Nominations for this year’s Surrey Heath Volunteer Awards are now open!

Our annual awards honouring the invaluable contribution made by volunteers in Surrey Heath are now open for 2026. This is a great opportunity for you to celebrate and recognise the incredible contributions volunteers make to your organisation and the wider community. The awards can be motivating for volunteer teams and raise your organisation's profile, as well as celebrating people's contributions.

On Thursday 3 December, we will be hosting an awards ceremony at Chobham Golf Club.

If you’re a Surrey Heath organisation, please nominate one or more of your volunteers, volunteer teams or businesses for these awards. This year’s awards categories are as follows:

• Unsung Hero Award – Recognising those behind the scenes such as a helpful trustee or someone working hard to support other volunteers and staff.
• Inspirational Volunteer Award – For volunteers who have made a huge difference to your cause and whose passion and dedication inspire others to make a difference.
• New Volunteer Award – For those volunteers who are new to volunteering and have been in their post for at least a year.
• Long-Service Award (for 10+ years of service) – For our long-standing volunteers who have been volunteering for more than 10 years.
• Volunteer Team Award – To recognise a volunteer team’s collaborative efforts and contributions to residents of Surrey Heath.
• Fundraiser of the Year Award – Honouring both individuals and teams for their passionate and/or innovative approaches to fundraising, regardless of the amount raised.
• Engagement in the Community – Recognising businesses that actively support local charities and non-profits, making a positive impact through their corporate social responsibility efforts.

You can nominate a volunteer or organisation for a volunteer award online. The deadline for nominations will be Friday 6 November.

When completing the nomination form, please ensure all contact details are correct.

Once nominations are closed, a judging panel comprising representatives from the local community will decide on the winners for each category.

If you need help completing the form or would prefer it in Word format please contact us on 01276 402789 or email Mark. And do forward the details of the volunteer awards to anyone in the Borough that you feel may be interested in nominating a volunteer – we want these awards to be as inclusive and wide-ranging as possible.

We have three new vacancies - come and join our team!

In part thanks to successful National Lottery and Surrey Consortium bids, we are pleased to announce that we are recruiting to three new roles:

• Lottery Project Lead - £40k FTE, 32 – 36 hours/week, Chertsey/Staines Office

The Lottery Project Lead will take a hands-on role in delivering this new project, working directly with charities, voluntary organisations and community groups to understand their needs and provide practical support to build their resilience and capacity. The postholder will also coordinate the project team and ensure delivery meets National Lottery Community Fund requirements.

Closing date: 23^rd October 2026.

• Out of Crisis Consortium Coordinator, £40k FTE, 32 - 36 hours/week, Staines

The Consortium Coordinator will manage the day-to-day delivery of the Out of Crisis programme across Spelthorne and Surrey Heath. You will bring our 28 partner organisations together to monitor and support their progress and help make sure local residents receive joined-up support from our consortium. This is a coordination role, not a specialist casework role. You will help partners work effectively together so people receive the right support.

Closing date: 16^th October.

• Part-Time Charity Accountant, £9k – £10k (equivalent to £45k-£50k FTE), 1 day/week (flexible), Chertsey Office

We are seeking an experienced and proactive Charity Accountant to take ownership of our finance function and support the organisation’s continued growth and development. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual who enjoys working independently and is confident managing all aspects of charity finance in a small but growing organisation.

The Charity Accountant will be responsible for the day-to-day financial management of the charity, ensuring accurate accounting records, timely financial reporting, compliance with relevant regulations and effective management of restricted and unrestricted funds. The successful candidate will work closely with the Board of Trustees and leadership team, providing clear financial information and helping to improve financial systems and processes.

Closing date: 16^th October.

Hot tips for charities from our September Networking Event

We were delighted to be joined by three excellent speakers at our September Charity Networking Event at Enterprise Egham:

Greg Martin from Zero Carbon Guildford spoke about helping small charities and community buildings cope with both winter cold and increasingly frequent summer heatwaves without large capital spend. Drawing on his background managing a major retail energy contract, he said that resilience starts with understanding where a building loses energy - through heating, lighting, draughts, insulation and equipment - before committing to costly renewables. He encouraged Surrey charities to take up the offer of free energy checks and thermal imaging surveys available through Zero Carbon Guildford, which produce a tailored report ranking no/low-cost actions, moderate investments (like loft insulation or radiator valves) and larger measures (solar, heat pumps). He also flagged their HEAT (Home Energy Advice Team) scheme, which offers free home energy surveys delivered by trained local volunteers, for members to promote to residents.

Katie Davey from Action for Carers highlighted the estimated 120,000 adult and 15,000 young unpaid carers in Surrey, worth an estimated £2.9 billion in unpaid support. Katie talked about the toll caring takes, with the majority of carers reporting stress, anxiety or loneliness, and national figures suggesting 1 in 3 young carers struggling to balance education with caring responsibilities. Action for Carers has expanded its support following recent changes, including extended helpline hours, dedicated support teams for adult, young and young adult carers (aged 16–24), hospital-based carer support advisers, a movement and handling team, and its Surrey Young Carer Champion accreditation for schools, and invited local organisations to refer carers into its services or host awareness sessions.

Lastly, our very own Wendy McGeachy, Funding and Resilience Manager, presented a picture of the current funding landscape, citing recent charity closures and intensifying competition for grants, with some trusts now receiving so many applications that funds close within hours of reopening. Wendy shared a wealth of practical resources for hard-pressed fundraisers, including Fundraising Everywhere's training sessions, the Charity Excellence Framework, 360Giving (useful for tracking what competitors have secured), and The List, which tracks which trusts are open, paused or closing. She also urged charities to look beyond traditional grants toward local businesses, golf clubs, pub quiz nights, easyfundraising, and Charity of the Year partnerships, while flagging long lead times for lottery funding (up to 40 weeks for some funds) as a key planning consideration.

A big thank you to our three speakers, and to everyone who joined us. Our last networking event of the year will be held this December in Egham. These events are a great opportunity to share what your organisation does, connect with others in the sector, and explore new opportunities for collaboration.

Tell us about your autumn and Christmas volunteering opportunities!

It's that time of year when we starting planning ahead for the festive season. We're also getting a lot of corporate volunteering requests through for autumn and into Christmas. Please do get in touch if you need any of the following:

• Do you have any tasks where you would welcome some corporate volunteers in the next few months? This could be hands-on support (painting, garden maintenance, clearance and deep cleans, conservation work) or more skills-based activities (eg: reviewing your IT systems, creating marketing material, hosting a training session on AI, updating your financial reporting etc.).
• Would you like to receive donations of gifts for your clients / service users for Christmas? We encourage local companies and their staff to donate to local charities and provide them with a list of gifts that organisations like yours would like. These can be as simple as a tin of Christmas biscuits to something more personalised to individual client needs. We encourage organisations to keep gifts close to the value of £10 as far as possible and certainly no more than £20 so that they are affordable for as many people as possible.
• Do you have any planned Christmas activities where corporate volunteers would be useful? This could be helping to prepare food and drink for a Christmas party, gift wrapping or delivery, setting up space for a Christmas event or anything else where extra hands would be helpful.

If you need some extra hands - please get in touch touch with Jo.

Spelthorne Mental Health Forum - September meeting

This month's forum, held at Stanwell Events, featured two main presentations:

• Stella Chandler from GamCare South East spoke about gambling harm; how it sits on a spectrum from low-risk to high-risk behaviour, the hidden ways it can present (often masked as debt, anxiety or relationship difficulties), and how professionals can open a conversation using a simple screening question: "Has your gambling, or the gambling of someone close to you, had a negative effect on your life?" GamCare's National Gambling Helpline is available 24/7, and the charity offers free training for teams wanting to learn more.
• Christina Griffith from Dorking Healthcare Talking Therapies gave an overview of Talking Therapies Surrey, an NHS service for anyone 17+ registered with a Surrey GP, offering support for anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD and more via self-referral, with a range of treatment options from guided self-help to CBT and EMDR.

Attendees also gave updates on their own services, including Crossroads Care, Action for Carers Surrey, the NHS Surrey mental health team, local exercise referral schemes, and financial inclusion support through A2Dominion.

The next forum is Monday 1st December, 10am at Stanwell Events.

Take Part: The Big Conversation on Care

The Big Conversation on Care is a chance for everyone in England to have their say on the future of adult social care.

Adult social care affects millions of people across the country. It supports older people, disabled people and people with long-term health conditions with a wide range of everyday tasks, helping them to live independently and safely.

However, the reality is that adult social care is not working well enough for many people, and change is needed to ensure that those who need support can get it.

The Big Conversation is part of the work being undertaken by the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, also known as the Casey Commission. This is being led by Baroness Louise Casey, who was asked by the Prime Minister to consider how adult social care should change to meet the needs of current and future generations, and to make recommendations for reform.

Safety and security advice from Hope Not Hate

This Hope Not Hate resource brings together practical guidance for community organisations facing increasing hostility, harassment and intimidation linked to far-right activity in the UK. It includes best practice on safeguarding, incident response, online abuse, misinformation, and longer-term resilience planning, drawing on HOPE not hate’s work and expertise from partner organisations. Complete this short online form to access them.

Hope Not Hate also has some useful community building and post-riot recovery resources. Find out more here.

White Lodge: building an award-winning volunteer team

Friends of White Lodge - affectionately known as FOWL - is a volunteer fundraising group supporting White Lodge, a charity for people with disabilities and their families and carers. What started as a small band of helpers running fetes and collection cans has grown into a 17-strong team that contributed 879 volunteer hours and directly raised over £4,400 in 2025, earning them Volunteer Team of the Year at the 2026 Runnymede and Spelthorne Volunteer Awards.

The team's success came down to giving volunteers real ownership - their own Facebook page, their own meetings, and the freedom to organise their own events alongside supporting official ones - plus regular social get-togethers like coffee mornings and pub nights to keep the group connected as friends.

Here are their top tips for building a volunteer fundraising team:

• Go to volunteer recruitment events: FOWL's story began at one of Voluntary Support's volunteer networking events!
• Keep front of mind why people volunteer: connection, fun and purpose
• Make volunteers feel valued and show them the impact they're making
• Allow time for people to connect socially
• Remember your volunteers are your friends: a face-to-face chat is usually best if problems arise
• Keep some boundaries, and don't overburden them

Need support managing volunteers?

If you're new to managing volunteers - or want a refresher or some inspiration - we're running free 'Recruiting and managing volunteers' training this October.

This workshop is aimed at voluntary organisations who want to improve how they recruit and manage volunteers, and establish good practices to help retain the volunteers that they have. The workshop will cover:

• Evaluating and planning the recruitment process
• Advertising and promoting your volunteer opportunities
• What should be included in a volunteer policy/agreement
• Understanding what motivates and de-motivates volunteers
• Methods of recognising and rewarding volunteers.

Thursday 8th October I 10am - 3pm I VSNS Chertsey Office
Book your place.

If you have any questions, feedback or would like to arrange a call or meeting to discuss how we can support your volunteering activity, please contact mark@voluntarysupport.org.uk.

Keeping volunteers when everyone's time-poor

Many charities report finding holding onto volunteers challenging once time gets tight - for volunteers and coordinators alike. According to a recent article from Access Group, the answer lies in removing everyday friction from the volunteering experience. Their advice includes:

• offering flexible roles alongside fixed rotas so people juggling work, caring or multiple causes can still contribute;
• cutting unnecessary admin steps from sign-up through to logging a shift;
• giving volunteers the tools to self-serve - booking activities, accessing training, checking their own impact - rather than routing everything through a coordinator
• keep volunteers connected between shifts.
• design systems around your most loyal volunteers. Data shows older volunteers (particularly those 65+) give the most regular time, so tools that work well for them tend to work for everyone. 

New resources for organisations from Surrey VCSE Alliance

Surrey VCSE Alliance is a county-wide network bringing together voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to work collaboratively with health, care and local government partners. The Alliance has recently published two practical resources for organisations:

• VCSE Engagement Guide: a guide to engaging effectively with councillors and MPs, particularly timely given the current local government reorganisation and the arrival of newly elected members across West and East Surrey. Download the guide here.
• Working Together for Greater Impact: a toolkit for VCSE organisations looking to collaborate more effectively with partners across the sector and beyond. Download the toolkit here.

Free digital resources for charities

CAST (Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology) is a charity that helps other charities and social sector organisations make the most of digital technology - and they share a wealth of free resources aimed at supporting organisations on their digital journey.

Their free resources library covers a wide range of topics, including:

• AI resources and free courses: including Getting Started with AI (an eight-week email course), AI for Leaders (a four-week course for senior staff), and a growing library of AI experiments shared by charities and funders
• Digital Toolkit: 30+ tools and resources to support organisations developing a digital product or service
• Shared Digital Guides: practical guides on using digital, data and design, written by charities for charities, with over 90 guides and growing
• DigiSafe: a step-by-step digital safeguarding guide for charities designing or taking services online
• Learn User Research and Learn Design Thinking: free self-serve courses for teams wanting to develop their digital practice.

Camberley & District Job Club: Free, Friendly Support for Jobseekers

Camberley & District Job Club is a volunteer-run service offering free support to anyone looking for work in and around Surrey Heath. Based in 'The Blue Room' at High Cross Church, Knoll Road, Camberley, the club is open every Monday morning from 9.30am to 12.30/1pm, with pre-booked appointment slots at 9.30, 10.30 and 11.30 (drop-ins also welcome). Zoom and telephone appointments can be arranged for anyone unable to attend in person.

Volunteers help with CV writing, job applications, using job search websites, and guidance through work programmes, alongside downloadable resources like a CV checklist and template on the club's website.

To find out more: camberleydistrictjobclub.com, call 07341 450911 or email camberleycentraljobclub@gmail.com.

Recruiting and Manager Volunteers
8 October, 10am - 3pm

This workshop is aimed at voluntary organisations who want to improve how they recruit and manage volunteers, and establish good practices to help retain the volunteers that they have.

Areas covered during the workshop are:

• Evaluating and planning the recruitment process
• Advertising and promoting your volunteer opportunities
• What should be included in a volunteer policy/agreement
• Understanding what motivates and de-motivates volunteers
• Methods of recognising and rewarding volunteers.

Trustees Roles and Responsibilities

24 November, 10am - 2pm, location tbc

Voluntary Support North Surrey is offering a half‑day course to help trustees and charity leaders strengthen governance, understand legal responsibilities, and improve financial confidence.

Led by charity law expert Helen Harvie, the session covers:

• Trustee duties & recruitment
• Board roles and effective meetings
• Governing documents & Charity Commission requirements
• Financial health, accounts & reporting
• Serious incident reporting & key legal essentials

Perfect for new or experienced trustees, CEOs and senior leaders who want to keep their charity compliant, confident and well‑run.

Charity Networking Event - 11 December, Enterprise House Egham

Our last Charity Networking Event of 2026 will be held on 11 December at Enterprise Egham.

These events are designed to bring together local organisations and community groups. This event is a great opportunity to share what your organisation does, connect with others in the sector, and explore new opportunities for collaboration.

Spaces are limited and December is always oversubscribed, so please only book if you intend to join, otherwise the space could be allocated to someone else.

Spelthorne Mental Health Forum – 1 December, 10am

Our quarterly Spelthorne Mental Health Forum will next meet on Tuesday 1 December,  10am–12noon at Stanwell Events. Speakers are to be confirmed.

This event is for groups based in or operating across Spelthorne with a connection to mental health, whether that's through tackling isolation, age-related mental health or disability.

Each meeting has one or two speakers, followed by a roundtable session where people can give an update on their service and share anything new for discussion. It's a great opportunity to connect with other organisations and hear about events and service developments taking place locally.

If you’re interested in attending, please contact Catherine for more details.

Training and Networking Events 2026

Recruiting and Manager Volunteers - 8 October, 10am - 3pm

Trustees Roles and Responsibilities - 24 November, 10am - 2pm

Spelthorne Mental Health Forum - 1 December, 10am - 12noon

Charity Networking Event - 11 December, 10am - 12noon