In 1962 we placed a volunteer in Glasgow, supporting young people in need.  He became our first Full-Time Volunteer and so Scotland became the birthplace of one of our flagship programmes.

Nearly sixty years later, we continue to run high impact volunteering programmes across Scotland: from befriending projects supporting young people, mentoring projects to help families in challenging circumstances and volunteer-led projects that keep older, retired people engaged in their communities.

In April 2021 Volunteering Matters merged with ProjectScotland so that more people in local communities can be supported to overcome the challenges they may face. And more young people in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK will be supported by volunteers to overcome any barriers in their way, developing their confidence and skills to unlock their potential.

Our combined approach provides a platform for volunteers, young people and communities to challenge existing structures and work with decision-makers to overcome barriers and inequalities.

Across the Volunteering Matters family – including ProjectScotlandGet The GenEmployee Volunteering and #iwill – we turn local knowledge and energy into action and progress, building stronger communities and a better future for all.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VOLUNTEERING IN SCOTLAND, GET IN TOUCH

CONTACT US ON 01259 928 088 OR EMAIL
scotinfo@volunteeringmatters.org.uk

Action Earth

Run alongside NatureScot, our Action Earth programme empowers people to take action to improve their local environment through volunteering.

Employee Volunteering with Volunteering Matters

Our Employee Volunteering team has over 24 years’ experience of providing tailor-made service support to employers developing their own corporate volunteering and business volunteering programmes.

Equip Clacks

Volunteer mentoring opportunities across the 'Wee County', supporting young people aged 15-18.

Family Mentors

Volunteers Supporting Families recruits, trains and matches volunteers who mentor and support families with complex needs.

Full-time Volunteering

Full-time volunteering is a unique opportunity for people aged between 18 and 35 to undertake the challenge of living away from home for 6-12 months.

Get Out Get Active

Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is a UK wide programme, funded by Spirit of 2012 that aims to encourage disabled and non-disabled people to take part in and enjoy activity together.

Handyperson Project

Our handyperson service runs in Stirling and Clackmannanshire and involves older volunteers who complete small and minor maintenance jobs that some older people cannot do by themselves.
A smiling man

Peer Perspectives Clackmannanshire

Led by volunteers aged 16-25, who have been supported and trained by our team, these young people want to play an active role in their community by championing mental health, whilst developing their own skills at the same time.
People aged over 50 volunteering

RSVP

For over 30 years RSVP – Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme – has been enabling people aged 50 and over to contribute their energy, enthusiasm and experience as volunteers for the benefit of their communities.

RSVP Forth Valley

RSVP in Forth Valley encourages and assists older people to use their skills and experience to volunteer and keep active in retirement.

RSVP Knitting

Our knitting groups, are growing increasingly popular with over 5,000 social action knitters across the UK producing in excess of 50 big bin-bags worth of knitted goods per month
reading in schools volunteering

RSVP Reading in Schools

Our Retired and Senior Volunteer Programmes (RSVP) offer volunteering in local schools across the UK, for people aged 50+, where they can support pupils with with reading, maths or specialized subjects.

Rural Wisdom

A partnership project focussed on tackling rural isolation among older people, developed by Outside the Box, Volunteering Matters Cymru and the National Development Team for Inclusion.

North Lanarkshire Befriending Project: Ross’ Story

'After I graduated volunteering as a befriender gave me a sense of satisfaction and reward that no desk job ever could – giving your time to someone who just needs a pal is an amazing gift, and one that a young person will remember forever.'

Handyperson Project: Sandy’s Story

Sandy, 70, from Stirling has been volunteering with our Handyperson Project for the past 10 years and he told us what a day in his volunteer role looks like.
Help at Hand

Help At Hand Befriending: Audrey and Mouyra’s story

Audrey, 53, from Alloa, is a volunteer befriender with Help at Hand Befriending. She was matched with Mouyra, 87 also from Alloa, earlier this year and the pair quickly bonded over their shared love of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

North Lanarkshire Befriending Project: Evelyn’s Story

'I originally thought as a befriender I was there just to give my young person time out from their family life and to allow them to have some fun whilst also helping them make positive choices going forward in their lives. I didn’t think for one minute how much I would benefit and gain from being a befriender.'

Employee Volunteering: Stewart’s Story

“I’m currently working within the Co-op’s Leadership, Talent and Learning team as one of our Lead Learning Designers.  I’ve been in the field of Learning and Development for the past 10 years and it’s something that I’m really passionate about.  When the Skill Share volunteering programme was created by our team in partnership with The … Continued

Help at Hand : Katie’s Story

"Loneliness is something that can affect anyone at any time, and it is projects like this that are so important in helping to stop it."

Family Supporters Edinburgh – Impact report 2021

Family Supporters in Edinburgh offers practical and emotional support to families across the City of Edinburgh, empowering them to face a range of life challenges. We recruit, train and match dedicated, local volunteers to help families every step of the way, spending 1-1 time together on a personalised set of goals chosen by the family, … Continued

Covid Impact Report, 19 Oct 2020

This report highlights the impact we had in the first six months of the pandemic, and the amazing response of our volunteers.

Making Time – Join In

Join In’s latest ground-breaking research looks at how behavioural science can persuade more people to give their time and volunteer, with a focus on sport.

CSV – 50 Years in Scotland

CSV’s Action Earth campaign enables people to become engaged in practical activities that improve and protect Scotland’s outdoor spaces.

#WeAre60

This year marks our 60th birthday! Find out more about our plans and how to get involved!
A smiling man

New consortium to support #iwill announced

We’re delighted to share that today Step Up To Serve have announced that Volunteering Matters and UK Youth have formed a new consortium to deliver key functions of the #iwill movement. We can’t wait to work together to keep growing the #iwill movement and ensure young people can lead change through social action. Read the … Continued

Volunteering Matters welcomes new Civil Society Minister

Volunteering Matters featured in an article about the appointment of the new Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Barran, in which we stated we looked forward to working with her to ensure that more people can change lives and transform communities trough volunteering.

Volunteering Matters chosen as Charity of the Week by players of People’s Postcode Lottery

  Volunteering Matters is this week’s players of People’s Postcode Lottery Charity of the Week. We feature on their website here. Every year thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, tens of thousands of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in communities across England, Scotland and Wales benefit from the support of Volunteering Matters. Our partnership … Continued

Volunteers honoured at the Royal Garden Party 2019

Our volunteers and guests from projects running across Scotland were nominated to attend as a gesture of thanks for their commitment to their roles supporting vulnerable people in the community.
RSVP

International Day of Older Persons

The 1st of October marks the International Day of Older Persons and we’d like to take the opportunity to celebrate the 8,700 older and retired people who share their time and talents each year by volunteering with us.

Volunteers attend Queen’s Garden Party 2018

For the second year, volunteers from our North Lanarkshire Befriending Project, Help at Hand, and the Employee Volunteering team from the Co-Op were honoured at the Royal Garden Party at Holyrood Palace!

Volunteering for all – all year round!

As thousands of volunteers are being celebrated up and down the country as part of Volunteers’ Week, we of course couldn’t let the moment pass without three cheers for our incredible volunteers!

We’re challenging young people to start their revolution!

This month sees the launch of our brand new campaign to change young people’s perceptions of volunteering. Titled ' Revolution You ', our campaign aims to challenge preconceived notions of volunteering and encourage more young people to consider a gap year in the UK. 

RSVP takes centre stage in South Korea

KBNe UK, a partner of Korean Broadcasting Network in Europe, are producing a TV documentary about life and opportunities for senior citizens and the importance of the third sector, and sought to highlight our work in the UK. Our RSVP conference provided the perfect backdrop for the production team to meet some of our amazing volunteers.
Help to Health

Happy Grandparents Day!

To celebrate Grandparents Day we caught up with some of our amazing volunteers and staff, grandparents and grandchildren alike, to find out how they’ll be marking the occasion.
AGM Awards

Volunteers take centre stage at our AGM

We have launched many amazing new projects in the past year, all made possible by talented and dedicated volunteers across the UK. We were delighted to shine a spotlight on some of them at the Volunteering Matters 2017 Annual General Meeting which took place on the 28th of September.
historic full time volunteer photo support disabled people

Were you a Full Time Volunteer with us?

We want to tell the stories of our Full Time Volunteers from the last five decades - if you were once a Full Time Volunteer with us, find out how you can get in touch...
#givingtuesday

Volunteering Matters mobilises people power on #GivingTuesday

In 2015, #GivingTuesday broke the world record for the highest amount of money donated online in a 24 hour period. We think this is brilliant – but #GivingTuesday shouldn’t just be about giving money so we are asking our supporters to donate the gift of time by volunteering in their communities.
Spirit of 2012 logo #GetOutGetActive

#GetOutGetActive Launch of £4.5 million grant

Spirit of 2012 today announced a UK wide consortium for its latest campaign #GetOutGetActive which focuses on increasing participation in fun and inclusive physical activity.

Volunteering Matters named charity of the year

The national volunteering charity Volunteering Matters was last night (Sep 2015) named charity of the year at the European Diversity Awards (EDAs), held at the Natural History Museum.

Volunteer Expo Live 2022

The UK’s national Volunteering Show has landed! Volunteering Matters is delighted to be involved in Volunteer Expo Live, a national event that seeks to connect volunteers, organisations and the charity sector together under one roof in order to help introduce more people to the world of volunteering. Volunteer Expo Live, which is being hosted by … Continued

RSVP, Emma Thomas-Hancock, Director of Delivery

At Volunteering Matters our strategy is all about being ‘place based’ and how that impacts communities. The volunteer leaders and organisers of RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Programme) have been leading the way and championing this approach for over 30 years! They do this by leading and organising local place-based social action in communities across the … Continued

Work With Us: James Donnelly

James Donnelly is Project Manager of Family Supporters in Edinburgh. We asked James what it feels like to work at Volunteering Matters. Here’s what he said: My journey with Volunteering Matters started in 2015 as a volunteer with North Lanarkshire Befriending Project.  It was my first volunteering role – I was matched with someone to … Continued

International Women’s Day 2022: Making Work Work for Women Returners

Today is International Women’s Day 2022 – #IWD2022 –  an opportunity to celebrate women everywhere by amplifying this year’s powerful theme;  #BreakTheBias.  As #IWD2022 highlights, whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn’t enough, action is needed to level the playing field. That’s why today … Continued

Want to make a positive impact in your local community?

Calling all 18-24 year olds! We’ve teamed up with NCS – National Citizen Service – to support the UK Year of Service. If you are aged 18-24 and have a passion for doing good, the UK Year of Service offers work placement opportunities for you. We have 28 paid-for roles available within Volunteering Matters with … Continued

Support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery transformed lives in 2020

Throughout 2020, our volunteers and staff have done an incredible job, repurposing and redesigning our projects and programmes, and in many areas taking part in the front-line response to Covid-19. This wouldn’t be possible without the wonderful support we receive from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The report below gives examples of some of the … Continued

Paul Reddish reflects on Danny Kruger’s report, ‘Levelling Up Our Communities.’

Shifting power to communities and volunteers: Let’s get started   This summer we’ve witnessed first-hand the incredible efforts of people in communities, volunteering their time to support others in need during this pandemic – this included emergence of mutual aid groups, neighbours supporting one another, more formalised roles like NHS Responders and volunteers through charities … Continued

Advice for charities

If you work for a charity and need help and advice on topics from financial stability through to fundraising or volunteering, download this list.
volunteer recruitment active volunteering hackney

Top Tips for Recruiting Volunteers

We share our top tips for volunteer recruitment in a new area, making sure you can stay safe while providing essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic.