Family Wellbeing Befriending Volunteer - Edinburgh Would you like to support children, young people, and their families in Edinburgh? Children 1st works to keep children where they are safe, well and loved with their families and communities. This volunteering opportunity will be based within the Children 1st Edinburgh Family Wellbeing Service which supports children and young people across the city. The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is at the heart of what we do. Our work includes support for families who face a number of different barriers and challenges including: ethnically diverse backgrounds; money worries; children with additional support needs; children and parents affected by poor mental health, and families affected by domestic abuse. We take a strength-based approach to improve safety and wellbeing. Volunteering with the Edinburgh Family Wellbeing Service as a befriending volunteer will complement the support we provide to help reduce isolation and promote a sense of belonging by encouraging children and young people to engage with their wider community. What will I be doing We know that safe, supportive and trusting relationships are an essential part of building children’s confidence, resilience and wellbeing. As a befriending volunteer you will build a positive 1 to 1 relationship with the child or young person you are matched with. You will meet with them regularly and support them to take part in a range of activities within their community and to develop new interests and connections. What you do together will depend on the interests of the child and could include taking them to a local park, taking them to sports clubs, art and craft activities, attending events in the community, and much more. We aim to match volunteers and children based on shared interests wherever possible and we also take into account volunteers’ transport requirements. We will explore this with you at interview and during training and induction. Please see role description below for information about the role. Further Information We would love you to be part of the Children 1st team. We provide a comprehensive initial training course that will equip you with the skills and knowledge that you need. Our next training will run on the following dates: • Sun 5th Nov – 10.00am-4.30pm • Weds 8th Nov – 6.00pm-8.30pm • Weds 15th Nov - 6.00pm-8.30pm • Sun 19th Nov - 10.00am-4.30pm This training is being run in partnership with our East Lothian and Midlothian services and will take place at the Children 1st office at 83 Whitehouse Loan, Edinburgh, EH9 1AT. We cover reasonable travel expenses for those attending the training. We also provide all of our volunteers with ongoing support and are able to reimburse reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for travel and costs incurred as part of the volunteering role. We ask volunteers to commit to giving a few hours a week for at least a year. As the children we support attend school we are looking for volunteers with availability out with school hours and weekends. Interviews: We anticipate that interviews will take place from the w/b 12th September 2023. If you would like to find out more about the role or have any questions please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. Contact Rebecca Gracher – rebecca.gracher@children1st.org.uk

Would you like to help to support children, young people and families in Midlothian? Are you able to offer a few hours of your time each week? If so, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. This volunteering opportunity will be based with the Midlothian Family Wellbeing team, in Dalkeith. Our aim is to help children and families recover and move on from trauma and/or adversity that they have faced. Volunteering with the Midlothian team will complement the support families receive from the wider team to help build confidence and stronger family relationships, reduce isolation, build stability in their recovery and promote a sense of belonging with their wider community. We are particularly interested in hearing from people with their own lived experience of addiction and recovery orientated supports, whether that is as the person in addiction or experience of a loved one’s addiction. If you now have stability in relation to recovery and mental health and are interested in volunteering in this area, we would like to hear from you. However, we also welcome applications from those applicants who do not have lived experience but have a passion for doing the right thing for children and families. What will I be doing? Our volunteers build relationships with families in different ways including: • Family Wellbeing – this can include activities such as helping to establish and support family play and spending time with the family in the local community accessing activities and resources. • Befriending – developing a 1 to 1 supportive, reliable, social relationship with a child, young person or adult by arranging weekly opportunities to experience new activities and develop interests. • Parent Mentoring - helping to increase a parent or carer’s confidence and self-esteem. • Group Work – supporting the work of Children1st staff within group sessions with parents as well as whole family activities. During training and induction we will explore further what families need and the skills and qualities you could bring to one of these roles. What do I need to know? We provide a comprehensive introductory training course that will equip you with the skills and knowledge that you need. Our next training will run on the following dates: • Sun 5th Nov – 10.00am-4.30pm • Weds 8th Nov – 6.00pm-8.30pm • Weds 15th Nov - 6.00pm-8.30pm • Sun 19th Nov - 10.00am-4.30pm This training is being run in partnership with our East Lothian and Edinburgh services and will take place at the Children 1st office at 83 Whitehouse Loan, Edinburgh, EH9 1AT. We cover reasonable travel expenses for those attending the training. We also provide all of our volunteers with ongoing support and are able to reimburse reasonable out of pocket expenses. We ask volunteers to commit to giving a few hours a week for at least a year. Please follow link to website below for role description. Interviews: We anticipate that interviews will take place from the w/b 11th September

Police Scotland are looking for interested and motivated people to volunteer within the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers group (PSYV) in Moray. Do you have a small amount of time to spare? You would assist with the supervision of youth volunteers (between 13 and 17 Years old) to engage and help the local community by volunteering at organised events and at weekly sessions. Youth volunteers are encouraged to promote good citizenship, break down barriers and promote ways to make Scotland communities safer. Weekly sessions Tuesday's 1900-2130 hours at Moray College. Events happen at weekends, we are looking at a pool of volunteers to help out. PSYV try to commit to one event per month. You must be at least 18 years of age and must be able to dedicate a minimum of 3 hours a month for any volunteering events. Each adult volunteer will be required to join the protecting vulnerable groups scheme (PVG). This process will be managed by PSYV once you are accepted into the programme.

We are looking for qualified counsellors to take up a volunteering role with Hear Me. Hear Me provide counselling for men, women and children (aged 8 and above) who are survivors of sexual abuse. To help reach more people we are recruiting suitably qualified counsellors. Do you have…? · A postgraduate counselling diploma or equivalent · Minimum 450 hours (post-qualifying) 1-1 experience · Ability to commit 4 hours weekly for a year or more · Ability to travel throughout Angus If you do and would like to know more, leave your contact details using the 'I want to volunteer' button below and we'll be in touch. Watch our volunteer recruitment video on https://vimeo.com/678228300 and find out more about our organisation on our website.

We are looking for Leaders/Assistant Leaders for all of our scouting sections; Beavers (6 to 8yrs old), Cubs (8 to 10.5yrs old) and Scouts (10.5yrs to 14yrs old). Weekly or occasional help is always welcome.

2nd Thurso Scout group are looking for volunteers to help run and assist the Group. You can volunteer to go onto a rota to help existing volunteers if you cannot commit to weekly support. The Scouts help young people with discipline and personal development whilst having fun and social interaction.

ELPA aims to promote and enrich the culture of play in East Lothian by: • promoting children’s right to play (article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) • sharing the benefits and value of play for all children and young people living in our community • inspiring and supporting people who work with children. ELPA has a range of activities including Loose Parts Play in schools, our Play Rangers sessions in parks and open spaces, our inclusive PlayCan project. We work closely with partners including East Lothian Council and third sector groups. Trustees’ commitment to ELPA includes: active participation in Trustees’ Meetings usually every 6 weeks in the evenings; participation in ELPA events and activities; developing ELPA’s policies and plans; supporting staff to achieve ELPA aims; ooccasionally representing ELPA at events and in the media; contributing your skills, knowledge, creativity and sense of fun.

Volunteer with Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) and make a difference in your community! CHS is recruiting for volunteer Panel Members across the country to help support Scotland’s infants, children and young people. We are looking for enthusiastic people aged 18 and over who can show empathy, compassion and great listening skills. Panel Members are volunteers from local communities who take part in children's hearings. Their role is to listen and make legal decisions with and for infants, children and young people who have been referred to the Children’s Panel. Panel Members ensure that the young person is at the heart of every decision made – because every decision, no matter how big or small, has an impact on the life of the child or young person in the hearing. We offer a certificated training programme with a highly experienced team to support your development, who will help you along your journey in becoming a panel member. For more information please visit https://www.chscotland.gov.uk/volunteering-with-us/panel-members/ and https://www.chscotland.gov.uk/volunteering-with-us/panel-members/aberdeen-city/ We are also holding an information session in Aberdeen that you are welcome to attend to find out more on Thursday 5th October – 6PM – Town House, Broad Street, Aberdeen To book a place please e-mail Laura.Mearns@CHScotland.scot or Nicole.Chidester@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

What will I be doing?: Around 1in 3 Mums/Mums to be and 1 in 10 Dads/Dads to be are affected by mental health issues in the Perinatal period – during pregnancy and up until their baby’s first birthday. As a volunteer Perinatal befriender you would be matched with a Mum/ Mum to be, who you will help by spending regular time together on a 1:1 basis, building a trusting relationship and reducing social isolation. Befriender’s come from a range of backgrounds and anyone aged 18 and over – there is no upper age limit to become a befriender! Impact you can make: Feedback from families who have had befriending support tells us a Befriender can be life changing. A befriender can provide emotional support to help build positive relationships between parents and their baby and improve parents’ mental health. Accessing activities in the community, going for a walk, or talking over a cuppa are some of the ways in which a Befriender can make a real difference for parents and their babies. A Mum who used our service recently said “My befriender is like a wee rainbow coming in to make everything better” Benefits to you as a volunteer: As a volunteer you will receive high quality training including Perinatal Mental Health and Child Protection. You will also gain practical experience of helping families affected by Perinatal Mental Health issues with ongoing support from our staff team throughout your befriending journey. You will meet a range of new people and be filled with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that you have helped make an unforgettable, positive difference to parents, babies and families.

We are looking for committed volunteers who can provide a strong foundation to help strengthen their communities by helping Care Experienced children and young people engage in activities to build their skills and confidence and to be included, understood, respected and valued in their communities. The Participation Support Volunteer role will assist in providing and supporting activities for young people, providing supportive adults to ensure all children and young people can thrive and bring communities together. This role will involve interacting with young people primary aged 6-13 years through supporting and leading on a variety of activities eg, arts/crafts/sports/general youth work at our fortnightly sessions as well as at our National events that happen throughout the year. This role will help build community strengths for Care Experienced people and provide social networks to help build resilience and positive outcomes for children and young people. Who Cares? Scotland is a people organisation. We invest in our people, our relationships and in a positive working culture. It’s important to us that our volunteer team is included, involved and motivated to change society. Due the importance of building and maintaining relationships we are looking for someone who can have a long term commitment to supporting our group. We aim to recruit people with excellent qualities from a wide variety of backgrounds who share in our mission. We particularly welcome applications from individuals with care experience. What will I be doing? * Supporting staff to undertake and plan activities * Leading on activities * Supporting Care Experienced young people’s sense of belonging and connection * Building community ties, ensuring Care Experienced people are welcomed within communities * Helping children and young people to have fun * Building children and young people’s confidence and self esteem * Being a positive role model What skills can I bring to this role? * Experience of working with children (not essential) * A knowledge of issues affecting Care Experienced children and young people * Ability to work well with children and young people * Good communication and listening skills * Ability to encourage and motivate children and young people to participate in activities What qualities do I need? * To have a non-judgemental approach to people, have empathy * Be enthusiastic, flexible, and committed * Reliable and approachable * Friendly, helpful, and understanding * Reliability and a commitment to treat all information in a confidential manner * To have a good value base, be open minded and level-headed What will I gain from the role? * A sense of satisfaction in helping children and young people build their confidence and self-esteem to achieve their full potential * Practical experience of working with children and young people * Experience to get back into the workplace or education * Have fun! What support will I be given? * Volunteer induction and child protection training * Role specific training and additional training opportunities * Expenses – all out-of-pocket expenses will be reimbursed * Supervision and support from your volunteer co-ordinator