Blog
shanna.lennon
Volunteer Coordinator Forum – May 2019
This time round, we met at the Booth Centre, a day centre that offers advice, activities and support to homeless people in Manchester. It was great to meet in a space that was obviously thriving with activity.
We had many new faces at the forum many of whom were new to their role, this is one of the main reasons the Volunteer…
helen.walker
"You’re never going to kill storytelling, because it’s built in the human plan. We come with it.” - Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale
For me, this quote sums up the power of stories. Sometimes stories are seen as fluffy and not as serious as facts and figures but before we had statistical models and survey data, we had stories. They were used as education, entertainment and to…
karen.dyson
It is possible to switch off from work when you have a job in the voluntary sector but this hasn’t been one one of those days for me.
The day began with a tram journey to Manchester, whiling away the time as I often do, by pottering about on Facebook and twitter. Most days I think this just answers my own question about why don’t I read as many books as I used to, but today it was very…
danielle.conway
Having heard the good news that I had been offered the role of Health and Care Development Worker at Macc, I was obviously elated and very keen to get started. So, I looked in my diary and saw that the North Manchester Community Explorers meeting was coming up. These meetings have been so useful for me in my previous role as a Community Connector. They have supported me to learn about the…
aleena.khan
Victoria and I attended an Ambition for Ageing seminar yesterday by Kate Jopling where she presented the findings from a recent publication ‘Age-friendly and inclusive volunteering: Review of community contributions in later life' by the Centre for Aging Better in partnership with the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS). The report can be found here: https://www.ageing-better.…
shanna.lennon
Volunteer Coordinator Forum – March 2019
We were joined by a wide range of organisations working across Manchester City who spoke about the positives and challenges of coordinating volunteers at their organisations with others offering support and advice.
One pertinent challenge which many shared was volunteer coordinators are increasingly being asked to cover a greater area and…
Mike Wild
Recently I had a very nice letter inviting me to write for a publication (quite high status) and a follow-up phone conversation to explore further. In the course of this, the London-based publisher emphasised that wanting to reach outside their heavily London-focused circle was a big priority for them. Who can guess the next bit of the conversation?
Having approached me with this request and…
People/communities experiencing racial inequalities, Business citizenship, Capacity Building, Children and Families, Community Engagement, Equalities, Faith, Funding, Learning, Skills and Employment, LGBTQIA+, Mental Health, Older People, Physical Disability, Policy and Influence, Social enterprise, Transgender, Young People, Other
claire.tomkinson
Systems Leadership
I’ve always struggled with imposter syndrome, and over the last couple of years I’ve tried really hard to make friends with it and attempt to turn some of those feelings into a strength rather than letting them become a weakness. It’s something that I’m getting better at with time, and a lot of the feedback that I have received from people that have read my first blog, either…
claire.tomkinson
Being a “leader”
I have never really considered myself a leader. I never even aspired to be a leader when I was growing up (although I refuse to admit that means I am actually a “grown up” now). I think I had a vague idea about wanting to be useful or making a difference to something, but I never really associated this with a particular role or a desire for some kind of power or control.…
Mike Wild
One thing - among many - which has puzzled me about the Brexit debate is the sheer number of people who have focused entirely on trade (transactions): there has been virtually nothing about international co-operation and broader relationships. This has been to such an extent that people are shocked when they hear about things like medical supplies being affected (a moment marked by the closure…
karen.dyson
Questions around the issues for your first 100 days in post are pretty standard interview fare. If you take out leave for Christmas, I reach that milestone today.
In my interview I talked about issues around representation. Macc is often called ‘The Voice of the Sector,’ and it’s not a term we often dispute, because it helps makes sure that the sector has seats at the table when consultations…
shanna.lennon
My two colleagues and I have just come from dropping off donations at Emmeline’s Pantry. Here at Macc we decided that one of the ways we could practice what we preach is by supporting a local Christmas Appeal, we asked for suggestions and picked at random. Emmeline’s Pantry was the name that came out of the hat.
Located at a Manchester Women’s Aid, they support families by…