Community Groups

Aunty Jen Productions is a professional theatre company based here in Studley.

Created as a direct legacy of the Studley Isolation Support Group, we are a community-led company, breathing life into the heart of the village by working with local venues and businesses. We have an army of volunteers who support every aspect of our productions from making the costumes to running front of house. Our efforts have been acknowledged through a Volunteer Group Recognition Award for South Warwickshire at the WCAVA Awards 2021!

From pantomimes to murder mysteries, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

Home Start South Warwickshire is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with young children. We provide unique, needs led, responsive support to Warwickshire children and families. Our core home-visiting service is offered by trained and professionally supported parent volunteers.

We help give children the best possible start in life by supporting parents as they grow in confidence, strengthen their relationships with their children and widen their links with the local community.

With the aftereffects of the pandemic and the rising costs of living, bringing up a family is particularly difficult for many at the moment, and the demand for our service is increasing week-on-week. We need to recruit more Family Support Volunteers to ensure we can continue to offer our tailored, non-judgemental, caring support to families in need during this difficult time.

“My volunteer makes my week much better. I don’t have a lot of family support so she is a great parental role model and helps me be a better parent.” HSSW Mum

Family Support Volunteers offer 1-2-1 support to a family who are going through a difficult period for a number of reasons, which could include:

• poor mental or physical health
• relationship breakdown
• loneliness
• postnatal depression
• bereavement
• twins/triplets

Having this individual support helps families overcome their struggles and builds their resilience for the future.

“My volunteer just understands what I need. Each week she sees where I’m struggling and she just slips in to help. Without any judgement or making me feel inadequate.” HSSW Mum

We are looking for people who are parents themselves so have an understanding of the difficulties of raising a family, are non-judgemental and respectful, committed to supporting a family for a minimum of 6 months and are available to attend our Volunteer Training Course.

Our next Volunteer Training Course will run on the following dates at St Peter’s Church Centre, Wellesbourne:

Thursday 28^th April  9.30-2.30

Thursday 5^th May     9.30-2.30

Tuesday 10^th May    9.30-2.30

Tuesday 17^th May    9.30-2.30

The course will ensure volunteers are fully trained to offer 1-2-1 support and covers topics such as safeguarding and confidentiality, listening skills, the importance of play, boundaries and more. Volunteers are then able to offer emotional, practical and parenting support to make a real difference to their Home Start family.

“Volunteering with Home Start SW has given me a sense of purpose and fulfilment, knowing that I am positively impacting on someone else’s life and in particular the lives of the young children in the family…I would encourage anyone thinking about volunteering to go for it!” HSSW Volunteer

If you would like to apply to become a Family Support Volunteer and make a real difference to local families, please complete the application form on the link below and return it to Marie Ashford at marie@homestartsouthwarwickshire.org.uk.

https://www.homestartsouthwarwickshire.org.uk/volunteer

If you would like to volunteer with us, but are unable to commit to supporting a family, we have a number of other opportunities available which are vital in ensuring our support can continue.

Other opportunities include:

• Volunteer Driver – helping families get to appointments, groups or activities on an ad-hoc basis
• Group Volunteer – helping us run our support groups as often as you are able
• Fundraising Volunteer – helping us fundraise by organising events and fundraising activities as and when
• Volunteer Trustee – helping us keep our policies and practices in order (approx. one day a month)

To find out more about any of our volunteer opportunities, please contact Marie Ashford (Mon-Weds) on 07906 143 611 or Emma Gurdag (Weds-Fri) on 07907 616 922.