Volunteering Matters are a national volunteering charity. We are looking "Family Support" Volunteers in the City of Edinburgh, who can offer practical, social and emotional support to a local family in need. Our Family Supporters programme recruits, trains and supports volunteers, matching them 1:1 with parents and families facing a range of life challenges and barriers. Volunteers help families, spending 1:1 time together on a personalised set of goals chosen by the family, for the family. These goals may including achieving improved living standards, building confidence and soft skills, budgeting, healthier eating, better school life, improving health and wellbeing or introducing parents to community resources, and lots more. If you have an understanding of the challenges that families are facing and would like to use your life experiences and skills to support others, this could be the role for you! As a volunteer, you will build a strong relationship based on trust and mutual respect, acting as a friendly face who listens and cares about the family.

If you want to gain experience in childcare or disability then this role is the one for you! You will be matched with a child or young person who you will meet with on a regular basis spending 1:1 time with them, having fun whilst doing things and going places that they enjoy. Many parents are isolated and have no family living locally or friends who they can ask to help them out in times of need. Families with child/ren with a disability struggle to have any time away from their caring role.

Home-Start are looking for volunteers with parenting experience or experience of working/volunteering with children/families to help families (with at least one child aged 8 or under) who could use some additional support. Volunteers use their experiences of parenting or work/volunteering with children/families to help by offering emotional and practical support to families, with the aim of enabling them to lead less stressful and more enjoyable lives. The needs of individual families will vary but as a Home-visiting Volunteer you could be involved in anything from engaging in fun activities with the children and helping parents with managing behaviour to practical or emotional support for the families. We take all our volunteers through a FREE training course to ensure that they are fully prepared and confident in the role. This is a great opportunity to grow and gain experience in a support-focused role. You'll also have the chance to meet new people, learn new skills and use your knowledge to improve the lives of local families and children. Usually volunteers support families for around 2-3 hours a week and the time is flexible to suit your availability.

Volunteering Matters Overview At Volunteering Matters we believe everyone in the UK should have the opportunity to thrive, so we bring people together to overcome some of society’s most complex issues through the power of volunteering. We partner with communities to overcome adversity, tackling social isolation and loneliness, improving health, developing skills and opportunities. And because we’re a national charity, we do this at scale, sharing our expertise and building partnerships to make an even bigger impact. We turn local knowledge and energy into action and progress, building stronger communities and a better future for all. Project Overview Our Family Supporters in Edinburgh project offers practical and emotional support to families across the city of Edinburgh, empowering them to face a range of life challenges. We recruit, train and match dedicated, local volunteers to help families every step of the way, spending 1-1 time together on a personalised set of goals chosen by the family, for the family. We can help in many ways, such as improved living standards, budgeting, healthier eating, better school life and behaviour, access to health and wellbeing aid, as well as introducing parents to community resources, to name a few. So far, thousands of families across the UK have benefitted from our service and we are now delighted to extend the programmes reach to families in Edinburgh. Who can volunteer with us? Our volunteers are locally based people with an understanding of the challenges that families are facing. Aged 18+, each volunteer brings different life experiences and skills that they can use to help the family they are matched to, offering support on a weekly basis for an hour or so each week, usually for 6-9 months at a time that suits everyone. They build a strong relationship based on trust and mutual respect, acting as a friendly face who listens and cares about the family. All volunteers are interviewed, trained to the highest standards and undergo disclosure checks before being matched with a family. We also encourage and welcome volunteers who have the ability to speak multiple languages join our team! What can we offer volunteers? As well as the sense of achievement that comes through supporting a family, our volunteers will have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills, attend social events with other volunteers and enhance their employability. Certificates are provided upon completion of induction training and at the end of the commitment, with project staff happy to provide references for future studies or employment.