NCF were delighted to welcome a familiar face as our guest speaker this morning. Gail Bloomfield had been an operations and HR professional before working freelance and joining the local business networking circuit. Since she retired a few years ago, Gail has been using her time wisely as a Trustee of local charity One Community. She joined us for breakfast for a welcome catch-up and to give us an overview of all the amazing services One Community provides.
Who are One Community?
One Community is an independent charity providing voluntary sector support and community development in the borough of Eastleigh. They also provide care services, information and community transport – among many other things! Their aim is to improve the quality of life for the people in our area through their services and the various projects they operate. This particularly includes children, families and older people, and anyone disadvantaged or disabled, but welcomes anyone from our community. They also offer support for individuals, member organisations and voluntary groups, either directly or by referring them to the right place.
One Community’s history goes back to 1978, when they began as the Eastleigh Council of Community Services. By 1996 they had evolved to be Eastleigh Community Services and they took on their current name in 2007, with offices in a lovely building on Romsey Road close to the centre of Eastleigh. (You can read a little more about their history here). Throughout their evolution, One Community has always been about bringing people together to help themselves and each other.
What does One Community do?
One Community’s mission is to provide community support, promote social inclusion, promote voluntary action and encourage partnership working, all while advocating for change. They look to achieve all of that through a number of different avenues:
Transport services – their Connect service (formerly known as Dial-A-Ride) provides free, accessible local transport for anyone with mobility or transport issues. They also provide regular shopping trips from villages around the borough into Eastleigh town centre and to Hedge End Retail Park. Many of their drivers are regular volunteers. They also offer competitively-priced minibus and driver hire for any organisation who needs it.
Shopmobility – anyone who has difficulty getting around on foot (either permanently or temporarily) can borrow a manual wheelchair or scooter to help them get about independently. From their base in the Swan Centre, this free service allows individuals to shop or use other facilities around Eastleigh town centre.
Lifeline – One Community work with a local supplier to provide panic alarms to anyone in our community who is at risk of falling or who has a long term condition, such as Parkinsons or epilepsy. They are currently working with the supplier to transition their clients through the landline switch-off. The same team can also fit key safes for a small charge or supply personal alert wristbands.
Young Carers – supporting young people aged 8 to 18 years, One Community currently work with about a hundred families in our area. They provide the opportunity to meet other young carers, have some time away from their caring responsibilities at home and generally have some fun! One Community are particularly pleased that six of the young people they support are set to start university in September, a milestone often out of reach for young carers, who are 38% less likely to earn a degree than their peers (UCL).
Volunteers – many of One Community’s team are volunteers but they also support those volunteering with other local organisations and charities by providing training and support.
Support for organisations – as well as individuals, One Community are also keen to work with and support other local organisations and charities. One Community can help a community group to set up and they will be offered membership, to give them access to things like training and facilities hire.
And so much more! Their Personal Assistant service or Day Centre groups can provide a few hours respite for carers and those they care for to get out or socialise. And One Community can refer families for the support of the Eastleigh Basics Bank, for example.
How can we help?
As a charity, One Community are always on the lookout for two things in particular:
Do you know of any fundraising opportunities? As a charity, One Community rely on donations, fundraising or any grants they can apply for (and win) to run all of their brilliant services. With Government funding ever dwindling, those fundraising opportunities become even more important. If you have an idea to raise funds or are organising an event that they could get involved with, please don’t hesitate to invite them, here.
Could you be a Trustee? One Community need volunteers with wider business experience to help oversee their activities, in particular the financial and regulatory aspects of running a busy registered charity. No previous experience is required as full training will be given. The most useful skills for any Trustees are probably critical thinking and the ability to ask the question that no one else will. (And we all know how community involvement like this is great PR for your business!) If you have some spare time in your evenings and could attend about 8 to 10 meetings per year, do get in touch for more details.
Thanks for your time, Gail. It was great to hear about all this good work – and let’s see how NCF can support One Community in future!