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| (A company limited by guarantee) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| TRUSTEES REPORT | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE (continued) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| B. Market services and increase accessibility | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Move to new Town Centre premises. This was the major achievement of the year. Moving to larger and more appropriate premises had been an aim in the business plan for many years. When the opportunity of taking on a purpose built information building in the centre of Hemel Hempstead arose we pulled out all the stops. From July to December 2006 negotiations took place with Dacorum Borough Council to secure these premises. This represented a huge commitment of time for staff, trustees and volunteers but we knew this move was key in the development of the Centre. We moved in April 2007, raising our profile and accessibility. The new premises have Gold Standard disabled access. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| do-it on the bus. This month long joint marketing initiative with other Volunteer Centres in Hertfordshire was very successful. ChangeUp funded the hire of a red double decker bus which was branded and kitted out as a volunteering information centre. It toured all districts of the county with each Volunteer Centre playing host for a day or two. The tour began at the Herts Show in June. Advertising on the bus featured Local Area Agreement targetted groups e.g. information packs for magistrates were distributed. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leaflet. Economies of scale were achieved by producing a joint Hertfordshire Volunteer Centres leaflet. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volunteer Speed Matching. Our second event took place in October 2006 in partnership with the Berkhamsted Lions. This formed a lively part of their yearly Community event in Berkhamsted Town Hall. 20 new volunteers were recruited and there was excellent feedback from both organisations and volunteers who took part. The really enjoyed the event. The Volunteer Speed Matching toolkit we produced in 2005/6 continued to be popular with worldwide sales. £410 was made through these sales this year. |
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| Presentations and displays. Over 40 presentations and displays took place in various locations during the year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| www.volunteerdacorum.org. The web site continued to play a big part in volunteer recruitment. Hits rose from 270 a month in 2005/6 to 476 a month in 2006/7. Enquiries via the web site and the link to www.do-it.org.uk accounted for 43% of all volunteer recruitment. (318 volunteers made do-it applications in this report year.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The HeraldExpress newspaper continues to attract many new volunteers through the weekly column, which we produce in partnership with their reporters. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Christmas Shopping Night for Senior and Disabled shoppers (in its 22nd year!) drew good crowds with volunteer drivers, wheelchair pushers and entertainers providing a great night out for 163 special shoppers. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ensuring services are accessible to everyone including people with disabilities | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The need for a confidential and fully accessible interview room was was met with funding from ChangeUp to adapt the premises shared with Dacorum Council for Voluntary Service. Work was completed in June 2006. Coincidentally the chance to move came up just after this work had been completed, but the room continues to be vital to other voluntary groups in the building. | |||||||||||||||||||||||