Kirrie Connections will open as a Meeting Centre from 14 may 2019 every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10am to 3pm and would like to hear from volunteers who would like to help and become part of the Meeting Centre team. Meeting Centres are a local resource, operating out of ordinary community buildings offering ongonig warm and friendly expert support to people and families affected by dementia. At the heart, the Meeting Centre is a social club where people meet to have fun, talk to others and get help that focusses on individual needs. Meeting Centres are based on sound research evidence on what helps people cope well in adjusting to living with the symptoms and changes that dementia brings. Volunteers alongside staff trained in Meeting centre ethos provide an enjoyable and flexible programme for both the person with dementia and their family carers. The social club meets three days per week for 15-20 members. All activities are designed to help people adapt to the challenges that living with dementia can bring. This involves a chance to get together social, to be creative, to get active and to share lunch. Family carers get assistance with practical and emotional issues, as well as being able to contribute to social club activities and enjoy life together more or use the opportunity to have a break from their caring role. Are you interested and can spare a few hours on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursdays whether that be morning, afternoon, over lunch time or longer spells between 10am and 3pm? Kirrie Connections would love to hear from you, get in touch to find out more.

Are you passionate about digital communications and creating outreach content for an online community? If so, we are looking for someone to join our team and work alongside us to develop digital communications strategies and content to empower our community and promote our existing and future projects. We are an arts-based media project supporting women and people from marginal communities to showcase their work and connect with arts focused opportunities across Scotland. Our placement opportunity will provide you with an opportunity to develop digital content to support connecting with our existing community and create growth opportunities to reach out to new members. The role includes: • Creating digital communication strategies to connect with people inclusive and supportive of their community and individual needs. • Creation of community focused digital content for social media platforms. • Supporting the development and implementation of community connection and growth strategy. • Analysis of engagement data and supporting the creation of solutions to increase community connections. • Working alongside the Zya Community team to support sharing of existing projects via digital communication. The commitment is negotiable depending on availability however there is a minimum of 4 hours a week required. We can support with connecting the role with academic outcomes and have flexibility around role duties. If you are interested email Zya Community Director Nikki Kilburn with a short paragraph explaining why this role is of interest to you, what you hope to gain from it and a brief description of any prior or relevant experience. Email: Nikki.kilburn@zya.community If you have any questions or require further information email Nikki and she will get back to you. We look forward to hearing from you. The ZYA Community Team.

Hanover is one of Scotland’s largest registered social landlords specialising in services for older people. We manage more than 5,000 properties and provide a range of other services including telecare community alarm monitoring and housing with care. We work closely with our customers to help people live independent, secure and fulfilling lives. The Volunteer Befriender helps residents who feel isolated or unable to get out very easily on their own by giving time on a one to one basis to help a person maintain social contact, provide companionship and reduce loneliness and social isolation. Volunteer befrienders build a positive relationship with an individual and visit them on a regular basis in their own flat. This could mean spending some time with a person for an hour or two every week/fortnight, we also encourage getting out and about for a coffee or short walk. Generally, befrienders are there to chat and get to know someone, have fun. Support the person to continue with existing interests, whilst encouraging them to embark on new activities. Volunteer duties:  Organising visits / trips out on a regular basis.  Support residents with their interests  Encourage residents to embark on new activities  Be a friend and have fun Volunteering is one of the most rewarding things you can do We know that volunteering has many benefits for individuals who volunteer, the organisations to which they contribute and society as a whole. Loneliness has a profound impact on quality of life with serious implications for physical and mental health. We believe that every older person should have opportunities to make and maintain friends and connections so they can keep healthy and well balanced and enjoy life as much as possible – we believe that no-one should have no-one. Hanover (Scotland) wishes to assist our residents tackle social isolation as we believe that good physical and mental health, quality of life and the ability to live independently are closely linked. The many positives outcomes of volunteering mean that volunteering truly is social inclusion in action. Volunteers will: - Gain confidence: Volunteering can help you gain confidence by giving you the chance to try something new and build a real sense of achievement. - Make a difference: Volunteering can have a real and valuable effect on people, communities and society in general. - Meet people: Volunteering can help you meet different kinds of people and make new friends. - Be part of a community: Volunteering can help you feel part of something outside your friends and family. - Have fun: Most volunteers have a great time, regardless of why they do it.

Food Train is a registered charity, voluntary organisation and social enterprise. Since 1995 Food Train has been making daily life easier for older people, providing vital services to those who are no longer able to manage independently. Our aim is to support older people to live independently at home. Our preventative services address the difficulty older people face getting their weekly grocery shopping, doing jobs around the house and the growing isolation that comes with failing health. We also aim to provide a wide range of supported volunteering opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. Would you like to volunteer to help older people in your local community? We are looking for folk to volunteer to volunteer from home to undertake a range of phone based roles. - Online shoppers/ online ordering on behalf of older people - Telephone Support volunteers; offering support and befriending over the phone to older people