GRCC's Community Resilience OfficerLucy Ecclescontinues her series of weekly blogs for Preparedness Month:
Welcome to week 5 of Preparedness Month – sadly this is my last blog of the series! Last week we explored how to help protect your family when a crisis hits, this week we will discuss the best ways you can safely get involved with community emergency planning.
Be A Volunteer
Voluntary organisations and social enterprises make a huge difference to the UK's resilience and preparedness.
Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, especially if you are new to an area. Volunteering also strengthens your ties in the community, and broadens your support network, introducing you to people with common interests, useful resources, and fun and fulfilling activities. Volunteering is not just good for your community, but can be good for your mental and physical health too!
Would you like to get involved in GRCC’s work?
We have volunteering opportunities in several different areas of our work.
Digital Skills and Digital Inclusion - our digital volunteers provide tech and digital support in the community at drop-ins, or develop resources and guides. Please email digital@grcc.org.uk for more information.
Where's the best place to find local volunteering opportunities?
Go Volunteer Glos is the digital home of volunteering in Gloucestershire. The website contains a database of opportunities from a wide range of organisations, including charities and community groups across all of the districts and boroughs of the county.
This week's challenge: Have a browse on Go Volunteer Glos, and see what volunteers are needed in your local area!
Support for Voluntary Sector Organisations
Are you involved in running a voluntary sector organisation or social enterprise, and do you need some support with funding, governance, volunteer management, or any other issue? Take a look at the range of support we can offer to VCSE organisations, and you can also join our VCSE networks to connect with other local organisations to share information, support and learning opportunities.
Thank you!
Thanks for joining me for preparedness month! Hopefully you have learned some new skills to help protect you and your household in the face of emergencies. Perhaps you have learned a new first aid skill, put together a household grab bag, or simply changed a few passwords on your laptop to improve your cyber resilience.
From ensuring you know your risks (see the Gloucestershire community risk register ), to getting involved in making a community emergency plan, these strategies will help increase your resilience to the different emergencies we are facing as a society.
