ncvs

[ncvs]

Responding to ‘Better Lives, Better Outcomes’

By Jane Todd, NCVS Interim Chief Executive

‘Better Lives, Better Outcomes’ is the new draft Adult Social Care strategy for Nottingham City Council, currently open for consultation. Your feedback is invited and will be used to help shape the final strategy which will be taken to the Full Council in November, ready to implement from the start of 2019.

The draft strategy and online feedback survey can be found here.

Jane Todd, NCVS Interim Chief Executive, has written this short think piece on the proposals and would welcome your additional comments on what the voluntary and community sector’s focus and questions should be.

Please contact Jane at ncvs@nottinghamcvs.co.uk by Monday 17 September 2018, ahead of a stakeholder event to be held at the Council House on Tuesday 18 September.

The context for this draft strategy is that there is a much smaller purse and increasing demand for services. It is based on a principle of promoting independence: working with citizens and communities, their needs, aspirations, skills and resources to build their resilience and independence.

It is good to be consulting, but I would argue that we’re very much still in phase one of this process. Do we know enough about how to grow independence and strengthen local communities?

Guiding principles:

Less dependence on public services, increased personalisation of services and resilient communities will both reduce demand on adult services and lead to better lives.

Health, Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Homes will work together seamlessly.

Greater use of local facilities in communities – e.g. Leisure Centres and Libraries.

For me, there is a lack of specific detail and evidence that this approach will result in better lives. I would feel more reassured if this evidence was presented, or at least a statement made e.g. – “all the evidence around increased personalisation of services points to citizens backing greater choice, personalisation and independence; hence this being a foundation principle”.

Four themes are presented:

Prevention

Community Connections

Independent Lives

Choice and Control

There are a few key areas of focus but these are aligned against different themes than those proposed above, with no suggested outcomes or funding totals, so there is not a lot to go on. However, an early theme and action centring on employment pathways is to be welcomed.

Here are a few initial ideas for what the voluntary and community sector might ask of Nottingham City Council:

Where will the main funding reductions and investment be targeted?

Is need the main criteria for targeting and if so, is this individual citizen need and/or community?

Co-production for an action plan would be great, but how?

How do social prescribing plans and the volunteering strategy fit in?

It is said that “80% of behaviour change results from system change”, so a strategy for radical change is always welcome, as is acknowledgement that this will take time.

Please contribute your thoughts to Jane at ncvs@nottinghamcvs.co.uk by Monday 17 September 2018.

[ncvs]

Measuring the Impact of Volunteering

By Dave Thomas, NCVS Volunteering Development Officer

Whenever I go to network meetings or conferences, I enjoy a game of Buzzword Bingo as much as anyone. But there’s word that’s been creeping into the vocabulary of volunteering that deserves rather more than a tick on the bingo card. That word is “Impact”.

It’s become very popular, although its meaning is sometimes a little blurred. James Noble is the Impact Management Lead at New Philanthropy Capital, whose blogs on this topic make for interesting reading. His very readable summary sets out the view that impact measurement is:

Long-term. If ‘impact’ means something sustained, then we have to have a way of getting data from people after our work is done—potentially long into the future. In practice this means longitudinal research, which is the hardest and most costly type of research to do.

Comparative. Even if we can get longitudinal data we still have the problem of attribution: how do we know our programme has been the thing that made the difference? To test this formally we need a counterfactual or control group.

Robust. To actually ‘measure’ impact we need to do both 1) and 2) with enough rigour and scale to be confident in the results.

In trying to measure the difference our volunteer programme makes, very few of us have the resources or the time to carry out a study that meets all three of James’ criteria. But this doesn’t remove our need to produce some evidence. No matter what we call it, this is something that we (and our funders) really need (and want) to know.

Planning

Before we can decide how to measure a difference, we need to know what difference we want our volunteers to make. This is pretty obvious, but unless we have a clear idea at the start of the process, how can we know what and who we should be monitoring and measuring?

The planning stage of the Impact cycle includes:

Developing Policies

Developing Role Descriptions

Recruiting Volunteers

Induction and Training

… what else would you add here?

Baseline

In order to make a change, we need to know where we are starting. Even if your volunteer project has been running for years, it will still be seeking to make improvements to the service, to the lives of service users or whatever the “cause”. Wherever you are going, you start from here, so where are you now?

“Mapping Exercise” is another tick on the “Buzzword Bingo” card; but being clear about the situation that you want to change is a prerequisite for measuring how much change you achieved.

Measuring

As a Leader of Volunteers, you will probably count the numbers of volunteer hours, how many times activities have taken place, how much money raised, etc. Things like the team planted 250 trees and gave 2000 hours of time worth well over £20,000.

But… so what? What difference will all that make?

We collect stories by asking questions. But make sure that you record and store them securely, especially if they contain personal data.

Volunteer Support and Supervision Records

Beneficiary feedback, including informal feedback

Feedback from referrers, partners, parents, carers, other organisations, statutory services … and anyone else

Complaints

Evaluations. Especially if they have been carried out by someone independent of the volunteer programme.

Comments about your service on social media

Coverage in local media

… … how else can you collect stories?

Another useful measure is that of “Distance Travelled”. This tries to turn stories and “soft outcomes” into numbers. Some people like the straight line(s) of the Rickter Scale, but the Outcomes Star is also well-used.

Analysing the data

You now have a set of numbers and a collection of stories. In New Philanthropy Capital’s Well-Being Measure, John Copps highlights:

‘No stories without numbers, and no numbers without stories’

Getting to grips with an unstructured data collection can be very daunting; however, there are some proven approaches. Achievability is an organisation that works with researchers in the university sector. This blog tells us that there is no right or wrong way to analyse your data, but provides us with advice and tips.

The key message in analysis is to be organised and consistent. I would also suggest that this analysis should start to take place while the data is still being gathered.

Reporting the findings

Traditionally, evaluation reports are written, but why not think more creatively? Could your volunteers produce a video showing the difference that they have made? How else could you tell their story?

But most of us will stick to the written report – if only because it’s what managers and funders understand. NCVO’s KnowHow Non Profit site has this helpful information to set us the right path.

Things to consider are Outcomes, Outputs and Processes (all explained on this web page), using your analysis to describe your findings in straightforward language, in line with the needs and expectations of your audience. Remember to include those numbers as well as the stories.

Using the evaluation

This is the stage that can be far too easy to overlook. Our volunteers, service users and other stakeholders have invested a great deal of time and energy in monitoring and reporting. They have shared their experiences and stories with you. You owe it to them to make good use of all this data.

So recycle your learning in the way that Jo Gibney suggested in her blog about Taking control of your professional development that we discussed in #TTVolMgrs in July 2018.

Let’s chat

Now it’s over to you. At 8pm UK time on Thursday 9tAugust 2018, we’re going to get together for a Twitter chat where we’ll be discussing five questions around Impact. What practical steps you are taking towards measuring your team’s impact? Please join in and share your experience, thoughts and reactions by following #TTVolMgrs

If you can’t make that time please share your thoughts anyway to davet@nottinghamcvs.co.uk or on Twitter. Please remember to include #TTVolMgrs in your tweets.

The Questions

In the Twitter chat, we’ll be asking these questions:

What is the difference that your volunteers make?

How do you know this?

How do you measure this difference?

What tools do you use?

What problems / difficulties do you face?

[ncvs]

The Charity Commission - is it friend or foe? A personal view from a charity advisor

By: David Saunders, NCVS Group Development Officer

The Charity Commission has long been regarded as the sector's friend. To many, it was seen very much as a Dixon of Dock Green sort. But, no more! Times have changed and perhaps rightly so. It is stepping up to the mark, but limited resources certainly have an impact. These days, the Commission has perhaps more the look of Special Forces in full protection gear, carrying an assortment of weapons, than the friendly, smiling face of Sergeant Dixon!

The trouble came when the Commission identified what I had found for a long time - many who hold the key position of trustee don’t understand their role, their liabilities, and some don’t even know that they are a trustee at all. Scary!

Perhaps there was just too much advice and guidance about and, to be fair, the Commission didn’t help when it updated The Essential Trustee (CC3) in July 2015. It used a guy on the front cover, wearing the same jacket and look as the previous version, the only difference being to those who peered closely that he now had a few more greying hairs. Well, they have thankfully changed that. Now, the front cover is a ‘compass’. Although the same image is also being used in other documents, such as Conflicts of Interest (CC29).

The updated Essential Trustee brought us some new key words for trustees - ‘must’ and ‘should’, along with an extremely useful tool: the 6 Main Duties Jigsaw. In my view the latter should be on display somewhere on a wall in every charity.

Of course this July (2017), the Charity Governance Code was published. (The Commission must have a thing about July.) The new code sort of puts to bed some of the myriad of guidance which was available (Hallmarks of an effective charity (CC10), Code of Governance and the 12 Rules of Governance), leaving the Nolan 7 Principles to add to the Essential Trustee and the new Charity Governance Code, giving a much clearer picture.

The Charity Governance Code comes in two models: ‘Larger Charities’, which are those with an income of over £1m per year; and ‘Smaller Charities’ i.e. the rest. Basically, the versions are pretty much identical, slight differences being that the ‘Larger’ version refers to senior manager teams etc and the ‘Smaller’ version has reference to volunteers. It’s a little irritating that in the eyes of the Code’s authors, volunteers for ‘Larger’ charities don’t exist, apparently. Well they certainly do!

So what does your charity need to do about the Code? Well, quite a few things really, and the NCVS training courses I deliver are probably the best way to understand what they are.

Overall, I think the Code is most welcome. In the last couple of years, well-publicised problems involving high profile charities have certainly contributed to the present attitude of the Charity Commission. To some degree the Commission does now police the sector. It does take action. Its website easily identifies when a charity has failed to deliver its report or accounts on time. Funders do take note of this and some will not fund a charity late with its reporting.

Yes, the Commission is, I feel, doing a much better job. But it is clearly under-resourced and its direct interface with charities is at times poor, or non-existent. Trustees have a tremendous responsibility on behalf of the public. They should be called to account. They must know what they are doing. They have a duty to act in the best interests of the charity. Trustees who don’t understand what this all means, who are unsure of their role, the tremendous responsibility attached, and who bury their heads in the hands are now extremely vulnerable. Those who are trustees of unincorporated associations could put their personal possessions at risk and not know it.

In my view every trustee should receive initial training, followed by refresher training annually. Mistakes can be costly. Make sure you are protected. Insurance on its own is not enough. Please get trained!

The next NCVS course for trustees runs on 22 January 2018 5.30pm-8.30pm. Book here.

[ncvs]

What do you know about Menstrual Hygiene Day - 28 May?

By: Jade Armstrong, Networks Coordinator

It’s menstrual hygiene day on Sunday 28 May. This is something that affects the majority of the world, both men and women. I thought I’d share with you the fab work done by a new group called Luna, of which I’m the Secretary!

Luna is the only group in the City and we believe the UK to offer these services. This, for us, shows a gap in services, and we’ve all seen the news recently about girls missing school because they can’t afford sanitary products.

Luna is dedicated to menstrual health education for young people. We are using menstrual hygiene day as an opportunity to reach out to other youth organisations in Nottingham to encourage them to think about the ways in which periods can affect the lives of the young people they work with.

Misinformation and taboo is rife, and can have a serious impact on health and wellbeing. A greater understanding of fertility may also reduce unwanted pregnancies! Luna believes that girls deserve quality education and support as they begin their 40 year relationship with their menstrual cycle. Think about it:

Do you think there is a link between PMS and mental health?

Do you work with vulnerable girls who may be about to get their first period?

How do you support trans boys?

How do girls with special needs cope with periods?

If you think your organisation could benefit from more education on menstrual health, we would love you to get in touch. We offer a genuinely niche service and are keen to forge positive relationships with other youth providers in the City.

You can contact our CEO Charlotte Christine on 07871 045028 or email lunanottingham@gmail.com

Here is a link to the Luna blog: https://lunanottingham.wordpress.com/

And more info on World Menstrual Hygiene Day: http://menstrualhygieneday.org/

[ncvs]

Get involved in World Autism Awareness Week (27 March - 2 April)

By: Nicki Hastie, Policy and Campaigns Officer

The world can change suddenly. Awareness events you actively support and promote, because they directly affect the lives of people you love – and why wouldn't you, anyway, because these are human issues? – become even more personal. Autism is that for me. I am a 48-year old woman awaiting diagnostic assessment through the Nottingham City Asperger Service. My experience is not uncommon these days. Many of us are identifying ourselves and being identified, even into our 60s and 70s. However, I'm one of the lucky women in the country, able to be referred to a local NHS specialist service for late diagnosis. Not much was known about ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) when my generation, and those before me, were children. I prefer to call it ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition). This is not a disorder. Some of us perceive and react to the world differently. Let's call it neurodiversity. Whatever – it's essential to the survival of the human species that different individuals embody different skills and experiences. I am me. If only I had understood this earlier in my life, maybe I wouldn't have blamed myself so much. Perhaps my mental health would not have been so compromised. Who knows? It's also possible that, if I had known earlier, my own confidence and the beliefs of others around me may have led to a limiting of my experiences. This isn't an appropriate space to explain how or why I came to recognise a potential new identity for myself on the autistic spectrum. I am indebted to friends within and outwith autistic communities. I am particularly indebted to the positivity of autistic campaigners before me. This is how we know just 16% of autistic adults are in full-time paid employment. This is how we know that only 16% of autistic people and families think the public understand them. None of this is surprising. I've questioned my own ability to work at times (of course I am working, here at NCVS, although I'm not currently in full-time work) and I've certainly questioned my own being more than could ever be necessary. It feels as if I've been trying to understand myself for my entire life. I still don't have my diagnosis, but I'm on my journey now. I understand myself so much more now. Please support World Autism Awareness Week and be part of this growing understanding. You can read more about the National Autistic Society's employment campaign here.

Get more involved with World Autism Awareness Week (27 March – 2 April) here. Many events continue right through the month of April.

[ncvs]

Epilepsy awareness day is 26 March, also known as ‘Purple Day’

By: Jade Armstrong, Networks Coordinator

For Purple Day 2017, Epilepsy Action have been asking how your feelings are affected by epilepsy and, other than seizures, how the condition affects your daily life. This is my epilepsy story,

I have Epilepsy; I’ve had it for years. Temporal lobe epilepsy to be precise. Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain. Epilepsy is the one of the most common serious neurological conditions in the world. It affects around 600,000 people in the UK. This means that almost 1 in 100 people in the UK have epilepsy. Around 87 people are diagnosed with epilepsy in the UK every day. A seizure is defined when there is a sudden burst of intense electrical activity in the brain, and depending on where in the brain it happens depends on what type of seizure you will have.

Now when I say seizure, you all think of the going unconscious and thrashing about on the floor type. Whilst I have had these types of seizure in the past, I’m more likely to have a partial seizure. This is where I’m still conscious, I tend to smell something pungent like paint, garlic or petrol and I look spaced out. Nothing a lie down and a cuppa won’t sort out really.

My change of medication after my last big seizure (on the floor thrashing about type) was a revelation. Keppra is a relatively new epilepsy medication. It’s stopped me having big seizures, and stopped a lot of the associated symptoms such as hallucinations. I can drive, go swimming, play on a Segway, sky dive…these days my life is no different to anyone else’s.

With a few exceptions: I have to be medically assessed every year to be able to drive; I can’t use hormonal contraceptives such as the pill as epilepsy medications can make them not work properly; sometimes I ask people ‘can you smell that?’ just to make sure it’s not me about to space out; and I’ll be on medication for the rest of my life. But it’s a small price to pay for keeping it well controlled.

Epilepsy doesn’t define who I am, it doesn’t make me any less able than anyone else. (Despite what that careers service bloke said when I was at university!) I’m just a person going about their daily life.

There are around 30 different types of seizure and everyone’s story is different. No one really knows why some people develop epilepsy and others don’t, there is some epilepsy that can be inherited. As far as I know I’m the only person in my entire family who has it, though.

This coming Sunday is purple day, the day we all wear purple to support those with epilepsy. 

For more info about Purple Day, go to https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/purple

You can also follow #PurpleDay on social media.

[ncvs]

International Women’s Day

By: Jade Armstrong, Networks Coordinator

International Women's Day is celebrated on 8 March every year and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women's Day (IWD) has been observed since in the early 1900's - a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. International Women's Day is a collective day of global celebration and a call for gender parity. With the World Economic Forum predicting that the gender gap won't close entirely until 2186. This is too long to wait. Around the world, IWD can be an important catalyst and vehicle for driving greater change for women and moving closer to gender parity.

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights," says world-renowned feminist, journalist and social and political activist Gloria Steinem. International Women's Day is all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action - whatever that looks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure, International Women's Day has been occurring for well over a century - and continues to grow from strength to strength.

This year’s theme is #beboldforchange ideas on how to do this can be found here. The idea being generally taking bold steps to stand up for women, challenge bias and inequality, campaign for an end to violence, support women’s achievements and champion education for girls and women around the world. You can sign up to do something as big or small as you like.

Nottingham continues to celebrate the amazing work of local women, and this year the range of events planned for IWD continue to grow. Nottingham Women’s Centre is collating a list of events taking place, which you can view here. Having worked at Nottingham Women’s Centre, I encourage you to get involved with their celebrations on Wednesday 8 March - they do a cracking lunch! Have a look at their website for more details.

And just in case you were wondering, yes there is an international men’s day, it’s 19 November.

[ncvs]

How Blue Monday helps our voices to get heard

By: Nicki Hastie, Policy and Campaigns Officer

Blue Monday is the name given to a day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) reported to be the most depressing day of the year for people living in the Northern Hemisphere. That day – 16 January 2017 – is now upon us.

The truth is that no one day is any more or any less depressing than another. Depression doesn't care about the date. Those of us who experience mental ill health know this.

A good place to read more about the background to Blue Monday is the Mental Health Foundation's website, which states: "it is important to distinguish between temporarily feeling sad or anxious, which we all do from time to time, and mental health problems that can impact on our ability to take pleasure from day-to-day life." It also reports how "the major risk factors for mental ill-health (poverty, trauma, loneliness, ongoing stress and physical ill-health) are not confined to one month, let alone one day."

To counterbalance Blue Monday, you may wish to join in with Mind's efforts to promote #blueanyday instead. Or support Samaritans with #BrewMonday.

It's clear that Blue Monday is a mythical day, but it can also be a useful day for raising awareness and communicating about mental health issues. It is a day to highlight health inequalities, to reduce the stigma of living with depression, to encourage understanding and connection between people, and hopefully get beneath some mental health myths.

One of those myths is: Depression is very rare and won't happen to me.

Fact: Depression can happen to anyone, and affects 350 million people worldwide (World Health Organization fact sheet No 369, October 2012). 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem in any given year. As many as 40,000 people may be affected by anxiety and depression in Nottingham City at any one time.

I am one of those people living in Nottingham City. I believe I've experienced depression and anxiety for much of my life, although I didn't receive a clinical diagnosis until 2011. I had already been reaching out and talking to some people, including counsellors, but I simply hadn't identified I could ask for further help until I hit a crisis at that time.

Just being honest with myself and with others can change things. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. One of the best things I've done is start talking about my depression. That helps me and I know it can help others because many more people have opened up to me since. The biggest problem is the lack of specialist services for depression and ongoing cutbacks in NHS mental health services.

I'm passionate about the need to improve funding for psychological therapies. I believe in the NHS and care passionately about its future. I want everyone to have options and agreed timelines for treatment rather than waiting indefinitely in increasing desperation. I want effective treatments to be available for all within the NHS. This means I'm often  cynical about government promises to commit to transforming mental health support – like in Theresa May's 'shared society' speech last week – but I have to keep on believing. The desire to keep believing in change brought me into this Policy and Campaigns Officer role at NCVS.

Many of us with mental health problems have experienced a sense of disconnection from the world. Each of us discovers techniques and people to help us reconnect to the world. For me, it has often come through public awareness-raising activities and campaigning. I got involved with the Living with Depression Community of Interest in Nottinghamshire, a group initially developed through Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust before I was fully aware of my diagnosis. I feel privileged to have been able to contribute to two Blue Monday events through that group, in 2014 and 2015, by now in its independent status as Depression Expression. You can read more about these events at the Facebook group, emphasising the power of people connecting and the possibility of recovery.

With appropriate support it is possible to manage depression and to move towards recovery. However, I know that recovery may not be permanent for everyone because many people's experience of depression is chronic and recurrent. There may be periods of apparent wellness inbetween major depressive episodes. Unfortunately, a significant number of the key organisers in Depression Expression, including myself, experienced a recurrence of ill health during 2015/2016, which affected our voice and influence. As with many unfunded or underfunded community groups, our efforts and energies ebb and flow. We always need more supporters.

This year, by joining NCVS and by writing this blog, I'm back reconnecting.

What can you do to get involved with mental health campaigns?

Keep up to date with what the government is doing about mental health reform and make your opinion known: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/mental-health-service-reform

Plan your involvement in other events during the next month:

Time to Change's Time to Talk Day – 2 February

Children's Mental Health Week – 6-12 February

If you are in distress or need to talk to someone about your mental health, please call Samaritans for free, at any time (24 hours, 365 days a year), on 116 123 in the UK. Whatever is going on for you, Samaritans are there.

What are the issues that affect you and other people you care about?

We are all members of many communities. Mental health is just one interest of mine. Promoting the value of the voluntary sector in all areas, and demonstrating the power in our collective action, is definitely another.

Where do you need some assistance in getting your voice heard? What issues do you want to come together around – both as an individual and as a member of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in Nottingham?

I want to hear from you. NCVS wants to hear from you. Email communications@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

[ncvs]

Do you know a #LivingLegend?

By: Jules Sebelin, Business Development Manager

As we enter the holiday season it is very easy to get caught up in shopping for presents, preparing for guests and making sure there is enough food and drink on hand to sustain us while the shops are closed for a whole day!  Most of our energy is focused on making others happy, which naturally makes us feel good.  In fact most of us do things all year round to help others, we just don’t always acknowledge it.

In the spirit of the season I would like to take the time to highlight some positive things going on around Nottingham and to make you aware of an opportunity to give recognition to someone you may know that does good things for others.

Nottingham City Council, in partnership with the Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group and NCVS, are using the Looking After Each Other campaign to focus on the many things we can do to Help others feel good. Even though we are all incredibly busy; by doing something as seemingly small as checking in with an older neighbour who has no family nearby, may have a profoundly positive impact on their health and wellbeing.  And for the many of you that are involved in more formal volunteering roles you will hopefully have some appreciation of how much of a difference you are making to the organisations and citizens you serve.  So, this season whether you are having a cup of tea with a lonely neighbour or organising a Christmas meal for 100+, please know that it is all important. Giving of yourself and your time is the best present of all.

Later this month the Looking After Each Other campaign will be recognising those that Help others feel good, (at any time of the year) by creating a Wall of Champions in Old Market Square.  So if you would like to nominate your own #LivingLegend to be included you can find all of the details here.  

[ncvs]

My experience of being a young trustee

By: Jade Armstrong, Networks Coordinator

This is National trustee week, which is a celebration of all the work that trustee’s do. Trustees are the people in charge of a charity. They help to make the UK the sixth most giving country in the world. They play a vital role, volunteering their time and working together to make important decisions about the charity’s work. Trustees’ Week is an annual event to showcase the great work that trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference.

The average trustee in England and Wales is 59 years old. There are many young trustees too with some 86,000 trustee positions held by 16-34 year olds. There are approximately 194,000 charities in the UK, and just over 1 million trustees. From NCVO and CCNI research, we know just under half the UK’s trustees are women.

As a young trustee myself (well for the next week I’m still classed as a young trustee anyway!) the extra work I do has to fit in around my full time job and my home life. There are barriers to being a young trustee; work life balance; small children and lack of experience are just a few. I’ve come in to this brand new this year, my friend was setting up a new group and wanted likeminded women to be involved. I’ve been working in the voluntary sector for the past four years, so I know a bit about the role of trustees. Although I was cautious at first as what could I offer that someone more experienced couldn’t? I’ve found lots of support out there; I’m even going on essential trustee training to help me understand the role better.

The group is called Luna, and we are just setting up and applying for small grants to do our baseline study. Luna is a project advocating menstrual health to young people. We provide education and practical support, including free sanitary products to individuals and families. Believed to be the only organisation in the country offering this service we are currently applying for charitable status. Being the parent to a teenage girl and thinking back to my own experiences, this service is desperately needed, this is ultimately what clinched it for me. I truly believe in the service Luna is offering and I’m really excited to be a part of it.

Take a chance, be a trustee.

For more info please look here www.trusteesweek.org

[ncvs]