South Hams CVS are looking for an enthusiastic Groups Development Officer. The post is for 18 hrs per week....

Volunteers all over Devon are celebrated during Volunteers Week (1-7 June) for the enormous contribution they make to communities. Over 5000 volunteers are registered with volunteer centres in Devon, and several thousand more arrange their volunteering for themselves. Between them they support a galaxy of organisations large and small all over the county.

From April 2008 Local Involvement Networks (LINks) will replace existing Patient and Public Involvement Forums. LINks are being established in order to strengthen and extend the influence local people have on health and social care services and enable them to have a strong voice in how services are planned and run.

The next meeting of the South Hams Voluntary Sector Forum will take place on Tuesday 29 April 2008 from 10 am - 12.30 pm at Townstal Community Centre, Dartmouth. This will be a 'Special Interest' Forum with the theme of 'Intergeneration'. Can your organisation help bring some of your experiences or best practice?

The following story about how volunteers really made a difference on Christmas Day, is taken from our latest edition of Volunteer Vision, a bright and chatty informative new newsletter for volunteers in the South Hams.

Count Me In! is a project to count the amazing number of hours volunteers are doing in Devon. We are contacting thousands of volunteers around Devon asking them to record the hours of voluntary activity they do. This will allow us to build a detailed picture of the enormous contribution volunteers are making and help us develop voluntary opportunities in Devon.

Last year the Healthcare Commission consulted the public and patients on their new draft engagement strategy. The Commission wants to improve the way it gathers the views of people about their healthcare services, using that experience to help them assess and review healthcare organisations. Read on to see how DACVS is working in partnership with the Healthcare Commission.

Communities and Local Government has published: 'the National Indicators for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships: Handbook of Definitions - Draft for Consultation'. The consultation period will run until 21 December.