Minster Matters - May 19 - Issue 213

May 2019 Minster Matters 19
support, to get involved in the rich variety of volunteerrun
community projects in Thanet”.
A THANET project to combat loneliness and isolation is
one of five across the UK to scoop a £50,000 award.
Thanet Community Support Partnership (TCSP), part of
Kent Coast Volunteering, was picked from 200 charities
to pilot a new approach to age-friendly, inclusive
volunteering.
The project has received funding from the Centre for
Ageing Better and Department for Digital Culture Media
and Sport in order to marry up TCSP’s flagship central
referrals service, which helps the isle’s older residents
access the support and leisure services they need, with
the charity’s highly successful volunteer outreach service,
which matches individuals with volunteering roles within
the Thanet community.
Project Co-ordinator Chris Scutt said:
“We are absolutely delighted that our project has been
selected, especially given that there were so many other
excellent proposals.”
“We noticed that many users of our referrals service
would actually make great volunteers and could
themselves benefit from the rewards that volunteering
had to offer. They just had barriers which prevented them
from participating fully. The money will help us trial new
ways of enabling those who get in touch with us for
The Centre for Ageing Better awarded £250,000 of
Government funding to five projects in North Yorkshire,
Oxfordshire, East Sussex, London and Kent.
The aim of the fund was to develop good practice
approaches that will help to promote and sustain the
efforts of people over-50 who might face challenges to
being involved in formal volunteering roles or who help
their friends and neighbours in other ways which may
not be recognised.
Mr Scutt said:
“People call us for a range of reasons. It may be that they
don’t have friends or family, and would like to join our
Good Neighbours (befriending) Service; they may need a
gardener; or help with form-filling for a welfare benefit
they are entitled to. As well as helping find them the
support they require, we will now be able to see if they
would like to volunteer when the time is right for them.”
Other projects awarded funding include: ‘Growing
Connections’, which engages older volunteers in
community gardens across London to grow food; ‘Late
Spring’, an Age UK Oxfordshire project supporting
bereaved people to take up volunteering opportunities;
and ‘Hastings Age-friendly Volunteering’, which will
establish a group of champions to inspire people of all
ages to volunteer.
Find out more by calling Kent Coast Volunteering on
01843 609337 or visiting www.kcv.org.uk.
Volunteers and members of Kent Coast Volunteering outside the Royal Victoria Pavilion, Ramsgate, at their Community Fair last year