Northumberland CVA's Impact in Northumberland
At Northumberland Community and Voluntary Action, we’ve stood alongside local groups, volunteers and charities for decades, helping them succeed and make a lasting difference across Northumberland. From funding support and skills development to connecting people and communities, this page highlights the real outcomes of our work together.
Every project we work on has its own story. We look at the bigger picture as well as the small wins, like people gaining new skills, volunteers growing in confidence and communities coming together.
Alongside these stories, we also look at the practical results like how many workshops we’ve run, how many groups we’ve helped and what resources we’ve shared. This lets our funders see the outcomes and impact of their investment, while keeping our work grounded in the real experiences of the communities we serve.
Digital Inclusion
Tea and IT is a regular service open to anyone who wants to learn basic digital skills in a relaxed and friendly environment, but more importantly, it’s about enjoying a cup of tea (or Coffee), socialising and feeling part of a welcoming group.
Digital skills can mean many things and because of that, we’ve had people from all walks of life come along. Some have joined us to learn how to take card payments for their small business, some come in to get help using a digital device whilst job searching and others have wanted help uploading photos from their smartphone photography sessions.
From knitters to farmers, Tea and IT is about more than just learning, it’s about connecting and feeling included. We even get to celebrate our achievements through Digital Parties where we get together with food, music and the Nintendo Wii. For many people, Tea and IT is just as much about connection as it is about learning, offering a safe space to socialise, feel included and spend time with others in a relaxed setting.
Some of our recent feedback gives a real sense of what participants get from the sessions. here are a few examples of what participants have told us:
“Everything is outstanding. It’s somewhere to go and get expert IT support. I really enjoyed the session, he sorted my problems out.”
“Jules and Nathan did a brilliant job as usual.”
“The people are warm-hearted and helpful, look after you and keep you amused.”
“I am confident with the phone now, and have been able to Facetime my family in Florida and home.”
“I find NCVA a great help with other things even for just a chat and a cuppa which helps my mental health.”
“I look forward to attending all week!”
Tea and IT impact, Feb-Nov 2025:
- 24 participants have taken part in Tea and IT.
- 274 individual one-to-one support sessions delivered since 01 February 2025.
- 63 Tea and IT sessions delivered across community venues across Northumberland.
- 9 Digital Champions have given their time to support our participants.
Getting the confidence to travel independently or use everyday apps can make a real difference to people’s lives. These are things many of us take for granted, yet for others they bring comfort and independence. Our Digital Champions volunteer during sessions to offer patient and practical support based on real-world experience. They come from different backgrounds and use their knowledge to help participants grow in confidence and feel more at ease with everyday tasks.
Northumberland Employability Network
The Northumberland Employability Network has brought together the very best of Northumberland’s employment and skills community. Co‑led by Northumberland CVA and Northumberland County Council, the Network brings together organisations from the VCSE, private and public sectors, creating a collaborative space where ideas spark, partnerships form and opportunities grow.
We are proud to be a driving force behind a more connected and ambitious employability landscape across the county, bringing together every sector that plays a role in shaping the local and national economy.
Our Aims:
Build a strong, coordinated employment support and skills infrastructure for Northumberland.
Share insight, data, and on‑the‑ground intelligence to strengthen local delivery.
Champion collaboration to ensure services are aligned, accessible, and effective.
Support the Northumberland Employment and Skills Strategic Partnership in line with NECA’s four priorities.
Celebrate good practice and spotlight emerging challenges, opportunities, and priorities.
Spark new partnerships that unlock innovation and improve outcomes for residents.
“I am a lone worker and my company’s only rep in the NE, so this group has been the best thing ever for me!”
“90% of sign up has come from this network at my opportunities fair.”
“This network is invaluable…..providing quality contacts and information.”
“The quality of information at a one-stop-shop is great.”
“The ability to share info at the touch of a button or ask for support has been fantastic.”
With half of the membership coming from the VCSE sector, the Network provides a valuable space to explore the real barriers faced by residents and employers, with each session focused on working towards practical solutions.
Supported Volunteering
Our Supported Volunteering programme helps people who struggle to access traditional roles. This often includes those facing isolation, health issues or low confidence. With the right support, many grow in confidence and move closer to work or training.
The programme is led by a Project Coordinator with support from Trained Volunteer Buddies. Buddies work one-to-one with volunteers to help them settle into roles that suit their interests and abilities.
Volunteers are matched carefully and supported throughout their journey. This support focuses on building confidence and helping people deal with any challenges that come up.
We also work with local organisations across Northumberland to make sure volunteering roles are safe and welcoming. Policies, safeguarding arrangements and support systems are checked so volunteers and employers feel supported from the start.
Supported Volunteering helps people feel valued within their community. It builds confidence, reduces isolation and supports local groups to make a real difference. This is This is practical, people-focused support that delivers real results and leads to new opportunities.
Health and Wellbeing Network, Mind the Gap
Mind the Gap is a bold, people-powered initiative from NCVA’s Northumberland Health & Wellbeing Network. It was created in response to something we hear time and time again: too many people don’t fit neatly into the system and as a result, they slip through the gaps.
We believe a collective change is needed in the way we work, helping people to support themselves and move away from dependency. This not only eases pressure on stretched services and offers better value for money, but creates real social value by allowing people to become the solution, not the problem.
Using immersive theatre, Mind the Gap brings complex social issues to life. Participants step into real-world situations by interacting with an actor in character, experiencing multiple challenges at once and engaging with different services. This helps professionals better understand the emotional realities people face and keeps the focus where it belongs, on the person, not the process.
The Roadshow has travelled to six venues across Northumberland so far, each hosted by local organisations rooted in their communities. Every event explores a different lived experience, from cancer journeys and care leavers to dementia, male suicide, veterans and ex-offenders. Despite the range of issues, one message is clear: everyone needs to feel they belong, and everyone deserves to feel valued.
Mind the Gap brings together organisations and people with lived experience on equal footing. Each Roadshow focuses on what really matters, not what’s wrong with you, but what matters to you?
- 6 Mind the Gap Roadshows: Cramlington, Wooler, Berwick, Alnwick, Hexham and Ashington.
- 273 have engaged with the roadshows.
- 164 unique individuals from 110 organisations.
- A local resident has now formed their own Community Interest Company (CIC) as she can see how valuable it is to share her lived experiences. She feels she is valued and needed!
- Wooler has now formed their own ‘Mind the Gap’ (supporting?) and are working with local partners for greater efficiency of work.
- Organisations are constantly telling us how they have partnered up in a meaningful manner.
- Northumbria University has invited us to run a workshop for their sociology students based on the film footage we hold.
- A pilot scheme ‘Call for Change’ has now evolved from this, to create further research opportunities and possibilities.
Some feedback we have received:
“The Mind the Gap initiative was extremely thought provoking. It made me understand issues that I wasn’t aware existed and also prompted me to become involved in helping to provide a solution to some of the issues both as an individual and an organisation in the voluntary sector. The concept, the facilitation and the delivery was excellent. It was inspiring and I cannot wait to see what comes next.”
Helen Rae, Ashington Joint Welfare Scheme, Hirst Welfare
“What an extremely powerful, thought provoking event. Well done to all who organised and collaborated.”
Phil Longhirst, Chaplain HMP Northumberland
“I found the Mind the Gap event a highly effective way of getting us to focus on problem solving rather than promoting services. This really highlighted the range of support available but the gap in reach as those that need it don’t know about it!”
Sanjee Ratnatunga, Ideas for Change Consulting
After a year of learning, testing and refining the approach, the programme has moved into a countywide Call for Change. We are working with partners across all sectors to strengthen and streamline the many programmes already in place. There is no shortage of dedicated organisations or services, but if the system was working as it should, people wouldn’t still be falling through the gaps. (It’s not them and us, we are all coming from the same unique playing field).
Mind the Gap, and the Call for Change, continues to grow and evolve, shaped by local people and communities.
Community Voices
At Northumberland CVA we all share the ethos that is important to work alongside rather than ‘for them’. All of our projects are based on what people tell us that matters to them and not what’s wrong. To do this, it is important to encourage the community to have a voice on equal levels. The job club and key workers remove lanyards and are careful not to use Acronyms or have branded uniform.
When community members speak up for their needs, share their experiences, and take an active role in shaping their environment, the impact is powerful.
A community or individual that advocates for themselves produce great success stories.
- People gain confidence and feel more in control of the decisions that shape their everyday lives.
- Being heard and involved helps to grow a sense of self-worth, belonging and respect, all of which support positive mental health.
- Participating in community discussions helps build relationships, reduce isolation, and create supportive networks.
- Advocacy strengthens social bonds and nurtures a shared sense of belonging. These are all key ingredients for a resilient community.
- When communities raise their voices together, they can influence policies, drive improvements, and create better outcomes for everyone.
Together, these benefits show how essential community engagement and self‑advocacy are in creating inclusive, supportive spaces where every voice matters. Above all, we listen.
Our Volunteers
We treat all volunteers as individuals starting at where they are, not where we need them to be. They are not a statistic by being a volunteer, but doing something that is valuable to them.
“I was talking to one of the NCVA staff on the desk. I think it’s just because I told him everything about myself, and it’s like he understands me and he just listened, and he said, you can, you can do anything if you put your mind to it, and just you really give us, like, the the boost to actually do it, because I went home that night and I thought, yeah, I would really love to do.”
S Hoyle, Volunteer
Northumberland Experiences
Over the past few months, Northumberland CVA has been part of a pilot initiative Northumberland Experiences, funded by Northumberland County Council, and facilitated by Insights North East Partnership (INE). This is a pioneering, community-led project designed to uncover what life in Northumberland is truly like today. Statistics provide part of the picture, but the voices of the community reveal the everyday challenges, strengths and richness of life in ways numbers alone cannot capture. With this in mind, this initiative has recruited and trained local people to become community researchers in Ashington.
Northumberland CVA’s long-standing relationships within Ashington have been vital in recruiting individuals whose voices are often missed.
By NCVA being present at every session and offering ongoing guidance and a community space if needed, Northumberland CVA helped anchor the project into the Ashington community whilst Northumberland Experiences start to work with other communities across the County. This community-first approach has already sparked further opportunities, and we have already had requests to replicate with a focus on a specific group of people.
“NCVA has been a huge asset for us in delivering the Northumberland Experiences Project, from the moment we spoke to Martin and Lyn, they just got it and loved the idea of local people being trained as community researchers to find the stories that matter in Ashington and the Hirst area. Lyn was an integral part of our recruitment. The project benefitted hugely from her extensive local knowledge and her wide network – she knows everyone! NCVA have offered personal support to the researchers and access to their building during the research phase – it has been brilliant working with them.”
Sanjee Ratnatunga, Ideas for Change Consulting
Hirst Forum
The Hirst Ward in Ashington is currently part of a Northumberland County Council and Homes England Regeneration Programme aimed at improving housing, infrastructure and opportunities across the area. As part of this work, an independent consultation organisation was commissioned to review local housing and the wider environment.
Northumberland CVA is working along side Northumberland County Council to help understand how residents feel about the regeneration plans, ensuring the community’s voice directly influences the programme. Northumberland CVA is facilitating a community‑led forum, giving local people a space to get involved, share ideas, raise concerns and play an active role in shaping decisions that affect their neighbourhood.
By working closely with the Council and key decision‑makers, Northumberland CVA ensures residents’ views contribute to building a stronger, more vibrant Hirst for everyone. Members of the group are bringing their experiences and insights of living in Hirst while we are helping to put the foundations in place for a strong and sustainable grass-roots forum.
Funding and Governance
When someone wants to set up a community group or new organisation, the starting point is simple: making sure what they do is safe, effective and appropriate. At Northumberland CVA, we focus on helping groups put the right foundations in place so they can operate with confidence.
We don’t overwhelm people with policies and procedures. Instead, we work with them to understand what they need at their current stage. This might include helping them develop a constitution, clarify their purpose, or understand their responsibilities. Our support is always tailored. For new groups, we take things step by step, protecting their enthusiasm while helping them work safely and responsibly.
We also support established organisations and experienced charity leaders. This often involves reviewing policies, governance arrangements, or explaining changes in charity law and guidance. People come to us with different levels of knowledge, so we focus on making information clear and easy to understand. We don’t tell people what to do. We explain the options available and support them to make informed decisions for themselves.
Our approach to funding support follows the same principles. We do not write funding bids on behalf of groups. Instead, we share guidance based on real experiences of writing applications, assessing bids, and learning from both successful and unsuccessful funding attempts. We help groups understand what funders are looking for and how to present their work clearly and honestly.
We periodically facilitate funding workshops, organise funding fairs, and help build relationships between funders and local organisations. The aim is to build skills and confidence, so groups are better equipped to apply for funding themselves in the future.
We have a growing library of short, practical ‘Quick Guides’. These are shared based on need, rather than dumping large amounts of information all at once. We believe support should be relevant and timely, combining online resources with trusted, relationship-based support. Some work is short term, while other support continues over many years.
In the past 12 months:
- Governance support has helped 170 groups.
- Achieved over 500 hours of tailored support.
Funding Fair Impact:
- 25 community groups supported.
- 6 regional and national funders involved.
- 72 funding applications completed in just 3 hours.
The feedback we recieved after the funding fair from attendees was positive and reinforced the need for future events to take place:
“My appointments all came well-prepared, so it helped us focus our conversation, and it was so helpful getting the list of the appointments in advance which helped me to research the organisations in advance.”
“The venue was perfect for this type of event, the parking was easy, and the hall was the right size to accommodate us comfortably.”
“The event was very well managed, the NCVA team were excellent, very approachable and keen to support us. I appreciate that lunch and refreshments were provided.”
The impact of this work is not always immediate. Often, the benefits become clear later, as groups grow stronger and more resilient. Long-term relationships help make this possible, and we can share examples from across Northumberland that show how ongoing support can lead to lasting change. Listening is at the heart of everything we do. By responding to what communities tell us they need, and by supporting people to make their own decisions, we help create meaningful and sustainable outcomes. By helping with the housekeeping, groups are able to keep doing what they do in their communities.
Job Club/Employability
In March 2025, Northumberland CVA started Job Club, a programme that helps the community gain the skills and confidence to enter employment. As a voluntary service, those who chose to use the service was able to update their CV’s, gain interview techniques and get advice on job searching.
One key advantage was the ability to link Job Club with other Northumberland CVA projects. People could also access Supported Volunteering to gain experience or attend Tea and IT to build basic IT skills that are now part of everyday life, especially when job searching. Because we offer a range of support, many people stayed engaged and continued to build skills in different areas.
Job Club Impact:
- 66 Participants signed up to date.
- 9 Participants have moved in to employment, education or training.
As well as assisting in developing CV’s, job skills, interview techniques and giving advice for online interviews and discussing the positives of them, more importantly, it’s about developing confidence
Graham’s journey is a powerful reminder of how the right support, at the right time, can help someone rebuild confidence and move forward. After previously gaining employment through NCVA’s employability support, changes to his physical health meant he was unable to continue working. When he felt ready to return to work, Graham reached out to NCVA for further guidance.
Through Job Club, Tea & IT sessions and digital support, Graham improved his confidence with technology, gained access to the internet at home, and was able to search for jobs more independently. This also helped him stay in touch with his children and eased financial pressures while he got back on his feet.
Graham went on to volunteer with a Northumberland Experiences initiative, training as a Community Researcher, and later supported a local charity shop. He has since moved back into employment and now enjoys greater financial independence and a more positive future for himself and his family.
His story shows the real value of using different NCVA services together. By combining employability, digital support, and volunteering opportunities, people are able to build confidence, develop new skills, and move forward in a way that suits them.
“Graham made a statement that he now has a smile on his face, is happy and now loving life again, He advises others to give it a try, go for it and believe in yourself, be strong.”
Our Northumberland CVA Key Workers also worked on Solid Foundations, a project tailored to each person’s needs to make a connection, we were flexible to the needs of the individual, identifying and overcoming barriers and looking at physical and mental health.
NCVA Solid Foundations impact:
- 295 participants from the start of the project.
Solid Foundations was promoted across Northumberland, with a clear focus on how support is delivered, not just what is delivered. What makes the approach different is the way people are met, listened to, and supported on a human level. These are things you can read about in a book, but the real difference comes from going the extra mile and treating every person as an individual.
The team use their years of experience in an empathetic and understanding way. Their knowledge is wrapped into how they work with people, shaped by real-life experience as well as professional expertise. Everyone receives support that feels personal and meaningful.
This is not just about what has been learned on the job, but what has been lived. Those values and principles sit at the heart of Northumberland CVA’s culture and identity, guiding how support is delivered across every project.
Feel Good Friday
Feel Good Friday is our weekly Northumberland CVA social media post that highlights the people, stories and results behind our work across Northumberland. The most rewarding part of the feature is the feedback we receive from participants, volunteers and staff, which helps us evidence what’s working and why it matters. After a week of supporting individuals, supporting volunteers into placements, hosting community activities or advising organisations on funding, Feel Good Friday provides a regular opportunity to reflect on what has been delivered and how this contributes to stronger and more connected communities.
Feel Good Friday strengthens community trust by giving our diverse social media following clear insight into the outcomes of Northumberland CVA’s work. Many of those who engage with our content may not have accessed our services previously, but through real examples of community support, partnership working and collaboration with local charities and networks across Northumberland, they can see the practical difference our services make. This visibility encourages engagement, builds confidence in our work and supports future participation by showing how local action leads to meaningful change.