DACORUM VOLUNTEER BUREAU
(A company limited by guarantee)
TRUSTEES REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2007
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE (continued)
A	Develop volunteering in targeted groups (continued)
	Work in developing opportunities was linked to particular areas of volunteering: -
w	Employer supported volunteering
	Through the Championing CSR in Herts project (Investing in Communities funded) Volunteer Centres in Herts have been able to develop employer supported volunteering. One of the themes of Championing CSR was:- to build capacity within the Volunteer Centres in Hertfordshire to enable improved engagement in team and employee volunteering opportunities. This to include preparing models of service delivery which can be income generating in terms of building sustainability.
	5 Volunteer Centres & BiTC joined working group – Dacorum, St Albans, Watford, Three Rivers and Broxbourne. The capacity of each Centre was increased by personal visits to organisations. We encouraged the use of employee volunteering to develop their capacity and updated our records on their current needs. We also began establishing a charging structure for work with companies.
	Team challenges were arranged for: -
	w  Ford Finance who completed 2 challenges including decorating the Women's Refuge
	w  CBS Repairs who adapted the home of a terminally ill child as part of the Tring Charities work.
	The partnership with Connect Dacorum (Community Action Dacorum's Corporate Social Responsibility Project continued to work well. Company contacts requesting employee volunteering information were referred to the Centre by the project co-ordinator.
w	Supported volunteering
	71 volunteers with extra support needs joined the supported volunteering project in the year. We provided 1:1 support to enable them to make successful placements. The process can be very labour intensive and is often not helped when the aspirations of key workers do not match the abilities of their clients. We have found it essential to be realistic and honest with potential volunteers.
w	Outreach
	Volunteer Centre Dacorum worked with the Neighbourhood Learning Project in 4 Community Centres in Hemel Hempstead:- Highfield, Gadebridge, Grovehill and Bennetts End. Volunteers were recruited for Internet cafes in the Centres where volunteers assisted learners in IT skills.
	Volunteering England’s Volunteer Points initiative came to Dacorum during 2006. The first unit was installed in Berkhamsted Sports Centre in Autumn 2006, with 2 more installed at Gadebridge and Highfield Community Centres in early 2007.
w	Sports volunteering.
	Closer links continue to be made with local sports clubs. It is hoped that the Volunteer Point in Berkhamsted Sports Centre will highlight to Sports Clubs the advantages of registering with the Volunteer Centre.
w	Youth volunteering
	As a member of the Herts Youth Volunteering Partnership, through Volunteer Centres in Herts, we were part of an unsuccessful bid for v funding. There will be more opportunities in 2007.
w	Volunteer Car Scheme in Tring
	A small team of volunteer drivers in Tring completed 189 trips for elderly and disabled people. Without this service many of these passengers would have been unable to attend appointments.