CHARITY LAUNCHES 'VOLUNTEER PASSPORT'

By Emma Foster, Community Newswire
http://www.communitynewswire.press.net

Furniture Now! has launched a new qualification called the Volunteer Passport, to recognise the skills and reward the achievements of its volunteers.

Furniture Now!, a re-use, recycling and training charity, has set up the Volunteer Passport to help volunteers in the area gain a nationally recognised qualification. It hopes the Volunteer Passport, which leads to the NVQ-equivalent Community Volunteering Qualification (CVQ), will particular benefit those who are unemployed, helping them to develop their skills and improve their job prospects.

It will be officially launched in January, with a YouTube video in which all three levels of the Volunteer Passport will be featured. The video will show how those who wish to be accredited for their volunteering achievements can go about it.

Leanne Cleaveley, Furniture Now!'s NVQ Assessor and head of the Volunteer Passport project, said: "I am aiming to make the qualification interesting, fun and focused. Volunteers will gain so much from meeting like-minded individuals who are also volunteering within similar environments.

 "My role is to help them achieve a recognised qualification with as much guidance and help as they need."

Leanne said one of the most exciting aspects of the Volunteer Passport was that volunteers could learn and develop skills they didn't know they even had. She added: "We can show them how they can build up a whole new world of learning and education through the simplicity of just being a volunteer."

The Volunteer Passport is being launched in conjunction with Eastbourne Association for Voluntary Services and Sussex Downs College in Eastbourne, Lewes and surrounding districts.

Furniture Now! is concerned with addressing the problems of poverty, waste, the environment and social exclusion in East and West Sussex. It collects donated furniture and household effects and makes them available at as low a cost as possible to people in need throughout Sussex. It also provides training for people who are socially excluded and provides recycling facilities. For more information go to www.furniturenow.org.uk.

The Volunteer Passport is for anyone over the age of 14 who chooses to give their time for the benefit of the community without payment. It will take between three and six months to complete.

For more information, or to sign up for the Volunteer Passport contact Leanne on:

01273 471101, or email vol.passport@furniturenow.org.uk.

Southern Maine Community College Design School

Our Interior Design and Decorative Painting Tutor Sandy, has spent this term researching  for our own new Interior Design couse that begins in January 2010. In the process of her search she came across this blogspot which is the Southern Maine Community College's Blog in Portland Maine USA.
It has some fantastic student work that we wanted to share with you
smcc design-brown - Google Search: "smccdesignstudenstwork.blogspot.com/"

Thank you to our colleagues in Maine USA for sharing this with us and 'Good Luck' for the rest of the academic year we will continue to share our ideas with you.


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Sussex Sunsets

Inspired by the wonderful Washington Fall colours on Debbie Wiels'

Blog http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/ 'Fall Leaves: Stop and Look'

I felt inspired to dig out a few pictures of the wonderful sunsets we get here on the South Coast

Both of these photos were taken this summer from the promenade in Seaford East Sussex on a particular day that had some very interesting cloud cover. Although it looks dark it was only early afternoon which gave it even more of an unusual feel. Enjoy!

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Dyslexia/Dyspraxia Awareness - Free Training

This session is being run during the Continued Professional Development day for Staff in our Training Centre facility in Lewes East Sussex. We would like to invite other colleagues who may be interested in this topic to attend

Please pass on the details to colleagues who may be interested. Call or email Joanna Bremner Training Manager @ Furniture Now! to register

Dyslexia/Dyspraxia Awareness

10.30am -12.30pm Wednesday 9th December 2009  

Venue: Furniture Now! Training Centre, Unit 1 Phoenix Works, North Street, Lewes BN7 2PE

01273 479525 

‘The session is designed to raise awareness of the needs of learners/employees with learning disabilities (dyslexia in particular) and explore successful strategies for use in workplace and workshop environments’

Trainer: Zoe Short  Employer Inclusion Advisor – Special Needs

Sussex Downs College East Sussex

Programme

10.30 What is dyslexia/dyspraxia
An introduction to the strengths and difficulties of students with dyslexia/dyspraxia and some awareness raising activities

10.50 Symptoms of dyslexia/dyspraxia that are presented:

..in the workshop

..in the workplace

11.15 BREAK

11.30 Successful teaching and learning strategies that may be used in the workplace and workshop environment to suit the learning styles of dyslexic students

12.00 Assistive technology & software that is available to assist student learning

12.15 Summary

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Handpainted Furniture Before and After Level 2 Students

Here are a few examples of the handpainted furniture our Level 2 Students  desgned recently. The photos clearly show the amount of design detail and work they put into their designs. Our External Assessor was very pleased with the final outcomes.

Fortunately members of the public also agreed as these pieces have been purchased by the discerning patrons of Lewes East Sussex!

The three pieces here show different kinds of decorative paint techniques. The green and black table has a malachite effect. The turquoise peacock is an example of a handmade stencil with a gilding effect, and the black and white table has an example of broken colour technique in its corners.

As you can see surface preparation is very important and it takes a great deal of time and patience to get to a point where you are ready to begin painting your design idea. Patience is a virtue though because the more time spent on preparation the better the finished product will be.

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Online Business & Social Networking

Come and find more network contacts for Furniture Now! on

  Online Business & Social Networking run by http://www.ecademy.com/module.php?mod=network&op=inbox&new=1 and very professional Social Networking site that I find very useful and informative.

Composting Rocket! - A new and unique initiative in Lewes

Composting Operatives are wanted to run an innovative in-vessel food waste composting scheme in Lewes in association with Furniture Now!, East Sussex County Council and Transition Town Lewes Waste Group. This is an INTERREG IVa Project, EU funded.

Two operatives are sought to work 2 hours a day, 5 days a week at County Hall, Lewes, collecting, processing and maintaining the composting "Rocket" machine for a pilot period of 6-9 months. A further 6-9 months is likely at an increased number of hours and a number of commercial clients.

Managed by Furniture Now!, you will receive full training, and will be paid at NJC scale 14/15 £15,982 pro rata. Hours to be negotiated and coincide with second operative.

Full information sheet about the project and a job description and application form are available on demand. Job to start early November. Application deadline 31st October 2009.

Please e-mail or write to: Rik Child, Director Furniture Now!

Unit 2, Phoenix works North Street Lewes East Sussex BN7 2PE

Email: director@furniturenow.org.uk

Tel and Fax: 01273 479528

www.furniturenow.org.uk

Open: Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm
Charity No.: 1048093 Company No.: 3077894

NCFE LEVEL 1 AWARD IN CREATIVE CRAFT USING JEWELLERY

Our Level 1 Award in Jewellery Making course has been running for 4 weeks now and our Trainess are really getting into the swing of designing their own items.

This course is designed to act as an introduction to jewellery making. It focuses on component jewellery design and explores ways to make jewellery from sustainable and non-precious materials.

During the first few weeks students have been experimenting with making brooches out of bottle tops and bracelets out of 2pence pieces!

The creativity of the group is astounding and everyone is bouncing ideas off each other.

Next week they are going to visit Jonathan Swann' workshop in Lewes which is:
"An ever changing rather jolly collection of modern jewellery, with an emphasis on English designers and trying not to be too dammed expensive", according to its proprieter Jonathan

Jonathan Swann Workshop

Open Mon-Sat inclusive 9.30-5.00pm

164 High Street Lewes BN7 1XU

Tel: 01273 474207

Check out our training pages and Apply Online for the next Jewellery course to be run at Furntiure Now! Training: 15th Jan-23rd April 2010 at http://www.furniturenow.org.uk/jewellery_making.html

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NCFE Creative Crafts Extended Level 2

DECORATIVE PAINTING, STENCILLING & DECOUPAGE

These three courses specifically focus on the craft work process and your ability to design, plan and decorate two pieces of furniture using the techniques studied.
You can do one or all three of these courses as they are individually accredited.

These courses are suitable to those who have completed Decorative Painting Level 1 and anyone who has some previous experience in Furniture Painting and/or Painting & Decorating and wishes to extend their skills and knowledge to an intermediate level. Each course lasts for 12 weeks, with attendance two days per week on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 10.30am to 4pm. The National Council for Further Education (NCFE) accredits these courses. The furniture you restore, design and create on the course will be offered for sale to individuals and families through our furniture service. Students may wish to expand their creative ideas by taking a further course in Interior Design orJewellery Making and/or develop their work skills with Work Skills & NVQs.

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HFS The Movie - now showing at a pc near you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ9ZnnHA_UU
A very short video celebrating 21 years of our colleagues at Hastings Furniture Services, using footage shot by Respond Youth Group, Hastings Free TV and others.

We hope you enjoy it,

For further details contact:
Naomi Ridley
Director Hastings Furniture Service
HFS Hastings 6-10 Dorset Place Hastings TN34 1LG
HFS Bexhill 47 London Road Bexhill TN39 3JZ
registered charity 1003257http://www.hfs.org.uk/ 01424 44 11 12

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Furniture Now! (FN!) Celebrates 15th Birthday

Furniture Now! celebrated its 15th birthday on 11th September 2009 with guests Mrs Sara Stonor, the Vice Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex and Norman Baker MP. Other guests included representatives from Lewes District Council, East Sussex County Council, Sussex Downs College, Eastbourne Association for Voluntary Service (EAVS) and various funders. Volunteers came from Eastbourne and Lewes to be honoured for the enormous amount of time they have dedicated to FN! which allows the charity to offer furniture and training at such low cost or even free.

Rik Child, the Director said, “It was great to have so many people celebrating with us I wish to thank Norman Baker for his cheering speech in which he wished us another 15 years of success. Norman has always been a loyal supporter of FN! since its inception, sponsoring our funding bids, helping promote the local kerbside scheme and being with us when we won awards.”

He added, “I especially wish to thank Mrs Sara Stonor for showing such interest in the charity and awarding certificates to all our hard working volunteers some of whom have done amazing amounts of work this year and without whom our work would not be possible.”

One volunteer from Eastbourne, Peter Davis gave over 750 hours so far this year as a volunteer driver and warehouse operative. Stuart Scarisbrick of Barcombe won the prize of “volunteer of the year” for his dedicated work both in helping clients choose the items they want and delivering them in the van usually five days a week. Stuart said, “I love working at Furniture Now! and I am on an NVQ in Customer Services so I will have a record of all I have done here that I can show future employers.”

Adam Chugg, CEO of EAVS in Eastbourne who was at the event commented, “Furniture Now! is a valued partner of longstanding. Undoubtedly, FN!’s work improves and benefits the community in Eastbourne and all over East Sussex.”

The Charity continues to offer NVQs in a number of disciplines and an increasing range of training courses for example in jewellery making, interior design and painting furniture. These are open to all and more information is available on the website http://www.furniturenow.org.uk/

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'Heart of the Village' Campaign

At Furniture Now! we are a Charity dedicated to supporting our local community.
We are pleased to publicise the 'Heart of the Village' Campaign for dedicated the funding of rural village halls/community buildings.

If you wish please sign the e-petition to go to No 10 Downing Street visit the website at www.ruralsussex.org.uk run by our colleagues at Action in Rural Sussex based at 212 High Street Lewes BN7 2NH. If you would like further information about the work 'Action In Rural Sussex undertake feel fre to visit their website http://www.ruralsussex.org.uk/

Visit http://bit.ly/2Kobng to sign the e-petition and support the causes in Rural Sussex

FNtraining -Lewes Decorative Furniture Photos

Enjoy these links to examples of our students' work which we have placed on our Facebook page.

All pieces of furniture were painted by our adult learners and then sold to the public.

They are a wonderful example of the excellent work that is encouraged and taught by our fabulous Decorative Painting Tutor, Sandy Jorge Stanley

Facebook | Lewes Decorative Furniture's Photos - Furniture

Facebook - Lewes Decorative Furniture's Photos - Profile Pictures

www.furniturenow.org.uk/training.html

A way to Follow those you like on Twitter

Twitter is helping FNtraining

Hey there! FNtraining is using Twitter.

Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

We have been using Twitter for just two months and have steadily increased our Followers and Found some amazing people to Follow.

It's all about building relationships with like-minded people. We are having good conversations with other local business people as well as picking up excellent ideas and sharing ideas across the continents.

Here at FNtraining we are very pleased with our Twitter results. We keep our eye on our increase in Friends and Followers using Twiiter Remote

Below are the figures for 19th September

TwitterCounter Stats Details:

Tracking since: Aug 26, 2009

24 Days

Followers on Aug 26: 106

Added since then: 133

Added since yesterday +21

Average growth per day: 12

Visits on this page 359

Prediction for tomorrow: 256

Followers in 30 days:734

Join today to start receiving FNtraining's tweets. WE are amazed at the results so far

DECORATIVE PAINTING

NCFE Creative Crafts Level 1

This course is designed to act as an introduction to furniture painting.
You'll learn and develop skills, from basic repairs and surface preparation to designing and applying a variety of decorative effects to your chosen furniture.

This course is suitable to those who have little or no past experience.   The course lasts for 12 weeks, with attendance one day per week on Wednesdays, from 10.30am to 4pm.   The National Council for Further Education (NCFE) accredits this course.   The furniture you restore, design and create on the course will be offered for sale to individuals and families through our furniture service.   Successful students are given first refusal should they wish to progress onto the Decorative Painting Extended Level 2.   Students may wish to expand their creative ideas by taking a further course in Interior Design or Jewellery Making and/or develop their work skills with Work Skills & NVQs.

About Training at FN! Lewes

Our training centre was established in 2001 and offers a relaxed and supportive environment for students to develop their skills and learn new techniques.  Learning takes place in small groups, in workshop-based classes and is practical and informal.

	Currently we offer the following courses: Interior Design      Jewellery Making      Decorative Painting Level 1 Decorative Painting Extended Level 2      Work Skills & NVQs
	About the courses Our courses are run in partnership with Sussex Downs College, which entitles students to the use of College facilities and to Student Union membership. There are opportunities to start throughout the year.   We do not charge for training, all equipment and materials are provided free and we are able to contribute towards students' travel expenses up to a maximum of £6 per day.   You will gain confidence along with new skills, which will help you to take a step forward towards employment or further education.
	Who can apply? Our courses are designed to cater for the needs of under-represented groups in the community such as those experiencing mental health difficulties, drug/alcohol dependency, the long term unemployed and women returning to work. We encourage anyone to apply for our courses in order to promote and support Diversity for All within the community. Course fees and registration fees may apply to anyone not in receipt of benefit. For further information please contact Joanna Bremner, our Training Co-ordinator. Support on the course Your Instructor will ensure that you settle in to your studies, are kept informed of your progress and supported in a way that is appropriate to your individual needs as a learner. If you think you will need additional help with your studies we will be happy to discuss your needs before joining the course, or during it should your circumstances change. We can provide support in different ways to help you feel more confident and enjoy the course. Towards the end of the course, the Training Co-ordinator can offer you advice and guidance on suitable progression opportunities.

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