Find opportunities

Somebody Cares is a local charity who furnish homes, provide clothing, baby equipment, toys and food parcels to those in need within our city and shire. Through referral from many local support services, charities, social workers and the local councils, clients are able to access our services completely free of charge. By demonstrating empathy and support, our aim is to provide a helping hand to those who are facing challenging times, by offering hope and providing then with essential and practicable items which they otherwise couldn’t afford to purchase. Our greatest wish is that after receiving our support our clients can gain confidence, flourish and begin to escape the poverty trap. We work with men, woman and children from many different backgrounds, and our services are accessed by many support services including Aberdeen City Council, Cornhill Hospital, Grampians Women’s Aid, Barnardo’s, Children’s 1st, Turning Point Scotland, Langstane Housing, Shmu, Children and Family Services, Social Bite, Drugs and Alcohol Awareness and many medical professionals. We fund our charitable work by selling some of our donated items at our very busy retail megastore at Hazeldene Road, Aberdeen. (Old Dobbie’s building). The Megastore has many gems and bargains and has a strong local clientele who visit the store on a regular basis. We are looking for volunteers to help us sort through many of the donated items ready for sale. We are flexible with hours and days and are looking for enthusiastic people with a heart for making a difference to join our friendly team. A fantastic opportunity to help. All volunteers make a real difference and are greatly appreciated. For further details please contact Alison Topley, Chief Operating Officer at email: volunteer@somebodycaresscotland.org or telephone: 01224 460700.

Did you know that around 1 in 5 Mums and birthing people will develop a mental illness in the ante/perinatal period? At LATNEM (AKA Let’s All Talk North East Mums) we have lived experience. We’ve been there and now provide a safe, free peer support group for mums and birthing people in the North East of Scotland. LATNEM is registered as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)-registration number: SC051029. We now have an exciting opportunity for the right person to help us start an Aberdeen group. Our groups are warm, welcoming spaces where Mums and birthing people can come together and support each other, guided and assisted by our trained volunteers. Volunteers tasks include: • Prepare room for peer support meetings, return room to original state after meeting • Manage stock of resources and refreshments for meetings • Provide members with refreshments • Facilitate peer support group • Building supportive and respectful relationships with members • Supporting others using the personal experience and confidence you have gained having overcome similar challenges • Talk openly and honestly about your experiences, demonstrating that poor maternal mental health is nothing to be ashamed of • Assisting people to identify their own recovery goals • Providing information and support to family and friends of members where required • Signposting members to professional services, other 3rd Sector support • Modelling personal responsibility, self-awareness, self-belief, self-advocacy and hopefulness • Processing personal members data in line with GDPR • Responding to enquiries about the group • Identifying material to share via Social Media Excellent support and relevant training is provided to all volunteers Including: • Initially meetings will be run with a trained LATNEM volunteer/founder as a mentor to the new volunteer. • Full Safeguarding training will be given by LATNEM safeguarding officer. • An accredited Mental Health First Aid qualification will be paid for by LATNEM (subject to a training fees agreement). • LATNEM provide insurance with access to an Employee Assistance counselling and legal advice line. All help is greatly appreciated and makes a real difference. For further information please contact Gill Skene, Chair and Peer Supporter at email: latnem@yahoo.com Further details are also available on our website at: https://latnem.org/

Befrienders build a trusting relationship and provide emotional support to a person who is experiencing homelessness or bad housing. Our service in Aberdeen supports those experiencing housing issues. We’re looking for a female volunteer to support a person who is engaged with our Time for Change project. You will provide support to build her confidence and empower her to share her experiences of homelessness, as well as providing practical support to engage more with her personal goals and to participate in Time for Change activity. This would ideally suit somebody who is empathetic, patient, confident and a good communicator. Main Tasks: -Provide 1-1 social and emotional support to a Peer with Lived Experience of homelessness or housing issues. -Support the peer in finding a permanent home, and becoming more engaged in his community through various activities like going to the gym and volunteering. -Support the Peer in tracking their personal activity and goals in the Aberdeen Time for Change Project -Refer Peer to Development Worker in order to access services or support that they are entitled to -Regularly communicate with the Development Worker about the Peer’s general feedback -Providing open, non-judgemental space to allow Peers to talk on their experiences, isolation they may be feeling, issues they may be facing and their general involvement with Time for Change -To support Time for Change in helping to inform the issues people are facing within the community. A fantastic opportunity to help with a well recognised charity and make a real difference for people and the community. All help is greatly appreciated. For more information please contact Anthea Reid, Volunteer Support Officer at Email: anthea_reid@shelter.org.uk or tel.: 03445152340 / 07880458572.

The successful volunteer would be matched with a New Scot or a family who require support to practise their English language learning in “real” situations. Buddies also support learning about Scottish culture and customs, and may help learners to find out how to access services. The volunteer would be contributing to the integration of the new arrivals into the society, reducing their isolation and enhancing their employability prospects, which is a hugely important and rewarding activity. They would be offered support and training by the ESOL Officer, so someone thinking of teaching English might be particularly interested in this opportunity.

Are you a woman who could give a day a week to help support an exciting new community café in Broughty Ferry? We are based in Castle Green playpark, by the Castle and beachfront and will be open this summer 2023 at weekends serving great food in a friendly environment. Braw Tea is a new women only Community Interest Company. We are looking for women Volunteer Community Cafe Assistants to join our team to prepare, cook and serve healthy and nutritious vegetarian food to the general public. We would love to hear from you if you are a woman aged 16 up to 99 who is interested in volunteering in this exciting new venture. We can offer you full training and a supportive, friendly place to volunteer. What will you do? Your volunteer tasks would include some of the following: • Food handling, preparation, and kitchen tasks • Barista training and practice • Cooking and serving hot and cold dishes, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages • Engaging, communicating with, and taking e-payment from customers • Waiting on tables • Clearing tables • Washing up, tidying, and cleaning the service areas • Achieving food hygiene and workplace health and safety certification What will you gain by volunteering for Braw Tea? • A sense of belonging to a team of like-minded women • The chance to meet new people • New friends • A sense of achievement and satisfaction • Accredited Training and experience to support future employment if this is of interest to you

Breastfeeding Peer Support Volunteers provide competent, friendly, proactive support in their local communities and / or in the postnatal wards at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and Dr Grays. Our confidential service provides evidence based information and support from mothers who have personal experience of breastfeeding and / or expressing for their child(ren) to mothers, parents and other service users to support them to meet their personal feeding goals.

Friendly Compassionate volunteers to help support a Womans Group in Thurso For people struggling with isolation. volunteers can help with activities, crafts and a listening ear. commitment 4-6 hours per month , Training provided and this opportunity subject to an enhanced PVG check.

“Would you like to reap the benefits of carrying out the role of a Volunteer Telephone Befriender? We are looking for people who can regularly telephone a vulnerable person, experiencing loneliness and social isolation, living within the Angus community. Telephone Befriender Volunteers are required to ring a person to check on them and overtime build a friendship. We are looking for people: • Aged 18 and over • Live in Angus • Good listening skills • Patience, Empathy and Understanding • Ability to keep records of calls made • Flexible, reliable and punctual • Clear sense of personal boundaries and confidentiality • Able to provide non-judgemental support • Engage with training and development Your important impact: One 30 minute call to a person, who is feeling lonely and isolated, seems really simple, but having someone to talk to and someone to listen, could really make such a positive difference to a person. It may be that you are the only person they speak to, that day, or even that week. By enrolling to become a Volunteer Telephone Befriender, you are playing a vital role in reducing social isolation and loneliness, within the Angus community. If you are interested in becoming a telephone befriender, please get in touch.

At the heart of guiding are the unit meetings that girls go along to regularly. Volunteering at unit meetings means getting stuck in, meeting new people and running activities that help girls know they can do anything. You’ll volunteer directly with young people and can choose to work with girls of different age groups between 4 and 18 years in Rainbows, Brownies, Guides or Rangers. Unit meetings are usually once a week for around an hour plus prep time. As unit leader, you'll run the unit, lead a team of volunteers, and plan and deliver a programme of awesome activities. If you'd like to become a leader, you'll be supported to complete our leader development programme. You'll have training on everything from planning activities to child safety. Want to more about what Girlguiding involves? All girls follow our programme. In unit meetings, they do fun activities, play games and earn skills builder badges, all while being supported by our trained volunteers. Rainbows welcomes all girls from 4 to 7 years old for play, learning and tons of fun in a colourful, safe space. Rainbows laugh, sing and make a happy mess (and help clear it up!) as they choose their way through our programme of activities. Rainbows have plenty of magic moments: they might become a time traveller, an animal tracker, a pop singer, a stargazer. It’s a wonderful world of adventure, week after week, just for them. Brownies welcomes all girls from 7 to 10 years old for nonstop fun, learning and adventure. It’s full of firsts: she might grow her first plant, cook her first cake, put up (and take down) her first tent, light her first fire, go on her first fun-packed weekend away with guiding friends. With a helpful hand from our encouraging volunteers, she’ll explore her creative side, get out into the great outdoors, and start learning to look after herself, others and the world we live in. There’s something for every girl at Brownies, and plenty of moments she’ll never forget. Guides is a relaxed, welcoming space where you can have fun, learn and be yourself with good friends from 10 to 14 years old. A place where you can explore the things you love and do stuff you’ve never done before. Where else can you think up a new sport, make a new perfume, cook over a campfire, design an advertising campaign, have a mocktail party, raise money for a charity you believe in? At Guides, you can do all of this and loads more. Rangers is your space – where you get together with other girls from 14 to 18 to have fun, learn more, give back, hang out, and just be you. It’s regular meetings with your local group, trips at home and abroad, making a difference to the things you care about. It’s an open and relaxed space to talk with good friends – it’s qualifications, and badges and awards. It’s the freedom to be more independent, and to do what makes you happy. Rangers is what you make of it. FInd our more about volunteering with Girlguiding by registering your interest today!

At the heart of guiding are the unit meetings that girls go along to regularly. Volunteering at unit meetings means getting stuck in, meeting new people and running activities that help girls know they can do anything. You’ll volunteer directly with young people and can choose to work with girls of different age groups between 4 and 18 years in Rainbows, Brownies, Guides or Rangers. Unit meetings are usually once a week for around an hour plus prep time. Lots of new volunteers start out as a helper at regular unit meetings. You’ll work alongside other volunteers to give girls fun, friendship, challenge and adventure. There's no responsibility for planning in this role but you'll be the extra pair of hands needed to make unit meetings happen. Register your interest to find out about unit helper roles near you