CoRe 2018 Case Study: Elfrida

The charity:

The Elfrida Society works directly with people with learning disabilities to build connections and help make their lives happier and more fulfilling. They provide support to people of all ages and all experiences of vulnerability, including responding to urgent priority issues as well as holistic work to address underlying needs. Services offered include advocacy, campaigning, consultation, volunteer befriending, sports, arts and music.

The project:

The Elfrida Society was looking for business support to help
it review its current assets, property and needs of the service users to inform a new five-year strategic plan. This piece of work was needed to ensure their current assets are fit for purpose, for both their beneficiaries and their sustainability, and to make the most of the income-generation opportunities available to them.

Impact and added value provided by the volunteers:

• The board are able to refer to the analysis and recommendations whenever needed and can use the findings in further planning and consultation

• The volunteers’ work has led to the creation of an internal steering group, which includes service users to have greater oversight and control over any plans

• In addition, the volunteers’ work led to the development of their processes for recruiting, inducting and managing business volunteers

  Why this project was effective:

• Significant time was invested by the charity to make the objectives clear, enabling volunteers to work with minimal guidance

• The charity conducted an internal volunteer skills audit

The volunteers took the time to really get to know and become invested in the charity

“They delivered on what we needed, and more”

“The volunteers just fell into a rhythm of coordinating themselves. It was a really nice balance of people, and they all had different skills and personalities”

The volunteers’ experience:

1. What were your personal highlights of the programme?

“Working alongside a great team of volunteers and the charity to make a tangible contribution by creating an achievable framework for the charity’s relocation project, and being reminded that skills one would ordinarily take for granted are quite useful in the right context!”

2. What was the best thing about working as a volunteer team and using your skills differently through this programme?

“We adapted our various skillsets to suit the less formal environment and audience to ensure we helped the charity achieve its desired outcome from the programme”

For more information on the full CoRe programme visit our CoRe pages. If you'd like to access CoRe for your organisation get in touch with info@thebigalliance.org.uk