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Are you a good listener with an empathetic, professional and methodical approach? Do you have two hours a week to support vulnerable adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)? Action for M.E.’s UK-wide advocacy service, expanding in Scotland, supports adults with M.E./CFS to understand their rights, make informed choices, and have their views and wishes heard and respected, dealing with issues including health, social care, housing and employment. You’ll work entirely online/by phone to meet and represent clients, agree an action plan, undertake research, contact professionals and more. Full training, support and supervision provided by our experienced, friendly team.

This volunteer role is specifically focused on creating a space online where young people across Scotland can chat together, share ideas, raise issues and have fun! This opportunity is open to any young person aged 18-25 across Scotland with Type 1 diabetes. You will be given support and training to run this group and for other skills needed to be a peer supporter. What you will be doing Attend project activities and meetings with the other Peer Supporters over zoom to design and oversee the project. Share ideas about what would make a difference to the life of young people with Type 1 Diabetes. Alongside your fellow Peer Support volunteers, you will plan and moderate conversation on a large scale with young people across Scotland Promoting the project to young people across Scotland Moderate and interact with young people with Type 1 Diabetes from across Scotland on our digital stay connected working group. Plan and suggest discussion topics, conversation and competitions that your group can take part in

This is an great opportunity for a young person aged 18-24 to co-design and deliver a series of wellbeing workshops for young people aged 13-24 with type 1 diabetes. These workshops will explore the Five Ways to Wellbeing and what these mean for young people with type 1. We are hoping to recruit people from across Scotland to deliver these workshops and to help us design and write the activities and session plans. This is part of our Youth Peer support project - Type 1 Youth: Connect, Support and Share, and you will be part of a wider volunteering team.

Scotland Versus Arthritis is looking for individuals willing to lead short health walks in your area, lead on other physical activities, or facilitate virtual support groups. Full training and on-going support for volunteers will be available. We are also looking for expressions of interest from anyone keen to become an instructor of Tai Chi or Qi Gong for arthritis. The current Covid restrictions have meant that for many the wait for treatment may be a year or more away. Painkilling prescriptions are seldom more than a temporary relief. Support and exercise can however offer a better way to self manage the daily on-going pain and fatigue. In readiness for the eventual lifting of lockdown we are asking, can you spare an hour or two each month to help? Please contact your local Development Officer, Dr. P. Neville, p.neville@versusarthritis.org or phone 07501 501114 for details.

Peer Support Volunteer - Bipolar Summary of Role: We would like to meet people who live with bipolar disorder and who have reached the point that they are managing their bipolar well. If you would like to spend a little of your time helping someone who has recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, then we would like to hear from you. The Volunteer Role (on-line and home-based): Working collaboratively with the Peer Workers and other colleagues, our Peer Support Volunteers provide complimentary practical and emotional support to those who have been newly diagnosed with bipolar. Our volunteers are able to utilise their lived experience of living well with bipolar disorder, to inspire and empower those who use the service to acquire and enhance skills to improve their personal resilience and enable them to live well with bipolar too. They will draw on their knowledge and skills to provide practical support in areas such as personal finance, budgeting, social inclusion, employability and education to support individuals to achieve their goals, to create meaningful and sustainable connections with other sources of support within their communities and instil a sense of hope for the future and what they can achieve. Volunteering times are flexible on any day, either morning, afternoon and evenings, to mutually suit the volunteer and the person benefitting from peer support. We would expect approximately 1 to 2 hours per week or fortnight time commitment

Moray Handyperson Services are looking for new DIY-ers to join their team, especially in the Elgin area. Volunteers complete small/minor maintenance jobs that some older or vulnerable people cannot do by themselves in their own homes. Each year, this local charity helps hundreds of people stay safe and independent in their own home. Small jobs can range from changing a light bulb, to fitting curtain rails, from assembling flat-packs, to even doing a bit of decluttering. These jobs usually take less than an hour and you can choose to do a job at a time that is convenient for you. Volunteers are usually matched to a job in their local area, and if you can't help out, that isn't a problem either, as you can say no or yes to a job. Now that's flexible volunteering! Contact them if you think you could part of their volunteer team. How It Works: The MHPS staff receive requests from clients and collect relevant details, usually over the phone. They then find a volunteer who has the skills, is nearby and is available. If the volunteer accepts the job, MHPS send the volunteer all the details they need to do the job. Most jobs require the volunteer to visit the client in the client’s own home. The volunteer first makes a brief assessment to ensure the job is as described and it is safe for them to proceed. Once the job has been carried out, there is usually opportunity to chat with the client to determine if they are well, need support in any other areas. Completion paperwork (easy and quick to do) is returned to the MHPS office.

We are looking for welcoming and enthusiastic volunteer(s) to lead short health walks in Moray -- currently these gentle walks are based in Forres, Fochabers, Hopeman, Elgin, Cullen, Buckie, Lossiemouth, Dufftown, Rothes and Keith. It's sociable, relaxed, fun and flexible -- and there is great support for our volunteers. Becoming a volunteer walk leader requires you to commit around an hour or so of your time weekly (but there is room for flexible dates!) and to sometimes complete a small amount of preparation & paper work for the walk. Health walks encourage people who have not exercised for a while, find walking boring, or lack confidence to join a walking group because they think they will not be able to keep up. Walks are free, short, low intensity, safe and social and are usually followed by a cup of tea or coffee and a chat! Over the next year we plan to build upon our network of gentle exercise activities across the Moray region. To help us achieve this we are looking for friendly and supportive volunteers who enjoy walking, meeting new folk sharing the wide ranging health and well- being benefits of gentle physical activity. Volunteers all receive Paths for All Walk Leader training to give them the skills and confidence to lead walks in your community. You will be encouraged to join a Health Walk and chat to a Health Walk leader before your training so that you have an idea of how it works on the ground. Volunteer walk leaders receive on-going support from the local Health Walk co-ordinator, too

Wave Radio is a broadcasting service for the wellbeing of patients at Dr Gray’s Hospital -- and by broadcasting online, they aim to bring the community into the hospital and the hospital into the community. This volunteering opportunity is also a great one if you have a love in music. They are not just looking for people to present on air, but would also welcome people who have a bit of spare time to catalogue music or music production. For people interested in any of their presenter slots, please know these programmes can be pre-recorded for broadcast at a later time. Right now, volunteers can do their shows from home, through the studios at Dr. Grays. Volunteers who have an interest in specific musical genre (i.e./Classical, show tunes, soul etc. ) or have a wide musical taste can find out more about how to help with their breakfast, afternoon and early evening programmes. Wave Radio is run entirely by volunteers and donations. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more about volunteering with them!

Volunteer in our shops Our  shop volunteers  are  helping us beat cancer right now.   In 2019/20, 14,000 volunteers gave 3.1 million hours of their time and sold items totalling £15million. These funds are helping us start new clinical trials and research treatments as we speak.  If you  volunteer  at a Cancer Research UK shop,  you too could make a real difference to what we can achieve.  Nothing we do would be possible without  amazing volunteers  like you.  You’ll also  gain valuable skills to help develop your CV and experience.  And you’ll volunteer alongside a wonderful team of passionate, friendly people  who will support you  every step of the way.  Volunteering is open to everyone and no experience is required.  So,  if you’re looking for a new challenge, we’d love to hear from  you.  What do shop volunteers do?  Volunteering in our shops is varied, exciting and rewarding. No two days are the same and you have the chance to flex different skills regularly. There are always new opportunities to keep you engaged and help you grow and develop in your role.  While this list is not exhaustive, it gives you a flavour of some of the typical tasks in our charity shops:  Serving customers, taking  payments  and providing good all-round customer service  Sorting through donated items and pricing stock  Working on window and shop displays  Keeping the shop tidy, clean and well organised  Interacting with the general public  Following new health, safety and social distancing measures  You don’t need any experience to volunteer  You just need to be motivated, hardworking and enjoy being part of a team. There’ll be a full induction as well as ongoing training opportunities to make sure you’re fully confident and able to excel in your role.  Why should I volunteer? Volunteering brings a wealth of benefits, both personal and professional.   Every volunteer hour  you  donate means we can sell 6 items and make £20 of income. So, if you volunteer for a 7-hour day, this can generate £140. That means that every day you volunteer, you’ll be raising more funds to beat cancer.   You’ll gain important skills that are hugely valued in the workplace such as teamwork, communication and using your initiative.  You can boost your CV by working towards an NVQ in Retail with Derby College,  and  we'll provide you with a reference.  It will allow you to get involved in your local community and to meet new friends.  Our friendly  CRUK  team will be there to support you all the way – offering guidance and helping you build your confidence.  It’s fun – you’ll gain real satisfaction from volunteering alongside our warm, friendly shop volunteers who will make you feel right at home. The minimum age for volunteering in our shops is 18 . If  you’re aged  between 16 -18 you may still be able to volunteer in our  shops,  but you must be on a recognised scheme, for example, the Duke of Edinburgh. 

In your role you will support different teams across CHSS to recruit new volunteers in your local community either face to face, engaging with local community partners and utilizing online social media platforms. Volunteers are vital to the running of our services, shops and our fundraising events. With your help we can reach more people across Scotland to raise awareness of CHSS. Your main tasks include: * Identify suitable local organisations and networks to promote our various volunteer roles to. * Use social media to advertise volunteer opportunities. * Use offline methods such as presentations and posters to recruit volunteers in the community. * Raise awareness and the profile of CHSS