Malmesbury NCT

Malmesbury NCT has been in existence for nearly 25 years. However, most of our committee are moving on and we are in urgent need of a new committee.

This means the branch’s existence is now in doubt.

If we cannot find a new Chair, Treasurer and other committee members the branch will very sadly have to close. Parents-to-be will have to travel to Tetbury, Chippenham or Bath for antenatal classes. New mums will also have to travel further afield for breastfeeding support.

Also, if no-one volunteers to run our popular Nearly New Sales, we will have to cancel the upcoming Spring 2010 sale and all future sales.

Can you spare a couple of hours a month, or more, and help us form a new committee?

Friday 19 February: deadline to let me know if you can help run our two Nearly New Sales a year.

Thursday 4 March: deadline to join our committee; we will have to decide on the future of the branch at our next committee meeting on this date (please come along to the meeting if you are interested in volunteering – mail Juliana for venue and time).

If no-one new steps forward, the branch is likely to close.

Help your local NCT branch to keep going! If you can help or would like more information, please contact me as soon as you can.

Kate S.

We’ve got another Open House coffee afternoon coming up. It’s a great chance to meet new Mums or catch up with your mates, and let the kids play with someone else’s toys. This one is in Corston, at Juliana’s house, on Tuesday 16 February at 2pm. E-mail Juliana for details at antenatal@malmesburynct.org.uk.

Hello and a belated Happy New Year from all of us at Malmesbury NCT.

You may notice we have a new website design – hope you like it! Now you can leave comments on articles or blog posts, and share your experience, advice and tips with other parents.

Our next committee meeting is February 3.

Hope everyone is having a good December and you’re ready for Santa.

We have one Open House morning this month, on Thursday 17 December; new people are welcome as well as regular members. It’s at Juliana B’s from 2-4pm at The Old Vicarage, Corston – just call beforehand to let Juliana know you are coming on 01666 824945.

We need YOU to get more involved in YOUR branch.

Our Annual Members’ Meeting is this Thursday, 19^th November 7.30pm at Juliana’s – The Old Rectory, Corston.  Hopefully you will know by now that we are having a Pudding night – so do come and bring your sweet tooth with you!

We need to get some new members on our Team to ensure that the Malmesbury branch can continue to offer support and friendship to parents-to-be and new parents in Malmesbury and the surrounding villages.

The larger the team, the lighter the workload – volunteering is fun, allows you to use your experience and gain new skills, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping the NCT make a difference for parents.

The NCT has introduced a new Branch Charter which will be replacing the out of date Branch Constitution.  There are now certain roles that are essential and without them the Branch cannot successfully operate.

We are looking for a

• Branch coordinator/Chair: who coordinates the work of the Branch committee or team, leads and develops the committee or team as a group, and is the principal link between the Branch and other parts of NCT

Our current chair, Kate, is standing down but is happy to work alongside a new volunteer to ensure a smooth transition and to help in any way over the next six months to year.

Without this role filled our branch will not be able to continue so please volunteer!

Ideally, we would also like to have a:

• Minute Taker: who helps the chair/co-ordinator with the administration of team meetings and takes a note of actions
• Fundraising Co-ordinator, and fundraising team: to devise a fundraising plan and organise the events e.g. the Nearly New Sale – there are lots of guides to help with this, for example the Branch Guide to Nearly New Sales. We need to raise money for our local activities, to cover our students’ expenses and make out contribution to the wider work of the NCT.
• Newsletter Advertising Co-ordinator: who works with the editor to sell advertising to companies/individuals offering services of interest to our readership and help cover the newsletter’s costs
• Newsletter team: to help the editor put together the quarterly Mumsbury Times
• Publicity Officer: who develops relationships with the local media, writes and places press releases and helps publicise the local NCT

So, are you interested in meeting people, working in a team, helping new parents get established in their new role? Do you have a background in administration, customer services, finance or accounting, information technology or databases, copywriting, marketing, or the media? Or would you like to develop some of these skills?

If so, there is definitely a role for you! And a friend – all the roles can be organised as job-shares. The South West Regional Co-ordinator will be available to support you in building a new team for Malmesbury and the rest of the existing team will be around to offer you guidance and support]. In addition, there is a whole team in London waiting to help and training days are organised both locally and nationally.

We hope you will join us for our Pudding Night to find out more and to join the new team. If you aren’t able to come but want to help, then please contact me – Chair@malmesburynct.org.uk.

Thanks for reading this and see you on Thursday!

Regards,

Kate Stethridge