Community Chesterfield and the University of Derby celebrate Partnership award
Derbyshire Voluntary Action’s Community Chesterfield team has been applauded for its growing partnership project with the University of Derby.
The Voluntary Sector Awards were launched in 2014 to recognise the outstanding work carried out by the voluntary sector in our area. The event brings people together from across the Third Sector to celebrate the huge triumphs that have been made across Derbyshire in the last year.
Community Chesterfield was launched in 2019, as a collaboration between Derbyshire Voluntary Action and the University of Derby, the project has not only endured the global pandemic but smashed expectations and gone further than initially hoped, connecting students, university lecturers, and community groups across the county to work with and support each other in a true partnership.
Bev Crighton, from the University of Derby reflects: “[Community Chesterfield] is one of the most productive and successful projects I have seen in 11 years…. this one has really helped Chesterfield and the communities.”
A partnership started with the desire to uncover and nurture new relationships and opportunities, to pave the way for collaborations and innovation between the University and grassroots community and volunteer groups.
The project has presented training, research, and shared learning with the university, as well as local volunteers, and charities, putting students, teachers, professionals, and the community together in real-life situations allowing them to share their experiences and stories, to forge lasting connections, and emboldening them to champion community involvement, and the crucial importance of working collaboratively with the third sector in the classroom, in their careers, and in their futures.
Megan, a Student Nurse on Placement commented: “I have had the opportunity to spend time with different charities and their events whilst on placement, which has broadened my knowledge even more. I have also found that it has positively allowed me to expand my knowledge in the field I’m studying by discussing the role with a variety of different people and helping them to understand different professions within the health care setting.”
As the organisation looks to what else Community Chesterfield will achieve, so does the scope of the partnership, growing beyond its beginnings in health and social care and opening to the entire University, as well as looking for new opportunities in businesses across the county hoping to help shape how they interact with, and contribute to the community and voluntary sector.
Derbyshire Voluntary Action and the University of Derby support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.
