In September Community Action Network (CAN) welcomed their new Partnerships Manager, Emma Lee, to the team. Emma is extremely passionate about the work and impact the voluntary and community sector (VCS) has both on the communities it works with directly and the wider impact it can have by ensuring peoples voices are heard.
Emma is really keen to champion and promote the great work that the VCS does in Dorset as well as encourage and work with businesses to look at how they can support and champion the sector too.
CAN is a charity that provides professional and practical support to organisations working within the VCS in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. We want to see these communities healthy, diverse, vibrant and flourishing and our mission is to empower the voluntary sector, enable volunteering and involve communities. We believe that together, we CAN make a difference.
We do this by providing professional expertise, practical services and a platform for promoting and sharing volunteering opportunities. We help groups set up, speak up on their behalf to ensure they have a say in the local community, support them to network, and give them the tools and knowledge they need to grow and thrive.
As a business and an individual there are lots of great ways you can get involved with the VCS in Dorset and help have a huge impact on the community you live and work within, such as:
- sharing your knowledge and expertise by sitting on a trustee board supporting an organisation with their strategic aims and priorities
- providing specific expert advice in a particular area such as communications, HR or IT. Charities are often seeking help with specific projects or need advice but are unable to afford to pay for it – this could be done as a one off or as a specific project
- providing grants to enable much needed community action to take place within communities
- fundraising for charities and projects
- donation of items
There are lots of charities operating in both the BCP area and the shire of Dorset, micro charities that are volunteer only and have an income of under £10,000, small charities that are a mix of volunteer and employees and have an income of under £100,000 and then the well-known larger charities. All are seeking help and support from people and businesses like you whether it is to share expertise or help by getting your teams to fundraise for them.
Through our membership we have relationships with many of these and can help you to link up with a charity who you connect with and feel you could really make a difference to.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Emma, emma.lee@can100.org, if you would like to talk further about how you or your business can get involved.