Annual General Meeting at Ashfield Voluntary Action a great success
25 July 2019
Ashfield Voluntary Action held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 16th July. AVA wanted to take the opportunity, not only to conduct the formal business of the meeting, including presenting the accounts, electing a new Chair of Trustees and giving an overview of the work we have been doing in the past year, but also to acknowledge the wonderful work of our volunteers and celebrate our tenth year as Ashfield Voluntary Action.
The meeting was very well attended, with around 40 people joining us on the day and began with the election of our new Chair. Our former Chair, Ann Jackson has retired and we were delighted that one of the other Trustees, Dr Margaret Gregory was nominated and seconded as the new Chair. Margaret began her role as Chair by thanking the previous Chair, Ann for the committment and dedication she had shown to AVA through some challenging times.
This was followed by a brief snapshot from each of the team at AVA as they gave an overview of their projects and the work they have been carrying out over the last year.
We then had our volunteer awards which acknowledge the amazing and varied work which has been carried out by our fantastic team of volunteers over the past year. Part of our role is to secure volunteer placements for other local voluntary and community groups and so there is a real mix of what is available.
In addition to this, the operation of a couple of our projects have been handed on to other groups as their success meant that they grew beyond our capacity to manage them. So we were very pleased to hand over, not only the operation of the main volunteer Car Scheme to Our Centre and our Emergency Food Bank to St John's Community Food Bank, but also with the schemes a team of experienced and dedicated volunteers.
Our Manager, Teresa Jackson, spoke briefly about each of our volunteers giving a flavour of the contribution they make to our community and what they gain from volunteering. Each of our 18 volunteers was awarded with a certificate of appreciation and special pen inscribed with our logo and the words, 'Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves'. We also presented special 'Above and Beyond' awards to a further 9 volunteers who have really gone that extra mile for the community and these people were presented with a certificate, personal write-up of their contribution, a pen and a star award. Finally, we gave a member of our team, Ellen Clay (who also began as a volunteer) a special award for being our unsung hero and the glue that holds AVA together. This was an emotional part of the meeting and quite a few tears were shed. Our Manager, Teresa Jackson said, "volunteering is an integral part of what we do at AVA and it is really important that we acknowledge the fantastic contibution volunteers make in our community".
Andrew Smart receiving his long service Award
Awards were presented to:
Kevin Ball - AVA Volunteer - Ashfield Community Enterprise
Debs Twigg - AVA General Volunteer
Paul Barrett - AVA Volunteer - Ashfield Community Enterprise
Ethan Burden - AVA Volunteer - Ashfield Community Enterprise
Derrick Swain - Ava Volunteer - Ashfield Community Enterprise
Anne Moorcroft - Volunteer Driver - Our Centre
Alberto Rovida - Volunteer Driver - Our Centre
Jean Toseland - Volunteer Driver - Our Centre
John Turner - Volunteer Driver - Our Centre
Christopher Vardy - Volunteer Driver - Our Centre and AVA Radiotherapy Car Scheme
Geoff Ware - Volunteer Driver - Our Centre
Gary Chauntry - Volunteer Driver - Our Centre and AVA Radiotherapy Car Scheme
Jenny Boothroyd - AVA Volunteer - Step by Step Craft Group
Carol Gregg - AVA General Volunteer and Carers Support Group
Yvonne Purvis - Car Scheme Administrator
Lynn Sewell - Car Scheme Administrator
Paul Henshaw - Car Scheme Administrator
Andrea Shelton - Volunteer - Anchor Centre
Leonard Allchorne - AVA Volunteer - Ashfield Community Enterprise
Chelsea Anderson - Ava Volunteer - Administration and Reception
Robina Anderson - AVA Volunteer - Step by Step Craft Group
Edward Brennen - Volunteer Driver - AVA Radiotherapy Car Scheme
Patrizia Canova - AVA General Volunteer & Mansfield & Ashfield Emergency Food Bank Volunteer
Jamie Herberts - AVA General Volunteer - Garden
Jacobus Lemmen - AVA General Volunteer & Mansfield & Ashfield Emergency Food Bank Volunteer
Andrew Smart - AVA Administrator & Long Service Award
Brenda Walker - AVA Volunteer - Step by Step Craft Group
Ellen Clay - recognised for her sterling work supporting the day-to-day operation of AVA
Ashfield Voluntary Action wanted to make the most of the day and so visitors also had the opportunity to see the work carried out by our various volunteers. Wood work items including benches, planters and bird tables from Ashfield Commuity Entrerprise were on show and the Step by Step craft group also showed off their wares. In additon to this there was a tombola, afternoon tea and chance for people to chat, find out about our work and network.
After the Volunteer Awards visitors had the option of attending a funding workshop. Nina Daubin from Nottinghamshire Community Foundation gave a talk on funds available to local community groups including infromation on the Ashfield Community Development Fund.
AVA also ran a Dementia Friends Awareness session as two members of the team are trained Dementia Champions and seven new Dementia Friends were created.
If you are interested in volunteering, would like to find out more about our work and how we can support you, or would like to become a Dementia Friend please call us on 01623 555 551 and we look forward to hearing from you.
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