viva project

Everybody has skills and qualities that they can bring to volunteering; and volunteering can offer something for everyone.  There are few more direct ways to build confidence, gain skills, develop friendships, build social capital and engage with your community. This includes people who have a disability.

Viva is county-wide project that has enabled and supported adults with a disability, since August 2007, into volunteering opportunities.  Project viva, is short for Volunteering in Vulnerable Adults’ Volunteering.

What is project viva?

It’s an initiative being run by Volunteer Cornwall, supported by the Cornwall County Council, Department of Care and Support. The project focuses on people with a physical, mental, learning or sensory disability and people with long term illness. We find welcoming, fun and meaningful volunteering opportunities for people who may never have volunteered before, but have an incredible amount to give.

The aim is to make volunteering accessible to anyone who wishes to give their time freely to a host organisation. Everyone has the right to volunteer and everyone has something of value to offer. The project provides support, encouragement and training to enable a person to get started and thereafter maintain their volunteering.  Viva works with a person’s existing key worker, Community Psychiatric Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist etc., offering support during initial meetings with a host organisation and provides ongoing advice and assistance until a placement is firmly established.

We have had a successful year and the number of referrals has increases month on month. We now have 420 people on the books, the majority of whom are volunteering and/or participating in the whole spectrum of volunteering opportunity. Due to the success of the project we have had to respond to this high demand. The solution; a group of dedicated viva mentors.

viva mentors

viva mentors provide a 1:1 partnership to enable a person to get and remain involved in volunteering. Mentor volunteers will provide a listening ear, ‘on the job’ practical support, introduce their partner to other volunteers and staff, and help them to integrate into the team. The mentor volunteers engender confidence and enable their partner to proceed and develop in their volunteer role. This mentoring role has now developed into group volunteering, I.T. Mentoring. We are now training mentors up, within partner organisations to act as the bridge between the partner and Volunteer Cornwall.

team viva

What else is project viva up; well we now have a group of volunteers called team viva. team viva attend functions and events (gigs) to help out with meeting, seating and greeting, selling programs, helping serving teas and coffees. You name it we’ll consider it. We have recently started another strand of volunteering; helping voluntary sector organisations packing their marketing material, a time consuming but essential job to those who need to get their message or information out.

To become involved in project viva contact Terry Stanton, on 07866 536735 or by emailing TerryS@volunteercornwall.org.uk