At Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice Service (DAGCAS), we are always on the lookout for new volunteers to help keep our service a thriving one. As a Citizens Advice volunteer you will be trained to advise people on benefits, consumer issues, debt, employment, housing issues or any general topic clients need advice on. There is always a high level of expert support and you are never left to deal with a problem that you feel is beyond your capabilities. Volunteering with us is profoundly rewarding. It can mean meeting and helping people resolve their issues from the straightforward, “What's the address of the Chinese embassy?" to the more complex such as, "I've got this big electricity bill and I don't know how I'm going to pay it." "My daughter is being bullied at school. What can I do about it?" "My father is disabled and my mother is looking after him. Surely they can get some help?" We need you to help them find the answers to these sorts of questions and many more. “You can spend a lot of time with one client, a lot of meetings and letters,” says one of our volunteers, “but when they leave for that final time, with things looking up…what a glow it gives you.” We can offer you: Initial and on-going training, support, satisfaction of a role well done and out of pocket expenses. Volunteers are provided with training in all of our subject areas and in how to use our extensive information and advice system. Given the quality of training and work experience on offer, many of our volunteers leave to take up paid work. As well as advisers, we are looking for office help, social media specialists and others…all the things that make a modern, vital charity, work for its service users.

Three main areas of gardens; 1)Productive garden (fruit & veg growing) 2)Therapeutic (sensory garden) 3)Wildlife (conservation area) There is also a workshop and training area. Helping out with general upkeep of buildings (painting, light carpentry etc) and supporting the Potters team with garden duties such as building garden structures, working with hand tools and equipment. Become familiar with and then following Health & Safety at all times. Give other appropriate assistance as may be reasonably requested. There are no set recruitment periods and we do not recruit on a first come first served basis. However, because there are times when placements are high, such as summer time, we aim to provide opportunities for as many people as possible. Opportunities are available Monday to Friday 09:30-16:00. At present there is no weekend volunteering opportunity but this may change once the enterprise is established.

The Galloway Talking Newspaper is a charity, run by volunteers, who produce a weekly audio-tape of news from the Wigtownshire Free Press and the Galloway Gazette. A magazine USB of articles and interviews is also sent out regularly. Additional help is needed on a monthly basis, on a Wednesday for 2 hours. tasks involve editing, resding, recording and administration. All content deals with events in the Stranraer, Machars and Newton Stewart areas. The information is extraced from the Stranraer Free Press and Galloway Gazette. If you have a clear voice you would be ideal as one of our readers; computer skills would be especially welcomed for help with the recording process.

Light gardening duties e.g. sweeping, weeding, painting garden furniture also inside the home e.g. arts and crafts, musical instruments or just sit and talk

Castlebank Horticultural Centre sits within the historic Castlebank Park, on the banks of the Clyde in Lanark. Lanark Community Development Trust are looking for an enthusiastic individual to facilitate their plant propagation activities to provide their garden with healthy, pesticide free, organically grown plants and seedlings. Castlebank propagation volunteers are supported by dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Together, staff and volunteers grow a wide range of heirloom vegetables, herbs, rare edible plants, herbaceous, perennials, alpines, succulents, trees and shrubs for education and the restoration of historic Castlebank Park. This volunteer position would be ideal for a person looking to gain valuable experience prior to entering a career in horticulture - or for an experienced gardener looking to use their skills to help out in the community. The volunteer would work with their Educational Gardener, Stuart and fellow volunteers to produce quality, organic seedlings, herbs and other plants for growing on in the Education Gardens and Castlebank Park, and to sell at Castlebank Horticultural Centre events to raise funds for ongoing projects. Volunteers also help maintain and improve the propagation area including infrastructure and gardens. Specific tasks and duties: - Propagating by seed, cutlings, division and transplanting - Watering, fertilising, weeding and plant detailing - Helping to maintain infrastructure and propagation surrounds

Nightstop West Lothian are urgently looking for volunteer hosts who are able to offer their spare room for few nights to a young person aged 16 to 25 who are in crisis and need somewhere to stay. Providing a safe, secure home and a hot meal for a young person while they receive support to look for more long term accommodation options. The Nightstop service, run by the Rock Trust in West Lothian, provides young people aged 16 to 25 with emergency accommodation in the homes of trained volunteer hosts, giving them a safe place to stay while the Rock Trust team work to get them long-term and permanent accommodation. It prevents young people from sleeping rough, sofa surfing or staying in hostels and boarding houses, where they may be at risk from abuse. The use of spare rooms in a positive environment makes a huge difference to young people in a crisis. Nightstop hosts are given full training and 24 hour support from the Rock Trust team. Hosts are also provided with expenses for each night they host a young person. The young person will be assessed by the Nightstop Worker to ensure they are suitable for this service. If you would like to help a young person in crisis, we would love to hear from you !

Fundraising for the RNLI. To help RNLI to continue to save lives at sea They are. looking for people to be part of a new fundraising group based in Barra. The volunteer roles will involve events and fundraising including taking part in their campain materials

Our board supports our organisation, oversees its efficient running and is hugely influential in the development of volunteering in Edinburgh. By joining our board you will contribute to our continued success. Our Board has legal responsibility for the governance and accountability of the organisation, represents the many stakeholders of the organisation and oversees the finance and management of the organisation.

We are looking for volunteers to support our Learning and Audience Officer with the delivery of the Museum’s learning programme and providing participants with a world class experience. Main Activities: • Setting up equipment and preparing for school groups • Support or facilitate the workshops for school groups • Support and encourage groups of all ages and abilities to participate in the workshops and associated activities • Encourage feedback from participants and teachers • Help pack up after school visits • Contribute to preparation for workshops and other materials with guidance from role supervisor • Support or facilitate in-gallery handling sessions • If mutually agreed the option of accompanying the learning and audience officer to education outreach visits to schools. • Assist with museum’s informal learning programme if agreed

It is looking for two Trustees to join its Board and introduce greater diversity in terms of gender and ethnicity. Specifically, it is looking for someone with a background in veterinary medicine and someone who is a great strategist. A strong commitment to and belief in the work of the SSPCA is an essential requirement. You do not need to live in the central belt as the Board would welcome applicants from all over Scotland who can participate in meetings by conference call and who are prepared to commit to attending one Board meeting and the AGM per year. If you have the time to bring your skills to this critically important and hugely respected charity and would like to develop your abilities as a Trustee, then please contact us about this opportunity.