January has been a hive of activity for the OCVA team as we plan for the year ahead and dive straight into new projects as well as ongoing work and support we offer to organisations.
- Last week Jenny was at the bustling Volunteer Fair in Witney. With over 250 people through the doors, she didn’t stop chatting to visitors about all things volunteering in West Oxfordshire and beyond.
We’re now excitedly looking forward to our annual Volunteer Fair at the Westgate Shopping Centre on Wednesday 18th March. We’re deep in preparations so look out for more details coming soon! -  Last Tuesday, Laura was invited to speak as part of a Healthwatch webinar on the development of Neighbourhood Health in Oxfordshire. The session was well attended, with 64 participants, and also featured presentations from Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire’s Director of Public Health, and Dr Michelle Brennan, who shared insights into how Oxfordshire’s plans are being shaped.
If you were unable to attend the session, you can watch the recording: Our webinars – Healthwatch Oxfordshire
- In the first two weeks of the year, Clare ran three Communities of Practice (CoP) sessions looking at: support for survivors of sexual violence with Survivor Space Oxfordshire, the Live Well Oxfordshire online directory, and the Bullingdon Community Connections Project.Â
Last week there was an Ask & Offer sharing session for the Witney & West Oxfordshire CoP. At the meeting for Abingdon, Wantage & The Vale meeting, they heard about Live Well Oxfordshire.
- Jaime and Katie held a funding session at Banbury Museum. They were joined by Kate Hood from the National Lottery Fund, Claire and Edi from Oxfordshire Community Foundation and Paul Tysoe from Cherwell District Council. It was a busy but productive day with 11 local organisations seeking 1:1 funding advice.Â
- Maya hosted the first Volunteer Coordinators Forum of 2026. Brie and Carmen from Oxford Hub gave an informative presentation about their work and their 1:1 student volunteer matching initiative. The group had lots of questions around student volunteers which they happily answered.
And finally…
Amid the busyness, we made time for a Wellbeing Team Day, kindly hosted by Ark-T Oxford. The day created space for creativity, movement, rest and reflection, giving us practical tools to use in our work and everyday lives to tackle burnout and support our own care and resilience. It was wonderful to slow down, reconnect and enjoy being creative together.
