Our News

Our small businesses need you! As the Coronavirus changes the economic landscape, Surrey Community Action’s Inspiring Enterprise team are working hard to support their budding businesses as their business ventures face dormancy virtually overnight. For some there are some possible ways to adapt and respond to the new needs of their market. For others, it has been crippling. The Inspiring … Read More

Following Government advice, we have suspended our DBS checking service until further notice.  If you need to carry out checks on new volunteers then you can get a basic check done here: https://www.gov.uk/request-copy-criminal-record.

The Community Transport Association have produced some useful guidance (below).  Find out more here. UK Government announce stronger social distancing measures On Monday 23 March, the UK Government outlined strict new measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus, including a ban on public gatherings of more than two people. You can find the Government’s full guidance on these measures here. … Read More

Advice for village halls and community buildings  Village halls & community centres must close unless providing an essential service with the exception that ‘Facilities may remain open for the purpose of hosting essential voluntary or public services, such as food banks or homeless services.’  See more information about voluntary or public services here. If you are running an essential service and need … Read More

In partnership with Ecopare, Surrey Community Action have developed a half day Energy Awareness seminar, one tailored for community space providers. The Energy Awareness Seminar includes: • Setting the context: The drive for sustainable organisations • Your energy bills demystified • Energy terminology explained • Interactive benchmarking of costs and identifying usage patterns • Identification of key energy consumers • … Read More

A suite of two offices is now available at our charity hub, Astolat, in Guildford. Located in Burpham, just off the A3, the suite comprises two neighbouring rooms – one accommodating 4-5 desks and one accommodating 2 desks.  Both rooms must be taken together. The suite of rooms is offered rent free, with just a service charge payable which covers … Read More

As you may be aware, Surrey County Council (SCC) carry out an annual survey to monitor how well the needs of Surrey’s Voluntary Community and Faith Sector (VCFS) are being met by infrastructure organisations such as Surrey Community Action and the local Councils for Voluntary Services (CVSs). For those of you unfamiliar with the term, an infrastructure organisation is one … Read More

The ACRE Network needs village helps to take part in a crucial census. Carried out once every ten years, the survey will provide up to date information about halls and the social and economic impact they deliver for their communities. This information is vital to secure funding for halls, funding for Network services, and to ensure that the  services and … Read More

Surrey’s first Warm Hub! Local charity, Surrey Community Action has teamed up with Hale Community Centre to deliver Surrey’s first Warm Hub. A Warm Hub can be any community venue – a village hall, a community centre, a church, a parish room – which provides a warm and friendly environment for people to meet over refreshments and find out more … Read More

More unemployed people in Surrey will be able to benefit from free support to start their own business, thanks to a £1.4 million funding boost to the Inspiring Enterprise project. Further funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and European Social Fund will enable Surrey Community Action – together with partners WSX Enterprise, Action Hampshire, The University of Winchester and … Read More

Sponsored by: CANCELLED.  Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have cancelled this event and issued refunds to delegates.  We hope to run the event later this year or early next spring. Surrey Community Action celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.  Since our inception, there have been lots of changes and challenges for the voluntary, community and faith sector.  But what … Read More

Want to make a difference in Surrey? Come on Board! Last year Surrey Community Action helped 1300 people to avoid fuel poverty, supported 100 good neighbour schemes across the county, provided advice to 100’s of village halls, strengthened the voluntary sector through advocacy and much more, to keep communities thriving. Now we need your help. We’re looking for dynamic people … Read More

Over 160 people took the opportunity to find out more about how community led housing could help to provide more affordable homes in their communities, at roadshow events in Guildford and Leatherhead this week run by the Surrey Community Housing Partnership. Community led housing is quickly gaining momentum across the country with a rapidly growing number of successful schemes delivering … Read More

A local enterprise project is inviting budding entrepreneurs to take advantage of the support on offer thanks to National Lottery funding. Inspiring Enterprise offers free support to help develop the ideas, confidence and skills to set up a business or social enterprise. The project is funded by the European Social Fund and the National Lottery, through the Big Lottery Fund. … Read More

In the summer of 2016, 375 community organisations and stakeholders across Surrey, participated in our research into the voluntary sector; where it is now and where it needs to be in the future. The research, via online questionnaires and telephone interviews, gives us an insight into the projected needs of the community in the future, recognising that we need to … Read More