President: Cat Hartley
Tel: 04 67 96 12 04
Mob: 06 98 61 72 57
Our branch supports people who live in the departments of Aveyron (12), Gard (30), Herault (34) and Lozere (48).
Fund raising
A key priority has been our fund-raising drive. We already have several remarkably successful events under our belts and are beginning to feel like veterans. These events, as well as being intended to raise much needed funds and raise our profile locally are also planned to be very enjoyable, as much as for the volunteers who organise them as for the people who attend them. We feel particularly indebted to the hard-working individuals who hold coffee mornings in their own homes, raising invaluable sums of money.In this way we are getting to know each other well and develop a thriving team spirit.
We now have a varied programme of events throughout the summer, including some choral concerts, a wine tasting walk through the vines and an open mic musical evening in a volunteer’s home.
Our biggest event by far is, however, is the our “Grand Summer Fair” which has grown from humble beginnings to something which promises to be pretty spectacular. We have been very lucky to be offered the use of a large riverside garden right in the middle of acres of vineyards and the glorious setting has inspired us to go all out for a fabulous day. There will be a series of events, such as wine tasting and a “promises auction” going on all day, to the accompaniment of live music,as well as good quality craft stalls and traditional cream teas and other food outlets. Click on the poster for full details.
Any members from other branches who will be visiting our area over the summer would be most welcome to join us.
Training
Before going operational in January of this year, one of our main priorities has been to train sufficient volunteers to carry out a variety of roles in the organisation. An early decision was taken that any volunteer who might conceivably come into contact with the general public while working for CSF, for example as a translator, should undergo the training, whether or not they intended to become an active listener. We have already seen the benefits of this policy and will continue to promote it.
We now have 16 volunteers who have undergone the skills-based initial training and many are “ready to go” as active listeners or in other roles.
As a new branch we have at this early stage very few clients, so to keep newly acquired skills fresh, volunteers are teamed with “buddies” whoa re in regular contact with each other to practice their listening skills or to discuss general issues connected with the support of people whose lives are affected by cancer. Refresher training courses have also been held to update training and to reinforce skills.
