Talkable offers a talkline to anyone affected by panic or anxiety. We currently have a range of ways that you can help as a volunteer as we continue to grow and provide ever more vital support to people. Opportunities to join our team of volunteers include: *Phoneline Volunteers – you will be required to provide anxiety relief over the phone to our service users. *Phoneline Team Leader – you will be required to manage the phoneline volunteers as well as be available on the phone. *Message Line Volunteers – you will be required to provide anxiety relief to our service users over our Facebook page, full training will be given. *Promotion Volunteers – you will be required to create social media posts and reach out to companies to make our services known more. *Funding Volunteers – you will be required to help come up with funding ideas to support our vital services. *Policy Assistance Volunteers - we are also looking for a volunteer(s) who can help us with policy work. Excellent support and any relevant training is provided to all volunteers. All help makes a difference and is greatly appreciated. For more information about any of these volunteer roles or any other ways you wish to help us as a volunteer please contact Chelsea Birkett at E Mail: recruitment@talkable.online or tel: 07999 453655.

Would you like to support people who have served in the Armed Forces? You don’t need a military background, just the ability to listen, some basic I.T skills and good written and spoken English. If so, this could be the role for you. -What is a caseworker? Caseworkers work with clients to figure out what type of help they need. Next, they find the right sources of support and arrange for clients to access it. This might be funds for special equipment for someone with a disability, adaptions to a property so an older client can remain at home or funds for a rental deposit. Caseworkers also sign-post clients onto specialist local services for advice on benefits, housing, mental health, debt, finding work etc. -Why do we need you? Volunteer Caseworkers are the lifeblood of SSAFA, supporting a growing number of people in need of financial, practical and emotional support. Clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan. Our trained volunteers listen without judgement to assess and provide tailored support to help people navigate life in and beyond military service. We need you to join your local SSAFA team to help us achieve this. -What does this role involve? • Contacting clients and arranging to meet them at a mutually convenient time either face-to-face or remotely • Liaising with clients and completing a form to assess their circumstances • Sign-posting clients onto local services providing specialist advice • Applying on the client’s behalf to military and non-military sources of charitable funding • Arranging for the purchase of goods and services • Keeping in touch with the client so they know how their case is progressing • Keeping in touch with your branch so they know your availability • Keeping up to date with training and SSAFA news so that you are best able to support clients • Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA remembering that anyone you meet could be a potential client, volunteer or fundraiser • Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA including observing our policies such as the Volunteering policy and data protection policy (these will be covered in your training and local induction.) -What can you gain from this volunteering role? • Support people in your community with a military background • Use your skills, knowledge and life experience to benefit others • Support and friendship from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community • Experience, training and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews • Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression! -Is a criminal record check required? Yes *A disclosure certificate that contains convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands or other information may not automatically mean that you are not able to volunteer. All certificates will be reviewed on a case by case basis and, where possible, a modified or alternative role will be offered. There is no cost for volunteers for this. -How to find out more? • Visit us/apply on line at https://www.ssafa.org.uk/volunteer or call our friendly central Volunteer Team on 0800 032 5612. They can answer any general questions about volunteering and put you in touch with your local branch.

Everyone can feel lonely and isolated at times, especially if experiencing hardship. This year, in response to the crippling effects of loneliness and isolation on peoples wellbeing (physical, emotional, social and mental health), that the pandemic has only exacerbated, TLC have responded to this need and developed a befriending service to combat the loneliness and isolation felt by many in our city. Our aim is that our expertly trained and compassionate volunteers will not only provide a lifeline to people, in the form of friendship, but also a helping hand to reconnect to the community, bringing joy and passion back into people’s lives. If you would like to be a beacon of hope to someone in need, please do apply to join our team. For further information please contact Jonny Astill, Development Manager at email: jonny@tlc.org.uk or tel.: 07859 771292.

Local children’s charity, Befriend a Child are looking for kind, caring and reliable people to bring fun, positivity, and new experiences to the lives of children and young people across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. At Befriend a Child we support school-aged children in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire who are growing up in difficult life circumstances. We match them with trained volunteers or ‘Befrienders’ or ‘Mentors’ who act as positive role models to help children develop resilience, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Typically, these are children whose fundamental childhood years have been neglected or lost due to issues outside of their control. Volunteers meet the child on a one-to-one basis and help the children and young people with their self-esteem and confidence and give them experiences they may be unable to have otherwise. Befrienders meet with the children twice a month and mentors meet on a weekly basis. Befriend a Child provides volunteers with full training and support, so volunteers don’t need to have any previous experience working with children. Befriend a Child receives referrals from a number of sources including Education, Social Work, Health and Third Sector partners. We are the only dedicated befriending and mentoring service for children in the Northeast. It’s not just the children who benefit from befriending and mentoring, our volunteers also feel they gain a great deal from the experience. For example, Befriend a Child volunteer Craig feeds back: “Befriending is the biggest achievement of my life, knowing I’ve been a positive influence in someone’s life whilst creating some fantastic memories and experiences. I would recommend it to anyone. It’s a great way to add sunshine into your own life as well as doing the same for others. Many of these children just simply need a friend and so it’s not what you do that is important but the fact that you are doing something together." (Craig Duncan, Volunteer Befriender). If you want to help a local child, make sure to get in touch by emailing us at volunteer@befriendachild.org.uk or visit www.befriendachild.org.uk to find out more.

Our mission is to deliver urgent medical samples, equipment and supplies free of charge between hospitals, healthcare sites and laboratories in the North East of Scotland when Healthcare Providers’ own transport services do not operate. We need drivers over the age of 25 to help us achieve this mission. A fantastic opportunity to help and make a real difference. All volunteers are greatly appreciated. For more details please contact Graeme Scott, Membership Secretary at email: membershipsecretary@nervs.org.uk or telephone.: 07881460792.

Volunteering Matters, the UK’s largest volunteering charity, believe that everyone in the UK should have the opportunity to thrive. We bring people together to overcome some of society’s most complex issues through the power of volunteering. Our Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) encourages those aged 50+ to volunteer and be active in their communities. RSVP projects can take many forms, from school support, to driving schemes, all having an incredible impact both on the wider community, and our volunteers. In Aberdeen, we are looking for a passionate, friendly individual to re-establish RSVP knitting groups in the Aberdeen area as a Group Volunteer Organiser. As our RSVP Knitting Group Volunteer Organiser, you will engage other adults aged 50+ in the local community who enjoy knitting, bring them together as knitting volunteers, but also providing a social forum for the knitters to chat and spark friendships. Activity will also happen in between, with knitters completing items at home too. In addition to setting up groups and arranging for them to come together (if they would like to), the Organiser will collect items created, and ensure they are donated to local organisations that can benefit from them. Previously, this has included clothes for the local neonatal unit, trauma teddies, and others. This will involve networking in the Aberdeen area to establish relationships with organisations and agree how donations will work. You don’t have to be an avid knitter yourself, this role is more to organise knitting activity, and be the point of contact for knitters and partners in the local area. However, if you would like to be involved in the knitting activity, that would be most welcome. *Tasks involved: - Engaging with keen knitters in the local area to form groups, and on-going contact with knitters - Promoting knitting opportunities/encouraging wider involvement via local press, social media etc. - Working with organisations to create partnerships for the knitting to be donated to - Ensuring quality control of items - Applying for small grants/funding/some fundraising activity would be beneficial - Gathering items from knitters and arranging collection/delivery - Ensuring social opportunities for knitters to come together (if they wish to) - Inputting to the wider RSVP network as and when appropriate *You will be: - Honest, reliable, and friendly volunteer aged 50+ - Regular commitment - An interest in networking/building relationships - Good communication, organisational, and people skills - Ability to volunteer independently, taking initiative to grow the groups, with minimum support - Able to lift/move bags of knitting donations and transport them – being a driver would be useful *We will provide: - A fun, enjoyable and worthwhile voluntary experience - Sense of achievement - Relevant training and support - All travel expenses - Relevant insurance for activities - Opportunity to engage with the wider RSVP and Volunteering Matters Network A fantastic opportunity to help and make a real difference for people and the community. For further details please contact Louise Orr, Delivery Leader at email: louise.orr@volunteeringmatters.org.uk or tel.: 07534 108 842.

The Archie Foundation exists to make the difference for children and their families accessing local NHS healthcare and in bereavement. By working with our NHS colleagues, child development and childcare professionals, Archie provides a lifeline of support for local children and their families. Whatever age you are, and whatever your background is, if you have an interest in supporting the work that we do we would love to hear from you! There are many activities that volunteers can help us with, here are just a few examples: • Place and gather back in our collection cans – lots of pennies soon mount up and make a huge difference. • Administrative support in our donor care office – writing thank you letters and cards to let our donors know how appreciated they are. • Volunteering at events, both on the day and to help us plan for their success. • Delivering leaflets and putting up posters on community noticeboards. • Staffing a stall at a local market or community centre to help spread the word about the work we do. • Speaking on behalf of the charity at community events. • Assisting with our supporters/groups e.g.: knitting and craft groups who • Organising your own fundraising events with friends and family. • Training to become a Volunteer Responder as part of Archie’s Child Bereavement Service team. All help from people volunteering makes a real difference and is greatly appreciated. For full details and links for volunteering with us please visit https://archie.org/volunteer/ or email hello@archie.org

We’re scouting for talent. You don’t have to be Bear Grylls to volunteer. Use your skills and talents for good and make a difference. Practical, flexible Scouting. Team working in a variety of tasks. Mainly to start new sections for Beavers (6-8) and Cubs (8-10½). To find out more please Email: volunteering21stscouts@gmail.com

Across Scotland ProjectScotland (part of the Volunteering Matters Family) supports young people to reach their potential through tailored support, mentoring and the opportunity to experience the benefits of volunteering themselves and the support of volunteer mentors. This is a national programme which we have recently secured funding to deliver in the Aberdeen area. 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 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. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone wanting to help young people in their community who need a helping hand. For further information please contact Sue van Horen, Mentor Manager at email: sue.vanhoren@volunteeringmatters.org.uk or tel.: 07833250410.

*Summary of the role: The Mum and Toddler Group aims to lead discussion amongst local women, and provide a space to build connections and community. The children range from 0-4 years old. At this age range, children are active, inquisitive and developing their personalities! The main goal of this volunteering role is playing with and caring for the children. *General responsibilities: • Getting out appropriate toys and games for free play; • Leading simple activities organised by the WFW; • In time, and if they have appropriate experience, volunteers may wish to plan activities or games themselves; • Adhering to training and guidelines given to ensure the safety and well-being of the children. All help makes a difference and is greatly appreciated. For more details please contact Stevie Stacy, Homelessness Prevention Coordinator North at E Mail: steviestacy@bethanychristiantrust.com or tel.: 07436251810.