Become a Volunteer Befriender Want to make a difference to the lives of disabled people in your community? Discover new interests? Meet new people? Look no further than our fantastic volunteer befriending opportunity! Equal Futures creates connections for people with a learning disability or Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and their family carers through Circles of Support, befriending and social events. By joining our caring and knowledgeable team you will support someone to build their confidence and access opportunities they might previously have been isolated from. You will benefit from training and on-going skills development. You will also receive friendly and professional support from our Project Coordinators. Our Befrienders play a crucial role within society. They can improve the self-esteem of someone with a learning disability who is lonely and isolated within their community. Befrienders also take the burden off other community services by simply providing someone with a friend to connect with. What will you do as a Volunteer Befriender? As part of the Circle of Support, Befrienders help a person we support build their confidence and participate in social activities within their community. This may include going for walks, participating in clubs or classes together, or attending Equal Future’s social events. Befrienders meet one-on-one with the person we support weekly or fortnightly. As a volunteer you may sometimes also offer kind and friendly support to not only the individual, but their family as well, depending on the circumstance. An Equal Futures Project Co-ordinator will be there for you throughout your entire volunteering experience. You’ll enjoy lots of benefits being a Volunteer Befriender, such as: • Learning from an experienced and knowledgeable team • Meeting new people and sharing insights • Volunteering on a flexible basis that fits in with your life • Access to free training and regular support • Social opportunities with other volunteers • Improved self-esteem and confidence • Improved communication skills • Advantageous for relevant careers • Reduced loneliness and better mental health • Feeling valued in our friendly team • Seeing the difference that you’re making We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. We will work flexibly with you to ensure your volunteering journey is a positive and satisfying experience. To apply, please contact: Donna.McCallum@equalfutures.org.uk | 0792 139 7615

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 (part of the Volunteering Matters Family) 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.

Equal Futures creates connections for people with a learning disability or autism in Scotland. Volunteer Professionals use their expertise and knowledge to help a person we support and their family navigate through a challenging time or a period of transition.

To be part of Real Life Volunteer Service providing services that help vulnerable people within the community and supports the work of local Real Life Options teams. Our values of Respect, Honesty, Responsibility & Excellence underpin our approach and all our services recognise people for their individuality and are afforded the same dignity, respect, status and rights as other citizens. Key Tasks: Are varied and dependent on the needs of the people we support. We try to match volunteers to people with similar interests and provide opportunities for volunteers to utilise existing skills and knowledge. Chatting to and befriending people we support Home checks to make sure vulnerable people are safe and well Everyday practical household tasks Provide information and support to allow people to make informed choices about their lives Assist with shopping Support with correspondence Provide transport Support with social outings Assisting with pet care Assist with food preparation Prescription collections