Marzidex (March Zoom Exidex) meeting notes 11th March 2021

For the Marzidex we had to once again rely on the dreaded Zoom. How much longer we’ll have to meet like this is still not entirely clear, but our long-awaited meeting in person is definitely getting closer!

Exidex (The Experienced Individuals Ideas Exchange) is a project based in Bishop’s Stortford where Experienced Individuals "Exies" typically meet up in a comfortable and relaxed place (when allowed) to brainstorm and exchange ideas about how to make things better. 

We were delighted to welcome Tom Watkins of Communities 1st to our March meeting.

Tom gave us a really helpful and interesting talk about the origins of the Communities 1st charity, and the support it gives not just in the original locations of St Albans and Hertsmere but now reaching all the way across Hertfordshire into West Essex and up to Luton and Milton Keynes in Beds.

The key to the support offered to local charities by Communities 1st is with funding, networking, and advice around sustainability. They act as partners with the charities and help to implement best practice. This is such a useful service, as charities often suffer from developing in isolation and without the sharing of experience and resources that an organisation like this can provide. 

The service takes one of three forms: Business services (office space, websites etc.), Wellbeing services (social opportunities, signposting) and the Volunteer Centre.

This last one is the section of the organisation that has seen the most dramatic growth during the pandemic. Volunteer numbers ballooned to 3,500 during the first lockdown, and were supporting isolated local people with shopping, prescriptions, befriending and other activities. Now that number stands at over 8,000 volunteers which is a tremendous reflection on the caring society that we live in. The local NHS trust has given C1st the mandate to support vaccination centres, and as a result the technology and expertise in running a large number of volunteers like this has grown rapidly. So much so that it is now a model of best practice which is being followed by other similar organisations in Manchester, Leeds, Somerset and many other areas of the UK.

Some challenges remain, not least that the funding received from Herts County Council does not cover all of the costs of running the volunteer programme. With 23 staff, two full time (the CEO and Tom) as well as two full time interim staff the growth has been rapid and people in the organisation are very stretched.

We then touched on another area of their focus which is tutoring. C1st works with children in education from KS2 upwards (which is Year 3 of primary school and above) as well as working with providers of training for adults to upskill or reskill. On top of that they have a scheme in place to focus on the skills of the volunteers to encourage wider engagement. The baseline has been established via an online survey and Tom can provide more details on request.

One of our Exidex members is working with a platform that exists to enable disadvantaged young people to access further education. If this is something that you might be interested in please do let me know and I’ll put you in touch with him. He is also looking for a kind tech expert to work with him on a project concentrating specifically on autistic students.

Looking forward, Tom touched on a couple of potential future developments to their dashboard such as incorporating a national volunteer passport so that wherever you are you can continue your voluntary work. This is an interesting angle, and we look forward to hearing more about it in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, hang in there - before too long we’ll be able to meet again in person and things will start to feel very different!

 Exidex is for people who can identify with one or more of the following:

 ● not in work

● motivated by being pro-active

● may have taken early retirement or a career break and are now looking for something stimulating and productive to do

● would like to gain employment by offering their skills and experience

● whose children may have flown the nest and are now looking for new opportunities

● in a job that is not making the best use of their relationships and capabilities

The ideas that the Exies bring do not necessarily have to be revenue generating business ideas – they can be in the charity sector or anything that the Exie feels will be interesting. The aim is to create the buzz that can be found in small groups when ideas are floated, refined and gather momentum before spinning off with a life of their own.

If you or anyone that you know could fit the description, please do visit the website www.exidex.com or get in touch with us at [email protected]

We look forward to meeting you at the next Exidex meeting. The date for this is Monday 12th April, probably again via Zoom I’m afraid. Have a good month!