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 (now part of the Volunteering Matters Family of Brands) 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.

To support/coach/deliver sports sessions to young people.

If you or your child have ever been involved with Guiding, this is your perfect chance to give something back without too much commitment. We are a friendly, inclusive group who like to work together to ensure that the hall is safe for users. In order for the Kirkwall Guide Hall to run smoothly, we have a committee that oversee various aspects including general maintenance, cleaning and fundraising. There are a number of roles within the committee: • General Committee members • Chair • Secretary • Treasurer • Hall Lets • Cleaning rota co-ordinator and Covid officer • Fire safety officer

The Young Person's Befriending Project works alongside young people (aged 8 - 18) offering them support through a volunteer befriender. Befrienders meet with their young person for a couple of hours every fortnight and take part in a wide variety of activities together. Over these sessions the volunteers aims is to offer support and encouragement, introduce new activities, build the young persons confidence and self-esteem and offer real friendship to them. We need volunteers of all different walks of life, as no two of our young people are the same!

A young carer is someone up to the age of 18 who provides unpaid help and support to a relative, friend or neighbour who due to illness or disability cannot manage to live independently without the carer’s help. It may involve practical support like cooking, housework, or emotional support. Aberdeen Young Carers are looking for volunteers to spend some quality time with a child or young person between the ages of 5-18 on a regular basis, getting to know them, and building up a positive relationship by being reliable and non-judgemental when listening to them. A befriender volunteer will support the young person to enjoy activities and experiences within the Aberdeen community therefore reducing isolation, and promoting self-esteem and confidence. This is a flexible opportunity and you can commit to meeting with a child or young person for a few hours on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis depending on what time you have available. This would take place out with school hours, predominately over evenings or weekends. To be a befriender volunteer we ask for a minimum time commitment of six months, so that the child or young person has some consistency. To apply, please visit: https://volunteer.barnardos.org.uk/opportunities/16050-befriender-aberdeen-young-carers-2020-11-24 or contact Jacqui Hall, Volunteer Coordinator at email: jacqui.hall@barnardos.org.uk / telephone: 07783 848410.

ProjectScotland supports young people to reach their potential through tailored support, the opportunity to experience the benefits of a volunteering placement themselves and the support of volunteer mentors. This is a national programme which we have recently secured funding to deliver in the Aberdeen and Highland areas. Some of the mentoring can be done online, so volunteers are welcome from the Moray area as well. As a guide -6-month commitment – 1 hour weekly although this will be flexible and may fluctuate to meet mentor and mentee availability, this meeting would ideally be face to face however given the COVID situation many matches are virtual using email/telephone/video chat/WhatsApp. In the role you may be assisting a young person to identify personal goals and aims and support them to work towards these in a planned and thought through way. e.g building self-esteem, feeling more confident in social situations, expressing themselves effectively, recognising personal strengths. In other matches you might be working on softer outcomes such as helping them to develop life skills, routine, planning for the day, managing their time effectively and in many cases just checking in to make sure all is well and they are doing alright. For further information please contact Emma Hanlon, Mentor Manager at email: emma.hanlon@volunteeringmatters.org.uk or tel.: 07746938237.

LGBT Youth Scotland is currently recruiting new volunteers to join our team across Scotland! We are Scotland’s national charity for LGBTI young people, working with 13–25 year olds across the country. Our goal is to make Scotland the best place to grow up for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people. We play a leading role in the provision of quality youth work to LGBTI young people that promotes their health and wellbeing. Our youth groups meet weekly and your role would be to assist in planning and delivering youth group sessions and providing support for the young people who attend as part of the local team. This recruitment period closes on 11 September.

LGBT Youth Scotland is currently recruiting new volunteers to join our team across Scotland! We are Scotland’s national charity for LGBTI young people, working with 13–25 year olds across the country. Our goal is to make Scotland the best place to grow up for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people. We play a leading role in the provision of quality youth work to LGBTI young people that promotes their health and wellbeing. Our youth groups meet weekly and your role would be to assist in planning and delivering youth group sessions and providing support for the young people who attend as part of the local team. This recruitment period closes on 11 September.

ProjectScotland (part of the national charity Volunteering Matters) uses the unique power of volunteering to support young people to move on in life. We have a 5-month opportunity for a full-time volunteer to support our programmes working in partnership with high schools across Edinburgh. We are currently based in two high schools (Castlebrae Community Campus and St Thomas of Aquin’s High School) where we run a volunteering programme for pupils, particularly those on flexible timetables, who have barriers that prevent them from achieving a positive pathway to the next stage of their lives. With our support, the pupils complete volunteering placements with local charities and social enterprises as a way of developing their skills and confidence in new environments outside of school. This is a great opportunity for a young person who is interested in taking a gap year to volunteer directly with young people to positively impact their lives and make a difference in their community. To support the Volunteer Mentor in their journey with us, our organisation will make a contribution to the volunteer towards their living costs, as well as covering any out-of-pocket expenses incurred during their volunteering commitment. The Volunteer Mentor role will involve supporting the pupils engaging on the programme, with the help of project staff and the school community. Volunteers are not expected to have any prior skills or experience as full training and support will be provided. However, we are looking for someone who can commit up to 30 hours per week to undertake the role, show dedication and are willing to learn new skills. The role may vary considerably day-to-day depending on the needs and interests of the young people you will support, and development opportunities will be offered to you as the Volunteer Mentor throughout the placement. As a Volunteer Mentor, you will take part in: Developing relationships with pupils who are participating in the volunteering programme - Accompanying pupils to their chosen volunteer placements and, if required, volunteer alongside pupils in a supervisory role - Supporting with the wider volunteering culture within the school - Introducing young people to new opportunities - Helping with appropriate volunteering administration tasks - Researching local opportunities and helping to maintain relationships with our charity partners What we’re looking for - - Volunteer must be aged 18+ - Be sociable and positive - Have good communication skills - Be comfortable using public transport - Interest in volunteering with teenagers (aged 13-17) - Willingness to support young people with additional support needs - Have a patient and flexible mindset - Be proactive - Good time-management skills If you have any questions, please get in touch with our James Donnelly, Youth Social Action Project Manager for Edinburgh, the Lothians & Forth Valley on james.donnelly@volunteeringmatters.org.uk or 07823-413-260.

Peer Perspectives Youth Mental Health Champions will undertake mental health training, then be supported to develop workshops they can deliver to their peers, or to create content for our social media channel. Bespoke opportunities available for young people aged 16-25 with ongoing supervision.