The newly-appointed coordinator behind ambitious plans to bring back a volunteer centre to Haverhill has spoken of her excitement at starting the new role.
Jill Moss has devoted a number of years to the local volunteer sector through her role as District Commissioner for Girl Guides and her work at LampH.
Now she is spearheading plans for a new volunteer centre in Haverhill which aims to raise the profile of volunteering including providing a one-stop-shop for both individuals and organisations.
Jill will be supported by the new Haverhill Good Neighbour Scheme which has been launched to provide support to vulnerable residents.
Jill said: “I am looking forward to my new role as coordinator of the Haverhill Volunteer Centre, encouraging and supporting people to get involved in the community.
“I have been volunteering and supporting other volunteers for many years and it is so rewarding to be part of that journey and potentially help change people’s lives.”
Volunteer Centre latest ONE Haverhill Partnership project
Sitting under the Haverhill Community Trust umbrella, the charity arm of Haverhill Town Council, the volunteer centre is the latest ONE Haverhill Partnership project to be delivered by the council.
Funding has been secured from West Suffolk Council and support from other partners such as Community Action Suffolk and River of Life Community Church with plans to find a suitable location now being stepped up after they were initially delayed by the coronavirus crisis.
Haverhill Town Clerk, Colin Poole said: “This post was planned long before the pandemic and it would have been enormously useful to have had the Haverhill Volunteer Centre up and running on its original timescale.
“Instead we have made a number of adjustments, including carrying out interviews for the post over Zoom and Jill initially working from home.”
John Mayhew, chairman of ONE Haverhill Partnership, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jill and Emily to these new and invaluable posts.
“ONE Haverhill Partnership has for many years been aware of the strong volunteer spirit in the town and it is great that the Haverhill Volunteer Centre and the Haverhill Good Neighbour Scheme will support and enhance this.”
Good Neighbour Scheme will ‘harness community spirit’
Meanwhile the Haverhill Good Neighbour Scheme has been set up to provide support for vulnerable residents who may need help with shopping, prescriptions and feelings of isolation.
Newly appointed coordinator Emily Fox said: “The Good Neighbour Scheme is a fantastic way to harness the community spirit created in response to Covid-19 and to create an amazing legacy in the town.
“It already has genuinely changed the lives of those people who are helped, and our wonderful, all-important volunteers say they have found the work uplifting and helped their wellbeing too.”
A similar volunteer-led group to help vulnerable people through the Covid-19 pandemic was operated by Jamie Nunn from the Matilda Rose Nails and Beauty on Withersfield Road. This will now join forces with the Haverhill Good Neighbour Scheme.
For more information about either the Haverhill Volunteer Centre or Haverhill Good Neighbour Scheme, please call 01440 848584.
A new website – www.volunteerhaverhill.org.uk – will also be launching soon or search for the Haverhill Volunteer Centre Facebook page.