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We are looking for people who are passionate about ending child hunger and ensuring that every child receives a daily meal in a place of education. As a Community Volunteer you can contribute as an individual or become part of one of our local groups of passionate volunteers, helping to grow our movement by motivating and inspiring people in your local community to support our work. You can raise awareness of our work within your community in a number of ways, including: •Helping us to share our story - give Mary’s Meals talks to local community organisations, schools, churches and faith groups to raise vital awareness and funds •Host fundraising events in your local area such as coffee mornings, quizzes, and bucket collections •Promote Mary’s Meals fundraising campaigns •Distribute and display promotional materials and place collection tins in your local community •Host community engagement events such as film screenings to share our message •Help us to generate corporate support in your local area •Support with local media opportunities •Come together as a group with other local volunteers to support each other with this work All of our volunteer activities are tailored to suit your different skills and time constraints.

Each week our volunteer team prepare, read and record articles from The Orcadian for those who are not able to read the newspaper. We are looking for volunteer recorders to help us produce a weekly CD every week. Reading and recording is done on Thursdays and the CD is copied and dispatched on Fridays. You can choose which roles suits you best and you would expect to do about 3-4 hours each month.

Support North Lanarkshire residents in building skills & confidence. Support a tutor within an Adult Learning group. Groups offer a wide range of activities & qualifications: Literacy, Numeracy, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), Confidence Building, Health Walks , IT skills and many more opportunities. Enjoy meeting new people, share your skills and build your experience.

Coffee Club – This group is aimed at autistic adults aged 26+ it meets online once a month, and we hope to be able hold some face to face meetings soon. We do different activities each month and this may be having a quiz or chatting about a specific topic we would ideally like volunteers aged 26+ for this group What you will be doing At virtual groups, the sessions take place on Microsoft Teams - Monitoring the chat box and responding to questions/queries posted there - Reading aloud comments members have posted in the chat box (as required) - Keeping the conversation to the topic being discussed - Supporting the group leaders in running the group smoothly - Helping to organise and plan activities for the group e.g quizzes etc We can let you know more about the different groups and discuss which group you could volunteer with when we have an informal chat with you when you have received your application form. The skills you need: - Understanding of autism (we provide training) - Empathy and understanding - Open-minded and willing to learn - Good communication and Interpersonal skills - An ability to volunteer in a group setting, using initiative and common sense - Reliable, consistent, dependable and trustworthy - A broad range of interests would be an advantage but not essential You will need access to a computer/tablet, a good internet connection and a quiet space away from others in the household All volunteers will need to provide 2 reference and the roles require a PVG check What's in it for you - Improve support to autistic individuals in your local area - Access free training and learn new skills - Meet new people - A great opportunity to add to your CV

NAS Café – this group is for autistic young people age 16 to 24 it meets online once a month and we aim to gain the views of our members and if face to face meetings are important to them then make these events happen whilst being user led. What you will be doing At virtual groups, the sessions take place on Microsoft Teams - Monitoring the chat box and responding to questions/queries posted there - Reading aloud comments members have posted in the chat box (as required) - Keeping the conversation to the topic being discussed - Supporting the group leaders in running the group smoothly - Helping to organise and plan activities for the group e.g quizzes etc At Face to Face Meetings, attending the social group - Supporting individuals to build their self-coping strategies and promote their self-management - Giving all members of the group the opportunity to talk and interact if they wish to - Help support self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth of people at the group - Building up positive relationships with people at the groups and other volunteers Keeping in touch with the group leader and notifying if you are unable to attend We can let you know more about the different groups and discuss which group you could volunteer with when we have an informal chat with you when you have received your application form. The skills you need: - Understanding of autism (we provide training) - Empathy and understanding - Open-minded and willing to learn - Good communication and Interpersonal skills - An ability to volunteer in a group setting, using initiative and common sense - Reliable, consistent, dependable and trustworthy - A broad range of interests would be an advantage but not essential You will need access to a computer/tablet, a good internet connection and a quiet space away from others in the household All volunteers will need to provide 2 reference and the roles require a PVG check What's in it for you - Improve support to autistic individuals in your local area - Access free training and learn new skills - Meet new people - A great opportunity to add to your CV

Social Navigation Programme – this group meets for up to 2 hours every week with a rolling 15-week programme. Social Navigation is designed to support autistic young people aged 12-18 years it runs for 15 sessions with fun activity pack's sent out every week to support with social navigation. This programme is designed to support autistic young people to navigate the social world while building existing skills. Social navigation provides you with the opportunity to become more confident, make new connections, grow their skills and have fun! What you will be doing At virtual groups, the sessions take place on Microsoft Teams - Monitoring the chat box and responding to questions/queries posted there - Reading aloud comments members have posted in the chat box (as required) - Keeping the conversation to the topic being discussed - Supporting the group leaders in running the group smoothly - Helping to organise and plan activities for the group e.g quizzes etc At Face to Face Meetings, attending the social group - Supporting individuals to build their self-coping strategies and promote their self-management - Giving all members of the group the opportunity to talk and interact if they wish to - Help support self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth of people at the group - Building up positive relationships with people at the groups and other volunteers Keeping in touch with the group leader and notifying if you are unable to attend We can let you know more about the different groups and discuss which group you could volunteer with when we have an informal chat with you when you have received your application form. The skills you need: - Understanding of autism (we provide training) - Empathy and understanding - Open-minded and willing to learn - Good communication and Interpersonal skills - An ability to volunteer in a group setting, using initiative and common sense - Reliable, consistent, dependable and trustworthy - A broad range of interests would be an advantage but not essential You will need access to a computer/tablet, a good internet connection and a quiet space away from others in the household All volunteers will need to provide 2 reference and the roles require a PVG check What's in it for you - Improve support to autistic individuals in your local area - Access free training and learn new skills - Meet new people - A great opportunity to add to your CV

About Bookmark: Bookmark is a tech-led literacy charity supporting disadvantaged primary school children to give them a fairer chance in life. Currently one in four children leave primary school unable to read well. These children are more likely to experience poverty, face unemployment and have a lower life expectancy. At Bookmark we want every child to read, we make this happen this through our flexible, volunteer-led programme and making sure children have access to high quality reading materials as well as dedicated spaces to read in their schools. Bookmark is a registered charity in England and Wales, but you can volunteer online from anywhere in the UK. For the children who need us, we are changing their story. About the role: You’ll help a 5-10 year-old learn to read, developing their skills and confidence. You will read together, play games, and see your reader progress, all through our secure online platform. Our programme involves 30-minute sessions with the same child, twice a week, for six weeks at a time. You book your programme through our Volunteer Hub and select sessions at times that work with your schedule. “It was such a wonderful experience. I was very happy knowing that I was helping someone. The child really improved a lot during the 6 weeks. It was really rewarding for me to see the improvement.” — Joe, Bookmark volunteer If you are interested in volunteering, please find out more and apply on our website here! https://www.bookmarkreading.org/volunteer Why volunteer with Bookmark? Government data shows that the attainment gap is the largest it has been in 10 years. Redundancies, driven by tightening school budgets due to inflation and rising bills will mean that less children will receive one-to-one support. As a Bookmark volunteer, you’ll be helping to support one of hundreds of children waiting for one-to-one reading support right now. You’ll do this by: - Helping children who struggle with their reading to gain essential skills at a crucial age. This will prepare them to move up the school, ready to tackle new challenges without falling further behind. Three quarters of our volunteers noticed their reader become more confident with their reading. - Making learning to read fun by bringing your own personality into the sessions and getting to know your reader’s interests. It’s amazing when you introduce a book, comic or poem for the first time that they love! 90% of teachers said that pupils enjoy reading more after our programme. - Giving a child one-to-one attention and being a role model. Teachers have told us that children really benefit from this dedicated time and found it boosted their self-esteem and confidence as well as their reading. You can read more about this in our Impact Report. Helping a child with their reading is also really fun and rewarding. Over 60% of our volunteers said their own wellbeing had improved because of volunteering with Bookmark.

As a volunteer you: play a vital role in our research, since many of our studies rely on collecting data from human participants. Can take part in research studies online and in-person at our research facilities. Choose which studies you want to get involved in. Can withdraw from the research at any time. We email our volunteers with information about our current studies and they decide if they wish to take part.

Put your skills to use, learn new ones and play an active role in your community. Volunteering is easier than you think. with full support and training, you can volunteer on a flexible basis. Give young people the skills they need to succeed in life and discover how being part of the Scouting family can be as rewarding for you as it is for them. What do volunteers do? Week by week, our volunteers empower thousands of young people to learn new skills, make new friends and stand on their own two feet. They’re our everyday heroes. They shape young people’s lives for the better, and find out a whole lot about themselves in the process, too. That’s where you come in. You don’t need to be Bear Grylls to join us. You don’t need to have been a Beaver or Scout when you were younger. You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent. Our door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds, and we’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand. We’re talking about tea makers, tidy-uppers and skill sharers. We’re talking about minibus drivers and first aiders. We’re talking about students who want to boost their CV, and parents who volunteer so they can spend more time together as a family. Whatever your skillset, lend a hand for as little or as much time as you can spare, and we promise you’ll get more out than you put in. We provide the training. All of our adult volunteers receive full induction and ongoing training and support. Our training has been recognised with a National Training Award by UK Skills and over 90% of our volunteers believe that the skills and experiences they have gained have been of relevance to their working or personal lives. You show up, get stuck in, and make memories for life. As long as you're over 18, you can help out as a Beaver leader. There is no upper age limit for adult volunteers. Sounds fun? Worthwhile? It is.

Volunteering Matters are a national volunteering charity. We are looking "Family Support" Volunteers in the City of Edinburgh, who can offer practical, social and emotional support to a local family in need. Our Family Supporters programme recruits, trains and supports volunteers, matching them 1:1 with parents and families facing a range of life challenges and barriers. Volunteers help families, spending 1:1 time together on a personalised set of goals chosen by the family, for the family. These goals may including achieving improved living standards, building confidence and soft skills, budgeting, healthier eating, better school life, improving health and wellbeing or introducing parents to community resources, and lots more. If you have an understanding of the challenges that families are facing and would like to use your life experiences and skills to support others, this could be the role for you! As a volunteer, you will build a strong relationship based on trust and mutual respect, acting as a friendly face who listens and cares about the family.