Isolation and Loneliness are on the rise especially with Older People in the Community. We are looking for friendly and caring people to help with our tea parties. Could you help drive one or two guests to tea parties? You will only be volunteering once a month, so this is perfect for fitting around your own availability and lifestyle. You will help drive the same one or two guests to the group and then stay for some refreshments and a good blether. Normally the tea party will last for about 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon and is hosted by other Volunteers in their home. It is the same local group you volunteer with so you can make some real connections to your community and the Older Guests. All training is remote, and you are supported by our team and Tea Party Co-ordinator in your role.

BACKGROUND The Village Kitchen is a service that delivers frozen meals around Clackmannanshire on a Tuesday and a Friday. They were set up during Covid due to the difficulty the older people in the community had with getting to the supermarket. After Covid there was still a demand for their services so have continued offering the support. As well as delivering meals, they set up a Thursday cafe and now have 30-35 people attending on a weekly basis. They engage with their guests, offer any support that they can and help to build up friendships to avoid isolation at home. Once a month they take a number of guests out on a bus trip to various places in the Forth Valley area. As a Driver, you will be collecting meals at 10am from The Hive in Dollar on a Tuesday and/or Friday and delivering to an area which include Alloa, Hillfoots, Muckhart and Dollar. Other drivers help out on a Thursday by picking up and dropping off guests at the cafe and returning them home in the Dollar area. Please note that Thursday drivers would need to be available for dropping them off at The Hive (11.30pm - 12pm) and returning to take guests home (1.30pm - 2pm). Everything works on a rota system and volunteers can do as much or as little as suits them, dipping in and out of all aspects of our work or sticking to the one area, it's up to them.

Would you be willing to help people access essential services and social activities in Angus? Could you be a volunteer driver? We are looking for drivers who can help us provide a volunteer driver service to assist service users to access school, appointments, meetings and access community activities as requested by Voluntary Services. The main tasks involve: • Safely transporting service users including young people, older people and people with disabilities • Assisting people in and out of the car • Helping people to their front door • Assisting with bags • Maintaining appropriate boundaries in relationships • Maintaining confidentiality • Taking responsibility for ensuring car seats are appropriate for car and child being transported. You will need to be: • A confident driver • Willing to use your own vehicle and have business insurance cover • Enjoy meeting people • Show empathy, patience and reliability • Availability 2-3 hours daily • Be comfortable working on own initiative but know when to seek support We are looking for volunteers who can offer 2-3 hours per week with a minimum period of 6 months commitment. Induction training is mandatory and includes confidentiality, personal safety, protecting people, lone working, communication skills and values. Other training may be offered, such as manual handling, dealing with difficult behaviour, working with people with disabilities. A PVG will be required.

If you like driving and supporting people in your local community this role may be for you. You would be able to use your driving skills and friendly personality to help support people to attend our Social Centres, which would allow them to get out and about in their local community. As a Volunteer Driver, you would be taking clients to one of our Social Centres in your area. You will be asked to use your own vehicle to offer a friendly journey, supporting the clients to and from their home and Social Centre. This volunteer role is flexible it can be as little or as many days as you like, allowing the volunteer role to work around your own plans. This will also allow you to meet new people and get you out and about in your local community.