Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Community Heroes is a community project based in the United Kingdom. We are the data controller responsible for your personal data collected through this website.

Community Heroes
189 Caledonian Road
London
N1 0SL

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at info@communityheroes.org.uk.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect personal data when you submit one of the forms on our website. Depending on which form you complete, this may include:

• Volunteer applicants: name, address, postcode, email address, telephone number, age group, current situation, availability and the information you provide in your written answers.
• Support requests and nominations: name, address, postcode, email address, telephone number, details of your situation, description of work required, property information and, where applicable, details of the person you are nominating and any referring organisation.
• General enquiries: name, email address, telephone number and the content of your message.

We do not collect sensitive personal data (such as health or disability information) unless you voluntarily provide it as part of a support request, where it is necessary to assess your application.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the personal data you provide solely for the purpose for which it was submitted:

• To process and assess volunteer applications and contact applicants regarding their application.
• To review support requests and nominations, assess eligibility, and contact applicants to discuss their request.
• To respond to general enquiries submitted via our contact form.
• Where you have given consent, to photograph and share project stories to support our fundraising and community awareness efforts.

We will not use your data for marketing purposes, and we will not contact you for any purpose unrelated to your original submission without your explicit consent.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

• Legitimate interests — to assess and respond to volunteer applications and support requests, which is the core purpose of our programme.
• Consent — where you have explicitly agreed to the use of your information, such as consenting to story sharing in a support request.
• Legal obligation — where we are required to retain or process data to comply with legal requirements.

5. Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data. We may share your data in the following limited circumstances:

• Referring organisations: where you have indicated that you have been referred by a professional or organisation, we may liaise with that organisation in connection with your request.
• Legal requirements: where we are required to disclose data by law, court order or regulatory authority.

We do not use third-party email marketing platforms, advertising networks or data brokers.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected:

• Volunteer applications: retained for up to 12 months following the completion of your involvement with the programme, or until you request deletion.
• Support requests: retained for up to 24 months following project completion to allow for follow-up and reporting purposes.
• General enquiries: retained for up to 6 months following resolution of your enquiry.

Data is deleted securely at the end of the applicable retention period.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — to request that inaccurate or incomplete data is corrected.
• Right to erasure — to request that your data is deleted, subject to any legal obligations we may have to retain it.
• Right to restrict processing — to request that we limit how we use your data.
• Right to object — to object to our processing of your data where we rely on legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@communityheroes.org.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies and Tracking

This website does not currently use cookies for tracking or advertising purposes. If we introduce Google Analytics or similar tools in the future, this policy will be updated and a cookie notice will be displayed.

9. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, disclosure or loss. Form submissions are sent via encrypted email. We do not store submission data in databases on this website.

10. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to review their privacy policies independently.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. How to Complain

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113

We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns before you contact the ICO, so please reach out to us first at info@communityheroes.org.uk.