Volunteer befrienders (18+) will be matched with a person in the East Renfrewshire area aged 65+ who are looking for company or support to become more connected to their community. The befriender will visit the person once a week in their home for an hour or so or accompany them to an activity. If, due to COVID restrictions meetings can't happen, contact will be made over the telephone in the first instance.

One of the biggest barriers people face in attending our groups and activities is the ability to get to us. There is limited public transport to where we are located and sometimes people coming along need a little bit of assistance or extra time to get from their home to a vehicle, which taxi drivers sometimes cannot provide. As a Volunteer Driver you would be providing the means for someone to be able to attend a group, allowing them to meet with others attending and have some company, ultimately helping to improve their wellbeing and make them feel less lonely. As a Volunteer Driver, we'd ask that you use your own car to pick people up, take them to the group and be able to take them home again. We provide all out of pocket expenses, so your mileage would be reimbursed at £0.45 per mile. Sometimes people might need a bit of assistance and you would be provided with full training on moving and positioning to support someone to get in and out of a vehicle if needed. We are looking for drivers to be able to bring people to our Men's Breakfast Club on a Friday morning, 10–11 am and also to our Blether & Brew Group, which is every second Tuesday, 2-3.30 pm. A PVG is required for this role. If you enjoy driving and would like to use this skill to make a huge difference to the life of someone living in your community, this role could be just for you.

Mearns Kirk Helping Hands was established in 2016, running a variety of groups and activities to improve health and wellbeing and reduce social isolation and loneliness in the local community. Since being established, we have grown to run nine groups throughout the week, a befriending project, as well as specialist groups, such as IT learning classes. Our charity is volunteer led with nearly 100 volunteers helping across the charity. It's an exciting time as the charity looks to continue to evolve to meet the needs of our community. Particularly given the rise in the ageing population in the local area. To do this, the charity is seeking new Board members to guide and develop what we do. In particular, we have identified that our Board requires people with certain skill sets, these are in: * Fundraising * Voluntary Sector * Marketing * Finance * Human Resources Being part of the Mearns Kirk Helping Hands Board gives you the opportunity to lead on the development of a local, community based charity, ensuring we are sustainable, have good governance and good practice. You'll also be making a difference to the lives of those who use our services as well as our volunteers. We ask that you can commit to attending four Board meetings per year, alongside our Annual General Meeting. Other time you would need to give would be dependent in the role you could fulfil within the Board around the specific areas of expertise we are looking for.

Do you enjoy getting out and about and chatting to different people along the way? If so, the role of Promotions Volunteer is perfect for you! We're looking for someone who is a great communicator to spread the word about what we do here at Mearns Kirk Helping Hands. The role includes dropping off leaflets and information at targeted locations across East Renfrewshire, making connections with other organisations to let them know what we do, helping with promotional events in venues such as shopping centres and supermarkets and assisting project staff to consider other ways to successfully promote the charity. The time required for this role is 1-2 hours a week but completely flexible to suit you. In promoting Mearns Kirk Helping Hands, you will be letting others know what services we provide. T his will help people link in to our groups and activities and feel more connected or become more involved in their community. You will receive support from project staff and out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed.