All the Work Packages listed below were 'Available' at the time the Volunteer Newsletter was put together. If, when contacting the charity, they tell you that a volunteer has started work on the Work Package, please ask the charity to contact info@iT4Communities.org.uk so that we can assist them in assigning the volunteer to the Work Package. Once the charity has assigned a volunteer, the Work Package state will be changed to “In progress”, and taken off the iT4C website.
Please go to www.iT4Communities.org.uk, then Log in and Search for volunteering opportunities - for these and more ‘Available Work Packages’. Alternatively simply go to each Work Package using the live links under the Work Package Name (you will need to login en route).
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Work Package Name: New Website Host - Advice URGENT March 07
Skill Type: Advice
Region: Wales
Postcode: CF5
Region Detail:Description: This development agency that promotes participation in the arts is looking for a volunteer to assist them with the selection of a new web host supplier. Their current suppliers are tendering for this work and they need an independent person to be able to translate the various quotes they have received so that they are able to compare them. The website is a large database driven site with a forum and CMS to allow members to input events. They also have a bulk email function. Experienced volunteer needed, must have good interpersonal skills.
Work Package Name: Advice - using multi-media
Skill Type: Website
Region: London
Postcode: NW7
Region Detail: Mill HillDescription: This small charity specialises in training carers of those affected by ill mental health, health care professionals, police, social services and others. This training is well received, respected and much needed. The charity is really enthusiastic about working with a volunteer to utilise new technologies to get the training known about. Ideas include 1) getting a video on U-Tube, 2) setting up a blog/using blogs 3) any other ideas? Each of these can be small bite size projects please apply if you have experience in any of these areas.
Work Package Name: Website update - London N7
Skill Type: Website
Region: London
Postcode: N7
Region Detail: London
Description: This charity promotes access to the arts for deaf and disabled people. They work with arts venues to ensure that people with disabilities can access the venue. They also promote the work of disabled and deaf artists and work with schools and other community groups throughout London. The charity's main website is relatively new but needs some minor updates - a couple of new pages, profiles of staff members, sponsors logos, etc. Two of the charity's staff have some basic knowledge of Dreamweaver and have a development version of the site so they can test their changes. However, they are struggling to get things exactly as they'd like them and find they are spending a long time looking for the correct options to set in Dreamweaver. They would like a volunteer to work with them to do these updates. Ideally they would like the volunteer to show them how to use the package to get the results they want. However, they are completely flexible and are happy to let a volunteer make all the changes him or herself using any development package. They can work evenings or weekends to suit the volunteer. Initially they think they need about half a day's effort but would appreciate a couple of hours support each month for a few months.Work Package Name: Advice on internet and e-mail
Skill Type: Technical Support
Region: East of England
Postcode: CM2
Region Detail: Chelmsford
Description: This charity provides support to homeless people in Chelmsford and central Essex. They operate a night shelter providing short-term support. They also have premises where people can live independently for a while before moving into longer-term facilities. They plan to open a day care facility in the near future to complement their night time services. The charity will soon be having broadband Internet access installed at one of their sites. They would appreciate a volunteer who can check this installation for them to ensure that it is correctly configured. Many of their staff work regularly from home using their personal Internet connections from a variety of providers (NTL, Virgin, etc). They experience occasional problems with these systems. Could a volunteer please advise on how best to resolve these problems and provide some guidelines on the best way to manage their e-mail?Work Package Name: WPWebsite1500.1351 Remote
Skill Type: Website
Region: Remote
Postcode: RH10
Region Detail: Crawley
Description: This advice bureau that offers independent advice to the community of Crawley, and which can only run with volunteer support to deliver all aspects of this important service, would like a volunteer for advice about options for an intranet and help in building it. This organisation has over 60 staff and volunteers who all work at different times. Information sharing can be very difficult and waste paper. They would like to talk to someone who has experience of designing and managing an intranet. As an organisation they have a well managed technical environment and commitment to making the best use of technology. If they decide that an Intranet will offer the solution they are looking for then they would need help to build it in a way that they could update easily in house. Creative (e.g. wikis), but ultimately manageable and sustainable ideas welcomed!Work Package Name: WPWebsite1499.1350 Remote
Skill Type: Website
Region: Remote
Postcode: RH10
Region Detail: Crawley
Description: This advice bureau that offers independent advice to the community of Crawley and which can only run with volunteer support to deliver all aspects of this important service is looking for a volunteer web designer for assistance with their website. They have a website but it needs a design refresh. All the content is ready; this would be a quick project for a designer who would like to help with a website makeover but not major reworking. The more complicated bit: the volunteer would also need to be able to assist with a seamless transition from the current hosting. Future updates would need to be in the control of the organisation and the volunteer would need to build this into the design (e.g. with a CMS) and leave detailed notes/training. It is also important that the website complies with DDA accessibility guidelines
Work Package Name: General IT advice, South West, East Huntspill, TA9
Skill Type: Advice
Region: South West
Postcode: TA9
Region Detail: SomersetDescription: This charity plans to set up a home for street children in Honduras, Central America. Currently they are fundraising and will shortly be visiting Honduras to look for suitable land for the home. This is a small charity with few IT skills and they would appreciate some general advice. They currently have a single PC that will soon need replacing possibly with a second-hand machine. They would like some help to decide exactly what they need so that they don’t waste money or purchase something which is obsolete. Eventually they will need IT equipment in Honduras so they would like help to decide what is required in terms of hardware, networking, software, etc.
Work Package Name: Small Network - technical support & advice
Skill Type: Technical Support
Region: London
Postcode: N1
Region Detail: IslingtonDescription: This small charity is a youth theatre specialising in puppetry. They work with young people particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds. As they have grown more reliant on their computers for the daily administration and communications they now need a volunteer who will be able to assist them with 1) setting up their network 2) making the 7 PCs running versions of windows from 98-XP compatible 3) advice about their email accounts and training a member of staff in regular maintenance that would help them keep things running more smoothly.
Work Package Name: Website updating via Mambo, London, SW16
Skill Type: Training
Region: London
Postcode: SW16
Region Detail: LambethDescription: This community group based in South London organise visits to cultural events for older people. Events include concerts, plays, visits to art galleries, stately homes, exhibitions, etc. Following visits there is often lively discussion on what has been seen or heard. A previous iT4Communities volunteer has designed and built a very successful website for the group. Due to other commitments she now needs to hand over maintenance of the site to the charity but they don't have the necessary skills. The charity is looking for a new volunteer who can help them climb the learning curve to being able to do their own updates. The site has been implemented using Mambo so this is an opportunity for a volunteer who has previous experience of, or is keen to learn, this technology. The previous volunteer will be happy to provide any necessary information. Training is required for only one person at the charity who will then take on responsibility for updates which are done every couple of months
Work Package Name: MS Project training
Skill Type: Training
Region: North West
Postcode: WN8
Region Detail: SkelmersdaleDescription: This charity is aiming to help rid the world of poverty. Focussing initially on Nepal they do fund-raising to support NGOs already working in the region. They are also developing a volunteer programme in the UK to help raise awareness of the issues. Projects they have supported recently including working with orphanages to improve conditions for street children by providing water filters, inoculations and purchasing land to grow vegetables. They are also supporting a Dutch NGO in improving sanitation and cooking facilities for villagers in a particular area of Nepal. The charity has been given a copy of Microsoft Project but hasn't been able to understand how to use it. They feel that it may be a useful tool as they manage a number of projects. They would like some one-to-one training starting from a basic level to help them understand this software and whether it will be of use to them.
Work Package Name: Visual Basic interactive learning system
Skill Type: Programming
Region: East Midlands
Postcode: LE3
Region Detail: LeicesterDescription: This small sports club provides low-cost gymnastic classes in a deprived area of Leicester. Although mainly working with young people they are open to people of all ages and abilities. They are developing an interactive learning system so that there is less reliance on having skilled trainers available. The system would recognise a student's skill level and suggest appropriate exercises for them to carry out. The student or supervisor could then assess their performance and input the results into the system for future reference. A basic, initial version of the system has been developed but it requires enhancements particularly in the area of communicating with Windows to determine who else is logged on to the system. This is an opportunity for a volunteer with Visual Basic experience and preferably an understanding of API calls. The volunteer would need to work alongside the found of the club who has developed the system so far to get an understanding of the requirements for the system.
Work Package Name: Website Advice - Search Engine Optimisation
Skill Type: Website
Region: East of England
Postcode: CB1
Region Detail: CambridgeDescription: This International Charity works to promote the use of appropriate and accessible information and communication technologies in conservation work. For example, satellite tracking equipment, solar powered chargers, pocket PCs, backback cookers etc. They have developed an exciting new website to hold this information and to encourage a network of field professionals and a online community to knowledge share. They require a volunteer with experience in website promotion and search engine optimisation to ensure that this wealth of information is widely available.
Work Package Name: Interactive e-card website from scratch
Skill Type: Website
Region: East of England
Postcode: SG1
Region Detail: StevenageDescription: This small local charity in Stevenage runs an emergency hostel for single homeless people. They also try to support people back into regular accommodation through a second stage house and are in the process of setting up a supported lodgings scheme. The charity are always looking for additional sources of funding and would like to set up an interactive website to allow people to send e-cards in return for a donation. The charity is looking for a volunteer to help them design and implement this site. There are no constraints in terms of technology or how the site is implemented. The volunteer would be free to suggest the most appropriate tools for the job. The charity will need a mechanism to manage the cards available on the site and visitors to the site should be able to choose a card, specify a message and recipients and make a payment. The charity already has a facility to take CAF payments so it may be appropriate to link that. Although some face-to-face meetings would be nice much of this work could be done remotely.
Work Package Name: Troubleshoot problems in IT suite
Skill Type: Technical Support
Region: North East
Postcode: NE33
Region Detail: South ShieldsDescription: This charity operates a communality regeneration project in South Shields. Their building is used as a community centre with over 400 users each week. They operate a healthy eating programme including the provision of emergency food parcels to those in need. Their allotment project involves volunteers in growing fruit and vegetables that are then sold to the local community. One of the facilities in the community centre is an IT suite but this is not as useful as it could be as some of the PCs won't link to the network. They would like a volunteer who can help by getting the IT suite running correctly. The PCs are a mixture of ages and operating systems - some Windows XP, others older. They are all supposed to be networked to the server and to broadband Internet access. If possible the charity would also like some advice on their office PCs. These are all working correctly but they are aware that they don't have the skills to manage the network. If the volunteer can give them some pointers re. backups, virus checking and generally maintaining the system they could draw up some procedures that they could follow on a regular basis.
Work Package Name: Website Advice & Guidance - North East Middlesbrough TS3
Skill Type: Website
Region: North East
Postcode: TS3
Region Detail: MiddlesbroughDescription: This charity has a website but it is looking rather dated. they have a member of staff with basic Dreamweaver skills who would like to work alongside an experienced web designer to refresh the website and make it accessible to DDA guidelines. The charity works with local communities using alternative methods to conflict resolution. It is an exciting & successful project whose website does not currently reflect that, your expertise is required!
Work Package Name: CMS Website - Northern Ireland, Bangor, Co. Down, BT20
Skill Type: Website
Region: Northern Ireland
Postcode: BT20
Region Detail: BangorDescription: This Community Resource Centre is looking for a volunteer to help them promote their groups and activities to the local community via a website. It is vital that the website will be simple to update by non-technical personal so a Content Management System should be used. The organisation need advice about an affordable hosting deal and domain registration. They are happy to consider a remote volunteer and work with you via telephone and email. This would be a rewarding opportunity to provide an invaluable information source to an entire community.
Work Package Name: Audit of PCs, skills and support of national charity
Skill Type: Audit/strategy
Region: Yorkshire & Humberside
Postcode: BD20
Region Detail: KeighleyDescription: With 10 sites across the UK, this International Charity provides a home & workshops to people with learning disabilities. Their technology (which drives their accounts, their funding records and the majority of their communications) has grown organically and now needs to be streamlined. A volunteer IT consultant has completed a recommendations report that sets in place the Charity's strategic needs. They now need someone to take on the next step which is to complete a detailed audit of the technical, skills & technical support infrastructure of each of the sites. This can be largely be managed and completed remotely but there is also a budget to allow for one or more volunteers to visit the sites. This work will be invaluable to help this Charity plan for their future technical needs and to assist with the continued good work of this charity.
Work Package Name: Location Based Information Transmitters
Skill Type: Other
Region: Scotland
Postcode: ML5
Region Detail: CoatbridgeDescription: This small, innovative Charity based in Scotland is looking for a volunteer to assist with a project to provide location based information to people who are partially sighted and blind. The charity is setting up a system of transmitters in public spaces to provide information to people who are blind/partially sighted carrying a receiver headset/device. They need some professional development advice and assistance with a trial.
Work Package Name: Training Programme - Advice
Skill Type: Training
Region: Scotland
Postcode: ML5
Region Detail: CoatbridgeDescription:This small, new and innovative Charity has been donated 100 refurbished PCs to distributed to older people with disabilities to improve their access to information and communication. For cost purposes the PCs will need to be fully fitted with accessible software (screen readers etc) that are FOS (free and open source). A volunteer is sought to help design a training programme that can then be delivered by other volunteers to ensure that the older people are confident that they can use the computers as they need to.
Work Package Name: Information on web technologies
Skill Type: Consultancy
Region: North West
Postcode: WN8
Region Detail: SkelmersdaleDescription: This charity is aiming to help rid the world of poverty. Focussing initially on Nepal they do fund-raising to support NGOs already working in the region. They are also developing a volunteer programme in the UK to help raise awareness of the issues. Projects they have supported recently including working with orphanages to improve conditions for street children by providing water filters, inoculations and purchasing land to grow vegetables. They are also supporting a Dutch NGO in improving sanitation and cooking facilities for villagers in a particular area of Nepal. The charity would like to have a better understanding of web technologies. They currently work remotely with a volunteer who maintains their website but they don't always know the correct terms to use when discussing the site. They would also like to understand how they might make better use of web technologies to support their work. They would like a volunteer who can spend a few hours explaining the issues involved and what is feasible for a small charity to achieve.
Work Package Name: CMS website & design - London/Bath/anywhere...
Skill Type: Website
Region: Remote
Postcode: BA2
Region Detail: BATHDescription: This is a small charity that runs a network of self-help groups throughout the UK to help people with phobia or obsessive compulsive disorder. Each group meets weekly and is facilitated by one or more volunteers. The groups follow a self-help method that is designed to cure problems rather than just provide support. The charity has a small website which desperately needs a revamp as they try to increase their membership and to help with their marketing. Most importantly the website must be based on a CMS (content management system) so that they can update it themselves on a regular basis. They would like a new design for the site and would welcome any suggestions from a volunteer. They do have an existing logo but are not tied in to any particular branding or colour scheme. Eventually they would like the site to include features such as online shopping and a chatroom, but initially they would like basic static pages plus the ability to download membership forms. The contact at the charity is based in Bath but travels to London regularly so face-to-face meetings in either location would be a possibility. However, this project could easily be implemented remotely. This is an opportunity for a volunteer who has experience of implementing CMS websites and who is keen to try out some design ideas.
Work Package Name: ASP and database development
Skill Type: Website
Region: Remote
Postcode: EX11
Region Detail: Ottery St MaryDescription: This trust and associated social enterprise work to promote all types of complementary medicine particularly to people in disadvantaged groups who wouldn't normally be able to afford such therapies. They run workshops, seminars and training courses and provide fully qualified therapists. Through links to local health centres in North and East Devon they provide a range of services such as reflexology, massage, homeopathy, etc. To support their work they would like to expand their existing website to incorporate a number of interactive database-driven features. They plan three strands to the site - a members-only area with newsletters, etc; a section for organisations to request therapy sessions for their service users and a password-protected area for therapists to record details of their availability. They have been advised that this development should be done using ASP but are willing to take further advice. Their existing hosting package has the necessary facilities, e.g. database and SSL support, but can be expanded if necessary. The contact at the charity is IT literate and will work closely with the volunteer to define the requirements for the site. They are mainly looking for a volunteer to do the programming and database development but would also welcome input on the design of the site. They are happy to work remotely with a volunteer but would be able to travel for initial face-to-face meetings.
Work Package Name: Upgrading PHP scripts
Skill Type: Programming
Region: Remote
Postcode: HX7
Region Detail: Hebden BridgeDescription: This charity provides various community facilities to local people in the Calder Valley area of West Yorkshire. They have always been interested in IT and provide advice and support to other charities and community groups in the region. They often help groups develop their own websites, sometimes hosting them alongside their own. One of the sites they have responsibility for is an important community resource and averages over a quarter of a million hits per month. However, the server has recently been upgraded to PHP 5 and some of the site's PHP scripts, including a guestbook and bulletin board, no longer work. The charity is looking for a volunteer with PHP and MySQL expertise to help them upgrade the scripts to the latest version. All these scripts are based on open source programs but have been modified to suit the house-style of the website. The charity is flexible about how this work is done. The volunteer can commit as much time as they wish. If they are interested there may be further opportunities to suggest additional features for the site or to work on other sites supported by the charity. The volunteer will need to undergo some checks, as he/she will need to have access to all the passwords for the site.
Work Package Name: Excel and Sage Training
Skill Type: Training
Region: London
Postcode: E3
Region Detail: LondonDescription: This extremely busy, successful and large community centres offers language and life skills training to the local BME population, and activity groups for people with disabilities. The huge success and variety of the work means that the accounts staff is overwhelmed keeping track of it all. They urgently require a volunteer who is able to train 4 members of staff in better use of excel (2 have basic knowledge and a further 2 need advanced knowledge). They also have had to be self taught in the use of Sage and they need a volunteer to help them understand and use some additional features that they currently manage by hand, adding to their workload. Previously volunteers have been able to make a huge difference to their working procedures and they are very enthusiastic about working with Excel and Sage volunteers.
Please go to www.iT4Communities.org.uk, then Log in and Search for volunteering opportunities - for these and more ‘Available Work Packages’. Alternatively simply go to each Work Package using the live links under the Work Package Name (you will need to login en route).
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