The Adult Befriending Service in Orkney offers befriending support to people aged 60 years or over. Our aim is to keep older people in their own homes independently for longer and enhance the quality of life to members of the community who may be socially isolated. Befrienders offer support by spending time with an older person, either in person or on the telephone. They can just have a chat, or share hobbies and interests, go out for a drive, or visit their local coffee shop for lunch, or a cuppa and a cake. Befrienders only need to give around one hour of their time per week. Full training, support and expenses are provided.

Give the gift of your time and become a volunteer mentor for young people. 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 Aberdeen 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. The young people we work with all face different challenges in their lives such as; mental ill health, long term unemployment, low confidence and self esteem, care experienced, limited English communication skills due to being new to this country or disabilities. 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? • Following recruitment, we provide training, support to join the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme, ongoing support, access to lots of resources and a wonderful community of mentors across the country to connect with, learn from and build friendships with. • you are matched to one young person and meet with them once a week or fortnight for around one hour • meetings can be face to face or virtual using email/telephone/video chat/WhatsApp. There is also an opportunity to do a mixture of the two which offers a flexible and accessible approach to this volunteering role in addition to the match itself. •matches can last from 3-12 months 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 If you are interested in this opportunity please email: asia.wieloch@volunteeringmatters.org.uk We would love to hear from you! More info about ProjectScotland: ProjectScotland (now part of the Volunteering Matters Family of Brands) works with people (predominantly young people) across the country who are struggling to overcome challenges such as social isolation, mental health issues, low confidence and general uncertainty about their futures. By providing wrap around support and the chance to complete a voluntary placement with a local charity; not only can this enhance confidence and self-belief, but it gives that individual the opportunity to build on their skills and experience and potentially move on to a job, further education or training. Everyone we work with is also offered a volunteer mentor.

Are you a positive role model who could give support to a child or young person in Renfrewshire or Inverclyde? Do you have an enthusiastic approach and an ability to connect with children and young people on a 1-1 basis? We are looking for volunteer mentors to support vulnerable children and young people aged 8-14 years old, who are Looked After at Home. What will i be doing? Direct one-to-one mentoring with a child or young person within Renfrewshire or Inverclyde. Providing support for children/young people to access social opportunities and take part in fun activities within their local area Working alongside a child or young person to set personal goals and motivate and encourage them to take part and make choices in their lives Listening to a child/young person by valuing and respecting their feelings, views and opinions Where required taking an active part in reviews and evaluations.

MCR Pathways has been partnering with schools since 2007 so we know just how amazing the young people of Scotland are. However, sometimes due to situations out of their control, young people face challenges that make it more difficult for them to succeed. This is where you can help... MCR recruits and trains volunteer mentors who are matched with a young person that shares similar interests, hobbies or career aspirations. Mentors meet with their young person at their school for just one hour per week and the difference this makes to their lives is transformational. The mentoring relationship is unique as young people establish a friendship with someone who is there, just for them. The impact on their life is huge. Scotcen, the Scottish arm of Britain’s leading independent social research institute NatCen, found that 81.6% of mentored care-experienced young people leave school to a positive destination (full-time employment, further education, or higher education) compared to 59.8% of care-experienced non-mentored school leavers. We are hoping to help even more young people in Aberdeenshire reach their potential and are seeking volunteers to mentor at Mearns Academy. The only qualification you need to be a mentor is the desire to help. All young people are different and have different needs, so it’s important that our mentors come from all walks of life. The building of the relationship with a young person is facilitated by our fantastic MCR Pathways Coordinators who are based in each school and work with our young people on a daily basis. Are you someone who can #ShareAnHour and support a young person to achieve everything they can in life? Why not do something to make a difference that lasts a lifetime. Sign up and become a mentor today! To register please visit https://mcrpathways.org/become-a-mentor/ or contact our Mentor Services Team by Email: aberdeenshire@mcrpathways.org or phone: 07709249661.