Before Xmas Shelley was invited down to the Crawley CVS offices in Crawley to speak to Holly Reeves about their volunteer project.
Who are the CCVS?
CRAWLEY COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE (CCVS) is an independent voluntary organisation and registered charity whose members are local voluntary organisations. The work of CCVS is managed by a Board, comprised of representatives of member organisations, elected at the AGM. CCVS provides support and service to voluntary organisations in Crawley.
CCVS exists to promote, represent and enable the local voluntary and community sector and to identify and develop responses to local need. CCVS is an independent voluntary organisation which strives to be fully accessible to the community it serves.
CCVS is recognised as a major source of support and information for local voluntary and community groups, ensuring that the interests of the voluntary sector are taken into account by local government and other statutory authorities.
CCVS are a branch of the Crawley Neighbourhood Network who provide many different services to the local community. You can read more here.
What do they do?
CCVS promotes partnership between statutory, community and voluntary sectors to help provide much needed services for their client groups. They encourage organisations to put forward their views on local and national policies and decisions. Open meetings, training events, seminars, consultations and regular forums are organised to share information and encourage partnership work.
Why we were there?
Fran Lewis invited Crawley Happy Times down to speak to Holly Reeves about their new project which specifically helps the elderly in the Crawley area with keeping their gardens presentable.
Holly told Shelley “it’s important for the elderly to have a tidy garden for many reasons. It can make an elderly person quite vunerable if they have a garden that is overgrown. Some people are unable to get out and do it for themselves, which is where our volunteers come in. We send the volunteers round to help with the general weeding and cutting of grass so they can feel safer. It may be they have not been very well so have been unable to get out, therefore the grass may have grown out of control making it even harder for them to get out and sort it themselves. Once we have sent the volunteers in and cut it down to a manageable length then the resident can keep it neat for themselves. This gives the resident a sense of independence back and of course makes the front or back of their homes looking nice again”.
Holly told us the volunteers come to them from all walks of life and do great work within the community. “There are alot of unemployed people in Crawley and having something to do which makes them feel ‘uselful’ can be a great confidence boost to their mission in finding paid work too. Giving back to the community is a very rewarding role”.
The CVS are always looking for fundraising ideas or business’ who can help out financially. Please get in touch if you feel you can help in any way.
The CCVS do great work for the elderly in the community and are always coming up with ideas to help out. If you know anyone who may benefit from any projects or maybe you would like to give back to the community yourself and volunteer then please contact Fran or Holly on 01293 657000 or visit their website here.
EDITORS NOTE: – We would like to thank the people at CCVS for inviting us down. You all do such great work! Apologies for the delay in this being published, but with the snow we did not feel it would have done you justice any earlier 
Interview with Holly Reeves (excuse the hat, it was Christmas time)
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[...] sun shone, the rain splattered slightly, the food flowed, the dancers jigged and the ale went down aGreen fingers volunteer help for the elderly | Crawley Happy …Before Xmas Shelley was invited down to the Crawley CVS offices in Crawley to speak to Holly Reeves [...]