Befriender volunteers are required to meet with a beneficiary to help alleviate loneliness and isolation, listen to and engage with the beneficiary, promoting positive outlooks and raising self esteem. Regularly meet with a beneficiary, either in their home or at a mutually agreed location. Listen to and engage with the beneficiary, promoting positive outlooks and raised self-esteem. Research into local community groups and activities to find relevant interests for the beneficiary. Identify any additional areas of support and make referrals to the Area Welfare Manager if required. Keep a note of visits undertaken, with recommendations and actions.

MS support teams aim to empower people affected by MS through giving information about MS, emotional support and facilitating access to available services and support. As an MS Support Volunteer: Carers you will assist greatly in this work through helping with tasks such as: •be the main point of contact for carers and family members of people affected by MS •provide a listening ear for the concerns of carers and family members, working with other members of the branch support team •provide information about issues of importance to carers and family members •maintain a basic knowledge of local services and carer’s benefits and refer people appropriately; keep an up-to-date list of local services •support carers to secure services, or refer them on to others who can help •provide information about the Society’s services at national and local level •work closely with other members of the branch support team, to agree planned activities and report on progress. Full training and support is provided to all volunteers. This is a great opportunity to make a real difference in supporting people affected by MS, carers and family members. All volunteers are greatly appreciated. For further information please contact: Lynda Boyce Volunteer Development Manager MS Society Tel: 07889088016 or 0131 3354050 e-mail: lboyce@mssociety.org.uk

Carers of East Lothian (CoEL) supports adult carers - people who are looking after a family member or friend who is chronically ill, disabled or frail. We help carers to get information and services to help their individual caring role, enhance their own well-being and strengthen their collective voice to improve services. Our Board comprises people with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. We are always looking for people with a commitment to improving support to carers in East Lothian and who have the experience and qualities which could help us achieve our aims, we would be delighted to hear from you. We would particularly welcome people with additional finance, fundraising, negotiating and PR skills but this is not essential.

Looking for a volunteer to assist the Lead Gardener and to welcome people to enjoy the Forfar Open Garden.The volunteer would be involved in some administration tasks as well as leaflet drops and to help organise the office and meeting area.

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) in Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire works with NHS Forth Valley to develop volunteering in local hospitals. We are looking for older volunteers or those in/approaching retirement to carry out support roles in Stirling Community Hospital, Falkirk Community Hospital, Forth Valley Royal Hospital or Clackmannanshire Healthcare Centre - with the aim of making a visit to the hospital a better experience for patients and visitors. Volunteers provide support to patients and visitors in many different departments. There are w wide range of volunteer roles available and we will help to find one which suits you! Volunteers contribute to the well-being of patients and visitors by being a listening ear, and a helpful and friendly face welcoming people to the hospital. Our volunteers feel valued, make new friends and keep active in retirement.

Trustees provide advice and assistance to help this important service to help young carers grow and develop. The Board takes the final responsibility for the direction of the organisation and require a variety of skills and expertise to ensure the success of the organisation. Fife Young Carers is an active local charity working with young carers between the age of 8 and 25 across the Fife area. The Board would like to attract people who can offer their time and skills to join the Board as trustees. The role will provide advice and assistance in the important service of providing support to young carers. The Board are seeking individuals with a wide variety of skills and expertise to join them in delivering this service.

We’re a new charity set up to help with the rescue and rehoming of cats. Our main aim is to build our own centre to do this and our whole team are committed to the care and welfare of cats. We work with other small charities to achieve this and our shop is raising funds to allow us to do this whilst helping rehome cats. Our volunteers work in teams of two at all times in the shop. Serving the public, maintaining stock on shop floor, sorting donations handed into us at shop, keeping shop clean and neat at all times, We do an induction at the shop with every volunteer, find suitable buddy for them, show how to sort donations ie separate, store and trash. They, if needed, will also be taught to operate the till. Our morningshift is 10-1 and afternoon is 1-4. We also need volunteer with a driving licence as we sometimes area asked to collect/deliver things from and to customer. Costs would be reimbursed Able to work with other people, Pleasant, friendly and confident attitude would be advantageous for serving the public and being first point of contact with our charity. Due to handling money and serving public we would ask for the volunteers to be over 18. Due to size of premises at the moment we can’t take someone in a wheelchair. Hopefully in the future

It starts with ‘Hello’. From new mums to empty nesters, it's often surprising who is affected by loneliness. That's why we're teaming up with The Co-operative. Together we want to reach out and reconnect thousands of lonely people with their communities, and tackle a problem that is shortening lives and eroding wellbeing. The aim of the Community Connector is to support people affected by social isolation and loneliness and to help them gain confidence and to reconnect to their community in partnership with existing and new partner organisations. We will place the person at the centre of what we do and help them by offering positive encouragement, practical help and emotional support, for up to three months, depending on their needs. Full training and excellent support is provided to all volunteers. This is a great opportunity to make a real difference in the local community. All help is greatly appreciated. For more details please contact Ieva Nevulyte, Community Connector Co-ordinator at email inevulyte@redcross.org.uk / tel:: 07872 839864.

This is an exciting opportunity that can make a big difference to a wide range of people. The opportunity has a wide range of duties and are perfect for those looking to donate some of their time, brush up on some skills or gain experience for a future career. There is a wide range of duties which are shared amongst all volunteers, these can include the setup and tidying of the halls and the kitchen. However, the main duties are assisting in the activities and encouraging our friends to participate. Activities include arts and crafts, games, puzzles, baking, finances to disco nights, buffets and much, much more. During these activities, not only will you be helping manage the activities, but some of the friends we have using the services can require monitoring, refereeing and management to ensure that the service runs smoothly and that all attendees are able to enjoy themselves. In addition, the organisation regularly holds outings and trips away. Volunteers are invited to come along and support our friends on the trips.

Join us as a Help for Heroes Volunteer in Aberdeen You really can make a massive difference to the lives of our Heroes by ‘doing your bit’. Volunteering for Help for Heroes is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Whatever you do, your support is invaluable. Wherever you live, whatever your interests and no matter how much time you have to offer us, there are loads of ways to volunteer for Help for Heroes! Volunteering is fun, rewarding and inspiring. Learn more, speak to us today! For more details please: Email volunteer@helpforheroes.org.uk Call 01980 840224 or visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk/give-support/volunteer/how-can-i-help/