For people leaving hospital, adjusting to life at home can be a difficult time. Supporting someone to get their essential shopping or delivering a food parcel, pick up their prescription, popping in to have a chat and a cuppa with them, helping them manage their mail or going with them to appointments, finding local support groups or getting their heating turned on are amongst the things that our volunteers can do to make all the difference for the Service User to feel safe at home. The role can be very varied because we are trying to support the service user with what they need at that time, and everyone is different.

Volunteer Visitors help to reduce loneliness and enhance wellbeing for the tenants of Cowan Court extra-care housing development in Penicuik with a weekly visit to chat, share hobbies, or go for a walk together. Volunteers help to reduce loneliness and enhance wellbeing for the tenants of Cowan Court extra-care housing development in Penicuik. Volunteer visitors provide a friendly visit on a one-to-one basis. A visit could involve chatting, sharing a hobby or interest together or, where appropriate, taking a walk in the local area. With each visit they make, volunteers can expect to feel the immediate impact of donating their time as they help to enhance wellbeing for local people in Midlothian. Get in touch to find out about upcoming dates for volunteer training and start your journey today!

Volunteer Visitors help to reduce loneliness and enhance wellbeing for the tenants of Cowan Court extra-care housing development in Penicuik by leading activities and entertainment for small groups of residents. Volunteers will plan, set up, lead, and tidy up after activities for small groups of residents with the support of on-site staff. Activities could include carpet bowls, crafts, quizzes, board games, musical entertainment, gentle chair exercise and gardening. With each visit they make, volunteers can expect to feel the immediate impact of donating their time as they help to enhance wellbeing for local people in Midlothian. Get in touch to find out about upcoming dates for volunteer training and start your journey today!

Advocacy Service Aberdeen is a registered charity providing independent advocacy support to a wide range of people living in Aberdeen City. Independent advocacy is about helping people and groups have a stronger voice, addressing imbalances of power and ensuring people’s rights are recognised, respected and secured. We have advocacy services for: • People with a mental disorder, including a learning disability • Victims of domestic abuse • Carers • Older adults • Self-directed support • Children and Young people • Substance use We are looking for people to join our Board of trustees who are passionate about the rights and inclusion of people in decisions which matter to them. The Board is responsible for setting the strategy and policies of the charity and overseeing the running of the organisation. We are open to applicants from a diverse range of experiences and background and would also be interested in hearing from people who have the following experiences: • Finance/accounting • Fundraising • Experience of supporting/caring for people in the above service areas • Law • Human Resources Board meetings are held on Mondays every 6 weeks 5pm to 7pm, either remotely via Microsoft Teams or in-person. To find out more please contact us at tel: 01224 332314 / email: asa@advocacy.org.uk or visit https://www.advocacy.org.uk/ and https://www.advocacy.org.uk/our-board/

The Laurandy Day Care Centre in Wick are looking to recruit volunteers to help the elderly users of the centre. Volunteers can help socialise, chat and support staff serve Teas/coffee and lunch in the centre. This is an opportunity to get experience in the care sector and interact in a friendly social capacity. Volunteers are Not expected to undertake care sector roles, but support individuals by chatting, reading helping with bingo etc. The Day centre is open weekdays, could you offer an hour or two per week?

Loneliness affects tens of thousands of people across the RAF community. Whether it’s a veteran struggling to adapt to life after service, or a family member facing difficulties alone, loneliness can be devastating to people’s mental and physical health. The Connections For Life service offers friendship telephone calls to anyone in the RAF community who needs it, and matches caring, friendly volunteers, with those beneficiaries who are experiencing isolation. The RAF community is made up of both veterans and serving personnel, and their respective spouses, partners, widows or widowers. As a volunteer, you can offer a listening ear, help someone regain their confidence, share discussions around their interests and help them reconnect with the wider world. The Connections Volunteer role would involve contacting a beneficiary over the phone on a regular basis. A friendly, 30-minute chat that a volunteer can offer will make all the difference, providing a vital link for someone who is lonely and isolated. What will volunteers be doing? * Providing regular social interaction and support to members of the RAF community via telephone contact * Checking on a beneficiary’s welfare and alerting them to available support if needed * Relaying any concerns to their Connections Coordinator * Regularly submitting an activity log summarising their interactions so we can make sure everyone is receiving the help they need

The RAF Association is a member-led, welfare charity that exists to ensure that all members of the RAF community are supported, when they require it. The caseworker’s role is at the heart of this charity objective and volunteers undertaking this role will be helping us to deliver this support to the RAF community. The role is about supporting and listening to an individual and assessing their needs - this can include anything from helping them to complete a form, applying for funding for a wet-room or new white goods. Caseworkers may also need to gather complex information and ask questions regarding finances and health conditions. You would be required to provide clear and precise information on these topics. A RAF or forces background is not essential, and we welcome applications from all areas of the community.

Event Makers Co. are a group of four final year RGU students who are fundraising for Erskine Veterans Charity. We are putting on a large makers market and workshop event and require a few volunteers to help the day run more smoothly! It is a pop-up event that aims to raise as much money as possible for Erskine, and raise awareness of the charity and their Forres Activity Centre project, which will support the large number of Veterans across the North East. The North East has a large number of Veterans, and the new activity centre will provide life-changing, and likely life-saving, support for our Veterans. Their existing activity centre in the Erskine's Veterans Village (near Paisley) has proven this. Erskine have been supporting our Veterans since 1916, and support over 1,000 Veterans across Scotland every year. Roles include: - Refreshment stand - Fundraising stand - Car parking attendants / giving directions - General assistants (floating) - Possibly wearing the Erskine mascot costume! Similar events have attracted a few hundred people in the past. We're also happy to provide verification of volunteering hours if required for personal development, CV and so on. We are so grateful for any help in ensuring this event runs smoothly and helps us raise as much as we can for Erskine Veterans! We are fully backed by Erskine and RGU to host the event.

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.

Everyone has the right to live life to the full. After a diagnosis of a chest or heart condition, stroke, or Long Covid, many people experience fear and isolation, and struggle with the impact on their lives. The care and support we deliver every day ensures everyone can live the life they want to. Across Scotland, we provide vital advice, information, and support through our No Life Half Lived strategy. The walking project at CHSS aims to increase access to walking as part of the prevention of chest, heart or stroke conditions. As a walk leader you enable walks in your community. You will lead regular group health walks in the community alongside other Walk Leader Volunteers, these accessible walks are open to the public to attend and last no more than an hour. A fantastic opportunity to help and make a real difference for people and the community. All volunteers are greatly appreciated. For further information please contact Jacq Kent, Walking for Health Coordinator at email: jacqueline.kent@chss.org.uk or telephone: 07388378605.