In my view…Maggie Williams, NORCAS chief executive.
Posted on | October 13, 2010 | No Comments
Big society, big commitment and big achievements!
It’s interesting with talk about David Cameron’s concept for a Big Society, that proactive involvement within the local community is something NORCAS has always been big on!
Problems with addictive behaviour in some way affects us all, whether that be personally, through interaction with a friend or family member, or via one of the many ways in which these complex issues touch wider society. Addictive behaviour is therefore something we must all tackle together in order to realise NORCAS’s vision for a society free from these problems.
At NORCAS, our strategy to progress this community involvement has notched up over the last few months with the launch of two schemes we have been planning for some time.
We have recently engaged a new manager who will be responsible for a volunteer network, which will be reaching out into communities throughout Norfolk and Suffolk. NORCAS is deeply committed to opening up access to support for problems with alcohol, drugs and gambling, where you live. Last year we helped 4,000 more people than the previous year. A significant percentage of this number can be attributed to our improved communications; so that people know about us and can find us when we are needed. The new network is a further extension of this approach and will, for the first time, create a formal volunteer force for NORCAS. Our trained volunteers will be placed throughout our region close to where people who need us live and will offer an information and signposting service.
Key people within the charity have also volunteered, in addition to their existing responsibilities, to become constituency contacts and help roll out our public affairs strategy by visiting local MPs on behalf of NORCAS. They will be keeping them up to date with why and how we conduct our important work and also to raise issues and concerns so these can be fed back at a national level. We had a great response from those keen to be part of this project, it is yet another example of how passionately those at NORCAS feel about the job we do.
All the same, it is none-the-less important to be recognised individually and as an organisation for the value we deliver to our service users and affected others.
It was very rewarding therefore to recently be named as finalists in three categories at the prestigious Charity Times awards, which acknowledges the high standard of our work alongside many other not-for-profit organisations at a national level.
We are also delighted to have received our Investors in People silver award, for the excellence of our client centred approach and staff development programmes. This level of success comes down to a tremendous amount of hard work, commitment and belief from everyone, both front line and at head office. So a BIG thank you to everyone within the team for helping NORCAS perform as effectively as possible so that we can continue to meet the ever increasing demand for our vital services.
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