Blog | Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency

Ordinary radicals changing the world, one person, one day at a time

19 July 2017 - 1:10pm

The impact of authentic relational connection

We're off out

30 June 2017 - 9:21am

"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world" – John le Carré

At MVDA, we’ve been exploring what it is to be a social leader. For me, it starts by understanding who it is you are leading.

Those of us working in the local voluntary sector have the privilege to be seen as part of the communities we work to serve. Although this is sometimes a barrier to overcome, people boxing you off as ‘grass-roots’, often hosting your presence at the table as a tick box exercise rather than valued contributor, it is still vital to the success of our mission.

A reflection on assessments

22 June 2017 - 12:09pm

I’ve recently decided to build ‘reflective’ time into my working week, to take stock of work ticked off the endless to do list, what I’ve learnt, the people I’ve met etc. It’s something that I hope will become a habit as it’s such a useful exercise to put things into perspective, identifying areas for improvement, good things, and the appreciation of others.

Grassroots support makes a real difference: Hope4Summer

5 December 2016 - 5:45pm

A guest blog by Heather Black, Development Officer, Together Middlesbrough & Cleveland

For the past three years I’ve been involved in developing Hope4Summer – a project that brings together churches and community groups in different locations across Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland. Hope4Summer offers fun activities and healthy food for children during the summer holidays, because we know that for many local families the summer break is a struggle with children at home 24/7 and no free school meals.