Blackwood Homes and Care was founded in 1972 by Dr Margaret Blackwood MBE, a campaigner for the rights and independence of disabled people. We deliver our vision of helping people live their life to the full in the pioneering spirit of Dr Blackwood by providing high quality housing, care and support for disabled people of all ages, with over 1500 homes across all 29 mainland local authorities in Scotland. -What will I be doing as a Digital Buddy?: Can you help our customers feel less isolated by supporting them to use technology to connect with the wider world? We are looking for people who are confident with basic IT skills and have the patience to share your skills with people who are new and uncertain when using technology. You also need to enjoy making casual conversation and building familiar relationships. Customers are perhaps unsure how to connect to the internet, charge their device, video call a friend or do shopping online. Helping someone make a video call for the first time to family they’ve not seen due to the pandemic really makes a difference to their quality of life along with their mood and mental wellbeing. At Blackwood we believe that using technology can significantly improve the lives of our customers. We provide care (in care homes), care at home services and tenancies to people with different support needs. Our customers have been offered a tablet which is set up with our innovative system CleverCogs. The role out of this is delivered by our Digital Skills Coaches but people continue to need support with basic IT issues to gain skills and confidence. Some customers don’t like to ask for more help, so knowing there is a wider network of buddies that can provide digital support will be very beneficial. This is where your time will be invaluable! Due to COVID-19 this role will start remotely, providing help over the phone or a video call. As restrictions ease, you will be able to visit customers in their home. Hopefully getting to meet some of the people you’ve helped remotely. -What will you get from volunteering?: • Supporting your local community to join the digital age and providing them with the autonomy to run their own lives online • The opportunity to be involved in key unforgettable digital-learning moments, such as their first video call with a much-missed family member • By providing a friendly face and conversation, you are helping to eradicate social isolation for many • Satisfaction that you’ve made a difference to the lives of Blackwood Customers. • Be involved in our innovative initiatives • Build on trouble-shooting and problem-solving skills • Awareness and knowledge of differing accessibility and communication needs, and how to meet those needs • Evidence of IT, communication and disability accessibility knowledge and skills for your CV • Induction to Blackwood • Training on the likely issues that you’ll help with to ensure you’re confident undertaking your role. • Support throughout your volunteering. Staff will be available should you need assistance and we’ll have a regular catch up. -What do I do next?: Please get in touch with the Volunteering Development Co-ordinator, Zoe MacGregor to find out more. Contact Zoe at email: volunteering@blackwoodgroup.org.uk or tel.: 07976 573745. Or look at the website https://www.blackwoodgroup.org.uk/volunteer for more opportunities and complete the on-line expression of interest form. You will be contacted to arrange an informal discussion to find out more and talk about what you would like to do. You can also follow Blackwood Homes and Care on social media to hear about what’s going on.

Woodcraft Folk want to set up a new elfin group in Lochwinnoch for children aged 6 to 9 years. We are looking for local adults who would be interested in becoming leaders and helpers at the group. We will provide induction, support and training. Volunteer and join in the fun !

Absafe is a unique safety education charity dedicated to saving lives and reducing harm by instilling a positive safety culture in our communities and inspiring a passion for safety through education and engagement. No one else does what we do locally! Our vision is for a safer future; free from life-changing unintentional injury and harm, with protective communities inspired by a passion for safety, so that no one has to learn by accident. We are passionate about the power of educating in a participative and engaging environment, using fun to create lasting change in children’s lives and in the communities in which they live. We believe in the transformative impact that a positive safety culture can have on the health and prosperity of future generations. Absafe provides health, safety and well-being education and risk awareness. Protecting people and places from harm, helping communities thrive by building a strong positive safety culture, and giving individuals the confidence, skills and attitudes to create a safer future. We deliver a range of unique projects and interactive training programmes designed to inform, instruct and engage to reduce vulnerability to unintentional injury and harm, and support positive decision-making in relation to harmful behaviour. We are looking for a Volunteer Treasurer to join our Board of Trustees, so we are able to continue to deliver education to the children and young people of Aberdeen, we would like you to have an interest in Education, health, safety risk management, and also health and wellbeing. We are a small Charity and every member is important, joining Absafe means that you will be making a real difference to the children and young people of Aberdeen. For more information please contact Louise Richardson, CEO at email: Louise@absafe.org.uk or tel.: 07748654105.

MCR Pathways has been partnering with schools since 2007 so we know just how amazing the young people of Scotland are. However, sometimes due to situations out of their control, young people face challenges that make it more difficult for them to succeed. That’s why providing the simple support of a mentor is so important and has been proven to make a life-changing difference. This is where you can help... MCR recruits and trains volunteer mentors who are matched with a young person that shares similar interests, hobbies or career aspirations. Mentors meet with their young person at their school for just one hour per week and the difference this makes is transformational. The mentoring relationship is unique as young people establish a friendship with someone who’s there, just for them and is not a teacher, parent, guardian or counsellor. The impact on their life is huge. Recent ScotCen research shows 81.6% of mentored care-experienced pupils left school for college, university or a job, compared with 56.3% of those young people not being mentored. We are hoping to help even more young people in the area reach their potential and are looking for over 150 mentors from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire In Aberdeen St Machar Academy has been part of the programme since August 2018 and, in 2020 was joined by Northfield, Hazlehead, Dyce, Harlaw and Lochside Academies. Aberdeenshire schools participating in the programme are Banff, Fraserburgh, Inverurie, Peterhead and The Gordons Schools Huntly The only qualification you need to be a mentor is the desire to help. All young people are different and have different needs, so it’s important that our mentors come from all walks of life. Volunteer mentors are asked to commit just one hour a week for a minimum of one year and will be fully trained and PVG checked before being matched with a young person from an Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire school. The building of the relationship with a young person is facilitated by our fantastic MCR Pathways Coordinators who are based in each school and work with our young people on a daily basis. We’re asking you to #BeTheBridge between a young person’s talent and life possibilities. For only one hour per week, you can change a life. This year, why not do something to make a difference that lasts a lifetime. Register online at https://mcrpathways.org/become-a-mentor/ For any further details please contact us at email: aberdeen@mcrpathways.org (for volunteering in schools in Aberdeen City) or email: aberdeenshire@mcrpathways.org (for volunteering in schools in Aberdeenshire). Or telephone us on 07709249661.

*Looking for a fun and exciting way to inspire the next generation? Help local children get active? Boost your confidence? Develop important life skills? Enhance your CV?* Active Schools are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help support existing activities or develop new ones to enhance the opportunities available to children throughout the City. Whether it’s football, netball, tennis, yoga, dance or multisport, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Opportunities are available before school, during lunchtime, after-school or in the evening. There is a Club out there for everyone! Most volunteers attend activities within their local area on a weekly basis and commitment is from as little as one hour a week. Getting involved in an Active Schools Club will help get more children active and give them the opportunity to develop important life skills. Be it making friends, getting active, improving health and mental well-being or gaining self-esteem, the benefits of participating in sport is endless. Aged 12-25? Boost your CV and prospects by joining the Saltire Awards. Gain certificates based on your volunteering and earn extra Young Scot award points for fantastic prizes. Full support is provided to all volunteers. For more details please contact us at email ActiveSchools@sportaberdeen.co.uk

Volunteering with Action Tutoring is an easy and rewarding way to make a difference to the lives of young people. By volunteering and tutoring for just one hour a week, you will be able to directly support disadvantaged young people to build their confidence and help ensure they leave school with the grades needed to build a bright future, as well as developing your own skills. And now you can volunteer with us as an online tutor to support pupils to reach their potential. Online tutoring is a great option for anyone on a busy schedule or those continuing to keep their distance from groups of people. For our online programmes, tutors work remotely and support pupils in English or maths in a virtual classroom. For further details please contact Jack Chesterman Volunteer Marketing and Onboarding Manager at email: jack@actiontutoring.org.uk

We are looking for three board members to join our small, growing organisation. We are seeking enthusiastic, forward thinking people with the following experiences: *Someone who has served on the board of a successful Social Enterprise and has good attention to detail to help steer our new board. *Someone with a history of working in the early years sector with experience or knowledge of the Care Inspectorate and/or HMiE *Someone with a background in finance/ change management, who can support our current and future growth plans. Meetings will take place monthly during school term time. Timing of meetings will be dependent on the availability of the whole board.

We are looking for someone who can work with Twitter and Facebook to develop and implement a social media strategy for our organisation; communicating more widely about our organisation, our values and what we do.

Lead Scotland are looking for volunteers from across Moray to help disabled young people and adults and those who are experiencing multiple barriers to learning and employment. These roles offer a rewarding and worthwhile experience and we would like to hear from you if you have a few hours per week available to support our learners to improve their computer and digital skills, literacy and numeracy, and if possible, gain an Adult Achievement Award or the Community Action and Leadership Award. This volunteering can be done online or by phone or by email. Training is provided for our volunteering roles.

Mentoring Young Talent (MYT) is seeking new volunteer mentors… MYT works with young people between the age of 12-26yrs, supporting them 1-1 to gain confidence, explore their strengths, help make future plans to either increase their educational attainment or secure a destination like work, training or further education. Our younger project (12-16yrs) provides mentors to care experienced school attendees while our project for 16-26 year olds aims to support young people locally who may be unemployed, struggling to identify their next steps, need to strengthen their skills and gain from the interaction with a positive role model. Everyone is welcome to apply to be a mentor, it’s a great way to give back, support local young people and share your knowledge and experience. We provide training, support and fund some great activities to take part in alongside your matched young person. This volunteer opportunity is also a great career development opportunity, increasing your own employability skills as a result. During Covid 19 we have seen many young people’s future plans dashed, unemployment rise and increased insecurity for this age group. Mentoring provides a positive way to help this generation, If you can manage between 1-2 hours a week please get in touch. We are seeking volunteers of all ages and life experience and have young people waiting.