Voluntary Action Arun & Chichester
Voluntary Action Arun & Chichester
Our member organisations do amazing things. Here we will highlight some of their incredible work. Contact us so we can celebrate your successes.
Watch this space – more coming soon!
4Sight Vision Support is a registered charity supporting blind and sight impaired children and adults, their families and carers, across West Sussex. Its free services help clients maintain independence and live life without limits: we advise on accessible technology, education, employment, obtaining financial assistance, social activities, and health and wellbeing.
4SVS achieve this with a small, highly skilled and dedicated team, and with the support of around 200 volunteers.
Fundraising Sponsored Walk, Saturday 8 June. Join 4Sight Vision Support for a fantastic day out and at the same time raise funds to help the charity’s work providing support and specialist information to West Sussex residents who are blind or partially sighted. The Sponsored Walk will be held on the beautiful Angmering Park Estate, which is not usually open to the public, on Saturday 8 June. There is a distance choice of three or six miles, all fully accessible. For those living with sight loss, there is the option to walk independently or sign up with a companion as a guide, and trained sighted guides are also available. Transport can be arranged from Bognor Regis or Angmering train stations. The entrance fee, which covers the costs of putting on the event, is £10 which includes refreshments and a completion medal. 4Sight Vision Support is also asking that participants raise additional funds to help its vital work and would encourage a pledge of £25 through sponsorship or donation. For more information and to register, visit our website call 01243 838001 or email fundraising@4sight.org.uk
Home-start Chichester staff and volunteers
Home-Start provides support to families with young children who are going through a difficult time. Family life can be challenging for a whole variety of reasons – whether through poor mental health, multiple or premature birth, loneliness and isolation, or relationship difficulties. Home-Start volunteers offer a supportive listening ear, visiting families in their own homes. They can help with a range of practical and emotional issues, never telling a family what to do, but walking alongside parents and their children to help them feel more confident and to increase the sense of wellbeing of the family as a whole.
They are excited to be holding a new volunteer preparation course starting on the 23rd April. The course takes places weekly on Tuesday mornings and will prepare volunteers to support families in their own homes or at one of our fun and interactive family groups. The course is relaxed and informal. People who are interested in working with children and families in their local area would find this volunteering role very rewarding. All volunteers go through a safer recruitment process before being matched with families or supporting at our family groups.
Dog attack on hedgehog
Based in Sidlesham, Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital provides care and rehabilitation to sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. Their aim is to get them healthy for release back to local natural habitats.
In 2023, Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital treated over 400 patients suspected of falling victim to the claws and teeth of domestic cats and dogs. This distressing statistic represented almost 20% of the hospital’s total admissions for the year, signalling a critical need for pet owners to re-evaluate their roles as stewards of both their beloved animals and the diverse array of wildlife. By incorporating some practical steps into our daily routines, together, we safeguard not only our cherished companions but also protect our precious wildlife. Read more on their blog
Yada’s vision is to see a world with no place for sexual exploitation, where women can live a life free from abuse, stigma and violence. They provide free training to front line professionals as well as service providers who support women who may sell or exchange sex, aiming to raise awareness, support staff and help combat issues associated with stigma.
Their outreach project, The Esther Project, offers free tailored practical and emotional support to women in the sex industry including independent escorts, women working in massage parlours, women engaging in survival sex and victims of sexual exploitation and coercion.
They also offer a free 6-week course of women-only well-being workshops. Each workshop lasts between 45-60 minutes and covers a range of topics: self-care, self-esteem, boundaries,
cultivating healthy relationships, promoting kindness, and embracing positive change.
Saltwater Creations is a registered not-for-profit CIC based in Bognor Regis. They provide fun, beach themed arts sessions, for local schools, organisations and the community, to help promote positive mental and emotional wellbeing. Saltwater Creations aims to empower individuals to realise their self-worth, their abilities and a gratitude for life.
They are launching ‘Saltwater Sketchers’- new activity in Bognor Regis for anyone who would like to get out in nature, create art and meet new people. Friday 1st March 2024. Open for all ages and abilities. Free. An opportunity to get outdoors, by the beautiful beach, meet new people and create great local art!
Just turn up at 10am near the picnic benches at Felpham Boathouse for an hour of art. Bring your sketch books, pens, paints, cameras (some art equipment will be available if you don’t have any). Stay for a drink and chat if you want to!
All art will be photographed (with your permission!) to be added onto an online gallery to share with the community. This project is supported by Co-op Community Fund and plans to run several sessions through the year. Future dates and times will be posted on https://www.facebook.com/Saltwcltd
Making friends at Goodwood Education Trust
The Goodwood Education Trust operates on the Goodwood Estate and is an independent charity established in 1976. They work with children, young people and increasingly adults, to welcome people who might face barriers to spending time in nature, or who could really benefit from spending time outside. They have a purpose built accessible Education Centre, 20 acres of woodland for exclusive education activity, including 3 campfire circles, a nature trail, access to a meadow for burning off energy, and a location at Home Farm, Goodwood’s own organic farm. Their outdoor learning spaces are inspirational and spacious and secure. They welcome a wide range of groups to access the activities offered, which can vary from a mainstream primary school for a day’s farm visit, learning about where our food comes from, to a secondary GCSE Food Technology group taking part in a ‘Farm to Fork’ session, from a Special School or Alternative Provision enjoying weekly Forest School activities, or a group of young people facing life challenges enjoying time in the woods. Activities and sessions can be tailored for individual groups, particularly those with more special needs, to ensure everyone can take part. The Trust has an increasing interest and expertise in those with more specialist needs, and aims to be inclusive and accessible for all by listening to the needs of partners. Funding is available for some groups in certain circumstances. Social media is @goodwoodeducationtrust (Facebook and Instagram)
Their focus for 2024 is on three distinct programmes: Farm Visits for Schools, including free visits for disadvantaged schools Woodland learning, including weekly Forest School for vulnerable or disadvantaged students Children in the Community, including partnerships with local charities and Forest Adventures through school holidays, particularly for those on low incomes.
Pregnancy Options Centre in action
Pregnancy Options Centre offer a free counselling service for anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy, giving them time and space to explore their thoughts and feelings in a safe non-judgemental environment. They also provide longer-term emotional and practical support for those who are struggling following an abortion or facing pregnancy loss. In addition to counselling, they deliver interactive educational Relationship and Sex Education lessons to primary and secondary schools, engaging 2000 students each year.
They are recruiting for more volunteer practitioners and would like to hear from anyone who is interested in doing a Level 3 Choices course in September 2024 – contact office@pregnancyoptionscentre.org.uk
