and community action throughout Lambeth.
LVAC’s Values:
Our values determine what we do and the way we do it, to summarise, LVAC;
1. Believes that voluntary and community action is fundamental to the development of a democratic and socially inclusive society.
2. Diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity.
3. Values the work of volunteers and is committed to volunteering.
4. Is committed to sustainable development.
5. Values its independence and is also committed to working in mutually beneficial partnerships with others for the benefit of Lambeth’s Citizens.
6. Values its work with its members/ stakeholders and wishes to undertake this in a mutually respectful way.
7. Is committed to the achievement of quality standards and services.
About Volunteer Centre Lambeth (VCL)
Since October 2005 LVAC has been working to establish and develop its flagship project; Volunteer Centre Lambeth. Since this time the centre has grown from strength to strength. In October 2011, the centre submitted a portfolio of evidence, was externally assessed against the six core functions of a volunteer centre and was awarded the National Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation by Volunteering England our national umbrella body. The centre has a database of over 12,000 individuals interested in volunteering and 350 organisations looking for volunteers and this is increasing every month. .
VCL's vision, mission, purpose and values statements have been developed through consultation with the local VCS and through workshops with LVAC team members. The essence is a work in progress and will be reviewed and updated regularly.
VCL’s Vision:
Lambeth will have an accredited and sustainable Volunteer Centre which meets and exceeds the needs of the local community. The centre will enhance the effectiveness of the voluntary and community sector and enrich the quality of life of Lambeth’s residents and visitors.
VCL’s Mission:
Volunteer Centre Lambeth exists to increase the quantity and improve the quality of volunteering throughout the borough of Lambeth. We aim to make it easy for individuals in Lambeth to volunteer and for groups, organisations and businesses in the Borough to involve volunteers. We work to place volunteering firmly on the map and securely in the heart of Lambeth life.
We will do this through the delivery of the six core functions of a volunteer Centre which are:
· Brokerage
· Good Practice Development
· Developing Opportunities
· Marketing Volunteering
· Policy Response and Campaigning
· Strategic Development of Volunteering
VCL’s Purpose:
Our purpose is to establish a quality driven Volunteer Centre to increase the quantity and improve the quality of volunteering throughout the borough of Lambeth. We acknowledge and appreciate the value of volunteering and celebrate the contribution of volunteers in all their diversity.
VCL’s Values:
We are passionate about volunteering and committed to diversity. We strive to operate an inclusive, responsive and user centred service and we are dedicated to the collection and sharing of knowledge.
In addition to this, nationally, there is increasing recognition of the role that volunteers and the Voluntary Sector can play in delivering high quality services and in contributing to civil renewal. There are four principles that are fundamental to volunteering and which Volunteer Centre Lambeth will also use as key values:
· Choice: Each individual must be allowed to freely choose to volunteer or not. Encouragement to be involved in volunteering should not take the form of coercion or compulsion.
· Diversity: Volunteering should be available to everyone and in all aspects should encourage diversity and inclusiveness. Everyone in society can overcome social exclusion barriers through gaining skills, experience confidence and contacts made whilst helping others.
· Mutual benefit: Volunteers offer their contribution free of financial gain, but should benefit in other ways in return for their contribution - through out of pocket expenses, induction, training, skills and experience, preparation for paid employment or entry into further education, social contact, fun and the opportunity to input into decision making processes and local or national policy and practice.
· Recognition: Valuing the contribution that volunteers give to the agency, to the community, the social economy and to wider social objectives is fundamental.
LVAC and VCL Services
LVAC and VCL provide the following services:
LVAC:
· Information via our website, e-bulletins, library/ resource area and events.
· Representation of Lambeth’s voluntary and community sector at a range of meetings/ boards at a local, sub-regional, regional and national level.
· Events and forums to facilitate engagement of Lambeth’s voluntary and community sector in local decision making.
· Expert advice, support and training on matters associated with setting up, running and developing a voluntary or community organisation (level and range of service is subject to funding).
VCL:
· Information via monthly e-newsletters and website. VCL has also collected a bank of information on volunteering for both organisations and individuals which can be accessed on request.
· Annual Training Programme for volunteers and volunteer managers.
· Brokerage Service bringing together people interested in volunteering with voluntary organisations needing volunteers.
· Drop-in Centre providing face to face support for people who need extra help to get involved in volunteering.
· The Good Practice Project providing advice and support to groups and organisations in Lambeth to develop Good Practice systems, policies and procedures in the recruitment, management and retention of volunteers.
· Volunteer-Involvers Network which is an extension to our Good Practice Project and provides a bi-annual Volunteer-Involvers Network. This gives organisations who work with volunteers and volunteer managers an opportunity to meet, network, share good practice and get involved in volunteer related debate and policy shaping.
LVAC and VCL also offer the following charged for services:
· Consultancy/ bespoke training services.
· Room and equipment hire including fully accessible training/ meeting rooms and a range of equipment for use both onsite and offsite.
· Administration services including photocopying, laminating, binding, computer access.
· Advertising services via our e-bulletins, targeted mail outs, website and at events.
LVAC and VCL Projects
LVAC and VCL current projects include:
LVAC:
United Way
Working with Council’s for Voluntary Service (CVS) colleagues in other boroughs and United Way Worldwide to set up United Way London. United Way is a global movement that aims to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good. United Way London aims to build relationships with large businesses and employers to increase payroll giving and donations to Lambeth’s civil society sector.
Leadership / Enterprise Training and Support Programme
An intensive leadership / enterprise training programme for local civil society leaders. The aim of the programme is to increase the number of civil society management staff trained to be stronger local leaders in how to generate income and develop their business models for their organisations. The programme will give civil society leaders the skills and tools to develop their business models, generate income from enterprise activity and successfully sustain their organisations in the new economic climate.
VCL:
Good Practice Project
This project works to support and develop groups in Lambeth to ensure they are working towards and committed to quality in the recruitment and management of volunteers. The project has developed a number of tools for groups in Lambeth and has worked with Volunteer Centres across Greater London and GLV to create a Good Practice Charter and a set of good practice health checks. The GP Project offers groups an opportunity to receive 1:1 support from the VCL Good Practice Officer, access to our bank of Good Practice policies and templates, assistance with the recruitment of volunteers through our free brokerage service and receive regular updates on all things volunteering through our monthly e-bulletins.
Volunteer Involvers Network
The Volunteer Involvers’ Network provides a free platform for groups in Lambeth to network, share good practice in the recruitment and management of volunteers, develop partnerships and to keep abreast of and shape national, regional and local policy.
Brokerage Service
If VCL is LVACs flagship project, then the Brokerage service is VCL’s. The service is free to every individual in Lambeth over the age of sixteen and registers and refers approximately 6000 volunteers per year to hundreds of groups in Lambeth. The Brokerage Service is mainly run by volunteers for volunteers and this team of dynamic volunteers helps to run twice-weekly drop-ins at the centre which are extremely popular. The project also conducts research and monitoring and evaluation on behalf of the sector and keeps registered volunteers up-to-date through monthly e-bulletins.
See our website for further information – www.lambethvac.org.uk
LVAC Organisational Chart