On Tuesday 30 April 2024 Davia, Projects Support Administrator, Billie, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, and Jules, CEO, went down to The Vine Community Centre to represent Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS) at the first city-based Community Roadshow. It was a lovely spring day, and we were honoured to be working in partnership with Healthwatch Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (HWNN) and Nottingham City Placed-Based Partnership (NCPBP) to host this event, and we couldn't have asked for a better turnout.
We had our very own stall at the entrance, which meant we got to say hello to everyone who walked in. We were joined by other stall holders from the following organisations:
- Al-Hurraya
- Alzheimer’s Society
- Bullwell Runners
- Citizens Advice Nottingham and District
- Fifth Sense
- GamCare
- HWNN
- Imara
- Nottingham City General Practice Alliance
- Nottingham CVS
- Nottingham Muslim Women’s Network
- POhWER
- Positively Empowered Kids
- Radford Care Group
- The Essential Baby Company
- The Lenton Centre
- The Wolfpack Project
- Versus Arthritis
- When Women Gather
- Your Time
The day started with opening remarks from Sabrina Taylor, HWNN CEO, as well as talks from Jules Sebelin, NCVS CEO, Kinsi Clarke, HWNN Community Engagement and Partnerships, Lucy Hubber, Director of Public Health Nottingham, and Rich Brady, NCPBP Programme Director.
Ria Pahwa, HWNN Community Engagement and Projects Officer introduced a fun idea to help get people talking. Each stallholder had a stamp (ours was purple, very on brand), and once a meaningful connection had been made with an attendee, they would stamp the attendee's card. Everyone who had managed to collect at least 10 stamps was entered into a prize draw.
During the 'connection zone', we spoke to over fourteen individuals representing nine different organisations. During one thought-provoking conversation with an attendee, we discussed how not all organisations are accessible to their members. She explained how she knew of people being taken off mailing lists for groups they physically couldn't attend in person, even though they benefited greatly from the information they got from the emails. She liked the fact that the NCVS e-bulletin provides a good overview of Nottingham's voluntary sector. We're proud to represent the whole of Nottingham and always strive to be as accessible to our readers as possible.
The day closed with a Q&A session with the panel of experts, Jules, Rich and Sabrina, who were joined by Sarah Collis, Chair of HWNN. There were questions raised that covered a range of topics, from the effects of the City Council budget cuts on the voluntary sector to including people with disabilities as a priority in health discussions.
Thank you, Healthwatch team, for sharing space at your new Community Road Show format and enabling us to be part of it.
It was great to be part of such an inspiring event! This was the fourth event we were involved in partnering with HWNN and Nottingham City PBP. Each time, we learn more about what matters to local people. And we are able to provide feedback about how the information has played a part in shaping local priorities. We look forward to continuing our joint work.
If you’re out and about and spot one of the NCVS team members, come over and say hi; we’d love to see you!
