The Basement Youth Café runs every Friday evening & Saturday afternoon. It is run by a paid youth worker, supported by volunteers to ensure a safe environment. Its aim is to build relationships to support young people as required, offering advice and building self-confidence & self-esteem. Through volunteering with us, volunteers will benefit from gaining practical experiences of working with young people. This will then help in providing young people with a safe environment where they can socialise with friends. Volunteers will also have the opportunity not only to gain experience of working with young people, but also to be able to develop their own skills through helping at the Basement Youth Café. Volunteers are needed on Friday evenings & Saturday afternoons. Volunteers should be prepared to commit to a minimum of 2 sessions a month for at least 3 months. A session lasts 3 hours 15 minutes

We need volunteers with practical DIY skills, including joinery, to help us restore, repair, clean and help maintain old bikes. If you think can turn your hand to these sorts of tasks then we can put your skills to good use. Killie Can Cycle provides low cost bikes for disadvantaged children & individuals by restoring old and broken bikes to full working order. Once repaired and made roadworthy, the bikes are sold on with prices ranging between £5 and £30! We also offer bike repairs and training on how to cycle safely. In addition, we provide refurbished bikes to various communities in developing countries enabling children to cycle to school. Volunteers can gain work experience to add to their CV as part of a motivated and committed team. The objective of the team is to take the charity forward and help to progress its development and growth. Volunteers may also be able to obtain references for future job applications.

We run a youth club two evenings per week on a Monday and Wednesday between 6pm – 8pm. We are keen to recruit more volunteers to enable us to support this work, as the number of children attending is growing and we need to make sure we have an appropriate ratio of adults to children. The YKids Club at the YMCA Kilmarnock operates on Monday evenings between 6pm – 8pm. Volunteers are welcome to come along, by arrangement, for a taster session to see the club and the kids in action. That way volunteers will be able to decide whether they want to continue. There will be opportunities for volunteers to get involved in meetings with other YMCA partners which will may link in well with some college course work.

Befrienders can make a positive difference to a young person’s life. Volunteer Befrienders are needed on a 1:1 basis to support children & young people who face challenges in their daily lives. We are currently looking for caring individuals over the age of 16 years from all walks of life, who can befriend and support a child in East Ayrshire and involve them in activities in the local community to build up their confidence and self-esteem. Volunteer befrienders may be involved with: General Befriending - befriending support for children and young people between the age of 5 – 18 years old who may have low confidence, no social engagement, challenging behaviour, family chaotic lifestyle or care leavers etc. • ADP – this would be very similar to the general befriending service but works to support children and young people who are or have been affected by drug and alcohol misuse and require positive support to re-engage them in community activities. • Tenancy Support – again similar to the general befriending, however this will be supporting young people over the age of 16 who are moving and progressing to live in their own tenancy or supported accommodation and the befriender will take on the role of supporting them with life skills such as cooking, cleaning and being safe within their home. This will encourage the young person to build sustainability within their tenancy.

Volunteers are a valuable part of the retail staff within our Barnardo’s shops. We need the continued support of volunteers to keep the shops going. The benefits for any volunteers joining our team are that they gain valuable work experience, not only in the retail sector, but also in working as part of a team in our warehouse processing newly donated stock; replenishing stock and hanging clothes for display on the shop floor; customer service & till work.

The purpose of this role is to recruit volunteers and their well-behaved dogs visit and befriend people with Alzheimers locally. Volunteers are needed to befriend people living at home with dementia and visit on a regular basis. The befriender may simply be visiting people for a friendly chat or helping people keep connected to their local community by attending Alzheimer Scotland activities in their area. We provide dog training for our doggy befrienders at the Resource Centre in Kilmarnock, when the training is completed befrienders can visit with their dog and either enjoy a chat or weather permitting enjoy a short walk. We also host Dog Days at the Resource Centre in Kilmarnock on a monthly basis. Dementia awareness training will be provided and Alzheimer Scotland will also provide PVG scheme memberships to successful applicants.

The purpose of this role is to recruit volunteers to help support a range of community groups which Alzheimer Scotland operate locally. These include: Befriending, Football Reminiscences Group, Musical Minds, Arts groups, Friendship groups, Allotment Helpers, & Doggie Befrienders. This list is not exhaustive and this role may offer support in a range of community groups. Volunteer befrienders will be required to befriend people with dementia in Kilmarnock and neighbouring towns where possible. We have activities and learning workshops across Ayrshire that people with dementia and their carers like to attend. Our staff need the help of volunteers in various ways, including setting up activity rooms, making teas & coffees, preparing lunches, meeting & greeting, distributing flyers, chatting to people living with dementia and their carers. If you are friendly, enthusiastic, enjoy working with people and trying new things, one of these opportunities will be great for you. Dementia awareness training will be provided and Alzheimer Scotland will also provide PVG scheme memberships to successful applicants.

If you have a basic education and could offer your support to people in your areas then join the Essential Skills team in Bank Avenue. Full training and support will be provided. Other tutors will tell you how rewarding this work is and the social life isn't bad either.

ME Research UK is a highly regarded, professionally run charity with a principal aim to commission and fund biomedical, scientific investigations into the causes, consequences and treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome [ME/CFS]. Since 2000, we have invested c £1.6M in biomedical research worldwide. The Board and staff are dedicated to ensuring that ME Research UK is a major force for change in our understanding of the illness and that our funded projects make a real, long-term difference to the lives and prospects of people with ME/CFS As a trustee you would have a pivotal role in our decision-making processes. For those with science/research or medical background, the position offers a fascinating opportunity to help shape our research focus and direction as we seek to expand our research funding output. Full details of role and application form - http://www.meresearch.org.uk/biomedical-trustees/

By providing visitors with incredible wildlife moments for 60 years, the visitor centre at Loch Garten has built a strong reputation for an exceptional visitor experience and great customer care. Recently the centre has undergone a redevelopment funded by European Structural Funds, and we want to build on this to further ensure visitors to our refurbished facility have an enhanced and memorable visitor experience. As the faces of the Loch Garten Nature Centre, our visitor experience team are crucial - chatting to visitors, answering questions and sharing their passion for the amazing wildlife of Abernethy reserve. We need our visitors to be inspired and enthused so that they become lifelong supporters of our charitable conservation work through RSPB membership, one of the most important sources of income for the organisation. We need your help to be part of the team meeting and greeting our visitors from all walks of life and of all ages, by following the RSPB’s GREAT Welcome framework, leading to building support for our conservation work through making RSPB members. Offering inspiring communications about the Caledonian pineforest which surrounds the centre, including our breeding ospreys, and the conservation work we undertake on the wider reserve as part of the Cairngorms Connect partnership is what we do best! We run hands-on activities for children and families, as well as a programme of special events eg guided walks, themed weekends etc and your help in planning, promoting, organising and delivering these added extras will be encouraged. Due to its importance for habitats and species, RSPB Abernethy is one of the most heavily designated pieces of land in the UK, with international as well as domestic legal protection. We need to keep an active eye on the reserve and in particular the forest trails near the centre, interacting with our visitors and ensuring that they’re all behaving responsibly, in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and you will be asked to take on this responsibility, along with the rest of the team. We have an active Facebook page (11,000+ followers) and a popular reserve blog and we need your contributions to build our online audience and encourage support. Loch Garten has a long history of involving volunteers and many people give up a week or two of their time to come and help us as short-term residential volunteers. We need you to take an active role in managing these volunteers, organising pick-ups and dropoffs, leading on their induction, organising the rota and ensuring they are kept busy and involved when they are with us. Finally, our visitor centre and its environs need to be kept in excellent working order; being vigilant about litter, restocking leaflets, undertaking daily checks on activities and signage, as well as working with the team to keep the facilities clean. You’ll be volunteering in one of the most beautiful nature reserves in Europe, among scarce and endangered wildlife and critically rare habitats. You’ll be part of a vibrant and dynamic team of staff and volunteers, some who have been part of Loch Garten for decades and some who are brand new. You’ll be able to share in their knowledge and build strong and significant relationships, many of which will last for life. By making RSPB members, you’ll be making a real and tangible difference to nature conservation. Your help will directly allow the RSPB to carry out meaningful change, both on Abernethy and across the UK. You’ll receive a full induction and training and will be supported by a dedicated line manager throughout your time in this role. You will be given training opportunities in many areas of visitor experience, including membership, managing volunteers, First Aid, Safeguarding, event planning and more. Our aim is to help you improve your skill-set via and to significantly improve your CV and enhance your employability. We also offer job application advice and coaching. You will get the chance to learn about and explore the incredible place that is RSPB Abernethy, meeting reserve staff and receiving insight into the wider work that goes on here. There will be opportunities to get involved in some of the conservation work on the wider reserve on your days off, should you desire to do so. This role comes with free, shared accommodation (though you get your own room) just 1.5 miles from the Nature Centre.