Community volunteering is a great way to meet new people, connect with nature, learn new skills and improve health. Sessions involve maintaining parts of the nature reserve for people and wildlife. Sound interesting? Then feel free to come along to one of our volunteer days meeting at the reserve Farmhouse at 10am every Saturday (weather permitting). Please wear suitable clothing - all tools and PPE will be provided.

You will be providing a puppy with a vital foundation for its future role as a guide dog. This is a full-time volunteering opportunity as a puppy will live with you in your home for around 12-16 months. It should be noted that although it is possible for another Puppy Raiser to look after a dog on your behalf for short periods of time that this may not always be possible. Consideration should be given to your future plans such as holidays abroad. “It’s so rewarding to know that the dog will go on to help people with sight loss gain independence and freedom.” – Chris, Puppy Raiser We rely on volunteers like you to help us improve the lives of people with sight loss. In this role your support will include: • Developing, caring and providing for the needs of one of our puppies using Positive Reinforcement Techniques and following Guide Dogs Puppy Raising for Excellent Partnerships (PREP) programme • Familiarising a puppy to a wide range of environments including shops and outdoor off lead exercise areas in all climates and seasons. • Teaching a puppy it’s ok to be left alone by gradually building up from a few minutes to a maximum of 4 hours • Attending regular puppy classes • Regularly meeting with Guide Dogs representatives to discuss your pup’s development • Completing regular on-line questionnaires to help us monitor puppy progress Ideally you will: • Be able to handle large breed dogs (around 25-40kg) • Have access to a car on a weekly basis for training and vet visits • Have your own home or written permission to have a dog in the home • Have access to a secure area where the puppy could go to the toilet during the day, especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night • Be able to access online content and training materials (you will need your own email address) If you don’t feel you tick every box but are sure this role is the one for you, please drop us a message and tell us why. We’re open to suggestions and happy to chat with you to find out what’s possible! Volunteering is a two-way street, so in return for your time you will get; • A dedicated volunteer manager/key contact who will help you settle in and support you during your time with us. • The challenge and reward of seeing a puppy develop in your home. • The opportunity to learn and develop your understanding in dog body language, learning theory, the human animal bond and the life of a Guide Dog. Volunteering for Guide Dogs should never leave you out of pocket. We’ll make sure we pay any expenses related to your volunteering with us in line with our policy. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the role further before applying please email volunteer coordinator Aaron Puckrin at aaron.puckrin@guidedogs.org.uk. Thank you.

We are looking for a volunteer who would like to become our minute secretary. This involves attending once monthly meetings for about 2hrs (7-9pm) usually the third Thursday in Forfar to take minutes for the meeting, typing these up and distributing to the members. This is an excellent opportunity to get involved in your local community and might suit a volunteer hoping to further develop IT and admin skills.

We meet usually once a month for about 2 hrs (7pm- 9pm) usually the 3rd Thursday of the month. We can offer a small payment to cover expenses. Some examples of our involvement are monthly meetings involving locally elected councillors, police and guest speakers. We regularly review local planning applications, local news/ concerns and organise community events such as beach cleans, seasonal town decorations/ events such as the summer bunting and Christmas Lights display/ switch on. We also support to facilitate local projects and collaborating with organisations to distribute community funds. There is opportunity to become involved in such a wide variety of projects/ groups dependant on your availability of time.

Clean Up Aberdeen is part of Keep Scotland Beautiful's national mass-engagement campaign Clean Up Scotland. Litter picking clean ups are a great way of bringing people together. Young and old alike can roll up their sleeves together to show that they care about their neighbourhood. Everyone can take part from individuals to schools, community groups and businesses. Clean Ups are great fun and make a noticeable difference to areas. Environmental Services can lend you litter picking tongs, high viz vests, gloves and black bags and will uplift the collected rubbish. All you have to do is pick and bag the litter. For more details, or to get help organising an event call 03000 200 292 or e-mail cleanaberdeen@aberdeencity.gov.uk You can also register a Clean Up of your local community with friends and family, work colleagues or your community group at: https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/environment/clean-aberdeen

Murton Trust is a registered charity and Murton Farm, Tea Room and Nature Reserve is also a popular visitor attraction based 2 miles outside of Forfar, Angus and currently has opportunities for anyone interested in volunteering. Do you have a few hours to spare? Would you like to get involved in helping Murton Trust? As an adult volunteer with us you can share a particular skill you have whether that be organisational providing office support, photography social media, estate management & animal handling. However experience or specific skill set is not needed as we will provide training to volunteers. If you have the ability to work independently this is highly advantageous however should you require a bit of support this is also available for limited number of people too. If you are interested or would like to find out more please get in touch.

PC Build Department - Will be involved in refurbishing PC’s starting with an empty shell and reloading all hardware/software and operating systems. Will learn how to image machines and build to a standard to pass to Quality Control for checking. Other duties are moving stock from cages, separating PC equipment and sorting items as required

Aberdeen Climate Action (ACA) is seeking Social Media Lead volunteers to help with the crucial work in our Social Media team. Our website and social media provide information on climate change, sustainable living, and relevant events. The purpose of social media team is to guide the creation of new posts, to unify the organisation’s social media presence. ACA is a volunteer led organisation, which focuses on educating and prompting action on climate change in the North East of Scotland. As a Social Media Lead Volunteer, you’ll find yourself helping with • Primarily promoting the climate café each month. • Managing the messages to social media accounts. • Promoting events. • Creating graphics. • Making relevant content. • Creating Facebook events for the café. • Promoting sustainability articles/ideas via our social media platforms while liaising with other groups such as XR and Friends Of the Earth. You’ll be working alongside a diverse collection of individuals; from students to retirees; lawyers to oil and gas professionals; local Aberdonians to peoples from across the globe. ACA wants to offer you an interesting and valuable opportunity that can help bolster your CV, develop or gain skills; make new friends; or just do your part to help the environment. No matter what, your time and the work you do helps ACA complete its valuable work in the North East. For more information or any queries, please email our volunteer support team: recruit@aberdeenclimateaction.org

- Willing to participate in activities and learn about new cultures? - Ready to create social change and improve peoples lives? No matter where you are in Scotland, you have access to training and learning opportunities abroad that can help you gain skills, boost confidence, and earn qualifications. Our organisation offers multiple trips throughout the year, with mentors available to provide support. We partner with other organizations to offer placements in Ghana, Romania, and potentially Eastern European countries, each with a unique set of activities and tasks that focus on developing various skills. We offer shorter 3 to 4 day trips for young people, aged 16-30, as well as longer trips of 2 to 3 weeks for anyone over 16. An exciting and great opportunity to help and make a difference. For more information please contact Megan Beattie, Project Delivery Lead at email: start@standinternational.org or telephone: 0131 659 9943. Further information is also available at: https://www.standinternational.org/

Do you love clothing, fashion, or a good bargain? Or perhaps you want to meet people in your local community and help provide a service that benefits them? Come volunteer in our unique high street R:evolve retail shops as a R:evolve Retail Assistant! Our R:evolve shops in Hamilton and Rutherglen allow customers to swap their unwanted clothing for free using our points-based system or grab a second-hand bargain from our for sale sections. The shops are also home to Wee Jinty’s Haberdashery which stocks preloved and repurposed haberdashery, second hand equipment and handmade gifts. As part of a team of volunteers at your chosen location, you will provide customer service and engagement, general upkeep of the shops, and carry out duties requested by the Shops Supervisor As a volunteer R:evolve Retail Assistant you will: • Welcome and assist customers. • Weigh / check donations. • Calculate points for swapping transactions. • Handle cash for sales transactions. • Sort, steam, and prepare donations for display. • Price items for sale. • Help keep the shop clean and tidy. • Display clothing, accessories, and materials to make the shop attractive. • Follow shop and organisation procedures and policies. • Promote the goals of the R:evolve project to customers. • Attend occasional training refreshers and review catch-up meetings as required. APPLY VIA OUR WEBSITE www.revolve-recycle.co.uk/volunteering