What we do as a RCC

Provide support to voluntary and community organisations and the wider community

The Isle of Wight Rural Community Council aims to promote, develop and support voluntary and community organisations. It also aims to support and empower Island communities to address their local concerns, especially with regard to issues of disadvantage and inequality.

The support we offer to voluntary and community organisations is a role performed by different organisations up and down the country and a shared term is often used to describe the role, the Council for Voluntary Service (CVS).

What we do as the Council for Voluntary Service

  • Help to represent the views of the voluntary and community sector and lobby on its behalf.
  • Provide information and advice to voluntary and community organisations - for example on funding, policy and legal issues.
  • Support partnership working between voluntary and community organisations and with the public and private sector.
  • A new role is the development of a volunteer centre during the course of 2008.
  • Organise, promote and sometimes deliver training to support the sector.
  • Support the activities of the Voluntary Sector Cabinet and related partnership networks.
  • Support voluntary and community organisations to understand and address the changing political, policy and business environment in which they work.
  • Provide developmental support to local groups

What we do in our wider community support role

Being a charity with the same funding issues as most other charities, the roles we undertake do vary according to the funding we have at any particular point in time but current roles undertaken and services provided include:

  • Promote the needs of rural communities
  • Providing village hall and community buildings advice.
  • Support the development of Parish Plans and other community consultations and action plans.
  • Promote the development of rural affordable housing and providing information & help with housing needs surveys.
  • Co-ordinate a voluntary car service known as Optio.
  • Support community health through a focus on healthy eating, our Community Chefs and our new Rural Health Trainers.
  • Support Calor Village of the Year competition and the Community Action Awards.