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Volunteering and wellbeing It’s great to see so many of you celebrating National Volunteers Week this week. A big thank you to the volunteers that work with our community partners to help support and strengthen their organisations. Volunteers have been at the heart of the local community response…

Monday 1 June 2020 Volunteers Week 2020: Hundreds of organisations join forces to say ‘thank you’ to their fantastic volunteers   Communities 1st are delighted to be part of a collaborative action of organisations championing a united response for Volunteers’ Week 1-7 June.  This week…

A week may be a long time in politics, as the saying goes, but a week during a global pandemic feels even longer. Like many, at times, I’ve found the pace of change, and the pace of work that accompanied it, difficult to keep up with. As a sector we have done a phenomenal job to respond at speed,…

Thank you everyone who responded to our first Covid-19 Sector Survey, we had a great response and this has enabled us to paint a strong picture of the situation and to input this to national datasets (anonymised). Below is what we know from your responses combined with local intelligence. We have…

Life is very strange and challenging at the moment, not least for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations and our beneficiaries. Some of us have had to furlough staff and close services, while others are supporting huge increases in their number of beneficiaries. Challenging as the…

Working together I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the charities, community groups, social enterprises, local businesses and individuals for giving up their time for local communities during COVID-19. With all your help we have mobilised over 850 volunteers. We continue to work in…

Working in the voluntary and community sector one can become used to the empathy and commitment shown on a daily basis by volunteers, staff, and all the people who use our services, but what I have been amazed about is how individuals, volunteers and countless voluntary and community sector…

I would like to say a huge thanks to all those who have offered to support us with helping those most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. As you’re aware Communities 1st has been working with a range of local organisations to set up a volunteering hub to recruit and place volunteers during the…

“Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something …” Sometimes it can be difficult to feel inspired at a time of national emergency.  The effect of separation can be extremely hard to deal with and as we move through the Coronavirus lockdown, and hear of more hospitalisation, rising…

We are in a time where everyone is expecting to hear bad news at some point. We’re also in a time where more than ever we need to support each other, to work together and unleash all the skill, creativity, kindness and compassion we can muster. We must all work to support each other and ensure we…

Was that only a week? Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone working hard to ensure that we support local people during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.  Throughout our incredible membership we have seen an amazing community response. All through the last few weeks I’ve…

I would like to thank every single one of you for your efforts during this challenging time. I have heard many examples of the fantastic work charities, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and local neighbourhood groups are doing in mobilising communities, providing frontline services and…

When crisis hits, people step up – and we’re seeing lots of that right now.  So I’d like to thank all those people volunteering their time and everyone managing and coordinating volunteer efforts. People are still keen to sign up to volunteer – which is great!  We have…

We are grateful to everyone who submitted answers to our survey or spoke to us on the phone yesterday 19 March.  We have managed to gather data about your readiness for managing volunteers and supporting local people from so many of you and this has been fed in to planning at local, regional…

Communities 1st is registered charity working all year round for a more connected and resilient districts of Hertsmere and St Albans. During this difficult time, we want to make sure that our residents are looking out for one another to help everyone stay safe and healthy. Lot's of people are…

  In the wake of the £30 billion emergency fund announced in the Budget yesterday and anticipated switch to the delay phase of the Government four-part plan, leaders from different sectors have today joined forces to launch the Community Action Response to encourage everyone to do what they…

Communities 1st are looking for individuals who can live and breathe our values; to work in partnership, deliver quality, adapt, be positive and be inclusive. We are looking for people with great skills in communications, who are proactive in their approach and able to work with colleagues and…

The Mayor’s Pride Awards are held to celebrate extraordinary people and outstanding organisations that make a positive contribution to the local community. Ensure these inspiring individuals and worthy organisations get the recognition they deserve by putting them forward to receive an award.…

The Community Grants Fund aims to provide Voluntary and Community Groups with a flexible funding opportunity to support the delivery of projects and activities that benefit the local community and help to deliver the objectives set out in the St Albans City & District Inclusion Strategy.…

Older People’s Day at the Alban Arena, Wednesday 16th October between 10.00am – 1.00pm – FREE ENTRY