The Small Group Project in the High Peak

Funded by The Big Lottery, Lankelly Chase Foundation, High Peak and Dales Primary Care Trust and Tameside and Primary Care Trust

(picture courtesy of Paul Salmen)

Annual Report August 2005 – July 2006

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The Small Group Project supports small voluntary and community groups in the High Peak and particularly those who are disadvantaged, marginalised or rurally isolated.

Contents Introduction 3 Project Management Perspectives 3 Chair’s Report (Kevin Skingsley) 3 Thanks to the Advisory Group (Sandy Schofield) 3 Advisory Group Members View (Margaret Heathcote) 4 Former Support Worker (Ingrid Galbraith) 4 New Support Worker (Nancy Fox) 5 Project Co-ordinator’s Report (Sandy Schofield) 5 Work with the groups (the facts and figures) 6-7 News from the Groups Older people’s groups 8 Disability groups and long-term health conditions 9 Geographically/rurally isolated 11 Mental Health groups 10 Other Activities Small Grant Pot 14 SKiLD 14 Special Event 14 Groups’ Admin Support 15 Partnerships 15 Acknowledgements 16

Staff Kevin Skingsley Chief Executive High Peak CVS (line management of SGP) Sandy Schofield Project Co-ordinator Ingrid Chambers Support Worker (September 2005 – June 2006) Nancy Fox Support Worker (commenced July 2006)

Advisory Group Membership Kevin Skingsley (Chair) High Peak CVS Danny Jenkins (Deputy Chair) Heartlink Peter Aldred Villa Liz Martin Peak VIPs (Visually Impaired) and Volunteer Bureau Carol Evans Rural Deprivation Forum and Volunteer Centre Sue Howard Buxton Volunteer Bureau and Summer Club Jean Martin Happy Days Jean Ollerenshaw Hear Hear Club Alison Salmen Hope Valley Access Jim Seddon Access Glossop Andy Brown High Peak Borough Council Peter Cockayne New Mills Action Group Margaret Heathcote Positive Approach Group Andréa Lewis Former SGP Support Worker, Club Acoustic and Funny Wonders

New members joining during August 2005-July 2006 Marie Marshall Community Roots Susan Walker Peak VIP’s

2 Introduction This report covers the period from 1 August 2005 – 31 July 2006. Although it relates to the work of the Small Group Project (SGP), we feel that can only be truly represented with reference to the groups that we support. We have, therefore, tried to give a glimpse into the diversity of the small groups of the High Peak with which we work; the breadth of the activity in which they are engaged and the enormous contribution they make to the lives of disadvantaged people in our community.

Project Management Perspectives Chair’s Report Kevin Skingsley—High Peak CVS Chief Executive A mature seven year old Yes, it’s true the Small Groups Project is seven years old, and what an amazing year this year has been. The largest Special Event so far, held in the wonderful surroundings of Losehill Hall, although difficult to manage it was fantastic to see and hear from so many representatives of the groups. The numbers of groups worked with each year continues to increase, new groups are setting up, established groups are taking on more projects and more groups are receiving intensive support. This year I have been very impressed with the willingness of the Advisory Group to take on the new role of Grants Panel to administer a funding pot (£4000) on behalf of High Peak Borough Council. This pilot project received training support for Lloyds TSB Foundation and has led to new initiatives taking place, a sense of power to make changes in communities, new skills for small groups and the link to other sources of help. I would like to thank all members of the team for their valuable input and particularly Sandy and Nancy for rising to the challenge of increased workload. I hope the Borough will understand the importance of our approach and fully resource in future years. I look for- ward to seeing Sandy’s in depth evaluation report and the 8th year.

Sandy Schofield - a big thank-you to our Advisory Group! Once again, I can use this occasion to express our gratitude to the representatives of the groups with which we have worked who give up their time to help us make the SGP an effective and responsive project. Many of them have been members of the Advisory Group for several years – some since the very beginning. Others have joined more re- cently and sadly one or two have left for various reasons. This year, however, we have only lost one member. Connie Brodie of Peak VIPs who has been a valued member had to leave due to other commitments. We are delighted that Sue Walker of Peak VIPs has been able to replace Connie. We have also welcomed two other new members, David Dyson of Peak Dale Community Group and Marie Marshall of Community Roots. Our Advisory Group has been extra busy this year as, in addition, to the usual practical help, advice and support they give us, they have also formed a funding panel to allocate a small pot of money on behalf of High Peak Borough Council. More information is given about this later in the Report.

3 Margaret Heathcote—Advisory Group member (social secretary Positive Approach) Our group, Positive Approach, was formed in 2004 as a result of our being brought together as Expert Patients, a forum for the NHS to hear and learn from people with long-term chronic medical conditions. We realised that we had much in common as a result of our experiences and benefited from supporting each other. With the help of the Small Group Project, we set up our group for friendship and support. Having written our constitution (thank goodness for Sandy and the ‘How to’ guides at High Peak CVS!) we successfully gained funding from the Derbyshire Community Foundation. This enabled us to hire speakers covering such health related topics as reflexology, aromatherapy and homeopathy. We also have outings and social evenings.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Sandy asked me to be a member of her Advisory Board in 2005 and wondered how I could contribute. However, I soon found that the feed-back I could give from my experiences in setting up a new group helped Sandy to understand the issues we face. The other members of the Advisory Group are really friendly and we benefit from networking opportunities, for example, publicising our groups and events. I was surprised by the number and variety of groups that the Small Group Project works with. I’m looking forward to hearing about how they develop and hopefully helping them with my feed-back.

Ingrid Galbraith Support Worker Goodbye to the Small Group Project It is with sadness that I am leaving the Small Group Project after my short time here. My commitments of family life with two young children have led me to decide to take a new job nearer to home in my local nursery school. I will be running the community groups and activities that the nursery provides to local children and parents.

I have really enjoyed the work of the Small Group Project and have learnt a lot about supporting groups that are disadvantaged or marginalised. Finding out how much work groups do across the High Peak has been amazing. The commitment and dedication of group member’s to help their group succeed is a testament to building community life. I saw this through my work with the groups directly as well as producing the ‘View From The Peak’ Newsletter and organising the annual ‘Special Event’. I particularly enjoyed the new element of the support worker role that supported groups when they had difficulty filling their committee posts. It was great to help groups continue rather than the group having to disband.

My work with Sandy has been inspirational and she is a great person to work with. She is dedicated and passionate about her work and I will miss working with her. A big thanks to her. All the staff at High Peak CVS have been welcoming and helpful and I have enjoyed my short time at the High Peak CVS. Keep up the good work.

4 Nancy Fox – Support Worker Hello! Having started in post in the middle of the 2006 summer heat-

wave (remember that?) it could have been a baptism of fire in more ways than one! However, everyone at High Peak CVS made my transition from private (veterinary practice management) to voluntary sector extremely comfortable and interesting. I had no idea there were so many groups out there beavering away making life just that much easier and more enjoyable! I have been in- volved with a veterinary practice management group in the past, so have experience of trying to bring together people and projects – quite a challenge sometimes but ultimately very rewarding. I am also still a volunteer in Stockport, helping teach English to speakers of other languages.

I’m really looking forward to working with such a great variety of people and groups and ‘doing my bit’. Sandy has been and I fully expect will continue to be inspirational, and I’m lucky in that both Andrea and Ingrid have pledged their help and support.

Sandy Schofield – Project Co-ordinator’s Report It’s getting to be an annual event to have to say good- bye to the Support Worker on the Project. Last year Andréa left us after three years with SGP and was re- placed by Ingrid, who has been a wonderful asset and brought her own skills, expertise and particular brand of enthusiasm. Sadly for us, but happily for her, she found a job that fitted perfectly with her family commitments and where she can use much of the group work experience she has gained on the SGP. We wish her well in her future and know that she will keep in touch.

In July, Nancy was appointed to the Support Worker role. In the short time she has been with us she has already developed a good relationship with many of our groups and ac- quired a broad understanding of the project. I am looking forward to working with her and finding out how her personality and skills will imprint its mark on the SGP.

There is always such a high demand for our services that we have to remain very fo- cused on reaching the kinds of groups who are our intended beneficiaries. Our mission statement refers to them as ‘marginalised, disadvantaged and rurally isolated’. They are also ‘small’ in the sense that they have minimal income and do not have a paid worker. Gathering the information for our Annual Report affords us the opportunity to assess whether we have, in fact, been successful in working with the groups most in need dur- ing the year. We are delighted that on the charts overleaf show that we have achieved these aims.

5 Work with the groups (the facts and figures)

We have worked with 53 groups during this period. This has ranged from sustained sup- port for a considerable period (classed as intensive) to simply sending some advice by phone, letter or e-mail (classed as minimal). Further information is represented by the charts below.

The types of groups we have worked with

13 Older 15 Area based 8 Disabilityl 7 Children/young people 7 Community Groups 4 Mental Health 3 Environment 3 Long term health conditions 2 Learning disability 1 Lesbian & Gay

3 Other - craft groups, carers

Intensity of work with Groups

34% 36% High (19groups) Medium (16 groups) Low (18 groups)

30%

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Kind of groups receiving intensive support

4:Mental Health 4:Disability (includes 1 childrens group and 1 rurally isolated 3:Long term health condition 3:Community (all rurally isolated/deprived) 2:Learning disability 2:Older people (includes 4 areas of deprivation/isolation) 1:Children/young people

Kind of work that we have undertaken over the year

Kind of work No of groups

Funding advice 40 Project development 32 Networking, signposting and referrals 28 General information and advice 19 Forward planning 19 Setting up new groups 17 Research on behalf of groups 15 Training information and advice 14 Developing partnerships 13 Writing constitutions 13 Management Committee development 12 Employment advice 8 Charity status and structure of organisation 5 Equal opportunities (also integral to our general work) 2 Other work (includes, venue; legal advice; publicity; organising events) 10

The above indicates the numbers of groups we have supported in this area of our work.

7 Groups starting, growing and achieving

Below we give a snapshot of some of our work with different kind of groups together with contributions from some of the groups.

Older peoples’ groups

This has comprised the largest proportion of our work (apart from our geographical focus). O.P’s groups have been helped in many different ways according to their needs. For some the support has been very intensive, such as in the setting up of a new lunch club. We have also worked with several in developing and finding the funds to start up projects. To be able to have a teacher to work with them gives an added interest to a weekly craft group. Another group has developed a reminiscing project where their memories will be captured on CD. Some have been able to take advantage of our new admin support resource. This has proved invaluable for older people who do not have access to a computer. They have been delighted with the colourful posters we have been able to produce for them to advertise their services and events. At the opposite extreme one of our older people’s groups has taken advantage of the IT training that we can offer which was tailored especially for their needs and delivered in their local venue. Also we have been able to bring lonely older people together in a group where they can develop their own social activities and arrange holidays.

Kathleen Wharton (Treasurer) – Wednesday Luncheon Club A need was identified for a new luncheon club for older per- sons in the Buxton area and with a great deal of help from Sandy Schofield of SGP we began our weekly club on Wednesday 20th September 2006 at Buxton Methodist Church. The aim of the club is to promote the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being of its members through the provision of a home-cooked, nutritious lunch and social activities. So far we have 25 members but we hope to increase this to a maximum of 30 in the first few months. Transport is being provided for members who are unable to make their own way to the club.

In the initial planning stages we were not aware of the help that was available from SGP until it was decided to do some research on the internet. It was when we telephoned High Peak CVS to enquire about the Foundation course in Food Hygiene, that we were introduced to Sandy and the planning really ‘took off’. Since that introduction SGP has been an enthusiastic supporter of the project and has provided us with many contacts for funding, advice and training. A great deal of help was also given in drawing up the Constitution and making applica- tions for funding. We now have 20 volunteers willing to help with the club on a rota basis and Sandy met many of these at our first meeting when the Management Committee was estab- lished.

As well as Sandy and her many contacts, we would like to thank The Bingham Trust, the North Staffordshire/West Derbyshire Rural Transport Partnership and Buxton Methodist Church. Without their support it would not have been possible to go ahead with this project. We look forward to reporting on the progress of the Wednesday Luncheon Club in a future SGP report.

8 Rita Holland (Chair) Crafty Folk Crafty Folk is a small group of older persons - 50’s – 80’s +. We have been meeting for three years but when told “you need a constitution” we asked “ what’s that?” – “How do we get one?” Thanks to our introduction to Sandy, we now have one, which has lead to our successfully applying for funding. SGP is now helping us to negotiate for a craft worker to come and work with us. Our motto is “you are never too old to learn”. We think it should read “You are never too old to ask for help”! People like us need the Small Group Project.

Disability groups and long-term health conditions

We have the greatest admiration for those people who despite the everyday challenges and barriers they face nevertheless find the inner strength and resources to set up and develop groups to improve life for themselves and others. To be able to offer them support is really satisfying. Those familiar with the work of the SGP will know of the ongoing activities of the access groups of the High Peak. There are now four access groups covering the entire borough. They work tirelessly to make our community a better place for disabled people and others. We are pleased to be able to give the groups ongoing support in many ways. As groups develop their needs change, and SGP has to acquire new knowledge and skills in order to continue to offer appropriate help. We are also thrilled that some of the disability groups we have supported for several years are now embarking on exciting projects that will benefit others in the community such as the Peak VIPs whose brailling service will be such a boon. It’s always good to know that your efforts are meeting real needs. For example, we were very surprised at the sizeable response to our recent publicity aimed at starting up a Fibromyalgia Support Group, which revealed that many people were suffering in isolation from this debilitating health condition. We look forward to helping this new group to develop.

Liz Martin Peak VIP’s I joined the Peak VIP group in 1999, when I came back to Buxton after living away for some years. At this time the group was run with Social Services and Derbyshire Association for the Blind. It was then held at St Anne’s Church Hall and although it was a good social afternoon for visually impaired people it was not as outgoing as it is today. In 2000 we moved premises to The Methodist Church on the Market Place in Buxton, which is where we still meet on the last Thursday of every month.

In the beginning we were supported by the two organisations mentioned above, but even- tually they wanted to hand over the reins to us to become a self-help group. This I am proud to say we have done over a number of years. Sandy Schofield offered us her help to get going and is still involved with us now. Without people like her and the Small Group Project, groups like ours would not survive. SGP helped us to apply for funding for transport to and from meetings, and as we grew, for funding to allow us to take up other activities.

We formed a committee and our first Chairman was Jim Campbell, he was with us for a while and in this time we started to go out for trips to garden centres and pub lunches.

9 After Jim, Alan took over and did a good job. We went on the Judith Mary down the Ca- nal from to New Mills. Unfortunately for all of us Alan passed away two days later. Our Chairman now is Sue Walker and we have a Vice Chair with a small com- mittee.

It is now 2006 and we are still going strong. Our latest venture is to set up a Braille reading and learning group. Again we have enlisted SGP’s help to guide us, and thanks to their expertise we are being very successful. Four of us made a trip to Sight Village in Birmingham, which is an exhibition for equipment to help visually impaired people. What we need to start our new project is a computer, scanner and Braille embosser. The em- bosser is a piece of equipment to transcribe from print to Braille. We are not just in- cluding people with a sight problem. Anyone is welcome to join us and take part. We have a room for this project at the Volunteer Bureau in Buxton which Derbyshire Association for the Blind have kindly funded for the first twelve months. As with any project more help and funding is always needed.

I would through the group like to thank Sandy and the other members and staff of CVS in Whaley Bridge for all they have done to support our group. I would like to especially thank Sandy and her team as without her guidance this latest project would not even have been attempted never mind coming to be a reality. I hope this short report will en- courage others and give them some inspiration to go ahead with whatever projects they have in mind.

Iris Richards (Chair) Glossopdale Fibromyalgia Support Group As a Fibromyalgia sufferer, I wanted to join a support group. Unfortunately, there were none in my area. Through my doctor and Glossop Volunteer Bureau, I was put in touch with the High Peak CVS, where I heard about Sandy and the Small Group Project. Together we began the process of starting up a support group in the Glossopdale area. However, because of a successful article written in the local press, we have had a rapid response covering a wider area than was originally decided on. Not having anticipated there was such a need for a support group, we will be spreading our wings further afield. Every caller I have spoken to wanted to know when we would be starting up and extremely eager for any information I could give them.

Sandy also approached the Regional Co-ordinator of Fibromyalgia Association UK, where she found out more about the regional structure of FMS support groups, which in turn will help her to help us in the best way possible. The Regional Co-ordinator has expressed a wish to come and visit our group and give a talk. We were also able to access a small amount of funding which will enable us to rent a room for the first meeting, have a I can’t thank Sandy and her team enough as I would have had no idea where to start a pro- ject like this. I personally know none of our prospective members, neither do I have any experience of running any kind of group, so SGP’s expertise in this field is going to be invaluable.

10 Geographically disadvantaged/ rurally isolated

Whilst we target disadvantaged groups, we are very aware that certain geographical ar- eas of our Borough can be forgotten. Often these are in the more remote rural hamlets and villages but they can be just as easily pockets of deprivation between larger villages and towns. We make special efforts to reach people in these communities and help them to identify needs and develop organisations and projects to enhance the local provision. The last year we have enjoyed working with an enthusiastic group in Peak Dale, helping them to set up a community association, together with a youth sub-group. In such a short time this group has already made great strides and has some real achievements to its name. We hope that we will be able to offer similar support to other communities lacking in resources, and have already begun to work to support the community in Harpur Hill. We hope that they, and others, can draw inspiration from the account given below.

David and Chris Dyson (Chair and Secretary) Peak Dale Community Group

Having just completed our first year as a group we feel that we have achieved much in a relatively short time. We are at the moment collating our questionnaires in preparation for the publication of our ‘village plan’, helped by Sandy and Helena Stubbs from the Derbyshire Dales Rural Community Council.

A very successful ‘Village Voice Night’ was held in the Methodist church hall to provide an opportunity to consult with local people. Various activities took place including a performance by Peak Dale Brass Band, ‘Messy Arts’ and a dance demonstration by the Peak Dale Hip Hoppers. Members of the High Peak CVS team were also in attendance lending their support. Other events organised during the year include a quiz sheet, quiz night and a car boot sale. The formulation of a medical ‘rapid response’ team was supported and publicized by us following a request from Rob Davies, a paramedic who lives in the village. Daffodil bulbs were planted last year by members of our group resulting in a lovely show of flowers this spring. Children’s ‘Messy Arts’ sessions have been organised by Gill running for three sessions during the summer and autumn school holidays.

Thanks to a grant of £9905, from Leader Plus we are able to fund a ‘youth forum group’ for 40 weeks from April 2006. This has proved most successful and is run by the leader Andy Hammil and his assistant Jill Lomas. The youth forum is based in the Methodist church hall most Thursday evenings during term time. Purchases already include a fold-away table tennis set, snooker table and a swing-ball. Barbeques and video and pizza evenings have been held. Outdoor activities include visits to a climbing wall and ten-pin bowling. Members of our community group have enjoyed attending a course at Hope Valley College and the Small Group Project Special Event at Losehill Hall.

Any successes we have achieved could not have happened without the support, advice and patience of Sandy, Ingrid and the team at HPCVS. The help given has been invaluable to us, whether by telephone or personal visits. Peak Dale Community Group and indeed Peak Dale Village itself offer sincere thanks to you all.

11 Mental Health groups

The four mental health groups that SGP has supported this year have all received intensive support. With one in four of us likely to suffer from mental health difficulties at some time in our lives, these groups fulfil an important function in society and provide a lifeline for people who can feel isolated and stigmatised.

Roland Javenaud (management committee) Gloss

Gloss is a small independent group which aims to provide a range of support services for people with mental health problems. The group was established in 1996 and has received support and funding from social services and in particular from Glossop Mental Health project, many of whose service users are also members of Gloss. In 1998 the group received funding from the Mental Health Foundation to set up a telephone crisis line which ran successfully for a number of years.

In recent years the group has been comparatively inactive. Service users felt they had lost touch with the group and little interest was expressed in its future. This seemed a pity, since in the early days a lot of work had been done drawing up a constitution and applying, successfully, for charitable status.

Sandy expressed an interest in undertaking some work to try to revive the group and to plan future developments. She attended a number of committee and members’ group meetings and also this year’s Annual General meeting. As a result of the discussions which took place on these occasions, it was agreed that Sandy should be invited to facilitate an Away Day in which people interested in Gloss, especially service users, could identify what they wanted Gloss to provide and implement plans to achieve this. This event took place on 7th June, was very well attended and proved to be a huge success. Sandy did a terrific job in rekindling interest in the work of the group and helping members to agree on future objectives. As a result of her input a number of new developments have been planned and are currently in process

of implementation. A talented local artist, Vaughan Parker, who is a member of the group, is working on a large scale mural, to be situated in the mental health project’s garden, which will help raise funds and attract attention to the work of the group Arrangements have been made for group Vaughan Parker’s mural members to meet one evening per month for a social event and to discuss future initiatives. Best of all, service users have expressed an interest in taking on officers’ roles on the Gloss Group Committee.

Sandy has agreed to continue to support the group by attending the Committee on an occasional basis and by making her expertise available to assist the group in funding applications. Before SGP became involved the Gloss group was in a somewhat sorry state, lacking in support, direction and enthusiasm. Thanks to her contributions, in a very short time the situation has altered dramatically. The group has been completely revitalised and has a much clearer sense of what it hopes to achieve in the future and how to set about this. Many thanks to Sandy, SGP and High Peak Council for Voluntary Service for their support and assistance.

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Louise Glasscoe (Treasurer) Community Roots Community Roots Group started in August 2005 with

the help of the Community Mental Health Team at Corbar View, Buxton. We received funding from North Derbyshire Voluntary Action and funding through Cath Sterndale. The group offers help to mental health service users. Sandy of SGP helped us a great deal with the constitution and other needs, invaluable ways. We all very much appreciate her in- put. Sandy also helped us with other needs such as public liability insurance.

So far we have had free computer tuition and this has helped some of the group members to gain confidence. Mark Davies from the CVS came to my house and showed me how to use Microsoft Publisher. As a result I have been able to design a leaflet for the group. Based on my design Sandy arranged for the CVS to produce multiple copies of the leaflet. Our member, Marie Marshall has had I.T. training and now feels more confident in sending e-mails. The CVS has put me in touch with Purple Zebra who have mended my computer and provided me with a colour printer for a reasonable price.

Community Roots had a Christmas meal at Ramseys Bar in Buxton. Several of us also went bowling to Macclesfield. Lesley Rasall provided two taster sessions on yoga and storytelling which were very much appreciated . We are putting in a bid for funds from the Primary Care Trust for some more taster sessions for the coming year. We are also hoping to go to Darley Dale for a story telling evening. We arranged a trip to York but nearly had to cancel it because of transport problems. However, Sandy arranged for her husband John to take us, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. We hope to visit Chester, possibly near Christmas. Sandy arranged for the group to have assertiveness training from the CVS. This was also very successful. Pat Thompson of Corbar View arranged a visit from the Shaw Trust which helps people get back into work through training.

We would like to say a big thank you to Sandy and Pat. We have done a great deal with the group since last August and this is mostly due to the support of the SGP, High Peak CVS and Corbar View.

Only a small selection…

As you will see from the Charts that we have produced, we can only mention a few of the many groups that we support. We could have used the whole of this Report to showcase the good work that is taking place amongst the small groups of the High Peak. We think it’s really important that the groups themselves get the opportunity to see what a big contribution they make. The one thing that the groups we work with have in common is that they are all marginalised or disad- vantaged in some way which makes their achievements all the more impressive!

13 Other activities

Small Grant Pot

This year SGP was charged with administering a small grant pot of £4000 on behalf of High Peak Borough Council. The aim was to ensure that the money went to the kinds of smaller, disadvantaged groups that often find applying for grants intimidating and onerous. In order to perform the duties of a Grants Panel, our Advisory Group received training by Gary Beharrell of Lloyds TSB Foundation.

Whilst the organisation and facilitation of the grants process was very time-consuming and demanding, we feel that we were successful in ensuring that the funding went to the groups most in need and who would be able to utilise the small amounts involved to the best advantage. We were able to help those who were less well organised and who would otherwise have been unable to apply. For example, if a group did not have a constitution, we could support them in drawing one up. Where the fund was not suitable for the group we were often able to point to alternative sources of funding or of other ways of achieving their aims. One group, for example, wanted £300 for advertising costs and we were able to advise them of how to get free publicity. Another group wanted £300 for IT training. We were able to provide this through our own re- sources at High Peak CVS. The mental health group concerned not only received tailored training but also individual members are still receiving ongoing one-to-one support honing their IT skills.

We are also very pleased to report that there has been a great deal of spin-off activity as a result of each grants round. We have, for instance, been able to support several of the applicant groups in other ways such as applying for other funding, finding suitable training and signposting to other agencies. Additionally, many of these groups are now ‘in the loop’ and receive regular mailings, attend voluntary sector events such as the SGP ‘Special Event’ and are generally much more aware of the support that is available to them.

Special Event Our annual Special Event was again a very popular highlight on our SGP calendar. This year it was held at Losehill Hall on 7th May and we far exceeded our target number of participants. There were 79 attendees from 34 different groups. We have to thank the CVS who supplemented our budget to enable us to meet the demand for all those who wished to attend. Also a big thank you must go to the Advisory Group for their wonderful support on this occasion, our other CVS colleagues and the workshop leaders and entertainers who gave up their time to make the event such a success.

Some of the ‘happenings ‘at our Special Event….

14 Groups’ Admin Support Service

This is the first year that we have officially offered this service to groups in times of crisis. We are pleased to report that, as was predicted, this has filled a much-needed gap in provision and helped many groups out of short-term difficulties.

For example, Ingrid acted as Secretary to New Mill’s Access Group when their member resigned. She also provided support for Positive Approach with their finances. Help was also given to Access Buxton with their accounting systems. In addition, she helped two of the groups complete their End of Grant Reports.

Nancy, who has taken on Ingrid’s role, has previous experience acting as chair, secretary and treasurer to various groups and she is looking forward to continuing and expanding this role. She has already been working closely with Iris of the newly forming Glossopdale Fibromyalgia Support Group.

SkiLD (Skills and Knowledge for Local Development)

This year Sandy has participated in a national Focus Group which aims to raise the quality of support that local infrastructure organisations, such as High Peak CVS, give to voluntary and community sector groups. The aims of the Focus Group were to set up new learning opportunities with and for development workers and to create a competencies framework, outlining the skills and knowledge needed to do the job effectively

Partnerships

Mary of Amethyst with Sandy and Nancy We wouldn’t be able to achieve half we do if it wasn’t for the fact that we can call on the expertise and skills of others in our sector. In addition to our own colleagues at the CVS, there are many others who we work with both formally and informally. Firstly, we should mention our joint work with Amethyst Project. Mary of Amethyst and Sandy have a long history of joining forces to bring extra value to com- munity groups. This working relationship has now been more formalised by our jointly funded project supported by Lankelly Chase. One of our local groups, Peak Dale Community Group, has already taken up Amethyst’s offer of finding out how the village can benefit from a food-related project. We’re sure this is the first of many happy consequences of our closer links.

However, it’s not necessary to have a formal written working relationship to be able to work together with like-minded colleagues. Over the years I have developed a wide net- work of contacts who provide support, inspiration and ideas. Their contribution is invaluable. Penny Kill, now of Gateway Project, similarly values joint approaches. She writes…. “Partnership working has always been extremely important to me both in the past as a freelance artist and in my current role managing a community arts project. It enables everyone to build on a fund of knowledge, share experiences and work together towards common aims. In the process it gives the projects that we work with the best chance of sustainability because they also get the opportunity to see the bigger picture. The fantastic work of the Small Groups Project shows just what can be achieved by people, when appropriate and knowledgeable support is given for long enough to build confidence and capacity.”

15 Acknowledgements

This year marks the first year of our Big Lottery funding which will also support the SGP for the next two years. Big Lottery is the major donor to the project and we would like to extend our thanks to it for enabling us to continue to help the small groups in the High Peak. We also thank our other donors, Lankelly Chase, who fund our joint work with the Amethyst Project, and Peak & Dales and Tameside & Glossop Primary Care Trusts. The groups that we meet give us all the motivation we need and we hope that our overview and case studies in these pages show our Funders what a worthwhile use is made of their grants.

Thanks to Kevin, my line manager, for his unfailing support. The confidence he shows in the project gives me the impetus to try out innovative ways of working. Our staff at CVS has grown and multiplied during the last four years. Many thanks to all my colleagues for the services they provide which are now also at the disposal of the smaller groups; and, from a personal viewpoint, for brightening my day and making me smile! Especially thanks to Nancy, whom I find it hard to believe has been with SGP for such a short time. (She is already making valiant efforts to organise me!)

Every day of our working week brings a new challenge, a joy and an inspiration. The people we meet through our groupwork are dedicated and committed, often surmounting great personal difficulties and barriers to achieve a better community. Nancy joins me in wishing all the small groups in the High Peak very best of luck to for the coming year. They certainly deserve it!

Sandy Schofield

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