As part of the new voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) support service that Devon Communities Together (DCT) is establishing we facilitated four summer drop-in events in East Devon (Axminster, Exmouth, Honiton, Sidmouth) which gave our team the opportunity to meet and talk with people in the area about what they need and want most from this new service.
The DCT team was excited to meet dedicated and passionate individuals from local VCSE organisations and some great conversations took place about what has gone well and what the challenges are. The meetings confirmed how important it is to get together: during the events new ideas and best practice were shared and new connections were made between people and organisations. DCT will be continuing this approach as we co-design the new service, to continue supporting the VCSE sector in East Devon to grow stronger together.
At the four events we talked to lots of people, including from Nutriri, ReadEasy, Axminster Wellbeing Centre, Royal British Legion, Restore Seaton, a Community Hall, schools, WEB Health and Wellbeing Board, Seachange, Clinton Devon Estates, Action East Devon, Parental Minds, The Den, Girl Guides, Open Arms East Devon, Space, Rotary, Sidmouth Voluntary Services and Friends of Sidmouth Library. Conversations included funding, volunteering, recruitment and retainment of volunteers and networking. It was fantastic to see people share ideas, connections and contacts with each other, as well as offers to help each other with different challenges.
DCT is an independent charity that has been commissioned by East Devon District Council to run the VCSE support service in East Devon. If you want to talk to the team, please get in touch by calling 01392 248919 or emailing eastdevonvcse@devoncommunities.org.uk
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.