For people leaving hospital, adjusting to life at home can be a difficult time. Supporting someone to get their essential shopping or delivering a food parcel, pick up their prescription, popping in to have a chat and a cuppa with them, helping them manage their mail or going with them to appointments, finding local support groups or getting their heating turned on are amongst the things that our volunteers can do to make all the difference for the Service User to feel safe at home. The role can be very varied because we are trying to support the service user with what they need at that time, and everyone is different.

We are a not for profit community interest organisation supporting young people and children's mental health and wellbeing. We are currently seeking volunteers to provide support during the week at our mum and child sessions. These sessions are provided to help families connect and support one another. Your main role would be set up room, hosting and speaking to parents and tidying the room. If you have small children they can also be there whilst you volunteer. A fantastic opportunity to help and make a real difference. For more information please contact Zara Grant at email: yourloveraracic@yahoo.com or telephone: 01358 741874.

Forfar Open Gardens are looking for Volunteer Gardeners to provide general help within the garden whether that be pottering in the outdoor or indoor planting areas, clearing and pruning in the large woodland space or any of the many jobs in between. The garden is an open space for people young and old to come along and enjoy so you have a keen interest in gardening or would like to learn then they would love to hear from you. Youth opportunities are available on Friday afternoons. Interested? Want to know more? Get in touch.

Advocacy Service Aberdeen is a registered charity providing independent advocacy support to a wide range of people living in Aberdeen City. Independent advocacy is about helping people and groups have a stronger voice, addressing imbalances of power and ensuring people’s rights are recognised, respected and secured. We have advocacy services for: • People with a mental disorder, including a learning disability • Victims of domestic abuse • Carers • Older adults • Self-directed support • Children and Young people • Substance use We are looking for people to join our Board of trustees who are passionate about the rights and inclusion of people in decisions which matter to them. The Board is responsible for setting the strategy and policies of the charity and overseeing the running of the organisation. We are open to applicants from a diverse range of experiences and background and would also be interested in hearing from people who have the following experiences: • Finance/accounting • Fundraising • Experience of supporting/caring for people in the above service areas • Law • Human Resources Board meetings are held on Mondays every 6 weeks 5pm to 7pm, either remotely via Microsoft Teams or in-person. To find out more please contact us at tel: 01224 332314 / email: asa@advocacy.org.uk or visit https://www.advocacy.org.uk/ and https://www.advocacy.org.uk/our-board/

Join our amazing team of Community Support Volunteers in Aberdeen and North Aberdeenshire, who support people who have had one of our conditions to develop autonomy and confidence in self-management, enabling them to fully engage with their community and activities of their choosing. The service follows a pathway from hospital to community and can be delivered in a one-to-one and/or group setting in person, virtually or via telephone. We also have opportunities for volunteers to become Walk Leaders, to safely lead community health walks either in a 1:1 or group setting, while effectively supporting people living with and at high risk of our conditions. The service can be delivered to provide person-centred support for those with a communication difficulty and/or to support an individual to achieve a specific goal. A fantastic opportunity to help and make a real difference for people and the community. Excellent support and relevant training is provided to all volunteers and all assistance is greatly appreciated. For more details please contact us at volunteering@chss.org.uk or visit our website at https://www.chss.org.uk/volunteer-with-chss to apply.

A Young Carer is someone up to the age of 18 who provides unpaid support to a relative, friend or neighbour who due to illness or disability cannot manage to live independently without the carer’s help. Responsibilities may include practical support such as personal care, 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 Carer to enjoy activities and experiences within the Aberdeen community to reduce isolation, and promoting self-esteem and confidence. This is a flexible opportunity and you can commit to meeting with a Young Carer for a few hours on a 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 benefits from consistent visits and has time to build a professional relationship with the volunteer. To apply, please visit: https://volunteer.barnardos.org.uk/opportunities/16050-befriender-aberdeen-young-carers-2020-11-24 or contact the Volunteer Coordinator below: Andrew McGettigan E-Mail: andrew.mcgettigan@barnardos.org.uk Phone: 07724287057

A Young Carer is someone up to the age of 18 who provides unpaid support to a relative, friend or neighbour who due to illness or disability cannot manage to live independently without the carer’s help. Responsibilities may include practical support such as personal care, cooking, housework, or emotional support. A group volunteer with Aberdeen Young Carers will assist staff members in delivering any planned activities e.g. arts and crafts, baking, sport activities etc. They will actively participate with the activity, encourage young people to join in and have fun and build up positive relationships with the Young Carers by being friendly and non-judgemental. They will also have the opportunity to lead groups in a topic they are confident in, if they wish to. At present, we are looking for volunteers to support with our monthly groups, in-school sports groups, school holiday programmes, on an ad-hoc basis or at events. Further opportunities are available to assist in raising awareness of Young Carers rights within Aberdeen. We ask for a once-a-month commitment from group volunteers to ensure enough cover is in place for groups. Our groups can be held on evenings, weekends and during holiday periods. To apply, please visit: https://volunteer.barnardos.org.uk/opportunities/16049-children-s-activity-support-group-helper-aberdeen-young-carers-2020-11-24 or contact the Volunteer Coordinator below: Andrew McGettigan E-Mail: andrew.mcgettigan@barnardos.org.uk Phone: 07724287057

Could you support unpaid carers or people with disabilities to access benefits? Could you help someone find local services? Could you help someone understand the information they have been given about their care and support? Could you support or lead a group of people on a topic of interest? You could help improve the quality of someone’s life. This role is ideal for people with an interest in the care sector, students e.g.: social work or retired professionals. Support Session Volunteers help our clients with general advocacy, supporting people with a variety of challenges. This helps us to reduce waitlists and support more individuals by: • Helping clients understand about advocacy • Supporting clients to self-advocate with our tool kits • Signposting clients to other services where required • Supporting the service to deliver “collective” advocacy sessions • Light Touch Advocacy • Supporting advocates with casework • Promotion of services and the organisation • Logging activity onto our systems Volunteer, Ben’s priorities changed after a serious illness. “I wanted to give something back. It’s really rewarding as you get to use your knowledge and skills for a really good purpose.” You’ll develop skills in communication and confidentiality, add experience and knowledge to your CV, and know you’re making a genuine difference to people’s lives. As a volunteer you’ll receive full training, support from the volunteer team and your local advocates, and paid expenses. *Perks and Benefits - Reference after 6 months of volunteering. - Robust training programme - The opportunity to make a positive difference to people with care and support needs. - The opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and gain experience in your chosen volunteering role/s - The opportunity to help us develop our volunteering work - Additional learning & training opportunities *Skills You'll Need Volunteering with VoiceAbility is ideal for people who have or want experience in human rights, health, care and wellbeing - but we care more about your values and empathy than your level of experience. Some beneficial skills and qualities to have are: • Good communication skills – written and verbal • A basic level of IT literacy – email, docs • Accuracy and attention to detail • Ability to manage own time and prioritise workload • Ability to work independently & as part of a team • A commitment to the aims and ethos of VoiceAbility *Travel Information The role is a hybrid role, as we have no main "office base". People volunteer in and around their local area, and must be able to travel by themselves. Volunteers also meet clients in person to offer face-to-face support if needed. This would be across your specific geographic area of Aberdeen and you will travel locally and attend networking events to promote the service (approved travel expenses are reimbursed to volunteers). For more information/to apply please complete the form at https://voiceability.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/3336374?cid=1938&t=Volunteer-for-VoiceAbility-across-Scotland or contact Karen Murphy, Volunteer Coordinator at email: karen.murphy@voiceability.org or telephone: 07585 969 716. Further details are also available at https://www.voiceability.org/jobs/volunteering

Can you help promote services to local people in your community? Can you help at events and awareness raising sessions? You could help improve access to services in your community. This role is ideal for people who already have a connection to their community or would like to build one. The Service Team Volunteer role supports in the delivery of advocacy and other services by: • Helping clients understand about advocacy • Attending events and awareness raising activities • Networking and promoting our services and organisation • Signposting to other services • Building professional relationships and partnership working • Supporting our community engagement programmes in your local area Volunteering with VoiceAbility is ideal for people who have or want experience in human rights, health, care and wellbeing - but we care more about your values and empathy than your level of experience. Volunteer, Ben’s priorities changed after a serious illness: “I wanted to give something back. It’s really rewarding as you get to use your knowledge and skills for a really good purpose.” You’ll develop skills in communication and confidentiality, add experience and knowledge to your CV, and know you’re making a genuine difference to people’s lives. As a volunteer you’ll receive full training, support from the volunteer team and your local advocates, and paid expenses. *Perks and Benefits - Reference after 6 months of volunteering. - Robust training programme - The opportunity to make a positive difference to people with care and support needs. - The opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and gain experience in your chosen volunteering role/s - The opportunity to help us develop our volunteering work - Additional learning & training opportunities *Skills You'll Need Volunteering with VoiceAbility is ideal for people who have or want experience in human rights, health, care and wellbeing - but we care more about your values and empathy than your level of experience. Some beneficial skills and qualities to have are: • Good communication skills – written and verbal • A basic level of IT literacy – email, docs • Accuracy and attention to detail • Ability to manage own time and prioritise workload • Ability to work independently & as part of a team • A commitment to the aims and ethos of VoiceAbility *Travel Information The role is a hybrid role, as we have no main "office base". People volunteer in and around their local area, and must be able to travel by themselves. Volunteers also meet clients in person to offer face-to-face support if needed. This would be across your specific geographic area of Aberdeen and you will travel locally and attend networking events to promote the service (approved travel expenses are reimbursed to volunteers). For more information/to apply please complete the form at https://voiceability.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/3336374?cid=1938&t=Volunteer-for-VoiceAbility-across-Scotland or contact Karen Murphy, Volunteer Coordinator at email: karen.murphy@voiceability.org or telephone: 07585 969 716. Further details are also available at https://www.voiceability.org/jobs/volunteering

ASA is a local charity and was founded in 1996. We provide an independent advocacy service for people living in Aberdeen City. We help people to have a voice, to gain information to help them make choices and to help them feel better prepared and able to engage with social care, health care and housing and educational professionals. Our values are at the core of the work we do together with those we support. Advocacy Service Aberdeen believes in: Independence; A Non-Judgemental approach; Inclusion; Respect; Person Centred; Confidentiality; Team work; Empowerment. If you have some spare time to offer and feel you have the skills and qualities to support the work we do, we would like to hear from you. The work we do is carried out Monday to Friday between 9:00am-5:00pm. There are many ways you can support our organisation, this includes : – *Gathering feedback and Service Evaluations - Contacting people who use the service to ask them about their experience of using the service. This could be carried out in person, by phone or via a video call. *Supporting our Collective Advocacy Groups - this would include meeting patients at Royal Cornhill Hospital; People who live in supported or shared accommodation; Expert by experience group who share their personal views and experiences of using Aberdeen City Health & Social Care provision. *Administrative/Clerical - Helping us with admin and clerical tasks. Supporting case work / referrals in the following areas: Carers, Domestic Abuse, Mental Health, Autism, Learning Disabilities, Older Adults (65+), Older Adults Mental Health, Self-Directed Support or Problematic Substance Use. If your values are aligned with ours and you have the time to give to support a local charity in your community, we would love to hear from you. Currently we are particularly interested in people who would be looking to volunteer in the following roles: - Domestic Abuse Service Volunteer - Administrator Volunteer To find out more about our volunteering opportunities please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Joanne Grant at email: asa@advocacy.org.uk or telephone 01224 332366. Further details are also available at https://www.advocacy.org.uk/volunteer/