Every family needs something different, but they all love someone to talk to who isn’t going to judge or criticise them. The children are under 5 so they just want to play, sing, hear stories and run about outside. By turning up once a week for 2 hours you can help to de-stress a family and help them to enjoy their kids, because you are there to take a little of the pressure off. By regular visiting you will help families connect with their communities, feel more confident and be more resilient.

This is an opportunity to help and support women at a very important time following the birth of their baby. For many new mothers this can be an overwhelming time and women have said that having someone to listen and help, spend time and talk through how to breastfeed would have made a huge difference to them. An initial period of training on breastfeeding management, communication skills, listening skills and expectations of the role in a hospital ward environment will be provided. Following completion of training you will provide additional support to women in the postnatal wards at Ninewells Hospital on a rotational basis. This will ensure consolidation of training and build your confidence on how to provide support with breastfeeding. Regular meetings will be arranged to ensure all volunteers have the necessary ongoing support, updates and help to manage this volunteering opportunity.

You will build relationships with local funeral directors, and you will be responsible for the collecting and banking of donations, keeping accurate records of income and writing letters of acknowledgement. You should be caring, responsible snd mindful of other people's feelings.

Once approved volunteers can look after a child who has been referred to us and invest time with them by taking them out for a few hours to do fun activities. If they have a spare room they may be able to host them overnight. Others meet up with parents or carers and go to the shops, go out for a walk or help with paperwork but above all else take time to be a listen and support. Resource Friends may do some painting, joinery, gardening or anything practical that helps out.

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.

Kincorth Community Centre Association has opportunities for people to volunteer as Coffee-Bar Assistants. General duties would include serving tea, coffee & snacks to a variety of groups and the public, from a busy community café facility which is attached to the local Library and Health Centre. Duties will also include cleaning of the kitchen and coffee-bar areas. We hope to develop our coffee-bar to serve hot meals and deliver a lunch club for the locals from the beginning of 2015. Full training will be given, a food hygiene certificate would be beneficial but not necessary as training will be available. The coffee-bar volunteering times could be any time between 10am and 3:30pm weekdays, and between 10am and 5pm (2 hour slots) at the weekend which is dependent on birthday party bookings. A great and enjoyable opportunity to assist in the community. For further details please contact: Lynne Brown (Centre Manager and Chairperson) Tel No: 01224 872851 / E Mail: new.kincorthcc@btinternet.com

Would you like to Volunteer for Home-Start Deveron? Home-Start Deveron is part of a national network that offers friendly, informal support to families with at least one child under the age of five years. The daily stresses of bringing up a family can often become overwhelming and as a result parents find themselves unable to cope. Home-Start Deveron can help to alleviate some of the challenges that families face, through regular support from volunteers, who themselves have parenting experience. As a Volunteer what would I do? Volunteers visit families, in their own homes, for two to three hours per week. How you help is really down to the family itself, some might need someone to talk to, others might need more practical support with meal planning, cooking, reading to their children or finding out about local services. Volunteers can also help to run groups such as Stay and Play sessions and cookery classes for parents. Can my support and friendship really make a difference? The early years before children go off to school are vital and at Home-Start Deveron we believe parents have the key role in creating a secure childhood for their children. It's just that sometimes they need a bit of your help. This offer of regular, flexible support can go a long way to helping families to get back on their feet. Parents grow in confidence, strengthen bonds with their children and regain a sense of the value of themselves as parents.

We need volunteers with practical DIY skills, including joinery, to help us restore, repair, clean and help maintain old bikes. If you think can turn your hand to these sorts of tasks then we can put your skills to good use. Killie Can Cycle provides low cost bikes for disadvantaged children & individuals by restoring old and broken bikes to full working order. Once repaired and made roadworthy, the bikes are sold on with prices ranging between £5 and £30! We also offer bike repairs and training on how to cycle safely. In addition, we provide refurbished bikes to various communities in developing countries enabling children to cycle to school. Volunteers can gain work experience to add to their CV as part of a motivated and committed team. The objective of the team is to take the charity forward and help to progress its development and growth. Volunteers may also be able to obtain references for future job applications.

Aberdeen in Recovery (AiR) was granted Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) charitable status in March this year. We are now looking to find talented, passionate and skilled people to fill some vacant seats on our Board of Trustees to help us grow and develop our innovative and solution focused new charity. This is a unique opportunity to help lay the foundations to ensure AiR has a long-term future as a charity with solid processes in place to ensure it meets its mission of: “To be a bridge from ‘dependence’ to ‘independence’ for the individual seeking to recover from problematic substance use and addictive behaviours”. This is such an exciting and invigorating prospect for individuals to get involved and be participant in the tsunami of change which is now gaining momentum and being driven by “Experts by Experience” and the vibrant Lived Experienced Communities which are blossoming, not only locally but are now established as a national phenomena. Since its conception, AiR and its members have worked tirelessly to establish and build collaborative relationships with professional services and third sector support agencies. We have consistently driven the message that individuals who have personal lived/living experience of active substance use, including Family members who have been affected by the addictive behaviours of a loved one, and the Recovery Communities they represent have something valid, essential and extremely beneficial to bring to described Recovery Orientated Systems of Care (ROSC). We can provide existing services and clinical structural systems with resources, skills and capabilities that they, no matter how much effort, time and money they invest, will never be able to offer or provide. So, it gives the greatest of pleasure to see this is now recognised on the highest levels that “Recoverists” can productively contribute to the design, development and delivery of truly person-centred ROSC. This being evidenced by the vision, philosophy and content of the Scottish Governments “Rights, Respect and Recovery” Drug and Alcohol Strategy. We also believe it is reaffirmed by the recent success in being granted funding from the Government’s National Development Fund, with our principle partner Alcohol and Drugs Action (ADA), for our ‘Recovery Peer Pathway’ joint two-year project. This collaborative venture will build on three years of pilot work to further establish and build proactive and productive Developmental Pathways within ADA and their Volunteer network while in synergy with AiR membership for individuals who desire to initiate change in their behaviours and outlook as they progress on their recovery journeys within, and imperatively out-with, statutory and formal support services. We believe that the blue sky thinking behind this project categorically and emphatically fits with the expectations, outcomes and concepts of the above Government policy. So, if you have lived experience, or a stakeholder interest, and a passion for recovery and are willing to give of yourself that another may learn, you will not find a better opportunity to indulge your appetite than from within Aberdeen in Recovery. For more information please contact Dermot Craig, Recovery Community Development Manager at E Mail: dermot@aberdeeninrecovery.org or tel.: 01224 638342 / Mobile: 07751 213108.

Befriending people who are new to the area to introduce them to groups, clubs etc and accompany them until they feel confident and comfortable to attend alone,