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Sunderland City Council

Civic Centre
Burdon Road
Sunderland
SR2 7DN
United Kingdom

+44 0191 520 5555

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Community Centres

The Community Development Team - What do we do?

Pennywell Community

The Community Development Team is primarily based at Jack Crawford House however there are outreach centres including Bunny Hill Customer Service Centre, The Hetton Centre, Sandhill Centre and Washington Millennium Centre.

The Community Development Team supports 32 Community Associations in a variety of neighbourhood based facilities spread across the City. The team provides support and information on a range of issues including Company and Charity Law. Financial assistance is provided by the Community Development Service to the voluntary and community sector of Sunderland via Service Level Agreements and Play Grant Awards. See 'Downloads' for a list of Community Association details.

Meeting

The Community Development Team offer Governance training to community groups to ensure all elements of management good practice are in place.

The Community Development Team leads the work of the Sunderland Partnership in relation to Community Development, including the commissioning, completion and implementation of the City's Community Development Plan and coordination of the Sunderland Compact.

Support during the recession

For information on support available to the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) during the recession, please see the following website: Recession Support. 

The Sunderland Compact

For more information on the Sunderland Compact log on to the Sunderland Compact Website.

Sunderland Community Development Plan

The Sunderland Partnership, a partnership of public, private and voluntary and community sector groups operating in the City, is currently putting a Community Development Plan ("the Plan") in place to assist in carrying forward its strategy for the City (the Sunderland Strategy).

The aim of the Plan is the development of a process of working collectively to bring about social change and justice for communities in Sunderland.

See 'Related Pages' for more information on the Community Development Plan.

Volunteering - Give a little time...

A little time makes a big difference... emma

We live in a society that has been shaped by volunteers. Just about every area of activity that is now associated with public service provision began with voluntary action – education, health, social services, welfare, disability provision, childcare, housing, justice, the environment, conservation – the list is endless.

Volunteering is an important expression of citizenship and is essential to democracy. It is the commitment of time and energy for the benefit of society and the community, and can take many forms, such as volunteering to provide a service as a volunteer within an organisation, befriending and mentoring, organising sports and physical recreation, acting as a trustee or member of a voluntary board or committee, leading a voluntary initiative, community activism or campaigning to identify and tackle unmet needs. It is undertaken freely, through personal choice and not for financial gain.

The potential benefits to volunteers include:

  • Increased employability, particularly significant in a time of increasing unemployment
  • The development of personal skills brings benefits to the individual and the community as a whole
  • The opportunity to increase social networks creating a 'sense of belonging'
  • Volunteer activities are attributed to improvements in over-all health and well-being
  • Involvement in decision-making processes that influence services to meet local needs

The Sunderland Partnership recognises both the value and contribution volunteers make toward the achievement of the City strategic aims.

The development and promotion of high profile promotional campaigns, celebrating volunteering in Sunderland, will raise awareness of volunteering across the City.

Ex Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has said, "If you want to know what's good about our country, just look at the work of volunteers."
toolkit

See 'Related Pages' for more information about volunteering.

The 'Volunteering for Sunderland Toolkit' was launched on March 27th 2009. It contains all the information your organisation will need to know about Volunteering in Sunderland.

See 'Downloads' for a copy of the Volunteer Toolkit as well as access to customisable appendices from the Volunteer Toolkit.