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MINUTES

Attending
Name / Agency
Maya Sharma / VCAT
Craig Almond / VCAT
Barbara Bleeker / Trafford CVS & Volunteer Centre
Tony Dagnall / Trafford Carers Centre
Toni Scandella / Surestart- North Trafford Participation Worker
Suzi Dodd / Surestart
Amanda Davis / Surestart
Annette Loftus / Vinvolved
Megan Ohri / Volunteering in Greater Manchester
Rebecca Parsons / Trafford Council, Communities & Wellbeing
Rob Sanders / Trafford Youth Offending Service/ GM Fire Brigade
Danielle Lowy / Trafford Council, Scrutiny & Improvement
Victoria Moody / Trafford Council, Scrutiny & Improvement
Brian Shaw (Cllr) / Trafford Council
Judith Lloyd (Cllr) / Trafford Council
Dolores O’Sullivan (Cllr) / Trafford Council
Kate Wels / Action for Sustainable Living
Jenny Heaven / Trafford Citizens Advice Bureau
Cath Demain / Trafford Victim Support
Monica Bannister / Partington Healthy Living Centre
Justine Lea-Grime / Trafford Youth Offending Service
Tess Gregson / 42nd Street
Apologies
Graham Tring / Stockport CP in Trafford
Diana Richardson / Federation of Jewish Services
Annie Muse / New Way Forward
Maureen Reilly / Lostock Community Partnership

Welcomes & Introductions

Maya welcomed everyone to the meeting. Members of the Forum introduced themselves.

1)Minutes and Matters Arising from last meeting

Megan Ohri pointed out that the GM volunteering project is not overseeing the creation of a GM wide Volunteer Centre, rather coordinating the activities of existing Volunteer Centres.

2)Updatefrom Trafford Council’s Communities and Wellbeing Directorate

Communities and Wellbeing is the newly rebranded Adult Social Services. Rebecca Parsons told the meeting that their volunteer pilot will be ready to go into action in October. They are currently recruiting a Trainee Community Development Worker via the FutureJobs Fund (age restrictions apply to the post). The Volunteer Management Handbook for CWB staff is waiting approval from management. RP is happy to share with this group once it is officially adopted.

3) Trafford Health and Well-being Select Committee review of volunteering

Present at the meeting were three elected members of the Committee and two support staff. The committee are looking at volunteering in Trafford and recognize that a lot of volunteering is happening and pointed to the way that 500 volunteers were mobilized during the cold weather at the start of this year.

The focus of the review will be:

  • Factors that motivate or discourage individuals to volunteer
  • Factors that motivate or discourage organisations to use volunteers

The review is limiting its scope to volunteers aged over 16 and living or working Trafford

Aims of the review are:

  • To develop resources to increase volunteer numbers in Trafford in all sectors
  • Recognition of good practice
  • Identification of motivations and barriers to volunteering

They will not, however, be allowed to make any recommendations that involve extra expenditure.

There then followed a breakout session where members of the Committee worked with small groups of Forum members to look at specific questions. Notes from this session were written up by Danielle Lowy, Scrutiny and Improvement Officer- Thanks, Danielle!A copy can be downloaded from

Members of the meeting said that they were happy to share their contact details with the committee in case there were further questions to be asked. For anyone not at the meeting Craig said he would forward communications from the committee to the wider mailing list.

The committee will be invited to a future meeting to feedback their findings to the Forum.

4)Measuring the Impact of Volunteering

Maya Sharma and Megan Ohri delivered a brief workshop on methods for measuring the impact and value of volunteering.

This was a taster for the VCAT Training Course “Measuring the Impact of Volunteering”

This course is aimed at anyone who manages volunteers in their organisation and will help participants:

  • Develop knowledge and skills in how to monitor and evaluate the impact of volunteering
  • Gain practical ideas and resources to take back to their organisation
  • Develop strategies for tackling barriers to monitoring and evaluating their volunteer programmes

The course is running on Tuesday 26th October from 9.30am to 4pm at St Johns Centre, Old Trafford. To book a place complete a VCAT booking form ( and return it to

5) Future meetings

The next meeting will be held at 10 – 1, Tuesday 30th November. Venue to be confirmed.

Ideas/ requests for workshops included a session on working with refugees. Megan Ohri said that part of the work of the GM Volunteering project was increasing the diversity of volunteers and that her colleague Gwen Mason is leading on this piece of work. Anyone wanting more information should read the following leaflet