Across West Dunbartonshire, many people live alone and can often feel isolated. The reasons for this will be varied - they may have difficulty leaving the house alone, have no close family or friends, or have lost confidence after illness or a life-change. In every case, what is missing is someone like you. Everyone gets older and we are living longer. It can become harder to make new friends and connections as we leave work, grow apart, see family move away and deal with health issues. The aim of the initiative is to support people to feel they are involved in their communities and build their confidence to be as active as they can - we need your help to make it happen. With your help, someone in our community could feel supported, less alone and more able to get out and about. If this sounds like you, all we ask is a few hours every week of your time, over a year. We will be here to provide any help and support you need. In return you will have the satisfaction that your support has made all the difference in someone else’s life. Please help us. You will understand that for everyone safety you will be asked to go through a PVG (police) check. WDCVS VISA employability scheme is where volunteers who are actively looking for work can brush up on the skills that employers are looking for, the VISA certificate highlights the skills that the volunteer has achieved in their volunteer role, the certificate can be created and sent to them as a PDF.

Across West Dunbartonshire, many people live alone and feel isolated. The reasons will be different - they may be housebound, have no close family or friends, or just feel anxious. In every case, what is missing is the chance to just blether. Care-givers are a great support, but they can’t give the time that some of our neighbours need. If chatting about the weather, who’s who on TV, what team is playing best or just what’s happening in the world sounds like you…then we need your help! A regular call from you will make all the difference to someone who may have little or no other company during the day. All we ask from you is an hour or so of your time, a listening ear…and of course, your chat! WDCVS VISA employability scheme is where volunteers who are actively looking for work can brush up on the skills that employers are looking for, the VISA certificate highlights the skills that the volunteer has achieved in their volunteer role, the certificate can be created and sent to them as a PDF.

Volunteers are the most integral part of a Health & Social Walk. From offering a friendly welcome at the start of the walk, to providing a safe, supportive and welcoming space for participants of all abilities to enjoy low-level activity, to meet new people, make friends and enjoy paths, routes and greenspaces within their local area. As a Volunteer you will also experience all the benefits of the walk from Physical Health to Social, Mental Wellbeing and personal development as a trained walk leader developing new skills. A Health & Social Walk Leader isn’t the only role you can explore, the range of volunteer opportunities can include: Health Walk Leader – become a trained Walk Leader in your area to support the delivery of Health Walks. Health Walk Leader assistant – help the Walk Leader with some of the tasks on local walks. Route Planner & Checker – find, research and check new routes that are safe and suitable for your local Health Walk. Welcomer and Buddy – a more informal role which helps ensure all new participants to a Health Walk have someone to talk to on their first visit. Publicity Volunteer – put up posters, distribute leaflets and help with the promotion of your Health Walk to encourage new walkers to join. Before you become a Walk Leader you will be encouraged to join a walk and chat to other Volunteer Health Walk leaders before your training so that you have an idea of how it works on the ground. Volunteer walk leaders receive on-going support from the Health Walk coordinator. WDCVS VISA employability scheme is where volunteers who are actively looking for work can brush up on the skills that employers are looking for, the VISA certificate highlights the skills that the volunteer has achieved in their volunteer role, the certificate can be created and sent to them as a PDF.

Has volunteering helped you? Want to encourage others to get involved? Are you reliable, friendly and enjoy helping people? At West Dunbartonshire CVS we are looking for people to help others get started on their own volunteer journey, we are looking to grow our team at the Volunteer Centre to support individuals who want to volunteer their time in our community. Our Volunteers are the first point of contact for people staring to volunteer. The role is very varied and provides volunteers with a wide range of skills and experience in an office environment. Tasks include: By using our extensive volunteering database, you will be assisting with volunteer registrations and processing applications using an online recruitment system. - Responding to emails/calls - Creating suitable portfolios of volunteering opportunities that match the interests, skills and availability of each person - Delivering training workshops to people interested in starting their volunteering journey - Promoting the work of the Volunteer Centre in the local community. - Supporting our pop-up volunteer centre hubs. Skills you will gain : - Administration skills - Communication skills - Working as part of a team - Volunteer recruitment knowledge - Confidence and valuable experience for your CV The support you will get : - Volunteer induction - One to one support and training from the team - Ongoing training - A work-related reference If this sounds like you, all we ask is 3 hours of your time each week. We will be there to provide any help, training and support you need. You will understand that for everyone’s safety you will be asked to go through a PVG (police) check. WDCVS VISA employability scheme is where volunteers who are actively looking for work can brush up on the skills that employers are looking for, the VISA certificate highlights the skills that the volunteer has achieved in their volunteer role, the certificate can be created and sent to them as a PDF.