As well as supporting the development of new voluntary organisations, W3RT CVS provides support to existing voluntary organisation supporting our communities on a range of areas. One organisation that W3RT CVS have worked closely with over the last 12 months is Home Start Watford and Three Rivers who are one of the key local organisations working in the area. 

‘It was a fantastic event and the footfall was tremendous’ 

Unsurprisingly, support around volunteering has been one of the ways that W3RT CVS has supported Home Start. As an organisation, they use volunteers to deliver all their services and to support the organisation as trustees.  

Therefore, when W3RT CVS held its annual Volunteers’ Fair in June 2024, Home Start were one of the first organisations to sign up to attend. With over 250 people in attendance, Home Start were able to attend the event and benefit from promoting their volunteering roles that they have in the community.  

After the event, Michaela Foster-Osborne thanked W3RT CVS for hosting the event and said that ‘this was the best fair I have ever done, the footfall was fantastic, the area we were in was just right and overall it was a huge success.’ 

‘We wouldn’t have made it without you’ 

With both the ongoing cost of living crisis and the long term impact of the Covid19 pandemic, funding support and guidance is one of the areas of support that W3RT CVS has provided Home Start over the last 12 months. This support has come from funding directly from the W3RT Community Fund which funded Home Start to run one of their family groups in Leavesden. 

In addition, we provided Home Start with £2,800 which would allow them to work with a funding consultant to submit a series of core cost funding bids to funders such as Children in Need. As a result of this funding, Home Start were successful with a series of applications including a £60,000 multi year grant from the Henry Smith charity and £20,000 over a two year period from the National Lottery Community Fund. Karen Watkin, Director of Operations thanked W3RT CVS their support in 2024 and said that ‘we would not have made it within it’. She added that ‘W3RT CVS is a constant source of advice and guidance, always on hand to help navigate complex issues with clarity and compassion. In a sector that often faces resource constraints and uncertainty, W3RT CVS is a beacon of reliability and innovation.’ 

A new home and a fresh start 

Launching in December 2023, The Lord Lieutenant’s Charity Hub become a hub for local charities to hire desks and network with other local community groups to forge greater collaboration. In April 2024, Home Start joined W3RT and a range of other charities at the Charity Hub having left their previous premises earlier in the year. In addition to this, their presence at the Charity Hub allowed them to attend and speak at a range of networking events hosted by W3RT including at October’s Communities Connect event, co-hosted between W3RT CVS and Watford and West Herts Chamber of Commerce.  

At the event, Karen said that ‘Moving to the Charity Hub has been such a positive experience with a beautiful and affordable office that has wonderful outside space and has provided us with more visibility and awareness for our charity. It really feels like home’ 

With the demand for their services increasing, we expect to continue to support Home Start over the next 12 months to ensure they can reach out to everyone in the town who needs their help. To find out more about the organisation, you can visit their website by clicking here. 

W3RT CVS provides a range of free support to voluntary and community organisation in the Watford and Three Rivers area thanks to funding from Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers District Council. You can find out more about our services by clicking here and if you or your organisation would like support, get in touch by emailing [email protected].