What is the positive change that has emerged through new collaborations or partnerships during Covid-19 that your project is going to embed?

The positive change that has emerged through new partnerships during Covid-19 is through the recruitment of over 2000 volunteers within Cumbria through the Support Cumbria website. Our project through Cumbria CVS aims to continue to embed and support the recruitment and retention of new health and social care volunteers.

During Covid-19, Cumbria CVS worked with Cumbria County Council, local district councils, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust , University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, British Red Cross , third sector health and social care organisations and new Covid-19 Mutual Aid community groups to recruit volunteers. Support Cumbria was managed by Cumbria CVS and Cumbria County Council, which is an official collaboration of partners who worked together and continue to work together to provide community support to residents and organisations during the COVID-19.

Positive feedback from organisations or volunteers from Support Cumbria shows the real value of  partnership working.

What does your project aim to achieve?

Recruit 100 new health and social care volunteers in Cumbria to support health and social care organisations to support their service delivery through our Third Sector Health & Welfare Telephone Support Service – supporting discharge from hospitals.

Develop learning identified from the Cumbria CVS, Cumbria Community Foundation and IVAR Sustaining Community Action and Volunteering in Thriving Communities Conference Action Plan from Aug 2020.

Utilise learning from Support Cumbria Evaluation and co-ordinate information, advice, support, training or networking events, along with developing a shared online Google Drive for Volunteering Resources.

To recruit 16 digital/virtual volunteers to help Cumbria CVS, our Cancer Telephone Helpline and other health and social care organisations to adapt to new ways of digital working to support their volunteers and services users to get online and to access health services.

To reduce health inequalities through the involvement of volunteers to improve health and well-being despite any socio-economic factors.

How will the project be delivered?

The County Volunteer Officer who has over 20 years experience in volunteer management, with support from Cumbria CVS Business Development Officers and a team of digital/virtual volunteers.

Cumbria CVS will help to:

Enable more volunteers and services users to get online to access digital platforms and access support from GP patient online services and Cancer Support through Digital Volunteers.

Develop digital communication and marketing materials to promote health and social care volunteering opportunities

Organise a Health and Social Care Volunteer Recruitment Virtual Event

Run 4 Safe Return to Volunteering Sessions during Covid-19

Deliver bi-monthly Virtual Volunteer Leads Network Meetings and support Volunteer Lead  Training to share ideas, volunteering resources and spread good practice in volunteer management in health and social care.

To measure impact Cumbria CVS will use and encourage organisations to utilise iV Essentials which is a free online tool designed especially for volunteer-involving groups and organisations.

How is your project going to share learning?

The project will share learning through bringing together Health and Social Care organisations, mutual aid groups, local NHS to share experiences, knowledge and to support the recruitment and retention of volunteers through Volunteer Manager and Action for Health Network Meetings in Cumbria and System Group NHS Meetings.

The project will showcase a range of health and social volunteer case studies and how this has benefited service users to share the benefits of health and social care volunteering.

Learning will be shared through Cumbria CVS email bulletin, website and social media and the Third Sector Network in Cumbria.

New Volunteering Resources will be shared through an online Google Shared drive. Q Members will also be able to access this.

An evaluation learning report at the end of the project will be produced and shared with Q Members, our networks ,  NCVO and NAVCA so will be shared nationally.