Give the gift of an hour a week, by becoming a Mentor to a Young Person aged 14-25 in West Lothian. It could be life changing for you both! Would you like to support a young person on their journey to gaining new skills and experience, becoming more self-confident and achieving their goals? If the answer is yes, we would love to hear from you. Why mentoring? Mentoring is at the heart of what we do here at ProjectScotland and we offer every young person we support, the opportunity to be matched with a volunteer mentor. We are searching for people in and around West Lothian who are able to offer one hour of their time once a week or fortnight for up to 12 months to help transform the life of someone else aged 14-25. The young people we work with all face different challenges in their lives such as poor school attendance, poor mental health, low confidence and self esteem, lack of employment opportunities, limited English skills or other life barriers and challenges. Some of the young people we support have been involved in negative behaviour. As a volunteer mentor, you could support your mentee with whatever is important to them. This could be: goal setting; identifying interests and strengths; confidence building; helping to establish a routine; support to explore job, training and further education opportunities; social connections; or just someone consistent to talk to and check in with to see how they are. The support you can offer is invaluable and can be life changing. How does it work? We will ask you to take part in our safe recruitment process, such as completing a PVG check, before we offer you some training which will prepare you and set you up to be a great mentor! After that, we offer lots of ongoing support, access to guides and resources, plus the chance to join our wonderful network of volunteer mentors across Edinburgh and the Lothians. You are "matched" to one young person and meet with them once a week or fortnight for around one hour . Matches can last anywhere from 3-12 months, or sometimes longer, depending upon the relationship and the needs of the mentee What’s in it for you? • Help transform your mentee’s life • Develop communication and interpersonal skills e.g. coaching, motivating others, adaptability • Gain transferable skills and experience volunteering with disadvantaged people • Participate in regular support and training • Meet new people, connect and have fun! • Learn about yourself and gain a sense of achievement supporting others • Learn more about your community and the challenges that people can face . We are looking for mentors from diverse experiences and backgrounds. We aren't looking for specific qualifications, skills or experience- just a passion to support a young person and an hour to spare. Our current mentors are; stay at home parents/carers, students, retired, professionals, entrepreneurs and everything in between. We'd love to here from you, express your interest today!

We are looking for befrienders to befriend a child of primary school age 5-12 for our new primary years outreach service. As a volunteer befriender you would be matched with a child, who you would spend regular time with on a 1:1 basis, building a trusting relationship and having fun. You would take part in activities that a child enjoys such as playing football/going to the park or to introduce them to new activities or hobbies that they may not have the opportunity to take part in normally. Befriender’s can be male or female, from various backgrounds and anyone aged 18 and over – there is no upper age limit to become a befriender! You will receive training before you are asked to make a commitment to a match so that you're clear what will be expected of you and what you can expect of your volunteering experience and you will be supported throughout. what will I be doing? Volunteers will be able to make a difference to a child’s life by: •Spending regular time 1:1 to build a trusted relationship •Sharing in an activity or hobby to develop interests and have fun •Encouraging child to take part in group activities to build confidence •Giving child someone to talk to develop communication skills •Being a consistent figure in the child’s life to support with life transitions What qualities do I need? •Ability to encourage and motivate others to participate in activities •To have a positive and encouraging approach to children and young people. •To have a non-judgmental approach to people, have empathy •Be enthusiastic, motivated, flexible, and committed •Reliable and approachable •Patience and understanding •Commitment to treat all information in a confidential manner •To have a good value base, be open minded and level headed When will I be needed? Befrienders will spend 2-4 hours either weekly or fortnightly with a child. As our children will be at school, outings will generally take place after school hours or weekends. A minimum of 6 months commitment is required for this role. What will I gain from the role? By volunteering with Aberlour, you can gain: •Excellent training •Make new friends and meet new people •Get out and about •Have FUN! •Attend social events. •A sense of satisfaction in helping children, young people and families build their confidence and self-esteem to achieve their full potential •Experience of supporting young people to flourish. •Practical experience of working with children, young people, and families What support will I be given? Aberlour aims to ensure volunteering is an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Volunteers will receive: •Induction and child protection training •Specific befriending training relevant to the role •Ongoing support and supervision •Travel expenses and activity expenses •Named contact support Additional Information Due to Health and Safety requirements, you must be at least 18 years of age to undertake this volunteering role. For all roles involving regulated work with children and/or protected adults, Aberlour will require the applicant to submit a PVG Scheme Record or a PVG Scheme Record Update application. This opportunity is subject to the completion of satisfactory references and successful registration on the PVG Scheme.

North Angus & District Scouts require a wide range of volunteer roles - from casual helpers to leaders, trainers, trustees and more – we have a role for everyone. We also offer flexible volunteering roles too, so we can fit around you and the time that you want to give to Scouting. We have 8 groups in North Angus, but 2 are more desperate for help. These are our Letham and Edzell Groups. What do volunteers do? Week by week, our volunteers empower thousands of young people to learn new skills, make new friends and stand on their own two feet. They’re our everyday heroes. They shape young people’s lives for the better, and find out a whole lot about themselves in the process, too. Today, there are nearly 60,000 young people on waiting lists to join us in the UK. We’re more relevant and more needed than ever, but it’s not always easy to keep up with the demand. That’s where you come in You don’t need to be Bear Grylls to join us. You don’t need to have been a Scout when you were younger. You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent. Our door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds, and we’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand. We’re talking about tea makers, tidy-uppers and skill sharers. We’re talking about minibus drivers and first aiders. We’re talking about students who want to boost their CV, and parents who volunteer so they can spend more time together as a family. Whatever your skillset, lend a hand for as little or as much time as you can spare, and we promise you’ll get more out than you put in. Because whether you’re helping a leader to run an activity in the local town hall, organising a night away, or buttering 120 slices of bread a group of very hungry eleven-year-olds - no two Scout meetings are the same. The difference you make, though, is always great. We provide the training. All of our adult volunteers receive full induction and ongoing training and support. Our training has been recognised with a National Training Award by UK Skills and over 90% of our volunteers believe that the skills and experiences they have gained through Scouting have been of relevance to their working or personal lives. You show up, get stuck in, and make memories for life. As long as you're over 18, you can help out as an adult volunteer in Scouting. There is no upper age limit for adult volunteers. Sounds fun? Worthwhile? It is. To find out more, please contact Ian Fleming, District Commissioner, North Angus District Scout Council on dc@northangus.onmicrosoft.com

Wellbeing Scotland is a voluntary organisation with services across Scotland. We provide a wide range of holistic services for individuals and families whose life experiences have impacted negatively on their wellbeing. Since 1994 we have offered client centred, holistic, trauma informed therapeutic services and have specialised in abuse and trauma work. We work with both children and adults. Due to the Covid 19 crisis our services have never been more needed, and we are currently in need of Volunteer Befrienders in all areas. Do you or anyone you know have a few hours a week to spare to be listening ear to someone who is currently needing a friendly chat? At this time, our befrienders will work remotely by telephone or video calling. No experience necessary(although being a good listener would be an advantage) as training will be provided to help you with this role, and you will be appointed a supervisor for ongoing support. All equipment will also be provided and expenses for out of pocket costs will be reimbursed. Please contact us at email volunteer@wellbeingscotland.org or tel.: 01324 630100 for further information or to request a volunteer application pack.