Befrienders, as part of the circle of support, help the focus person to build their confidence and participate in social activities within their community. As a Volunteer Befriender, you will be a part of a person’s circle of support and help the focus person to build their confidence through participating in social activities within their community. This may include going for walks, participating in clubs or classes together, or attending Equal Futures’ monthly social events. Befrienders attend the circle meetings (approx. bimonthly) and meet 1:1 with their focus person weekly or fortnightly. Equal Futures supports you throughout your volunteering. Volunteers will be registered with Disclosure Scotland PVG Scheme

Volunteer Professionals utilise their expertise and knowledge to help the focus person and their family to navigate through a challenging time or a period of transition. The volunteer will meet with the family, providing advice and answering questions. For example, a retired school teacher might help a young person who is transitioning from school to college. Volunteers will be added to a bank of professionals, and called upon to support families on a short-term basis. Equal Futures supports you throughout your volunteering. Volunteers will be registered with Disclosure Scotland PVG scheme

Community event volunteers attend and support our regular social events for focus people and their families in Edinburgh and Lothian’s. Social events have a theme or activity (such as arts & crafts, coding, Zumba, martial arts, etc.) and volunteers join in with the focus people. This helps to build the focus people’s confidence and skills in social situations. Events are scheduled, but volunteers can attend a selection of the dates if their schedule doesn’t allow for full commitment to the social events. Volunteers will be registered with Disclosure Scotland PVG scheme

#YSHive is looking for around 15 young people to volunteer on the Young Scot Youth Loneliness Panel. This Panel will be a diverse group from across Scotland age 11-24, who have a keen interest or are passionate about tackling Youth Loneliness in Scotland. • 11 to 24 years old • Project running from October 2021 – October 2022 • Anywhere in Scotland, based on ️Zoom (online) for now. • Travel, food and accommodation paid for when we return to the Young Scot office. Digital support available. The Panel will collaborate with Scottish Government, Local Authorities and Third Sector Partners to support implementation of the Panels recommendations whether this be online or engaging in existing local services. The Panel will also develop and create online content that is created by young people for young people to help combat Youth Loneliness in an effective way. This content will be hosted on the new Loneliness Landing page.

#YSHive is looking for young people from across Scotland aged 11-25, to be part of The COP26 Climate Co-Design Group as Local Champions. Project information 🎂 11 to 26 Years 📅 September 2021 - March 2022 🗺️ Anywhere in Scotland About the COP26 Local Champions Network Young Scot, Keep Scotland Beautiful and YouthLink Scotland are working with the Scottish Government to deliver a programme of youth co-design and engagement centered around COP26 which is due to take place in November 2021. This programme aims to ensure that young people play a key role within the work that is done in Scotland relating to COP26 and in Scotland’s response to the climate emergency by increasing awareness of climate change and supporting young people to get involved with climate action and decision making locally, nationally, and globally As part of the programme, young people across Scotland will have the opportunity to get involved through the COP26 Local Champions Network. We are looking to recruit ten local champions in each local authority area across Scotland, creating a network of 320 youth climate activists to raise awareness of COP26 for young people at a local level and highlight youth climate action across their local community and promote it nationally. Applications will close on the 30th of September 2021 at 11.59pm Email us on YSHive@young.scot if you have any questions or would like to know more - we are happy to help!

Young Scot Hive (#YSHive) are looking for young people from across Scotland to be a part of our Digital and Cyber Steering Group. In an increasingly digital world, we believe that young people should have the opportunity to feel safe, informed and empowered online. We’re looking for a group of young people to work across a range of activities to support young people’s online lives. Project information 🎂 11 to 25 year olds 📅 From October 2021 to March 2022 📍 All over Scotland 🗺️ Travel, food and accommodation paid for when we return to the Young Scot office. Digital support available. This project will run online over Zoom primarily, with the possibility of face-to-face sessions over the coming months. About the Digital and Cyber Steering Group: On this #YSHive project, the group will support other young people to develop positive online behaviours and feel safe and confident in spotting online threats. The Panel will continue to work as part of the DigiKnow? programme, which supports young people to stay safe online and take control of their digital lives. Project activity to include: - Developing video content and information to share across social media channels - Creating new opportunities for young people to develop their digital and cyber knowledge and skills - Working with organisations and experts to increase your understanding of the subject area. Applications close Monday 27th September 2021.

Young Scot Hive (#YSHive) is looking for young people from across Scotland to be part of the Public Health Scotland Young People’s Panel. You will work together to shape Public Health Scotland’s mental health priorities to support children and young people. Public Health Scotland is Scotland’s lead national agency for improving and protecting the health and well-being of all of Scotland’s people. On this #YSHive project, the panel will form a group of young people to gain a deeper understanding of Public Health Scotland and support the organisation in developing their mental health programme. Through various online activities, you will review and challenge how decisions are made at Public Health Scotland and help influence the way the organisation works with young people across Scotland. Project information 🎂 11 to 18 year olds 📅 From October to December 2021 🗺️ All over Scotland This project will run online over Zoom, however, you don't need a Zoom account to participate. You will attend sessions between October and December, where you will work with Young Scot and Public Health Scotland staff to explore the things that influence young people’s mental health and identify actions needed to support young people. By participating in these sessions, you will be actively shaping Public Health Scotland’s mental health programme. Joining the Public Health Scotland Young People’s Panel means you will be joining a supportive and inclusive team, with opportunities to learn a range of skills, take part in training, and develop confidence in yourself. A dedicated Young Scot staff member will support you throughout your volunteering experience.   We are happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable all young people to take part, and there will be an opportunity when you apply to tell us about any support or adjustments you need to contribute fully.   We will ensure we are a safe and trusted place for you to volunteer. We do not accept any form of discrimination or prejudice to anyone on our volunteering projects based on your life experience, background, culture, or identity. This includes age, disability, gender identity, parenting and caring responsibilities, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Applications close Sunday 3rd October 2021. The application form is also available to download as a Microsoft Word document and we will also accept verbal applications made using video or voice recording over the phone. We’re happy to make reasonable adjustments and provide other additional support to help you apply. Please contact YSHive@young.scot to arrange this.

Why we need you “It was a relief to speak to someone who just got it. Speaking to A has just I guess made my heart feel less heavy" Parent to Parent is the NAS’ award winning UK wide confidential emotional support service, provided over the phone by trained volunteers, who are all parents of autistic children and adults. The volunteers all have personal experience of autism and the impact it has on their own families. They are there to give parents and carers the opportunity to talk through any issues, feelings or problems they’re experiencing. They can suggest helpful strategies, signpost them to other sources of information and support, or just provide a non-judgmental listening ear. What you will be doing Calling parents and carers of autistic children and adults who have contacted the Parent to Parent Emotional Support Helpline Providing emotional support and a non-judgemental listening ear to other parents and carers Signposting parents, when appropriate, to information and advice services Sending an email to parent callers, if appropriate, following their P2P call. This email will include: signposting information, links to relevant information sheets, a feedback form link etc. Filling out a call sheet of basic information after every call, this information will then be passed promptly to the coordinator Some occasional travel to attend training and forums will be necessary Skills, experience and qualities useful for the role (but not essential) All volunteers must be a parent or primary carer of an autistic child or adult. Volunteers need to be: good communicators, as the role involves providing emotional support over the phone good listeners and understanding open-minded willing to learn able to remain calm in stressful situations able to respond sensitively to the emotional and practical content of the calls emotionally ready to undertake this work and support other parents self-motivated and able use their own initiative able to organise, prioritise and manage their own time reliable, consistent, dependable. When and where All volunteers will volunteer from their own homes and provide support to parents and carers across the UK. It is hoped that volunteers will be able to offer 2-3 hours per week to the service and will continue to volunteer for at least one year after initial training has been completed. Volunteers can choose when to make calls, either in the morning, afternoon or evening and can split their volunteering hours over a few days. Support Training: Our training is currently made up of e-learning modules, a training manual to complete at home, and 2 online group training sessions. In addition, volunteers are also asked to attend twice yearly face to face forums and update training events, when needed. Support and supervision: There is ongoing and active support and feedback from the service Coordinator and other members of the National Programmes team, when required. Expenses: All travel expenses to and from training and forums are refunded to volunteers by the NAS. The NAS will also pay for all Parent to Parent Emotional Support Helpline call costs. What you could get out of it As a volunteer for the Parent to Parent Emotional Support Helpline you will receive thorough training and be part of a UK wide team of parents and carers, who can share experience, support and learn from one another. Volunteering for the service can be very rewarding, one volunteer recently wrote “for anyone thinking they might be able to help families with children on the autism spectrum please contact the NAS, you’ll never look back! By giving a listening ear you can make a big difference to a family who might be going through their darkest days”. We seek applications from anyone interested in the role, but particularly welcome applications from those on the autism spectrum. Whilst we are able to make reasonable adjustments for volunteers you will need to be able to volunteer independently as we are not able to offer one to one support.

Why we need you This is an exciting opportunity to support the National Autistic Society's Brain in Hand Response Service. In exchange for your help, we will provide ongoing supervision, support and training throughout your role. By providing a high standard of contact, quality assurance and live reactive support, you will help us to improve the delivery of our services to autistic individuals who receive digital support via Brain in Hand, the integrated digital self-management support system to help people live more independently. Brain in Hand is a digital self-management support system for people who need help remembering things, making decisions, planning, or managing anxiety. It's not autism-specific, but is often used by people who are autistic, who have learning difficulties, or who are managing mental health challenges. What you will be doing As a Contact and Engagement Volunteer, you will volunteer within an energetic, fun and committed Casework Services team offering telephone, SMS and e-mail support and actively contact Brain in Hand users to support with engagement levels. You will help the team by primarily contacting and carrying out pre-arranged telephone appointments with Brain in Hand users to gather feedback about whether they would like to receive additional support with using the support system, their experience of the system so far, feedback and general comments which are fed back to Brain in Hand directly. You may also help with other projects that include responding to live support via Brain in Hand as a Responder. Tasks will include: booking appointment telephone calls via telephone, SMS and E-mail telephoning to take and accurately record feedback to questions on standard forms using Microsoft Office systems, telecommunications systems and mobile phones to give support to the Brain in Hand Response Service responding appropriately to any questions, concerns or worries raised speaking to our Brain in Hand users to help their interaction with their software responding to live support within your volunteer shift hours, acting as a Brain in Hand Responder for the NAS Response Service. Skills, experience and qualities useful for the role (but not essential) a positive attitude good communication and comprehension skills a clear telephone voice and great telephone manner a good standard of English comfortable talking over the phone ability to put people at ease ability to ask questions sensitively be sensitive to individuals’ needs and respect confidentiality good administration skills accurately record information good general IT skills multitasking an interest in autism ability to represent the NAS’s values whilst volunteering When and where the role will be home-based, UK-wide volunteers are encouraged to give one regular four-hour shift per week hours are between 9am – 6 pm, Monday – Friday we encourage volunteers to commit to the role for a minimum of one year to provide continuity and consistency to the role you will need access to a computer and a good internet connection a quiet place where you can carry out confidential telephone calls and other support away from others you may share your home with Support volunteer induction online autism awareness training and other E-learning courses ongoing training ongoing support and supervision with a named person What else do you need to know When you apply for this role you will be asked 4 questions about your availability to do this role, you will be asked the questions before you complete the application form. You will also be required to complete and submit a written assessment as well as the application form click here for the written assessment questions and form to be completed Applications submitted without the completed assessment will not be considered for interview. What you could get out of it We seek applications from anyone interested in the role, but particularly welcome applications from those on the autism spectrum. Whilst we are able to make reasonable adjustments for volunteers you will need to be able to volunteer independently as we are not able to offer one to one support. We process applications as we receive them, we will close the role when we recruit a suitable volunteer, consequently the role may close before the advertised closing date.

As a Section Leader or Assistant Leader, you will be responsible for planning and leading a balanced programme of activities for your Section. The program will provide our young people with exciting and challenging experiences, enabling them to use those experiences in their personal and social development. You’ll not be alone in this and will have the help of the Group Scout Leader and Assistant Section Leaders as well as the wider Scout Group