That's what Katty Keyhani from Alzheimer’s Society, advocating for our sector on the The Health and Wellbeing Board in Wakefield District, told us.

At the meeting, we got to hear about some of the work your Advocates have been up to in the past year, and what they are looking forward to this year. Some successes included:

• Fighting for the themes on the health and wellbeing board to not only focus on young people, but older people as well – there are now themes on dementia
• Putting forward the fact that certain NHS and council policies only make already small struggling charities struggle even more – smaller charities are now visibly being considered more in decision making
• Contributing to the wording of the Children and Young People’s plan as well as working hard to share the surveys to their connections

Looking forward, Advocates would love to see more collaboration between the various VCSE organisations in Wakefield District, whether big or small. They also want to continue to build relationships so that VCSE colleagues are more recognised and appreciated by statutory partners.

We can't wait to hear more from Advocates in 2025 as they continue to make sure our sector is heard and valued at strategic meetings. We can all work together to build a stronger Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector by amplifying VCSE voices.

Meet Your Advocates in March

You're invited to the open VCSE Voices Network meeting on 27 March in partnership with Connecting Wakefield, our regular VCSE networking meeting.

Thursday 27 March, 10am to 12pm at St Swithun's Community Centre - register here

This meeting is open to all volunteers and staff at VCSE organisations in Wakefield District.

• A get together of the wider VCSE sector and your VCSE Advocates
• Meet the people from our local sector who are advocating for you
• Hear about what your advocates have achieved so far
• Discuss important topics and share your ideas and views

We hope to see you there so we can continue to strengthen connections within the local VCSE sector!