We celebrate 5 years in Cornwall with new Transport for Cornwall partnership
Tempo Time Credits, have been supporting volunteering and community groups to recruit and retain their volunteers in Cornwall since 2018, initially working with adults with multiple complex needs to support recovery, housing and DASV.
The programme, commissioned by Cornwall Council, is an innovative approach to collaborative commissioning and strong engagement with voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs). The partnership looks to support the Council’s objective of improving the outcomes for vulnerable families and has already shown success in improving mental health and well-being within the county.
Since 2020 the programme, commissioned by Cornwall Council has been extended to include supporting vulnerable families, young people, refugee, and asylum seekers. Over the last 2 years, the programme has grown to involve over 80 Earn Groups, including the Best Start in Life teams, over 1300 volunteers contributing 40,000 hours to local projects. Time Credits support people to volunteer their time in services and their local community to develop skills and confidence for individuals to move forwards.
The Time Credits model works simply: for each hour you contribute to your community or service, you earn a Time Credit. This Time Credit can then be used to access an activity, such as local attractions, leisure activities, school holiday clubs, and now bus journeys via a new partnership with Transport for Cornwall.
Lesley Barlow, Strategic Service Specialist at Cornwall Council:
As a partnership between Cornwall Council and local transport operators, Transport for Cornwall understands the importance of working together for the benefit of the community. We are therefore delighted to partner with Tempo and to recognise the valuable work that its volunteers undertake across the community by teaming up to allow volunteers to exchange their volunteering time credits for Cornwall Day Tickets on the local bus network.
The partnership will enable local volunteers to enjoy trips to see family and friends or to combine with another partner activity for a complete door-to-door experience with their Time Credits.
Jen Roskilly-Andrews, Tempo Contract Manager explains:
We’re thrilled to have this partnership with Transport for Cornwall. It’s an incredible offer that will make such a big difference for people who have earnt Time Credits to travel to anywhere in Cornwall and access opportunities they might not normally be able to. It also promotes greener travel, which is so important for Cornwall’s sustainability goals right now. We can’t thank TFC enough for providing this opportunity to our network of community groups and support services. What a game changer!
The Tempo team hopes this will be the first of many travel options for their volunteers and are already in discussion with other providers to offer complementary schemes and opportunities on the back of the generous support TFC has offered to their volunteers.
For more information about how you can get involved as a business partner, charity or volunteer see our respective pages.
If you’re a volunteer wanting to make use of this new opportunity, click here to redeem your Time Credits.
