Over 40 people attended the VAK Annual General Meeting at the Bowls Club, Devizes on Thursday 15 October. As in previous years, a lavish cream tea was served and staff, trustees and members of VAK had an opportunity to meet each other and catch up on projects and works in progress, completed, and still in the planning stage.

VAK's Chairman, Richard Cooper, was unable to attend due to illness, so after Lady Teresa Carter (our President) had greeted everyone, Henry Miles addressed the meeting, drawing attention to the successes of the past year as detailed in the Annual Review. He especially mentioned the importance of working together to manage change in 'turbulent times'. Ventures over the past year have included working with older people, the Children and Families Voluntary Sector Forum, Time Bank, the new Information Shop, work with Faith Communities and the Mental Health Forum.

A new venture, not only for VAK, is the new Voluntary Sector Unit at Wiltshire Council, to which Margaret West has been seconded. Another example of VAK's acceptance of the need to change with the times arose from a productive Trustee and staff Away Day which discussed marketing and collaborative working. VAK and DevelopECS (formerly CVS North Wilts) have now signed an agreement around collaborative working. Mark Castle-Woodham is now working with both organisations on Community Development issues.

The Guest Speaker was Sandie Lewis, Head of the Voluntary Sector Unit, and after the break for tea, she spoke openly about the challenges ahead for all, and answered questions on how the Unit proposes to work with the voluntary sector throughout Wiltshire.

As ever, the AGM provided time for reflection, food for thought for the future, and a chance to catch up with colleagues across the East Wiltshire area.

Rachel Gale, a Year 11 pupil at John of Gaunt's School in Trowbridge, has been doing Work Experience this week with the Children's Centre. We all enjoyed having her in the office and did our best not to use her to do all the nasty or boring jobs we've been avoiding!

Rachel very politely said she'd enjoyed her time here and had gained an insight into the variety of activities that go on and the mixture of 'boring but necessary' and 'interesting and creative' jobs that occur in most workplaces. She wrote a short day-by-day account of her week, which follows:

My week at Pewsey Children’s Centre
Monday
On my first day of work experience, I got to meet some of the staff at Pewsey Children’s Centre. They were all very nice and welcoming. My first job was to make 10 goodie bags for toddlers so they could be taken to events through out the week. My next job was to wrap a load of sandwiches for a buggy walk with toddlers their parents. That was a fun experience to work with toddlers for an hour or two. The rest of the day I made information booklets. I enjoyed the day because it was different from a normal school day and I did more than one activity that day.
Tuesday
On Tuesday I went and did the toy library in the morning with Jess and Louise which I enjoyed because it was nice to see the toddlers enjoying themselves. After that I went back to the office and carried on making information booklets and sticking labels on envelopes. I liked today because I was given different jobs to do than doing one all day.
Wednesday
Today I went to the Trenchard Lines, in Upavon, where there were toddlers and mothers. Mel, Jess and I brought some musical instruments for the toddlers to play with. After being there for an hour we went back to the office and I did the task of putting information into envelopes and that was my day.
Thursday
The start of today Debbie and I worked in the shop. This is the Information Point for the Pewsey Community Area and holds local information and tourist information as well as things to do with the Children’s Centre.
Friday
This morning I went to the ‘Music and Movement’ session for toddlers at the Scout Hall in Pewsey. Then back to the office to tidy up the stationery cupboard!

Summertime, and the living is a little easier, but although Paris might close down for the month of August, in Pewsey and particularly in the VAK offices it’s more or less business as usual. Fish are jumping though, and while we don't have cotton, the river is high, with all the rain we've been having......
We’re planning an information sharing event in September, at the Coronation Hall in Alton Barnes. This will be an opportunity to find out about Area Board Funding, Area Partnerships/Boards, an update on Wiltshire Council/PCT’s review, engaging with the PCT and the Adult Care Workforce Development Strategy. Call the VAK offices if you’d like to book a place.
The Children’s Centre has been running all its usual activities, as well as special summer holiday events .The Big Picnic was very well attended and everyone cheerfully accepted the British Summer Weather and had a good time in spite of the rain.

The Children’s Centre staff also ran the Green Balloon Day event at the end of July, tying in with the CBeebies Breathing Places scheme. (That explains the sacks of compost we were all falling over in the office.)

The Time Bank continues to flourish. The next coffee morning at Meadow Court will be on Thursday 27 August. All welcome to come along, meet Time Bankers, swap ideas for services and activities and chat to the Meadow Court residents – if you think you’ve got the energy to keep up with them!

For general information about activities in and around the Pewsey Community Area, contact the Information Point. If we don't know the answer, we usually know how to find out, and we like visitors.

Hope everyone has had a lovely summer, with lots of sun and ice-cream and sand between the toes. September looms, back to work, back to school, new projects starting, lots of things going on. Keep reading the blog (or Twitter) to stay up to date with what’s going on.

The week beginning 20 June was Age No Barrier Week, which was organised in association with Wiltshire Council and NHS Wiltshire - ‘to celebrate the contribution older people make to their communities and to recognise that age is no barrier for people to come together to make a positive contribution to their community. It is intended to also provide an opportunity for the different age groups within communities to use their skills and knowledge in such a way that they learn, enjoy and benefit from one another.’

Learning and enjoying are what the Time Bank likes best! On Thursday 25 June the newest members of the TB, Rushall School earned time credits by providing entertainment for older people in Rushall Village Hall. The reception class and Year 1 sang Spanish songs (they’ve all been learning Spanish this year). Then a selected group of Years 4, 5 & 6 came in and sang a medley of WW2 songs and some Beatles’ numbers. They’ve been studying Life In Britain Since the 1930s this term, so after they’d performed, the pupils sat with the ‘audience’ and grilled them for memories of times gone by.

They were very tactful, eyeing up their victims before deciding to ask if we remembered the Blitz (NO!), the Coronation (no…) or the first Man on the Moon (um…yes….) There was much talk of television programmes (the first Doctor Who! Crackerjack!) and fashions (Remember Afghan coats anyone? Hot pants?) and at least one group had a very merry time remembering (and explaining) Vesta Curries!

As is so often the case with Time Bank activities, it’s hard to decide who benefited most from the afternoon. A big thank you to the school, the villagers who came along, and the Domestic Goddess who provided the cake.
Credits have been banked.

Believing in Devizes

VAK supports the voluntary sector that works as faith groups in your local community - visit believingindevizes.blogspot.com to see what's on this week.

Away Day Planning

At last Summer is under way here in Wiltshire, and VAK is busy planning ahead. Yesterday the staff and Trustees met for a very interesting and productive Away Day in Devizes, and had the opportunity to hear from Sandie Lewis, the new Head of Voluntary and Community Sector Strategy for Wiltshire Council. Thank you, Sandie, for sparing time to come and talk to us, even before you are in post!

For our latest news please click here for our May ebulletin, and make sure you visit our website for latest jobs and news.

Remember - you can post comments on this blog - we would love to hear from you!

Spring is here!

The sun is shining and all is well in the VAK office - hopefully you have great plans for the Bank Holiday weekend - for a little light reading try the VAK April eBulletin, available now on our website http://tinyurl.com/c4qheu.

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We've joined Twitter -follow us at www.twitter.com/vakennet.

Sign up to follow our updates, events, and news - we'd love to hear back from you too!

Debby has been out and about spreading the Time Bank word over the past month. You might have seen her at the Greener Living Roadshow in the Bouverie Hall in Pewsey, or at the event to promote community groups on 28 March. A lot of people picked up information leaflets and application forms and were generally very interested in finding out about the Time Bank, so let’s hope that we’ll be signing up more members soon. As ever, if you’re interested in finding out more about the Time Bank, contact Debby (01672 564140).

The Time Bank has been working with Meadow Court in Pewsey, an extra-care housing scheme for older people. We’ve had one highly enjoyable coffee morning, which we hope to make a regular event. The residents are developing ideas about activities they’d like, which we hope the Time Bank can help to deliver, and other residents would just like someone to visit and chat to them.

The Thursday evening “English Club” for speakers of other languages is going well – we have half-a-dozen Time Bankers who turn up as and when they can, and about ten semi-regular learners. For about an hour and a half there’s a chance to practice speaking English for learners of varying levels of skill and confidence in a very friendly and informal setting. We’ve got people from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Spain and the Philippines who are getting out, making friends, and (we hope) having fun. There are usually biscuits on offer (or cake, or a rather nice Hungarian supper dish – a herby/paprika-y - cheesey thing, spread on bread – highly recommended!). We’re very grateful indeed to the PACT centre staff who keep the centre open a little later on those evenings – it’s much appreciated.

All these activities by and for TB members means that we’ve totted up 197 hours (going up all the time) of voluntary activity – which is 394 hours in Time Bank calculations, as receiving and giving service are of equal importance. Member numbers are now up to 33 (and a couple of applications outstanding) so we continue to grow. Long may it last!

Devizes Carnival of Fair Trade

On Saturday 21st February Devizes Town Hall hosted a Carnival of Fair Trade. The event was organised and supported by Wiltshire Churches Together, Voluntary Action Kennet, Devizes Fairtrade Group and Devizes Town Hall. This was a celebration of the commitment to fair trade by the churches, diocese and towns in Wiltshire. The aim was to come together to organise a day of feasting and fun and to promote Fairtrade Fortnight, 23rd Feb to 8th March.

Throughout the day there were a variety of events, including a church service led by Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ramsbury, attended by mayors from across Wiltshire. We were entertained by jazz from Kennet Vale Band, and had the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers in the afternoon, including Bridgit Strawbridge from TV’s ‘It’s not easy being green’. Kids and families had the chance to take part in a quiz and treasure map challenge.

Around 20 stalls came to promote fairly traded goods and stallholders included Plush Chocolates, Fruto del Espiritu juices from Columbia, Silverchilli jewellry, Love Zimbabwe and Fiema Crafts. Local supporters of fairly traded goods included The India Shop, Wiltshire Village Meats and Abecketts Vineyard.

Fair trade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers. This applies at home as well as overseas. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), fair trade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives. The Carnival day was a great success - thank you to everyone who came along and offered support for this event.
Remember to support Fairtrade Fortnight!

Did anyone see the story in The Sunday Times on 11 January (Money is dead – long live barter by John-Paul Flintoff)? Although the story dealt mainly with the economic aspects of various barter schemes it did mention Time Banks, and point out that they deal largely in the kind of help money can’t buy, and TBs operate a system in which “everyone’s time has the same value…and can improve the quality of life in communities”.

We particularly want the Time Bank to support older people, so if you know of someone who falls into that ‘third-age’ category ,and who could do with a hand with those odd jobs that are a bit more than they can cope with, let us know! Even in the unlikely event that they really can’t contribute anything, other people can ‘donate’ time credits to provide the help that’s needed.

But while we're talking of improving life in communities.......A big thank you to every one who came along to the PACT centre in Pewsey on Thursday 19 February for the first session of a regular English Conversation Club for people wanting to improve their English language skills.

Poland, Slovakia, the Phillipines and Pewsey (!) were represented and everyone agreed it was an interesting and enjoyable evening.
We plan to make it a weekly event, andseveral TB members have said they’d like to be involved. Weekly sessions should mean that “the home team” (Time Bank) and the “away team” (learners) can drop in as and when they’re free.

If you’d like to help, (or if you know someone who wants to improve their English conversational skills), come to the PACT centre on Thursday evenings at 7.30.

Happy New Year to all! As we're nearly at the end of January and 2009 is well under way, I thought I should give a brief update on Time Bank activity.

The Time Bank is continuing to grow, with 30 individual members, and 135 hours of activity in the bank (that works out at just under 4 working weeks).The range of activities continues to be vast and varied - from very skilful sewing jobs, to simple things like feeding and letting someone's dog out when they're away overnight, baking scones for an event, or changing lightbulbs for someone who can't hop up a step-ladder quite so easily these days.

It really is that simple - any little helping hand can make a difference to someone, and anyone can contribute. Your time is valuable. Sign up now!!

Upcoming - Debby will be at the regular Rushall Village Hall coffee morning on Saturday 7 February (best bacon rolls in the county!), explaining how the project works and encouraging new and existing members to get involved in exchanges and activities. All welcome.

On the evening of Thursday 19 February (7.30) Time Bank members will be at the PACT centre in Pewsey, for the first meeting of what we hope will become a regular, informal drop-in session for migrant workers or others who'd like to practice their English conversation skills with volunteers. We hope to see people who would like to develop their English skills but who may not have the time of inclination to sight up for a formal class - but at the very least it should provide an opportunity for Time Bankers to get together and discuss activities among themselves.

Do you have time, energy or skill which you could put to use? Do you know someone who could use some help? Contact the Time Bank (01672 564140) to talk about it.