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volunteering opportunities
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Description
This is a unique opportunity for you to make a positive difference to the lives of victims and witnesses affected by crime. Crime can affect anyone in Scotland and every one of us can help. Victims of crime often feel a range of emotions in the aftermath of an offence. What sets us apart from other support organisations is that we are available to all victims of crime no matter what it is or when it happened.
We are looking for more people to join our incredible team of volunteers who provide information, guidance, emotional support and practical assistance to help anyone affected by crime, including victims, witnesses their families and friends. This may take place in person, online, and in court.
Organisation aims and objectives.
Victim Support Scotland is the leading charity dedicated to helping people affected by crime across Scotland. We support victims of crime, witnesses and their family members, regardless of who they are and their circumstances. Our service is independent, free, non-judgemental and confidential. We offer bespoke support, personalised to the needs of each individual.
Victim Support Scotland provides information, practical help, emotional support and guidance through the criminal justice system. We offer specialist services to support people who face specific crimes including murder, terrorism, rape and sexual assault, domestic violence and hate crime. We empower people to cope with the aftermath of a crime and find the strength to move forward with their lives.
We have dedicated volunteers, supported by paid staff, in our national and local offices across Scotland, as well as our teams in the Sheriff and High Courts, helping us to provide high quality support to those affected by crime. Victim Support Scotland represents the voice of people affected by crime. We influence key national policy decision-making to champion victim and witness rights and improve support services.
How would you help?
Our Support Volunteers provide emotional support, practical help, information and guidance through the criminal justice system. We aim to empower people who have been impacted by crime, to move on with their lives. This includes:-
• Discuss service users’ needs by telephone, webchat, appointments and face-to-face contact, agreeing next steps at the end of each contact.
• Help service users feel more confident by arranging and conducting court familiarisation visits.
• Support service users in the court room and other appropriate locations on the day of the trial, liaising with court officials on behalf of the service users.
• Feedback and agree follow-up actions with staff members.
• Provide administrative support in completing the service users journey.
What are the benefits to me ?
Volunteering with Victim Support Scotland can be challenging and also extremely rewarding. Each time you volunteer you make a positive difference to someone’s life.
As a volunteer you will:
• Support people when they most need it.
• Learn new skills and knowledge of the criminal justice sector
• Gain access to a range of specialist training courses that are relevant to your volunteering role.
• Positively contribute to your community as a member of a team actively working to reduce the impact of crime.
• A chance to give something back.
• Receive support in your volunteering role to deliver services effectively.
• All agreed expenses (e.g. travel) will be reimbursed.
Putting yourself forward to assist any organisation / group or association is to the benefit and promotion of their objectives and what they stand for within the communities they operate.
Police Scotland Special Constables contribute a competent and professional support backup to the organisation as a whole.
As a Special Constable you will have received training, be assessed and achieved a competent level of Police Legislation knowledge to work alongside your fellow Regular colleagues.
A small range and example of the duties you could be involved in are from Missing person enquiries, Working on wildlife crime investigations, Anti-disorder patrols to deal with hotspots, Driving Police vehicles / Crewing patrol vehicles to Major incident door to door enquiries.
Each Police Scotland Division have a Special Constable Coordinator to look after the deployment and development of their Special Constables. After initial training a Special Constable will deploy within their chosen area and develop their skill base with the assistance of their Coordinator and their respective Local Policing team.
Example of comments from current Special Constables:
-“I felt I could contribute to the community I live in and would have opportunities to meet and work with other people while doing a job I had always considered.”
-“Serving the community is an integral part of a Special Constables duties, working as part of the local team and often with other agencies to provide essential services to those who require assistance in their time of need”
-“Volunteering my time to my community has become something that I find extremely rewarding.”
-“I have received a tremendous amount of encouragement, nurturing and support from all my colleagues, from the front office staff to my fellow Special Constables, Constables, Sergeants, Inspector and Chief Inspector. This makes volunteering for duties an easy decision, who would not want to be part of such an amazing team! “
*Interested in Police Scotland Special Constables please contact your Local Special Constable Coordinator or Police Scotland Recruitment at email Policerecruitmentaberdeen@scotland.pnn.police.uk (for Aberdeen) or email: aberdeenshiremorayspecialconstablescoordinator@scotland.pnn.police.uk (for Aberdeenshire and Moray).
*Further information is also available at https://www.scotland.police.uk/recruitment/special-constables/
The 70/30 Campaign is aiming to reduce child abuse and neglect by 70% by 2030. As a 70/30 Ambassador you will be empowering your local community to protect our children by spreading awareness and gaining support to prevent child abuse and neglect from happening in the first place. You will gain new skills, and be part of a large network of volunteers and professionals, while making a real difference in your local community and across the UK.
The role is very flexible and depends on your skills and on the needs in your local area, but you can take part in a range of activities, such as: spreading awareness with people you know and on social media; fundraising; organising events; engaging with MPs, MSPs, AMs and councillors; engaging with local press; expanding your local 70/30 group.
Ambassadors will take part in a training session with a member of the team and are invited to join the bi-monthly national conference call with other ambassadors across the country. Ambassadors usually give 2 or more hours of their time a week, but get in touch if you are interested and don't have much time available as there is always some way you can help!
Please visit our website and complete the form to become an ambassador today at www.wavetrust.org/7030 or contact Alex Williamson at email: awilliamson@wavetrust.org.
Scotland is a nation of kind and compassionate people. When times get tough, we rally around, stepping up when needed and looking out for one another—it’s simply what we do. This spirit is ingrained in the core of Victim Support Scotland, where our team of volunteers embodies this ethos by offering guidance, emotional support, and practical assistance to anyone affected by crime, including victims, witnesses, and their families and friends.
Key activities include:
• providing practical and emotional support to people living in your local area when they need it most
• directly support people affected by crime in the community and court environment (face-to-face appointments, telephone support, in court support)
Volunteering with Victim Support Scotland is both a challenge and an immensely rewarding experience. Here’s what you can look forward to:
• Supporting people at a time of need: Make a difference in the lives of individuals during their most challenging times, empowering them to recover and move forward.
• Learning and Experience: Acquire new skills and gain experience within the criminal justice sector.
• Training Opportunities: Access a variety of training courses tailored to your volunteering role.
• Community Impact: Positively influence your community as a vital member of a team actively working to reduce the impact of crime.
• Collaboration: Work alongside like-minded individuals with a shared passion for social justice.
This is a unique opportunity for you to make a positive difference to the lives of victims and witnesses affected by crime. Crime can affect anyone in Scotland and every one of us can help. Victims of crime often feel a range of emotions in the aftermath of an offence. What sets us apart from other support organisations is that we are available to all victims of crime no matter what it is or when it happened.
We are looking for more people to join our incredible team of volunteers who provide information, guidance, emotional support and practical assistance to help anyone affected by crime, including victims, witnesses their families and friends. This may take place in person, online, and in court.
Victim Support Scotland is the leading charity dedicated to helping people affected by crime across Scotland. We support victims of crime, witnesses and their family members, regardless of who they are and their circumstances. Our service is independent, free, non-judgemental and confidential. We offer bespoke support, personalised to the needs of each individual.
Victim Support Scotland provides information, practical help, emotional support and guidance through the criminal justice system. We offer specialist services to support people who face specific crimes including murder, terrorism, rape and sexual assault, domestic violence and hate crime. We empower people to cope with the aftermath of a crime and find the strength to move forward with their lives.
We have dedicated volunteers, supported by paid staff, in our national and local offices across Scotland, as well as our teams in the Sheriff and High Courts, helping us to provide high quality support to those affected by crime. Victim Support Scotland represents the voice of people affected by crime. We influence key national policy decision-making to champion victim and witness rights and improve support services.
How would you help?
Our Support Volunteers provide emotional support, practical help, information and guidance through the criminal justice system. We aim to empower people who have been impacted by crime, to move on with their lives. This includes:-
• Discuss service users’ needs by telephone, webchat, appointments and face-to-face contact, agreeing next steps at the end of each contact.
• Help service users feel more confident by arranging and conducting court familiarisation visits.
• Support service users in the court room and other appropriate locations on the day of the trial, liaising with court officials on behalf of the service users.
• Feedback and agree follow-up actions with staff members.
• Provide administrative support in completing the service users journey.
What are the benefits to me ?
Volunteering with Victim Support Scotland can be challenging and also extremely rewarding. Each time you volunteer you make a positive difference to someone’s life.
As a volunteer you will:
• Support people when they most need it.
• Learn new skills and knowledge of the criminal justice sector
• Gain access to a range of specialist training courses that are relevant to your volunteering role.
• Positively contribute to your community as a member of a team actively working to reduce the impact of crime.
• A chance to give something back.
• Receive support in your volunteering role to deliver services effectively.
• All agreed expenses (e.g. travel) will be reimbursed.
For a full role description, visit: victimsupport.scot/volunteer
Why we want you
1 in 5 people in the UK say they are lonely. Volunteers like you help people to
gain confidence so that they can reconnect with their local community.
What you will be doing
Give companionship to people in their home or in the community.
Help people to build confidence and self-esteem.
Support people with everyday tasks such as shopping or doctor
appointments.
Help people to use local community services and social groups.
Keep records of tasks.
What's in it for you
Meet new people and be part of a dynamic and inclusive team.
A great opportunity to develop your existing skills and gain new ones.
All training and induction for the role (there is no charge for training).
Reasonable pre-agreed travel expenses for the role including for
attending training.
An opportunity to be part of the world’s largest humanitarian organisation
and the knowledge that you are making a difference to people’s lives
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Home-based volunteering, Board/trustee role
Scots Recovery from Childhood Abuse is a new charity which supports survivors of childhood abuse across the Forth Valley area. We provide dedicated therapy and group support to help adult survivors find healing and empowerment.
To help us deliver our services and grow, we're looking for someone who's familiar with the language and expectations of funding applications. We can identify potential grants and trusts, but your suggestions are welcome!
If you can help us translate the important work that we do into successful grant applications then we'd love to hear from you!
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Suitable for groups, One-off volunteering
Give the gift of an hour a week, by becoming a Mentor to a Young Person aged 14-25 in West Lothian.
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 West Lothian 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 aged 14-25.
The young people we work with all face different challenges in their lives such as poor school attendance, poor mental health, low confidence and self esteem, lack of employment opportunities, limited English skills or other life barriers and challenges. Some of the young people we support have been involved in negative behaviour.
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? We will ask you to take part in our safe recruitment process, such as completing a PVG check, before we offer you some training which will prepare you and set you up to be a great mentor! After that, we offer lots of ongoing support, access to guides and resources, plus the chance to join our wonderful network of volunteer mentors across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
You are "matched" to one young person and meet with them once a week or fortnight for around one hour . Matches can last anywhere from 3-12 months, or sometimes longer, 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 .
We are looking for mentors from diverse experiences and backgrounds. We aren't looking for specific qualifications, skills or experience- just a passion to support a young person and an hour to spare. Our current mentors are; stay at home parents/carers, students, retired, professionals, entrepreneurs and everything in between. We'd love to here from you, express your interest today!
-
Suitable for groups, One-off volunteering
Give the gift of an hour a week, by becoming a Mentor to a Young Person aged 14-25 in West Lothian.
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 West Lothian 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 aged 14-25.
The young people we work with all face different challenges in their lives such as poor school attendance, poor mental health, low confidence and self esteem, lack of employment opportunities, limited English skills or other life barriers and challenges. Some of the young people we support have been involved in negative behaviour.
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? We will ask you to take part in our safe recruitment process, such as completing a PVG check, before we offer you some training which will prepare you and set you up to be a great mentor! After that, we offer lots of ongoing support, access to guides and resources, plus the chance to join our wonderful network of volunteer mentors across Edinburgh and the Lothians.
You are "matched" to one young person and meet with them once a week or fortnight for around one hour . Matches can last anywhere from 3-12 months, or sometimes longer, 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 .
We are looking for mentors from diverse experiences and backgrounds. We aren't looking for specific qualifications, skills or experience- just a passion to support a young person and an hour to spare. Our current mentors are; stay at home parents/carers, students, retired, professionals, entrepreneurs and everything in between. We'd love to here from you, express your interest today!
At Cats Protection, we offer a free and confidential fostering service for cats whose families are fleeing domestic abuse so they can rest assured their cat will be taken care of until they can be safely reunited. Referrals are handled by a specialist and experienced team, who support owners referring to the service, arrange to collect cats, and organise foster placements through a wonderful network of dedicated Lifeline volunteers.
By fostering with Lifeline, you’ll be helping us to support someone in need of a temporary home for their cat. We’ll cover all costs so all you need to do is provide a loving home for your foster cat and send us lots of photos so we can give their owner updates. Fostering with our service is completely confidential, so you won’t actually know anything about the owner and they also won’t know your identity either. All communication goes through our dedicated Lifeline team to maintain anonymity.