Opportunities featured in this article:

• Change lives with Adviza’s Lucky Break mentoring
• Help charitable projects become more sustainable
• Becom a corporate partner of Lindengate
• Chiltern Rangers Day experience
• Volunteer for Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
• William’s Fund Christmas cards
• South Bucks Community Hospice House Party Campaign
• Treasurer, book keeper and PR volunteers required for addiction charity

Change lives with Adviza’s Lucky Break mentoring

Adviza deliver mentoring projects across Buckinghamshire and are currently recruiting volunteer mentors to work on them. Adviza’s Lucky Break mentors support young people and adults who are not achieving their full potential by using their own experience of life and work to support and encourage others to grow, develop and achieve their potential. A mentor can make a huge difference to the life chances of a young person by helping them break down barriers to achievement, build confidence and resilience, and develop vital employability skills.

Why volunteer?

Mentoring is a life-changing experience for the mentor, as well as the mentee. By becoming a mentor you can get an increased well-being and self-awareness, and a sense of purpose and achievement.

​Learn more about Adviza’s Lucky Break programme >

Help charitable projects become more sustainable

The Red Thread Fellowship is an initiative to contribute towards building a more inclusive, sustainable and connected community in Milton Keynes. It brings together young leaders from all walks of life, at no cost to them, and uses a Sustainable Leadership methodology to develop them and charities in and around Milton Keynes.

Discussing the purpose of the programme and why it was originally set up, Executive Director, Adrian Spurrell commented: “Myself and (fellow director) Freddie Guilmard chose to do this programme, free of charge to both participants and charities, because we think it’s the right thing to do – we live in times of change and what we need is to pull together and work together as communities, in order to grow together.

“We offer places on a special no-cost programme to early to mid-career managers (who live and work within a 50 mile radius of Milton Keynes) who lead people, manage budgetary responsibilities and aspire to move into senior leadership roles. The programme brings together participants from all sectors to help support charitable projects in becoming more sustainable. In parallel, we run reflective learning workshops that allow the programme Fellows to distil and share the insights they gain, compare them with best practice and contemporary leadership theory, and explore how they can apply their learning in their workplace.”

The Red Thread Fellowship, which is run byThe Red Thread Partnership Limited, has been endorsed by the ILM as one of their approved leadership development programmes, which means their Fellows earn a certification upon completion. Find out more about the programme online >

Become a corporate partner of Lindengate

Lindengate is a mental health charity that offers specialised gardening activities to help those with mental health needs. The team, who won Enterprising Charity of the Year at the Buckinghamshire Business Awards 2017, operate from a 5-acre site in Buckinghamshire which includes potting sheds, greenhouses, a pond and café facilities.

Volunteers and gardeners can come as often and for as long as they feel they need it, distinguishing Lindengate from many organisations that offer time-limited programmes. There is a recognised need for social care facilities to relieve strain on mainstream healthcare. GPs signpost clients towards services like Lindengate, which not only benefits gardeners but also gives respite for their families and carers. There is also an increasing recognition that companies want to do more to integrate into their communities and leave a legacy that their staff and shareholders can be proud of.

How can you get involved?

Lindengate are looking to establish corporate partnerships, aiming to create long term, bespoke relationships which are mutually beneficial. Visit www.lindengate.org.uk for more information.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge

Lindengate are taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, whereby every pound you give is worth double as it is matched by their Big Give Champions and supporters.

Chiltern Rangers Day experience

Chiltern Rangers, the Enterprising Charity of the Year at the Buckinghamshiire Business Awards 2016, would like to invite fellow BBF members to experience a 'Be a Ranger' team building day on 8th December. There are twenty places available (two people per business) for a day of scrub cutting with a big bonfire - all in the name of saving butterflies! In partnership with Butterfly Conservation, Chiltern Rangers will be at Deanfield Farm in Bledlow, Buckinghamshire, to help create the perfect habitat for one of the UK's rarest and most declining butterflies, the Duke of Burgundy, which has a small population in the Chilterns.

This session will boost your health and well-being, and can also form part of your CSR contribution.

For more information or to sign up, contact [email protected] or call 01494 474486.

Volunteer for Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway

Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway are urgently lookout for volunteers to help run the railway. The railway is a volunteer led organisation so it is crucial that volunteers are found.

There is a wide range of volunteering posts available. Take a look at the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway website for details >

William’s Fund Christmas cards

William Dodd was only 2 years old when he was diagnosed with a type of cancer that was never identified. Without a diagnosis, the prognosis was poor.  William’s Fund was established in February 2001 in memory of William, who died on December 12th 2000 at the age of 4 years and 9 months. Since William died, more than £800,000 has been raised for Childhood Cancer Research.

William would have been twenty one on 13th March 2017 and his family are attempting to pass the £1million mark in honour of the landmark. This Christmas, William’s Fund is selling Christmas cards to raise money for the cause, with all profits going directly to Childhood Cancer Research in Oxford.

See the William’s Fund flyer for more details. Follow William’s Fund on Twitter and Facebook.

South Bucks Community Hospice House Party Campaign

Open up your home, office or club for a fun party – and raise money at the same time for people with life-limiting illnesses. That’s the appeal from The South Bucks Community Hospice which is making ‘House Party’ its major fundraising drive for November. The charity formally launched the initiative in September at a community open day attended by more than 100 people at its new home, Butterfly House in High Wycombe.

The hospice is aiming to motivate the whole community to rally around during November to make it a fun month of fundraising to remember. Individual fundraising stories will be posted on the charity’s website, and ‘House Party heroes’ will be recognised with publicity if they wish for it. Residents, schools, clubs and businesses are being urged to hold fun events in their own homes or offices to celebrate the fact that the hospice has just moved to its new home. Parties can be held anywhere and the hospice will provide organisers with support and a pack.

“A House Party can be any type of event, from a dinner party at home to a disco at school or an evening of knitting with tea and biscuits,” said Senior Fundraising Manager Becca Braithwaite. “The key is enjoyment while raising vital funds, however small or large, for people who really need it.”

Visit sbh.org.uk/events for more information or call 01494 552761. Find out more information on the campaign >

Treasurer, book keeper and PR volunteers required for addiction charity

DrugFAM is a locally based charity providing national support to families, friends and partners affected by someone else’s drug or alcohol misuse; including those bereaved by addiction.

Sarah Bromfield, Chief Executive Officer, explains more: "DrugFAM's vision is that every family struggling with the nightmare of addiction gets the support they need to rebuild their lives. Our mission is to provide a lifeline of safe, caring and professional support services to give families the strength to break free from the cycle of addiction and rebuild their lives.

So how can Buckinghamshire businesses help?

"If you would like to be part of our award winning team, we are looking for volunteers. We have an urgent vacancy for a treasurer, and book keeper, and we are also looking for someone who is able to help with public relations for an event in November.

"2017 has been an incredible year for DrugFAM. We held the first ever service at Westminster Abbey for families affected by addiction, with 2,000 guests in attendance. We have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, and the MBE for charities, and our founder Elizabeth Burton-Phillips has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list. To complete our amazing year we have a high profile event in November, which is confidential at this stage."

If you would like to find out more, please email [email protected], call 01494 442777 / 07853 058410, or visit www.drugfam.co.uk.