Our team at CVS Falkirk would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who attended, participated and contributed to Tuesday’s Forth Valley Third Sector Conference.

It was incredible to see over 200 of you there on Zoom to hear from our keynote speaker Aileen Campbell, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Communities – we’d like to thank Ms Campbell for her praise and recognition of the third sector, and for taking the time to join us.

We’re sure you also enjoyed listening to Jim McCormick on the Robertson Trust’s approach to the future, and that you found the presentations from local groups based in each Forth Valley area as inspiring as we did.

(Image caption: scrabble tiles arranged to spell “thank you”, with an out of focus, glittery background.)

Special thanks go to our colleagues at SVE and CTSI, our partners in the conference for the last 3 years.

Our CEO, Victoria McRae, closed the day with a few comments:

“Our theme of People, Place and Participation really has shone through today.

“It was good to hear from Ms Campbell that there is much recognition and thanks for the third sector and the communities who were not only the first ones to respond to those in need but knew what was needed and willing “to roll their sleeves up” and make it happen.

The partnership presentations from Sauchie Active8, Bo’ness and Blackness Community Response and The Kitchen at 44 were powerful and showed how people can come together, with limited resource to create meaningful and supportive activities to support those most at need in our communities.

“I will take away a quote from each of our presenters that really harnesses our experiences of the last year:

Sauchie Active8: “Coming together is the beginning, Staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
Bo’ness and Blackness Community Response: “Low politics and high trust.”
Kitchen at 44: “The Trolley of Love, full of donations.”

This is so true – partnership working is only successful through mutual trust, and through the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen this and the power of social media bringing people together to volunteer and to response to the needs of their community through compassion and kindness.

“We would like to thank everyone who attended and contributed, not only today but during the last year. The conference has brought us together to discuss, share and learn about the topics that matter to us and most certainly highlighting the strength of our sector: People, Place and Participation.”

For further information on the conference, including access to presentations, please contact Laura Jamieson by email: laura@cvsfalkirk.org.uk