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West Lancashire Volunteer Centre receives national recognition

November 2, 2017/in Frontpage, News /by wlcvsdeb

West Lancashire Volunteer Centre has received formal recognition for its work as a Volunteer Centre by being awarded Wave 4 Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation (VCQA) measures a Volunteer Centre’s ability to deliver its services to a high standard and create a local environment in which volunteering can flourish. The standard recognises West Lancashire volunteer centre’s achievements in matching people who want to volunteer with organisations who can use their help and advice, promoting volunteering, and helping local charities and other organisations to involve volunteers in their work,

Janice Howard from West Lancashire Volunteer Centre said: “We are delighted to have achieved Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation and are proud that NCVO believes we’re providing a high-quality service. Now we can build on our good work in West Lancashire, helping people and organisations.

“Anyone interested in volunteering in West Lancashire is very welcome to contact us for advice. We have a fantastic range of volunteering opportunities, and we can offer one to one support with training, education and employment, as well as volunteering.”

VCQA-accredited Volunteer Centres can be found here.

Anyone interested in volunteering or in recruiting volunteers for an organisation, should contact: Janice or Nicci at West Lancashire Volunteer Centre. Tel: 01695 733737 or email: vc@wlcvs.org

Feel better, get fitter and earn Skelmersdale Rewards

October 25, 2017/in Frontpage, News /by wlcvsdeb

Skelmersdale residents are being encouraged to feel better, get fitter, and earn rewards with the release of a smartphone app. Residents of Skelmersdale can now use the BetterPoints app to track their walking, running or cycling and by doing so, earn points to cash in for high street shopping vouchers – or donate their rewards to charity. Rewards can also be earned for volunteering time with local groups.

The BetterPoints app has been introduced by Well Skelmersdale as part of its drive to improve health in the town, and is supported by NHS West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Active West Lancs and West Lancs CVS.

The BetterPoints app rewards participants for being active up to 150 minutes a week because this is the basic level of exercise that the NHS says adults should do to be healthy. It aims to get people to the point where they want to do more and take control of their personal health.

Mike Maguire, Chief Officer at NHS West Lancashire CCG, said: ‘The role of exercise shouldn’t be underestimated in its contribution towards maintaining a healthy body and mind. Exercising doesn’t have to involve expensive gym visits and equipment, it can simply mean walking the school run rather than using the car.

‘We hope that this innovative new app will support Skelmersdale residents who wish to make changes to their lifestyle by becoming more active and hopefully in turn will lead to people feeling less need to visit their GP.’

Dan Gipple, CEO of BetterPoints Ltd, said: ‘Obesity contributes to a wide range of health problems such as heart disease, cancer, asthma and depression. The health system is struggling and much of this struggle could be alleviated if people just adapted their behaviour a little for the better: a little more walking and exercise; a little less alcohol; a little healthier eating. This would make a big difference for everyone’

To start feeling better, getting fitter and earning Skelmersdale Rewards, download the app today! Available via the App Store or on Google Play.

For further details please contact West Lancs CVS on email: enquiries@wlcvs.org or ring 01695-733737 or visit skelmersdalerewards.betterpoints.uk