Wandsworth Care Alliance

Volunteer Involving Organisations Network Meeting highlights

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Our VIO Network meeting was held online on Wednesday 26th March 2025 where we were joined by various community organisations as we discussed barriers to volunteering, ways to include inclusivity in volunteering. Thank you to everyone who joined us.

In the network meeting we were joined by Community and Outreach Officer, Samreen Mulji from Learn2Love2Read and Project Manager, June Pilgrim- Ndure from Community Empowerment Network. Our guest speakers shared their knowledge and experience with us and included some key methods in which they have found useful at their organisations on how to include inclusivity in volunteering.

After our guest speakers shared with us their valuable insights on ways to include inclusivity in volunteering, we opened the floor to come together collaboratively and discuss the barriers to volunteering for volunteers who have disabilities and want to volunteer but are often faced with limited support.

From the contributions of the attendees in the network meeting there was a shared acknowledgement and agreement that there does seem to be a barrier to volunteering for volunteers who have disabilities and may need additional support when completing volunteering opportunities.

In the open floor discussion, we discussed some of the reasons as to why organisation attendees found they were unable to facilitate volunteering opportunities – reasons such as being understaffed, health and safety and the nature of the volunteering opportunity all playing a part.

In conclusion from the network meeting we concluded that we would want to investigate ways of volunteering being made more inclusive for all and thinking of implementing reasonable and realistic changes in order to cater to all.

Upcoming Events:

  1. Volunteering at Little Village
  2. Volunteers are welcome to join any of the NHS-funded and GLA-funded training we are supporting
  3. DBS Workshop Session

Please provide your feedback to the VIO meeting here.

NHS South West London – Wandsworth Spring Grant Fund 2025 – Empowering communities to shape health and care services

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  • Are you a community leader of a voluntary organisation in south west London?
  • Do you know what matters most to the people you support?  Do you have knowledge about the health and care needs of the communities you work with?
  • Can you run an engaging activity and share what you have heard to shape the future of health and care?

The NHS in south west London is offering funding to support community-led activities and discussions that gather valuable insights. Wandsworth Care Alliance will be administering this grant on behalf of the NHS.

What funding is available?

Fund 1 & 2 – grants up to £550

Fund 3 – grants up to £2,000

Healthy Communities grant (Fund 1) and Digital & Health grant (Fund 2) – up to £550 available

What’s involved?

  • Host an activity and have conversations about health and care topics.
  • Use your knowledge and skills to share what you have heard with us
  • Join a short NHS training session – covering how to record feedback and insight from your community.
  • Share what you heard – take part in an interview after your activity with a local project lead and complete a short feedback form.
  • Join a listening event with NHS leaders – date to be confirmed soon!

This fund is flexible, and its focus is to hear from our most disadvantaged and marginalised communities. It is up to you to decide how and when you collect insight, this could be during your event or in the lead up to your activity. 

The NHS is funding you as a community leader to help us understand the experiences and views of the people you reach and support.

We simply ask that you have these conversations in a way that works for you, then share feedback and insight. You’ll need to complete a short form to help us capture themes along with an interview with a local project lead from Wandsworth Care Alliance. 

What can you apply for?

We would like to understand the views of people and communities on the following topics:  

  • Fund 1: Healthy communities fund – understand what helps people living in Wandsworth to stay healthy and what stops people from seeking support and preventing illness.
  • Fund 2: Digital and health fund – understand how technology can improve access to care and what digital barriers do people face.

Who we’d like to reach?

We’re particularly keen to hear from communities who often face barriers to healthcare.

If applying for a Healthy Communities grant (Fund 1), we’d like to hear from:

  • People from our most deprived areas – see application form for more details
  • People who experience issues or barriers in accessing health and care.
  • People who have lived experience of mental health services or support  
  • Groups supporting social connection, such as outdoor activities and events
  • People from our health inclusion groups – including migrants and refugees, people who are homeless, people facing social exclusion

If applying for a Digital & Health grant (Fund 2) we’d like to hear from:

  • People who face barriers using technology
  • People from our most deprived areas – see application form for more details
  • People from our health inclusion groups – including migrants and refugees, people who are homeless, people facing social exclusion.

Oral health community grant fund (Fund 3) – In-depth focus groups and community research – grants of up to £2,000 available

We are looking for community leaders and organisations to carry out in-depth focus groups and one-to-one discussions about oral health.

Your activity should focus on healthy mouths and teeth, gathering detailed insights from your community to help improve local services.

For more information and to support your application, please download this information pack on oral health grants for Wandsworth: Spring Engagement Grants – Google Drive

What’s involved?

  • Run structured focus groups and one-to-one interviews with:
    • People from our most deprived areas – see application form for more details
    • People from our health inclusion groups – for example people who are homeless or living in temporary accommodation, refugees, migrants, Gypsy, Roma & Traveller communities
    • Children and young people, their parents and carers
    • Older people over the age of 60
  • Join an NHS training session – covering how to record feedback and insight from the communities you work with and reach. 
  • Capture views, experiences and insights using key questions (provided by the NHS).
  • Submit a detailed report summarising your findings. Don’t worry we will help you plan for your report and provide lots of tips and guidance.
  • Join a listening event with NHS leaders – date coming soon!

Who we’d like to hear from:

  • Community leaders and organisations with strong connections to these communities and groups.
  • Those with the capacity to dedicate time to running structured discussions and reporting insights.

What could your funding support?

  • Focus groups and community research
  • Facilitator time for running in-depth discussions
  • Costs related to community engagement and participation.

How will applications be assessed?

You can apply for more than one grant, but applications will be assessed based on:

  • Reach and inclusion – how well you connect with the communities the NHS would like to reach. More information for each grant above.
  • Engagement approach – how you plan to capture insights and feedback from your communities.
  • Commitment to training and feedback – willingness to attend training and a follow-up interview.

Why your voice matters

As a community leader, you have the trust, connections, and insight to reach people in ways others can’t. By getting involved, you’ll help shape health and care services to better reflect the needs of Wandsworth residents.

Key information

  • Application deadline: 19 March 2025 at 17:00 
  • Funding available:
    • Fund 1 & 2: Up to £550
    • Fund 3: Up to £2,000
  • Who can apply: Community and voluntary organisations in Wandsworth.
  • To find out more – join our information session on Thursday 27 February at 1pm, please register sign up here!

How to apply?

Got questions?
Speak to a member of the team at Wandsworth Care Alliance:
Contact: Jessica on Jessica@wandcareall.org.uk.
 

Share and Care Homeshare: Creating Connections for Independent Living

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Caroline Cooke, director of community interest company, Share and Care Homeshare (www.shareandcare.co.uk) and Dementia Friends Ambassador

Share and Care Homeshare matches younger people (the average age of a Sharer is 39) who need an affordable place to live, with older people (the average age of a Householder is 84) who need some extra support to remain living independently in their own home. Costing just £165 per month, the Sharer offers the Householder 10-15 hours of support each week in a mix of practical help and company, plus the reassurance that comes from a regular presence and someone living in the home.

It can be a lifeline across generations, and people living with dementia are among those most likely to benefit from an arrangement. Other drivers to Homeshare include anxiety, loneliness, reduced mobility, poor eyesight and a host of others.

Matching connections

There are several reasons that Homeshare works so well; people are carefully paired to create strong connections – such as placing an elderly medical professor with dementia with a medical student – and taking into consideration common interests. It isn’t necessarily about a Sharer having specific experience; it’s about matching Sharers with the right manner, empathy, reliability and patience. Safeguarding is of huge importance too; all Sharers are fully-vetted, and Share and Care Homeshare remains in on-going contact for the duration of each arrangement.

Homeshare is incredibly flexible, sitting well alongside other support services; Householders often have visits from Carers alongside their Sharer. Equally, it works well for individuals and couples. For instance, a married couple where the wife has dementia; having a Sharer enables her husband to balance his time caring for his wife alongside a little respite time for himself when he can arrange to meet up with his friends for social events, with the reassurance of knowing there is a Sharer is at home. In some instances, if there in an additional spare bedroom, a Householder may have two Sharers (at no extra cost), so they benefit from additional support.

Thriving independently

In recent years, the number of people living in Homeshare arrangements has significantly risen. One of the reasons is that some people may not need – or be ready for, or be able to afford – residential or full-time live -in care. The kind of support a Sharer offers is reassuring to someone older; whether it be preparing an evening dinner a few times a week, picking up shopping, carrying heavier items, or simply as a companion to chat with and the reassurance of someone else living in the home. These can all help the frustration and anxiety that can come with getting older.  Sharers can also be great at providing a gentle nudge for people’s daily routines, or trigger reminders to take medicine or remember social commitments.

Having a Sharer in the home offers a greater capacity for independent living, reducing the risk of falls, improving wellbeing by reducing social isolation and loneliness, and increasing engagement in life.  Genuine, strong friendships are built and both parties become like family to each other. Importantly too is the impact on families who may live too far away to provide instant support. With Homeshare comes peace-of-mind that parents or loved ones are not alone.

Free Seated Exercise Classes

We have been running our Seated Exercise Classes over Zoom, at 11am on Wednesday mornings, for a few years now. Led by an experienced personal trainer,  the classes are about 30 minutes. People can sign up either through the link on our website, or by sending us an email.  

Dementia Information Sessions

Caroline Cooke is a Dementia Friends Ambassador and has been trained by the Alzheimer’s Society to deliver dementia information sessions, either in person or on-line. The sessions are interactive and informative and last about 1 hour; please contact Caroline if you would be interested in arranging a session.

Founded in 2006, and based in Putney, Share and Care Homeshare is a Community Interest Company (CIC), and is the largest and most experienced homeshare provider in the UK.

Tel: 020 3865 3398

Email: info@shareandcare.co.uk

Website: www.shareandcare.co.uk

Breastfeeding Friendly Network

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The Scheme
The BFN’s Breastfeeding friendly scheme is an initiative to make venues more comfortable for lactating Moms and their precious little ones. In order to do so, you only need to provide them with a seat/chair/sofa in any comfortable corner where the Moms can feed their young ones in a relaxed fashion.

It would really help if your venue’s team is welcoming towards all breastfeeding families and support a woman’s right to feed their young one without facing any shame or judgement. It is also important that Moms are not expected to feed their babies inside or near a toilet or diaper changing room. It is optional but would be very kind for your team to offer drinking water and some privacy to a breastfeeding mother upon request. The privacy can come in the form of a secluded area/room or use of curtains or a simple plastic divider etc.

If you agree to participate in the scheme, you must:

Ensure all employees/volunteers (as appropriate for your organisation) are aware of the scheme and have read the ‘Information for staff and volunteers’ document provided as part of the pack

Display the breastfeeding friendly posters, certificate of commitment and stickers (optional) in your premises (if appropriate)

Ensure all staff are aware of the law in relation to mothers feeding in public and that they know a mother must never be asked to stop feeding her baby in a place she is legally entitled to be. 

How to sign up:

Simply send an email to wandsworth@breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk OR richmond@breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk (depending on the borough in which your business is located) with the following details and the scheme is absolutely free of cost for you to join: 

  • Names of all the centres under your care
  • Addresses of all the centres under your care
  • Contact name for each centre
  • Contact email for each centre
  • How did you find out about breastfeeding friendly scheme
  • Are you interested in each centre being featured on BFN’s breastfeeding friendly venue locator map?

What will you receive on signing up?
A Wandsworth/Richmond borough specific welcome pack with 2 display stickers, an information booklet, a poster and a certificate of commitment. If you are interested, you will also be featured on BFN’s venue locator map.

Unlock free training & workforce development opportunities for your staff in 2025

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We want to introduce you to Roberto from Need 2 Succeed. His organisation is delivering a programme on behalf, the South West London VCSE Alliance, which is about VCSE organisations across SWL utilising the unspent NHS levy to pay for training/workforce development opportunities for any of your existing members of staff through apprenticeships.

There are lots of relevant courses that your staff could take advantage of (and completely covered by the donation, anything from master’s degree level to Level 2 or 3 courses). Roberto can guide you on how to receive the donation, choose the right courses and enrol employees on a one to one basis after the workshop on the 26th February. The online workshop is taking place on Wednesday 26th February, from 11am – 1pm.

Given how tight budgets are at present, we thought it might be a great way to be able to offer training and a progression pathway to employees. You can attend the workshop and Need 2 Succeed can also provide one to one support after that. 

Book your space here.

If you’d like more information before the workshop please contact Roberto from Need 2 Succeed at roberto@need2succeed.co.uk.

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