Voluntary Action South West Surrey

Supporting Community Wellbeing Through Crafts

We are the Crafting Wellness Group based in Guildford, Surrey (UK). We have noticed that there aren’t many third spaces to socialise without some sort of cost or purchase and with the rates of loneliness on the rise it feels like the right time to create these spaces ourselves.

Our intention is to provide free social groups in Guildford where you can bring your current project or learn a new craft.

There are several studies that show hobbies such as knitting or crochet can help soothe your nervous system, increase concentration and support fine motor skills. 

Our social groups and workshops are open to anyone over the age of 16 with any skill level. We will do our best to make the groups as accessible as possible, we are disability confident and LGBTQ+ friendly.

We also support seasonal working.

Guildfordians Rugby is a community focussed rugby club based in Stoke Park within the Borough of Guildford.  We provide a wide variety of rugby playing opportunities and are a club that is fully open to everyone, regardless of their ability, age, ethnicity or gender and sexual orientation.  Through the provision of adult contact rugby (for both men and women), touch rugby, walking rugby and children’s rugby we offer sporting activity for all genders and all ages – our playing members range from four years old to eighty.  In addition to on field volunteering roles there are a wide range of volunteering opportunities behind the scene – accordingly an interest in rugby or sport is not necessary to support Guildfordians Rugby and to enjoy its community.  We have a number of different roles and would be delighted to hear from you.

To make a difference

About us

The halow project is a growing community-based charity, situated in Guildford, Surrey. We support young people, aged 16+, with a learning disability on their journey into adult life.

The young people we work with want the opportunity to:

• Build relationships
• Become part of the community
• Find meaningful employment
• Have a home of their own

We believe that the young people we support have the right to be part of and respected in their communities and are entitled to a life they choose in ways which best suit them. halow is committed to developing creative opportunities and removing social barriers.

"There for parents when they need us most, because childhood can't wait"

Parents Supporting Other Parents - a simple idea that really works!

Home-Start Guildford has been supporting local families across the Guildford Borough for over 25 years. 

We're a non-judgemental organisations that helps local parents who are struggling, for any reason. Some of those reasons may include; multiple births, mental health, an abusive partner, isolation, mental or physical handicap, or the pressure that loss of employment brings to a family.

What we do

Our charity provides a preventative service that aims to support families who are struggling by offering regular volunteer support to parents with at least one child under the age of 5, usually referred to us by Health Visitors.

We provide one-to-one support for parents:
Our volunteers visit the family’s home for a couple of hours every week.  They tailor-make their support to the needs of the parents and children. Volunteers are very committed and will keep visiting until the youngest child turns five or starts school, or until the parents feel they can stand on their own two feet.  Parents and volunteers often develop a deeply trusting relationship which can lead to powerful change within the family.

We also run two family groups for referred families, one in the Pirbright Community Centre and the other in the Guildford Family Group, Hazel Avenue.

Our values

• We offer families choice
• We work in partnership - with each other, with families and with other agencies
• We work in a spirit of openness, encouragement and enjoyment
• We are flexible and responsive to the needs of families

Volunteering Opportunities 

There are several ways that you can help in a voluntary capacity:

• by supporting a family as a Home-Visiting Volunteer
• by helping at one of our Family Groups
• by joining the Trustee Board
• by becoming a Friend of Home-Start Guildford
• by supporting us as a Digital / Office Volunteer

Please see the volunteer roles listed for more detail.

Horsley, Bookham & Leatherhead Riding for the Disabled Association is a registered charity which provides facilities to benefit disabled children and young adults by having regular contact with horses.

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We have been operating for over 30 years giving rides to children and young adults with physical and learning disabilities in Surrey. Our riders include those with autism, Down's Syndrome, spina bifida and dyspraxia.

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Each week, with the assistance of our coaches and volunteers, our riders can enjoy the horse riding experience. This provides them with the chance to be independent, to feel a sense of achievement and it puts smiles on their faces!  If proof is needed of the therapeutic effect of riding, we had one little boy who had never spoken before and whose first word was the name of his pony.

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Our dedicated team of volunteer coaches, group leaders and helpers is paramount to our continued success, without whom we could not operate. 

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We are always looking for volunteers and sponsors, and welcome any contribution which will help keep this wonderful community effort going.

Our vision is that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education and that all those who have more than they need, share with those who lack even the most basic things. Working together with those who share our vision, we believe there is no good reason why this cannot be realised.

Mary’s Meals is a global movement supported by people from many walks of life and different backgrounds. Our mission is to enable people to offer their money, goods, skills, time, or prayer, and through this involvement, provide the most effective help to those suffering the effects of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest communities.

Rainbow Trust provides emotional and practical support for families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness.

 This support comes from Family Support Workers who perform a role most people couldn’t imagine.  They maintain a sense of normality for the family by helping with hospital trips, performing household duties, taking the siblings to school and in many cases providing care during the final stages of a child’s life, helping with funeral arrangements and bereavement support.

Rainbow Trust has nine care teams across England in Surrey, North East London and Essex, Central London, West London, County Durham, Cumbria, Manchester, Swindon and Southampton. Last year they supported 1,361 families.

Rainbow Trust's vision is that one day all terminally ill children and their families will have access to a Rainbow Trust Carer.

West Horsley Place is a Grade I listed mediaeval manor house and estate of great beauty and historic significance. The manor house dates from 1425, though there has been a building on site since Saxon times. Our recent work to conserve and maintain the house has made our principal rooms safe and comfortable for public access, but the house remains on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register.  

The West Horsley Place Trust aims to bring the house, gardens, 380-acre estate and eight Grade II listed outbuildings back into good repair and to improve people's wellbeing through art, culture, heritage & nature.

We will give people freedom to explore and discover, to create stories and become part of ours. 

VISION

• To bring about a quiet revolution in the way an historic house and estate is managed
• To be a place that improves people’s wellbeing through culture, heritage and nature

MISSION

• To be sustainable, financially, environmentally and socially
• To be a catalyst for creativity
• To conserve the listed buildings in our care so that they are no longer on the Historic England ‘at risk’ register
• To provide learning and engagement opportunities in culture, heritage and nature
• To broaden our audience by being welcoming, inclusive and accessible
• To enhance the natural landscape through increasing biodiversity and habitat connectivity