Everyone at Communities 1st hopes you had a wonderful Christmas time, and that you have had a well earned rest. We would like to thank everyone who has been conducting Christmas calls and visits to help ease people's loneliness this Christmas time. You have all worked so hard to bring light to people within the community this winter time, and we know how valuable these services have been for our clients.
Looking forward to the New Year we have more volunteering opportunities coming up in the new year, we have been asked a "Hospital at Home" service. This is similar to the Pulse Oximeter project, but involves delivering a light touch monitoring service so patients can be monitored at home rather than needing to attend appointments. More information will follow in the next couple of weeks. Volunteers will need to be DBS checked and we can arrange this. If you might be interested in this activity please get in touch via email podadmin@communities1st.org.uk
All the best for the week ahead,
Stephen Craker
Chief Executive
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Communities 1st will be operating on a slightly different schedule than usual next week, so please be aware there may be a slight delay in answering emails over the Christmas and New Year weekend, and the phone lines will only be monitored during the below listed hours.
Due to the Christmas period, we want to make you aware that any expenses submitted after the 20th of December may take a little while longer to process due to the bank holidays. If you submit your expenses after this time and have still received nothing by January 6th, please email us and we can look into this for you.
We hope you have a lovely, safe and warm Christmas period, and enjoy whatever you do with your time.
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Training courses are available to our volunteers all year round. You can learn about all the topics we cover and register for dated sessions by clicking here.
Dementia friends Session
This session will give you the opportunity to learn more about what it is like to live with dementia and turn that understanding into action.
Date: Wednesday 18th January
Time: 11am - 12pm
Register here.
Introduction to BSL Session
An introduction to the British Sign Language and how it can be applied effectively to communicate with those living with deafness and hearing loss.
Date: Wednesday 25th January
Time: 10am - 12pm
Register here.
| Meals on Wheels - Request for extra support |
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Due to the cold weather and snow this week, Meals on Wheels are looking for some DBS checked minibus drivers to assist on journeys delivering meals to people within the community. The volunteers will not have to do driving themselves, but due to the weather conditions, it is safer and easier to have drivers accompanied by a secondary person.
The meal rounds will be from 10:30am to 3pm, and sites are based in Letchworth, Hertford, Hemel and St Albans.
More information can be found here.
| Christmas Calls and Door-Step Visits |
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Our Christmas calls and friendly door step visits have begun, and we have many volunteers supporting members of the communities through these activities.
Your presence can brighten what may otherwise be a cold, lonely period for some members of your community, and we still have plenty of calls and visits to assign. We will be covering clients in the Hertsmere, St Albans, Broxbourne and East Herts regions. Whether you have time for one call, or multiple visits, all help is welcomed and will go a long way towards brightening someone's day this winter.
If you would like to help us support the community by signing up to do some festive calls or door step visits, please email us or call 01727 649900 to find out more.
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| Volunteering Opportunities |
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Activities Facilitators
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We hope you are already aware of our Warm Welcome Hubs taking place in Radlett and Borehamwood. Now that these are up and running, we need friendly Activities Facilitators to help us organise some activities for the attending guests. activities we could offer include:
We are open to activity suggestions. If you have a particular hobby you can share, even better. Get in touch by emailing or calling 01727 649950. |
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Bus Buddies
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Introduction to BSL Session An introduction into the British Sign Language and how it can be applied effectively to communicate with those living with deafness and hearing loss. Date: Wednesday 25th January Time: 10am-12pm |
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| How to Claim Expenses |
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New Volunteer Expenses Claim Form
We have a new volunteer expense request form. If you don't have it, please email us and we will send it to you.
For Shopping Delivery and Prescription Collection Expenses
- To claim expenses, please sign up to our dashboard and upload your expenses there. Click here to create a login using the same email address that you originally signed up with. You will then see a list of your completed and pending activities.
- Please submit expense claims the same week that you carried out your shop, and if appropriate, provide a photo of your receipt. If an expense is not claimed in a timely manner it can lead to a client going into arrears, which can cause them stress and confusion. We appreciate your help with this.
- If this is your first shop, you will first need to email us your bank details so you can be reimbursed.
For Vaccination Centre Expenses
- If you haven't already uploaded your bank details, please do so through your online dashboard.
- If you are experiencing financial hardship because of your volunteering expenses, please email email us and we will reimburse you as soon as possible.
For Drivers, Litter Pickers and Other Roles' Expenses
- You will have been sent an expense claim form when you confirmed your job. To claim your expenses, please complete this and return it to the sender.