Our team at VAL work in a number of different areas to help you and your organisations. If you need specific help please contact them on our main number Tel: 01582 733418 for general enquires you can also E-mail: info@valuton.org.uk

• Everton Blake - Executive Director

The voluntary and community sector has a tremendous array of skills and expertise dispersed within its large number of groups and organisations. One of my key objectives will be to identify ways in which this pool of skills and expertise can be synergised and energised more effectively and efficiently to meet the growing needs of a diverse community.

As The Council for Voluntary Services within Luton, one of our key purposes is to identify and action mechanisms to alleviate hardship for those most at risk. We aim to do this through continued close working partnerships within our sector, in addition to forging greater partnership with colleagues from the Statutory sector and Private Sector.

I am determined to build on the success that has been achieved to date through and by Voluntary Action Luton and will be seeking further opportunities to enable the voluntary and community sector to become more engaged in the holistic development of our town and its diverse communities.

everton.blake@valuton.org.uk

 

• Maggie Prowse – Finance and Building Services Manager

My role includes management of Voluntary Action Luton's day to day financial activities; provision of Independent Examination, payroll services and advice and information on finance to voluntary and community groups; internal IT support; procurement; and the smooth running of the Resource Centre for Voluntary Action Luton and other user groups.  

maggie.prowse@valuton.org.uk

 

 

• Daniel Sakaldip – Website Administrator & Internal Services Assistant

Keeping the website up-to-date is one of my main priorities along with assisting Maggie Prowse with the payroll services. I am also responsible for the weekly fire alarm and the monthly lighting test.

 

daniel.sakaldip@valuton.org.uk

 

 

 

•  Jean Myrie - Infrastructure Development & Training Manager

Working with organisations within the Sector to provide training advice and support to voluntary and community organisations and those involved in social enterprise activities. Also assisting with legal and statutory requirements and policy development.

jean.myrie@valuton.org.uk

•  Samuel Agaba - Funding & Development Officer

As a Funding and Development Officer. I will be providing groups with the practical help they need to identify and maximise funding opportunities, helping them to make quality funding applications, offering information and advice on a range of organisational development issues including charity registration, staff and volunteers, policies and procedures, equality and diversity, business planning, quality assurance systems so that they are better able to run their organisations efficiently and effectively.

samuel.agaba@valuton.org.uk

 

• Iris Beazley – Volunteer Centre Manager
  
  
  I’m responsible for managing the Volunteer Centre.  We are currently working towards raising the profile with a view to making it the main Centre in Luton where volunteers come to look for volunteering opportunities.

iris.beazley@valuton.org.uk

• Philip Brown – Volunteer Centre Officer

I am responsible for the administration of the Volunteer Centre to ensure that it meets the needs of volunteers and organisations using volunteers. I am also involved with the day-to-day running of the centre, interviewing new volunteers and meeting organisations.

 

philip@valuton.org.uk

• Charlotte Bonser - Bedfordshire LINk Operations Manager

The remit of the LINk is to help the citizens of Central Bedfordshire (Mid and South) to speak with a more influential voice to improve health and social care provision locally.

I manage the day-to-day operations for the host (support organisation) for the LINk, ensuring that the membership can interact with the community and work on their work programme of issues. The Host team support the Board meetings and 4 working group meetings for Primary Care, Acute/Ambulance Services, Mental Health & Learning Disabilities and Social Care. Some of the key work to date has been in relation to poor discharge planning, care in the community, mental health provision, rehabilitation beds and son on. We are also active in promoting and raising the profile of the LINk.

          charlotte.bonser@valuton.org.uk

• Nikki Dalrymple - Bedfordshire LINk Marketing & Membership Administrator

Key responsibilities are to raise awareness and promote the concept of the LINk to communities, individuals, the statutory, voluntary and private sectors enabling the recruitment and retention of membership to the LINk. Responsible for the preparation, design and production of marketing material and editing a quarterly newsletter to the LINk membership.

 

nikki.dalrymple@valuton.org.uk

 

• Lemar Walters - Trainee Administrator, Bedfordshire LINk

I am a Trainee Administrator working with the Bedfordshire LINk team. I have to communicate regularly with the LINk membership sending out information and updates. My role also involves assisting with the preparation for LINk Board meetings and working group meetings, collating and sending out papers.

 

LINkadmin@valuton.org.uk

 

 

 

• Lorna Brown – Luton Assembly Operations Manager & Myplace Project Manager

Luton Assembly is the Community Empowerment Network for Luton.  It has a membership of some 450 organisations and 32 elected representatives.  The representatives sit at the highest local strategic level, influencing and shaping the development and design of service delivery in Luton, in the interest of its communities and voluntary and community sector.  It is adept at working in partnership with other agencies and has  been instrumental in developing many local policies and strategies, the most recent being the Sustainable Communities Strategy, Luton’s Local Area Agreement and Community Involvement Strategy. 

I am the Luton Assembly‘s Operations Manager and I ensure that the right support, via the Luton Assembly team is in place for the representatives.  I also represent the Assembly on a strategic level and will attend officer meetings with various regional and national agencies and am part of various local project teams.

My time is also divided with another project......Myplace, as the client side Project Manager.  Myplace is a new build ‘world class’ youth facility that Voluntary Action Luton was successful in bidding to the BIG Lottery for.  I am developing the Business Plan, Youth steering group and involved with the development of the Capital Delivery Plan.  The building should be complete by early 2013.

lorna.brown@lutonassembly.org.uk

 

• Susan Vitty - Luton Assembly Coordinator & SAFE Delivery Project Manager

I am the Luton Assembly Co-ordinator and I am responsible for organising the Assembly’s theme network committees: Environment and Economy, Health and Wellbeing and VISION4 Children and Young People. (The Stronger and Safer Communities network committee is administered by the Stronger and Safer Communities Network Facilitator.)  One of my primary aims is to ensure that there is a flow of information between the grassroots VCS organisations and the strategic partners.

Along with the support of the Assembly team, I organise events for the voluntary and community sector on behalf of Luton Assembly and ensure that information on the work of the Assembly is publicised among the voluntary and community sector, the local press and within Luton’s local communities.

I am also a project team member of the Luton Forum’s, ‘Luton in Harmony’ initiative, which aims to promote community cohesion and enhance the positive image of our town.

susan.vitty@valuton.org.uk

• Salma - Luton Assembly Administrator
  
  I am the Luton Assembly Administrator at VAL and provides administration support to the Luton Assembly team. This includes updating the Luton Assembly website and the VISION4 e-bulletin.

 

assembly.admin@valuton.org.uk

 

• Alyson Horwood - Stronger and Safer Network Facilitator

My role involves providing support to Luton Assembly’s Stronger and Safer Communities network, as well as helping the network to develop and ensuring that all Stronger and Safer Communities Network decisions are acted upon. I am responsible through the use of my marketing experience to ensure the network is well recognised and established within the local community of Luton also my role involves ensuring that websites and regular bulletins are updated as well as assimilating and disseminating information to support a cohesive voice from the Stronger and Safer communities network ensuring that the cohesive voice is fed to the forum.

SaferStronger@valuton.org.uk

• Chris McCarthy - Myplace Youth Steering Group Facilitator

I am the Youth Steering Group Worker for the Myplace Project. My job is to co-ordinate the involvement of the young people involved in the project.

myplace.admin@valuton.org.uk

• Marian Courtney – FJF Project Manager
  
  I am the Future Jobs Fund Project Manager. The project aims to create jobs primarily aimed at 18-24 year olds who have been out of work for almost a year. Through the FJF project individuals between 18 and 24 who are unemployed will get an offer of a job, work experience, or training lasting at least 6 months.
  
  

marian.courtney@valuton.org.uk

• Farrah Yaqub - FJF Support Worker

My role is to support the Future Jobs Manager in the FJF and ESF projects. This includes managing and updating the candidate’s database and manual files. Booking and preparing documentation for the training courses we run. Assisting in producing and gathering evidence to show, we are complying with the terms and conditions of the ESF and FJF.  I am involved in the recruitment of candidates and assist in ensuring that they receive the necessary paperwork and complete the required forms before commencing employment. I also have to chase up monitoring forms and timesheets from organisations and candidates.  In my role, I have provided IAG sessions to some of the candidates using the Gerard Egan Model.

farrah.yaqub@valuton.org.uk

 

• Sue Lovegrove – Senior Administrator

My name is Sue Lovegrove and my current role is The Senior Administrator.  I look after the admin team of two FJF administrators.  With help from the two FJF administrators I supervise the reception as well as the VAL office upstairs. I produce a bi-monthly newsletter, which gives groups information on training events, funding sources, advertisements and general information. This is distributed to over 400 groups locally in the voluntary and statutory sector. I maintain the Voluntary Action Luton database and try to keep it up-to-date.

sue.lovegrove@valuton.org.uk

• David Bailey - Caretaker
  
  As the Caretaker for Voluntary Action Luton I have to look after the premises. I undertake all cleaning and tidying duties on all three floors plus the ground floor and garage. I am known as the ''handy man'' and take part most in fixing duties. My work also involves decorating.

david.bailey@valuton.org.uk