Listening volunteers are there for anyone who needs support. Every year, they spend over one million hours responding to calls for help and they can change the course of someone’s life. Join the Samaritans Email Hub and be part of our mission to provide support, hope, and encouragement to those who need it most. https://www.samaritans.org/scotland/samaritans-in-scotland/about-samaritans-scotland/west-highland-skye-project/volunteering-opportunities-west-highlands-and-skye/ We are recruiting in Lochaber, Wester Ross, Skye and Lochalsh

If you are looking for a new challenge, have life or work skills you wish to put to good use & you’re interested in helping others in your community consider becoming a Volunteer General Adviser or Volunteer Receptionist. If you're interested and/or would like more information just get in touch with us for a chat or to ask for our volunteer application pack. We provide full training and support. Volunteer receptionists are currently wanted for Wednesday/Thursday/Friday afternoons. Full training given, expenses paid. Call Polly for more details 01463 219743.

If you’re good with people and willing to learn, you might be just the person for our Retail Team. Here’s what that means: • making sure all items in the shop look spotless • sorting through and organising stock • dealing with customers’ queries and being New Start’s friendly face • handling cash and working on the till In return you’ll have a cracking team to work with, lots of upskilling and training opportunities… and you will make a difference in your community.

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 (part of the Volunteering Matters Family) 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.

Have you ever wanted to volunteer all to do within the concept of Football? Well look no further! Street Soccer Scotland is currently looking for volunteers to join their team. No two days the same, working alongside our players developing them personally and mentally. The role includes working with coaches and players pitch side, monitoring games, inputting data, building relationships with partner organisations. We work with all ages from 10 years old all the way to past retirement . We currently run in Aberdeen: Walking Football, Kids 10-13 Year olds, Street 45 (Women's Programme) and Adult Sessions. Opportunities are available Monday to Friday - Please get in touch with Peter Wood, Programme Co-ordinator at email: peter@streetsoccerscotland.org or telephone: 07487603708, if you would like to know more.

Food and Fun was introduced by the Council as a pilot to deliver free meals and activities to children in key areas of Aberdeen during school holiday periods and has been rolled out on a permanent basis. Over Christmas, as an extension of the project, special events were hosted for young people to enjoy the festivities – from ice skating and crafts to a disco and visit to Santa. For everyone involved in Food and Fun there’s a busy period ahead. The main aim is to ensure children continue to be fed, recognising the importance of school meals during term time for a large number of families, and also to provide the opportunity to take part in physical activity in a nurturing environment. The initiative has been recognised with awards – but the reward and motivation for the many people who have put their heart and soul into developing the programme is in the positive impact there is on children, families and communities. When we talk about our purpose – about caring for our city and our people – we think Food and Fun is a shining example that we can all be incredibly proud of. Many participants obtain great life skills which has assisted them in securing other opportunities as well as the personal development and satisfaction that this also brings. All help makes a difference and is greatly appreciated. To volunteer / for more information please contact Martin Smith, Locality Inclusion Manager at E Mail: martinsmith@aberdeencity.gov.uk or Tel.: 01224 788538.

Join Our Warehouse Team The New Start Highland lorries collect a huge range of household items that are generously donated by the local community. We have a busy warehouse with lots of roles from unloading vans to cleaning, sorting, repairing and restoring everything that comes in. This means that you can expect to do anything from assembling a bed, to washing china, or folding linen. No two days are the same! The work that you do helps us to create our starter packs of kitchen items, bedding, or cleaning materials to give people a great start in their new homes.

Moray HandyPerson Services is a local charity helping vulnerable people in Moray maintain their independence and live safely in their own homes. Through their network of volunteers, they make a huge difference to so many people who struggle to get practical d-i-y jobs done around the home. Currently the service is looking for new people to join their Board. People with a financial/business background would be very welcome to get in touch; they would also welcome applications from others who would like to support an organisation committed to providing this much needed service to vulnerable people in Moray.

Would you like to make a difference to New Scots families in your community? Would you like to help tackle Child Poverty? We have the right opportunity for you! Volunteering Matters is now recruiting volunteer mentors to help build resilience and aspirations to move parents towards and enter employment. While our staff will be on hand to help you provide employability specific support to parents, your role as a mentor will be focused on developing additional skills and overcoming personal barriers to facilitate their entry into the job market. More specifically, you might be supporting your mentee with confidence building, public speaking, time management, social skills, proactiveness, future plans and aspirations, accessing further education courses or work placements, additional services or local groups. No previous experience or knowledge required, just a willingness to make a difference to families in your community. We especially welcome applications from mentors that have direct or indirect lived experience of any of the mentioned barriers and struggles and feel ready to provide friendly guidance to someone who is on their employment journey. You will be ideally a flexible, patient and reliable individual with strong people skills. Before you start, we will invite you to attend training, aimed at providing you with all the necessary tools and knowledge to carry out your mentoring role safely and knowingly. You will also have multiple opportunities to meet with the mentor project worker in 1:1 meetings and go through any questions or doubts you may have before you start.

We're looking for an adult volunteer who will provide a supportive friendship for a socially isolated young person aged between 8 and 18 who lives in South Ayrshire. Ideally this will involve meeting with their young person every couple of weeks for a few hours, spending time together accessing local activities. This includes: • Be matched on a 1:1 basis with a young person. • Go on regular outings and activities with the young person. • Have the opportunity to participate in group outings/activities and also volunteer support sessions. • Keeping in touch with the Project about the young person’s achievements / growth and activities, and to receive ongoing support from the Bfriend team. • Open minded as we work with young people from a wide variety of backgrounds. • Following training, to be able to have empathy and understanding of some of the issues encountered by young people referred to the team. • Continuous focus on the needs of the young person who you are matched with. • Willing to participate in a broad range of activities mutually agreed with the young person. • To be a positive adult role model for the young person and, very importantly, to have FUN! • Have an awareness of and be able to adhere to Bfriend’s policies and procedures.