Kingston Voluntary Action

Increasingly KVA has become a key player in many types of strategic partnerships, either through direct involvement or through facilitating and supporting the involvement of Kingston's voluntary and community sector.

Developing such partnerships within Kingston and with other neighbouring London boroughs strengthens our collective capacity and helps build the infrastructure on which all Kingston voluntary organisations will benefit.

Some of our key partnerships include:

South London CVS Partnership

The South London CVS Partnership is an informal partnership comprising of the six Councils for Voluntary Service in the London boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton.

KVA has positively embraced the opportunites created by the Partnership and really worked very hard to ensure that the strategies collectively developed actually mean something to our voluntary groups and the people of Kingston upon Thames.

A number of projects have been developed under the Stategic but Local strapline including:

Underpinning Community Learning
Small Firms Learning Accounts
Workforce Development
Learning in the Community (see also our LiNC page)
Developing Young People through Community Action

For more information please go to the South London CVS Partnership Website at www.slcvspartnership.org.uk

Women in Governance

Women in Governance (WinG) is a unique and innovative programme for women which was launched in Kingston in November 2004.
WinG aims to increase the number of women involved in local governance, as Trustees, Councillors, Governors - representatives of their communities. We would like to hear from you, if you are interested in the project, if you want to take part or if you are recruiting new Board members for your Trust, Charity, Voluntary Organisation, School or College!

What is governance?
Governance is a fashionable buzzword used by blue chip companies, voluntary organisations, the British Council and the BBC amongst many others. But what does it mean? One dictionary definition is “government (with a small ‘g’), control or authority”; other aspects of governance are direction, guidance, overseeing. WinG encourages women to be involved in governance - take control of their lives, be influential in the local community, take positions of leadership and decision-making.

A few familiar statistics

Over 50% of the UK population are women
Only 18% of MPs are women
Under 30% of local Councillors and Charity Trustees are women

WinG is a response to this inequitable situation. The programme will:

Offer women the chance to grow personally
Allow women who are ‘at the coal face’ - the recipients of local service provisions - to put their experiences to good use at the decision-making level.
Help redress the gender imbalance.

The first step for women who are interested is to join WinG’s training programme in Citizenship Skills. The training, which is free and accredited It will be during the school day and runs for twelve weeks. It will build on women’s life skills and experience and give them a specialised knowledge of governance. No qualifications are needed other than enthusiasm, interest and commitment!

The next step is the Women’s Citizenship Forum – the forum where all WinG women can share experiences and information, give each other informal support and encouragement, and network opportunities.

The WinG programme will run over four years in Kingston, Richmond and Merton Boroughs and has already started in the other Boroughs with women drawn from a wide background. Some are young, single parents establishing their own self-help group. Others are retired and want to use their free time to contribute to their communities. Some are already working as volunteers and want to take on more responsibilities. The groups represent a real cross section of society – inspired and inspiring!

If you would like to know more about the project and if you would like one of the team to come and discuss how the project might help you or your organisation, then please call Jane Booth on 020 8255 8161 or 0845 675 1212, or email: janeb@richmondcvs.org.uk

Kingston and Richmond Law Centre

This new service now based at Siddeley House has grown from initial contact between Kingston Voluntary Action and Kingston University Law School. The service has run for a number of years voluntarily operating out of Kingston Citizens' Advice Bureau. It continues to offer legal advice in this way, still ably supported by a team of solicitors and volunteers.

Kingston and Richmond Law Centre is part of the much larger South West London Law Centres organisation and has been able to attract funding from a range of sources including the National Lottery and the Legal Services Commission. It provides advice casework and representation in the areas of immigration, asylum, housing and community care. It can provide cross borough services for social welfare law and can provide local voluntary organisations with legal support and training.

Please call telephone: 0208 547 2882 for more information or to make an appointment.

Kingston Community Furniture Project

Community Furniture has been set up through a partnership between KVA and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The aim is to reduce used furniture going into landfill by collecting, storing and distributing furniture at affordable rates to all low income groups. The project will also provide learning/training opportunities for disadvantaged groups.

Initially starting operations in mid 2005 from rented premises in Kingston, it is anticipated that the project will remove approximately 633.78 tonnes from the waste stream over three years. In the longer term it is intended that the project will merge with the broader project being planned in Kingston called 'Space of Waste' which will offer a wider range of re-cycling and re-use activities.

Furniture Donations

If you have any items that you would like to donate please call us on Tel: 020 8942 5500 and we will arrange a time to collect your items. We collect furniture between Monday and Thursday 9am to 3pm.

Referral Process

If you would like to become a referral agent please down load the information and send it back to us. The address is: Adams House Dickerage Lane New Malden Surrey KT3 3SF Email: furnitureproject@kva.org.uk. When you have a client that is in need of some furniture, please call us Tel: 020 8942 5500 to arrange a time for your client to view and buy the items they need. We will then arrange a time to deliver the items.

Self Referral

Community Furniture is happy to deal with clients who refer themselves. If you think you fall in to a low income group, need some affordable priced furniture, but are not supported by a referral agent.

Referral Pack: please down load and send back to us

Please visit Community Furniture's website: www.kingstonepublish.org.uk/communityfurniture

Grants and Voluntary Sector Support

The Voluntary Sector Unit is a specialist unit within the Council. The Unit works closely with Kingston Voluntary Action and provides funding, help, advice and support for voluntary organisations working in the borough.

Click here to go to their website for further information.