We have an exciting opportunity to join our wonderful volunteer team. We are looking for a Writing Group Volunteer to host fortnightly groups in person at the Crisis Centre building in Leith. The purpose of the group is to encourage people to express their feelings and emotions through writing. Your work may be, with consent, displayed within the Edinburgh Crisis Centre and any potential exhibitions in the local area

The Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland Growchapel project based in Drumchapel, is a Glasgow City Council initiative aimed at improving health and wellbeing through the benefits of creating and managing a wellbeing garden. Growchapel is a welcoming, inclusive site for the people of Drumchapel to enjoy, relax, and grow within. It is a place where everyone is included, where diversity and creativity are valued, encouraged, and always respected. It is a kind space, which supports wellbeing for us, our families, and the environment. Being a Wellbeing Garden Volunteer, you will support the delivery of the Growchapel project and work in partnership with the CHSS Health Defence team to manage the wellness garden. You will get to meet new people in your community and have the satisfaction of knowing you are making a valuable contribution to the awareness of CHSS.

A volunteer bookkeeper is currently being sought by GRACE. We run a number of fundraising events throughout the year as well as funding which comes from a variety of sources. A bookkeeper is required to keep track of the funds and ensure that restricted and unrestricted funds are allocated accordingly. Experience of SAGE would be essential

Being a Community Facilitator is all about delivering a variety of lifesaving first aid skills in community engagement workshops and projects, within local communities, and primary and secondary schools. A lot of these projects involve talking about and demonstrating the basics of first aid to community groups that can include children, young people, and vulnerable adults. An example of events you could be delivering a first aid talk and demo to, are primary and secondary schools, small university groups, local community groups, charities, summer fairs, shopping centres. Some of the skills you could be teaching include how to provide CPR and apply a defib, different bandages and how to use them, and basic information on various health conditions. Not only that but all the training needed, is provided by us at no cost to you! A fantastic opportunity to help. All volunteers make a real difference and are greatly appreciated. For more information please contact Naomi Sutton, Community Engagement Officer at email naomi.sutton@standrewsfirstaid.org.uk or telephone 0141 332 4031 Ext: 2274.

Do you have an interest in pastoral care, some free time and a lovely, gentle dog? Then volunteering for Pet and Companion (PEACE for short) could be for you and your furry friend! PEACE is a charity providing Canine Therapy along with Pastoral Care for people in need of support and companionship, particularly: the elderly; patients receiving end of life care; students during stressful periods; and vulnerable women. Pastoral Carers and their therapy dogs (PEACE Teams) visit people in need of support and companionship in various locations, including: Care Homes; University and College campuses; and community hubs. Ideally, PEACE Teams will volunteer for a couple of hours a week/fortnight in order to build relationships with the people they visit. The PEACE dog helps to provide a relaxing environment (the basis of canine therapy), while the Pastoral Carer offers both a listening ear and a means of support, happy to talk through any concerns or fears a person may have (pastoral care). The role of a PEACE Pastoral Carer is similar to that of a Chaplain. All Pastoral Carers are therefore Christians, and are comfortable praying and/or discussing their faith with the people they visit, if requested. All PEACE Pastoral Carers receive training in Mental Health First Aid, attentive listening and dementia awareness. Volunteers will also become members of the PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) scheme. For information about volunteering or any other enquiries about PEACE, please contact Sarah Jeffrey at email: sarah@petandcompanion.com Further information is also available at www.petandcompanion.com

As one of our trained Speak out Stay safe volunteers, you’ll help us protect a generation of children from abuse and neglect by visiting schools twice a month to give our age-appropriate Speak out Stay safe workshops. You’ll play a vital role, working alongside other volunteers to make sure children understand the different types of abuse and feel empowered to speak out if they’re worried. Last year we spoke to nearly 1.8 million children in almost 8,000 schools, but we’re not done yet! As a Speak Out Stay Safe volunteer you’ll get the opportunity to: • learn valuable new skills • be part of a friendly team of like-minded people • most importantly, make a huge difference to children within your local area. To volunteer please apply online at https://join-us.nspcc.org.uk/volunteers/vacancy/6609/description or contact Natasha Reilly, Schools Coordinator at email: natasha.reilly@NSPCC.org.uk or telephone 0141 465 3672 or 07710 144791.

We can all feel lonely and isolated at times and those feelings can be more intense and devastating if you are also facing financial hardship. Aberdeen North and South Foodbanks have come together, with funding from the Trussell Trust, to provide a financial resilience service where individuals who require a food parcel can receive money, debt, and energy advice. Aberdeen Citizen Advice Bureau will provide this advice. This service which will support those struggling with financial hardship will be supported by our Befriending Project. Volunteer befrienders will encourage those referred, to engage with the wider project. Our aim is to ensure that our trained and compassionate volunteers provide a lifeline to people, in the form of friendship and offer a helping hand to enable them to engage with the financial support on offer. If you would like to be a part of this holistic service, please apply to become a Volunteer Befriender. Activities include: • To befriend individuals who have used the food bank and who require financial/energy advice from Citizens Advice Bureau advisors and who would benefit from someone to accompany them to their appointment. • To participate in the TLC Volunteer befriender induction programme, and ad hoc training throughout the year as and when required. • To attend 3 monthly volunteer supervision sessions. • Commit to a regular 1hr 30min befriending session each week. • To establish and maintain appropriate boundaries within the befriending relationship. • To ensure that confidentiality is always upheld and be willing to report any concerns, including safeguarding issues to the project co-ordinator. • To work within a non-discriminatory framework. • TLC are looking for befrienders to ideally commit to the project for at least 12months. *(Note: Volunteer befrienders will not be asked or required to meet any personal care needs.) All help makes a real difference and is greatly appreciated. For further information please email us at volunteer@tlc.org.uk

Quiet Waters is a small local charity that provides counselling and bereavement support to those referred to our service, usually from GP surgeries, mental health teams, health professionals as well as volunteer groups, churches and self referrals. Our service is provided free of charge to those who need it most. We have two part time staff who work to support our teams of counselling and bereavement volunteers and ensure the smooth running of the service on a day to day basis. We are looking for someone to join our team to assist the Practice Manager with client appointments, diary management and correspondence for a few hours per week. Helping one person may not change the world but it could change the world for one person. If you would like to help make a difference and assist in the work of Quiet Waters please get in touch. The Practice Manager is looking for support in arranging initial appointments with clients. This will involve speaking with clients on the telephone, confirming appointments by email/post, updating the Practice Manager's diary and creating Zoom meetings for remote appointments or booking a room in the Google calendar for face-to-face appointments. Send standard emails/letters to clients. Greet clients at the door and direct to the waiting room/counselling room as appropriate. Shred confidential documentation Other duties may include: Data input, filing, stock stationery drawers in counselling rooms, general housekeeping duties (if soap needs replacing, paper towels, toilet roll etc,.) Apply online via: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=VpvJoeiOaUG1R1OykjiQsuPL0TNpEr9DjSfnp5an7nBUMVhIQjVaWDFVS1JEQ1QwR0pWSUtGUTIzWSQlQCNjPTEu

FAMS “Help Meet” Project Background To help ease the immense repercussions of COVID-19, FAMS plan to enhance and develop their existing helpline service into FAMS “Help Meet” service. We believe that connection and information will be keys to survival for many. Working with VANL & VASLAN we wish to multiply the numbers of volunteers available to operate this new service, by recruiting interim Listening Ear Volunteers, from their extensive FAMS and Partners will market our “Help Meet” service as an open/friendly/softer approach to connecting with others as well as support, rather than Helpline/hotline. It will benefit any person in distress or feeling vulnerable as a result of COVID-19 crisis, irrespective of age. Although it’s is widely reported that the negative effects of the pandemic could last for two years or more it’s likely that FAMS will be providing this service indefinitely . Aims To support people at their most vulnerable. People are undoubtedly suffering with COVID19 and Lockdown in a myriad of ways. To provide a pivotal role for some of the 1,000’s of people who volunteered their time and service, during the COVID19 crisis, providing them with the opportunity to connect with others needing support. Objectives 1. To provide regular chats and connection with members of FAMS community, also vitally all external communities. Callers can expect the non face-2-face human touch, offering a menu of services including; Lived Experience Peer Support, Befriending, Listening Ear relationship, Counsellors, Signposting. 2. To meet the demand not only for support with mental health and wellbeing issues 3. To help support callers around fear, family relationships, extreme loneliness, lack of connection to people, places and things etc. 4. To provide signposting to other helpful organisations.

The Sporting Aces reach out to people of all ages within the community who feel they may not be able to try different sports because of their disability. We help them to break down barriers to participation. The Sporting Aces welcome everyone to try a variety of sports. The club actively promotes activities for those who have a learning disability and any other additional support need. The club have been running successful sporting activities in the community for a number of years. Volunteers are required to support the children, young people and adults who attend the various activities at the weekends.