Training for Community Groups and Volunteers

We are very happy to be able to continue offering courses under the DIY Community Action programme, thanks to the continued support of the John Laing Community Trust and the Monument Trust.

Three more courses will run in the current financial year, and this funding means that we can offer these courses for only £50 for the first community volunteer booking on and £20 for every additional community volunteer booking on the same course, from the same organisation.

This price not only includes the training but also all meals and refreshments during your stay and accommodation for the duration of the course in one of our en-suite bedrooms at Trafford Hall.

All courses on this programme are fun and informative and help local community groups tackle real issues in real situations. There is a small grant fund attached to this programme, so you will have the opportunity to apply for a grant of up to £500 to help your community project develop.

The courses focus around the themes of:

  • Sustainability in communities
  • Health
  • Local social enterprises

Paid workers and others who do not wish to apply for a low cost place should contact Claire mc.lawton@traffordhall.com or phone 01244 300246 to discuss charges.  The cost includes en-suite accommodation, all meals and refreshments.

Upcoming courses:

AVOIDING BURNOUT
16-17 February 2012 - Trainer: Ed Isaacs and Rachel Vernelle
As a volunteer, are you feeling tired, fed up with the fact that it always seems like you're the one attending the meetings, reading the paperwork and organising the events? If you are feeling pretty burnt out right now, come on this course and get back the positive feelings about why you volunteer.
By the end of the course you will: understand and be able to identify some of the causes of burnout; have explored strategies for overcoming specific aspects of burnout; understand how to achieve your aims and develop your interests; have developed survival strategies that will work for you and for others in your organisation.
This is one of our most popular courses - book now to be sure of your place.

COMMUNITY START-UP GUIDE
20-21 February 2012 - Trainer: Whitington Solutions
All projects and groups have the same basic requirements - people, money, venue, management and volunteers, resources and equipment. All projects require a skills set from the people running them.
On this course you will consider the requirements of your project, regardless of what it is you want to deliver; you will think about transferable skills that are already part of your group's skill set; you will develop your own project proposals for discussion at open forums to offer ideas and mutual support, and you will go away with clear action plans to kick-start your own project. Lots of input - from the trainer, from successful community projects, and from participants. Lots of laughs and a real plan cemented in your minds and on paper, to take away with you. Brian Whitington has many years experience helping groups develop their own projects all over the UK.

FURNITURE RECYCLING AS A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
12-13 March 2012 - Trainer: That's How We Roll Training
On this course you will learn what you need to know to set up a social enterprise; you will learn how to source furniture and equipment for little or no cost, how to repair donated furniture to a saleable or reusable standard, how to use social media to grow your enterprise, how to involve your community in what you are doing. You will share skills and experience and thus develop a network with others working on similar projects. You will learn how to work effectively as part of a team and how to involved the most economically disadvantaged in your community. You will understand the economic and environmental benefits of furniture recycling. You will learn how to work effectively in partnership with other agencies, how to develop your own action plan and budget and how to access funding. The trainers are very experienced in this field and bring a wealth of experience to the training design and delivery.

To book a place please contact Claire Lawton on 01244 300246 or email mc.lawton@traffordhall.com for further informtaion or to book a place.