The Assistant Team Leader for Project Grow will be trained in volunteer management and horticulture. This is an excellent opportunity to boost your employability skills, meet new people and contribute to your community. Polbeth and West Calder Community Garden is an award winning community hub. The successful candidate will work alongside an experienced gardener at the community garden with the goal of growing flowers for hanging baskets and planters which will displayed around West Calder and Polbeth. Any specific interests will be encouraged where possible and there are opportunities to be involved in other projects based at the garden such as growing vegetables, education and our workshop. The successful candidate will receive first aid training. They will also learn about horticulture, tool maintenance, risk assessments, volunteer management, and leadership.

The Clackmannanshire Befriending Project recruit and train volunteers to befriend isolated, vulnerable and disadvantaged young people (aged 8-18) in the local area. Volunteers are matched one to one with a young person, meet them on a regular basis and participate in activities in the community. This could be after school, in the evening or at weekends, depending on volunteer availability. Befrienders are to be reliable, trusting and a positive role model. Activities are “timeout” for young people who often live in difficult circumstances. These young people often benefit from an adult befriender who they can talk to and trust, as well as providing them with a reason to get out of the house. The project helps young people with their social skills, self-esteem, school attendance/ performance, resilience, personal safety/ health and relationships. Young people are referred from local schools, social work or other partners. Befrienders are aged 18 years or over, have spare time on a regular basis and are committed to befriending for a minimum period of 12 months. If you are interested, contact us today for an informal chat.

Reading Friends is a pilot project now beiong launched in Moray in partnership with Re-engage and The Reading Agency. Delivered by volunteers and co-produced with participants, Reading Friends meet regularly to chat and share stories in groups or one-to-one sessions. Reading Friends aims to empower, engage and connect people who are vulnerable, isolated and at risk of loneliness. Reading Friends groups will meet in local libraries, care homes, or sheltered housing and will have monthly get togethers. The group will decide on a topic to talk about -- inspiration could be drawn from a movie, book, poem or a news article. Get the chat going and volunteer with Reading Friends!

Day Centre Assistants foster a friendly and supportive atmosphere within the group by: Welcoming and accompanying/escorting older people on the premises. Arranging and or facilitating appropriate activities during groups sessions. Offering support and assistance to enable all members to participate as full as they wish in the activities. Serving pre-prepared meals and teas and coffees. Washing and tidying up. Occasional escorting on community transport.

The Friends of Blairs Loch is a group of volunteers who are working to create a special place for recreation and education. Formed in 2017 they have been working to reopen the water at Loch of Blairs for trout fishing, extending the footpath network around the loch and refurbishing and redeveloping the Boat House and adjacent buildings as a field study facility for local schools and groups. Currently, we are renovating the boat shed at Blairs Loch. Volunteers are doing general outdoor labouring. No specific skill sets are a prerequisite but if someone has a particular skill that they can bring that would be great!

Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and gain new skills. Whatever skills you’d like to gain or use we would love to have you on board. Volunteering opportunities come in all shapes and sizes depending on what you want to get out of the experience. Whether you’d like to meet other people, use existing skills or gain new ones, we want to empower you with the right tools to make a difference. If you have a few spare hours every month or a day each week, we have a number of volunteer roles within the charity shop suitable for all abilities and interests.

About Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland Everyone has the right to live life to the full. After a diagnosis of a chest or heart condition or a stroke, many people experience fear and isolation and struggle with the impact on their lives. Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland won’t stand for that. The care and support we deliver every day ensures everyone can live the life they want to. About our Services Across Scotland, over 1 million people – that’s one in five of the population – are living with the effects of serious chest and heart conditions and stroke. By 2021 we will double the number of people we support so that more people can live life to the full. We will do this by providing vital advice, information, and support through our No Life Half Lived Support services across Scotland. These services include our Advice Line, Stroke Nurse Service, Rehabilitation Support Service, Health Information, Health Defence, Education and E-learning, Financial Advice & Support and our Peer Support Groups. About the Role Rehabilitation Support Volunteers support people who have had a stroke to develop autonomy and confidence in self-management, enabling them to fully engage with their community and activities of their choosing. The service follows a pathway from hospital to community and can be delivered in a one-to-one and/or a group setting. The service can be delivered to provide specified person-centred communication support for those with a communication difficulty and/or to support a specific physical or everyday task. How you can make an Impact As volunteer contribution is so important to CHSS, here are some of the ways that you can have an impact: • You can ensure there is No Life Half Lived for people living with chest, heart and stroke conditions but supporting them in our peer support groups. • You will be an ambassador for CHSS and raise the profile of the organisation. What’s in it for me? We want your volunteering experience to be as rewarding for you as it is for CHSS. Here are some examples of the benefits to you in this role: • Meet new people • Improve health and wellbeing • Learn and develop new skills • Use your existing skills • Help you gain experience if you’re looking for a route to employment or study • Help you fulfil requirements to achieve an award • Have fun!

Our shops help raise lots of money for children living in the UK and in 120 countries worldwide. It’s always lovely chatting to our customers about the fabulous items we sell and telling them about the fantastic work that Save the Children does. You’ll get the chance to meet new people and make friends plus you’ll be part of an amazing team of volunteers. There’s so much for you to get stuck in to when you’re volunteering in our shops. We get lots of donations and it's always exciting when one of our volunteers spots a real gem. You'll be taking in, sorting, steaming and pricing donations, rolling up your sleeves in the backroom as well as being on the shop floor. Serving customers with a smile is so important. You’ll be using the till (don't worry, we'll show you how) and handling money. And when people come in to donate items you'll also be completing the Gift Aid forms that let their donations help us even more. It’s really important that our window and shop displays look appealing so people keep visiting our shops. So you'll be wielding a duster and vacuum as well as your imagination to make the shop look its best. It would be ideal if you could volunteer one shift a week, which is about four hours but we're also happy to have more flexible times. No special skills are needed as we’ll show you what to do and we provide all the training you’ll need. But if you have any experience or particular interest tell us, it may come in useful. It’s really easy to get your volunteering started. If you're over 18 years old, just click on ‘Apply’ and get filling in your details!

STAND International is looking for volunteers aged 16 to 65 years who have experienced social or economic disadvantage, to travel overseas to volunteer in 2020. This could be participating in working at a camp for children and adults with disabilities. Many of these children and young adults come from difficult backgrounds, including children from families affected by HIV, alcoholism and drug abuse. Additionally, volunteers will be participating in renovating and building work may include digging foundations, mixing cement, building walls, constructing a roof, plastering or putting the finishing coat of paint on the completed building. The work is quite challenging as buildings are made and renovated using traditional methods and locally sourced materials. The construction materials & techniques are also simple to master and are ideal for sites with limited facilities. Everything is done by hand in impoverished communities to enable and improve their living and learning environment which allows volunteers to be immersed in the host community and work with the locals to ensure these projects get completed and match the needs of the people they're benefiting. Six trips are planned for 2020, 2 trips to Belarus and 4 to Romania. The age range of volunteers for Belarus is from 16- 28 years and Romania is from 16 to 65 years old allowing for a greater number of people to participate. ROMANIA trips - March, May, August and October 2020 BELARUS trips – July & September 2020 As well as short-term volunteer opportunities we have places available for mentors. Mentors provide support and assistance to volunteers while they take on the challenge of volunteering abroad as well as additional support for 3 months upon return to Scotland enabling volunteers to best utilise the experience gained. Mentor costs are covered although there is some expectation of securing some matched funding. There is an option for those who perhaps did not feel that they had the skills or experience to become mentors to join the team as a trainee mentor.

During the COVID19 pandemic, the role of the Community Volunteer will be based within your own community and may involve helping with food provision, driving, check-in and chat calls, online, admin. There are many activities you can get involved to help make a difference in your local community.