“The foodbank was there when we really needed it, it was an absolute lifeline.” We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis. We are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the country. This role involves supporting the food bank team in managing their food donations. Food donations are sorted, weighed and packed ready for distribution. • Ensure that all Trussell Trust warehousing procedures and processes are followed as per the foodbank operating manual • Receive food donations from members of the public and thank them • Ensure that incoming stock is checked, weighed, and recorded • Sort food by date and type, removing any items that are damaged or out-of-date and weighing these out separately • Keep warehouse area clean and tidy at all times, checking for evidence of pests and notifying the project manager if there are any concerns • Prepare stock orders for the foodbank centre and/or emergency food boxes, as appropriate • Assist in undertaking an annual stock take as detailed in the foodbank operating manual • Report any health & safety or safeguarding concerns to the project manager All volunteer help makes a real difference and is greatly appreciated. For more details please contact Jessica Mustoe, Foodbank Co-ordinator at email: info@aberdeennorth.foodbank.org.uk or tel.: 01224 518936.

Grandmentors is an award-winning, inter-generational mentoring programme, operating in various locations across the UK. We are currently looking for new Volunteer Mentors to join our programme in Perth and Kinross which launched in 2023. It is widely recognised that care-experienced young people are some of the most disadvantaged in society. Many are in care because they have experienced, or are at risk of, neglect and/or abuse. Security and stability are often missing from their lives. We recruit, train and support volunteer mentors (normally but not exclusively aged 50+) who draw on their wealth of professional and personal life experience and skills to support young people (aged 16-26) through life transitions on their pathway to independence. Grandmentors is all about empowering and positive relationships, aligning to “The Promise” that Scotland made to its care experienced population. Young people are listened to, heard, and responded to. They benefit from safe, consistent loving relationships, and access to meaningful support to boost mental & physical wellbeing, resilience, and confidence. Grandmentors facilitate conversations around keeping well, coping strategies, self-care, and self-management. Each young person alongside their Grandmentor co-produces a bespoke support plan and set goals based on their needs. They explore and review the young person’s challenges, and priorities. These range from enhancing mental & physical health and wellbeing, dealing with stress and conflict, support to access sustainable and appropriate housing, career, and education goals, budget planning and more.

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

Give the gift of your time and become a volunteer mentor for young people. It could be life changing for you both! Would you like to support a young person on their journey to gaining new skills and experience, becoming more self-confident and achieving their goals? If the answer is yes, we would love to hear from you. Why mentoring? Mentoring is at the heart of what we do here at ProjectScotland and we offer every young person we support, the opportunity to be matched with a volunteer mentor. We are searching for people in and around Aberdeen who are able to offer one hour of their time once a week or fortnight for up to 12 months to help transform the life of someone else. The young people we work with all face different challenges in their lives such as; mental ill health, long term unemployment, low confidence and self esteem, care experienced, limited English communication skills due to being new to this country or disabilities. As a volunteer mentor, you could support your mentee with whatever is important to them. This could be: goal setting; identifying interests and strengths; confidence building; helping to establish a routine; support to explore job, training and further education opportunities; social connections; or just someone consistent to talk to and check in with to see how they are. The support you can offer is invaluable and can be life changing. How does it work? • Following recruitment, we provide training, support to join the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme, ongoing support, access to lots of resources and a wonderful community of mentors across the country to connect with, learn from and build friendships with. • you are matched to one young person and meet with them once a week or fortnight for around one hour • meetings can be face to face or virtual using email/telephone/video chat/WhatsApp. There is also an opportunity to do a mixture of the two which offers a flexible and accessible approach to this volunteering role in addition to the match itself. •matches can last from 3-12 months depending upon the relationship and the needs of the mentee What’s in it for you? • Help transform your mentee’s life • Develop communication and interpersonal skills e.g. coaching, motivating others, adaptability • Gain transferable skills and experience volunteering with disadvantaged people • Participate in regular support and training • Meet new people, connect and have fun! • Learn about yourself and gain a sense of achievement supporting others • Learn more about your community and the challenges that people can face If you are interested in this opportunity please email: asia.wieloch@volunteeringmatters.org.uk We would love to hear from you! More info about ProjectScotland: ProjectScotland (part of the Volunteering Matters Family) works with people (predominantly young people) across the country who are struggling to overcome challenges such as social isolation, mental health issues, low confidence and general uncertainty about their futures. By providing wrap around support and the chance to complete a voluntary placement with a local charity; not only can this enhance confidence and self-belief, but it gives that individual the opportunity to build on their skills and experience and potentially move on to a job, further education or training. Everyone we work with is also offered a volunteer mentor.

Food and Fun was introduced by the Council as a pilot to deliver free meals and activities to children in key areas of Aberdeen during school holiday periods and has been rolled out on a permanent basis. Over Christmas, as an extension of the project, special events were hosted for young people to enjoy the festivities – from ice skating and crafts to a disco and visit to Santa. For everyone involved in Food and Fun there’s a busy period ahead. The main aim is to ensure children continue to be fed, recognising the importance of school meals during term time for a large number of families, and also to provide the opportunity to take part in physical activity in a nurturing environment. The initiative has been recognised with awards – but the reward and motivation for the many people who have put their heart and soul into developing the programme is in the positive impact there is on children, families and communities. When we talk about our purpose – about caring for our city and our people – we think Food and Fun is a shining example that we can all be incredibly proud of. Many participants obtain great life skills which has assisted them in securing other opportunities as well as the personal development and satisfaction that this also brings. All help makes a difference and is greatly appreciated. To volunteer / for more information please contact Martin Smith, Locality Inclusion Manager at E Mail: martinsmith@aberdeencity.gov.uk or Tel.: 01224 788538.

Do you have a passion for the power of technology? Our vision is to create... "A world in which digital services are equally accessible to all". As an AbilityNet Tech volunteer you can help unleash the power of technology to ensure that older people and disabled people are not excluded from the digital world. Overview All across the UK our 300 volunteers support older and/or disabled people at home to offer one-to-one support with their technology, whether that’s a computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet. Our volunteers: - Trouble shoot technical issues. - Offer impartial advice on technology. - Set up new tech and install hardware and software. - Show people how to use their tech at home e.g. shop online, send and receive emails and Skype with family and friends. - Make adaptations to support a disabled person’s specific technology needs. What will I be doing? - Contacting clients to arrange a date/time to support (home visits or supporting them remotely). - Carrying out tech support for the clients you have accepted. - Feeding back on progress via our online ticketing system. - Supporting your local Coordinator with promoting the volunteer service in the local area. - Getting together with other tech volunteers at team meetings and wider company events. - Undergoing training on technology, particularly adaptive technology. - Supporting other volunteers through our online chat facility What are the benefits to me? As an AbilityNet Tech Volunteer you can: - Change the lives of disabled and older people. - Benefit from technology and disability training. - Network with a nationwide team of other Tech volunteers. - Be flexible with your volunteering and plan it around your other work and home commitments. If you think you have what it takes to be an AbilityNet Tech volunteer apply online, https://abilitynet.org.uk/abilitynet-itcanhelp-volunteer-application. You will be contacted by a local Volunteer Coordinator to arrange an informal interview. If you would like more information, or to chat further about the volunteer role contact the AbilityNet Free Services team on 0800 048 7642, or email volunteers@abilitynet.org.uk.

You will be the first point of contact for clients within the Bureau, along with helping to ensure the smooth running and organisation of the Bureau is many different ways. Depending on what your are comfortable with you might be doing the following: -Welcoming clients -Answering telephone calls/emails and passing messages to the appropriate person or arranging appointments for clients -Updating databases and information systems -Filing and photocopying -Taking minutes at meetings -Ordering stationary and other supplies

Board members are responsible for the strategic management of each bureau, including oversight of planning, evaluation, staffing, managing finances and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance. Skills and experience are welcome, but training is provided. Interest in the community and bureau is most important.

Helping with raising funds for the Bureau. -Researching potential opportunities for raising funds for the Bureau -Developing fundraising strategies and plans -Working with Board Members/Treasurer and Management to meet fundraising objectives -Organising events to raise money for the Bureau -Drafting and delivering presentations to potential and existing funders