Welcome to Community First New Forest

Search for Volunteering Opportunities in the New Forest

What are voluntary and community groups views about Brexit?

Do you have any particular concerns or issues which may impact your organisation if there is a No Deal exit from the EU?

Give your views in this survey, developed by Community First and Hampshire County Council.

Click Here for Survey

Young Carers learning to kayak this summer

Over £1.65M for Hampshire Young Carers Projects

Community First New Forest’s Young Carers Service has been awarded a share of £1.65 million over the next 5 years.

The bumper pay-out from the Big Lottery is split between the ten members of Hampshire Young Carers Alliance (HYCA) to increase support to Young Carers aged 7 to 18.

Hampshire’s 10 Young Carers Projects support children and young people who have someone at home with a long-term illness or disability.

This could be anything from a Mum with MS, a Dad with bipolar or a brother on the autism spectrum.

Many Young Carers miss out on a regular childhood because of their caring responsibilities and this is where the projects step in to provide Young Carers with the opportunity to have time to themselves and have fun.

Community First New Forest's Young Carers Coordinator Marie Shotbolt said:

“Young Carers can suffer from stress and worry and are often quite lonely. We offer them support both at home and in school, but more importantly for many of the young people we support, we offer them the chance to have fun. This Lottery award is the most amazing news as it means we can continue our vital work for another five years and continue to support hundreds of local children. This money will make a real difference.”

Community First New Forest Young Carers Service currently works with over 250 Young Carers and their families across the New Forest providing support, advice and activities.

Read our September Newsletter

See the latest news for charities, voluntary and community groups in the New Forest.

Read Our September Newsletter

ISO 9001:2015

Community First New Forest is delighted to announce it has achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification, an internationally recognised standard of excellence. Achievement of this certification shows our commitment to customer satisfaction, high quality and continuous improvement.

Jackie Hartless, Acting Chief Executive said “For any company, the road to certification requires time and commitment. Each employee has dedicated time and hard work to enable us to become certified and it shows just how much each employee here cares about the quality of what we do.

Our move from ISO 9001:2008 to the updated standard demonstrates our desire to always perform at the highest levels of quality and efficiency. We will continue to do everything we can to provide the best service to all of our clients into the future.”

Community First New Forest was certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard by Certified Quality Systems Ltd (CQS), www.cqsltd.com

Welcome

Community First New Forest is a passionate charity that seeks to improve the quality of life for people and communities living in the New Forest District and surrounding districts.

Who we support:

Voluntary and community groups and volunteering
Older people and people with a disability
Children, young people and families

We do this by:

Providing support and advice to local voluntary and community groups
Helping people to volunteer
Delivering local services that help people with their needs

Our services include:

Community support and development
Volunteer Centre
Community Transport
Hire of mini buses to local voluntary and community groups
Moped loans for young people
Young Carers

All of our services will put you at the centre – your needs are important to us and we are committed to providing the best possible service.

Many people have told us that we make a difference and they have said how much our help is appreciated. What you think and feel matters to us – we want to be sure that we are there for you and really helping you.

Please have a look at our services and see how they might be able to help you or someone you know.

Thank you to all our funders for their support; it is appreciated and is vital to our work and the difference we make together. Our key funders are Hampshire County Council, New Forest District Council and Big Lottery. A list of our funders can be found via this link.