Volunteer Midlothian Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Midlothian Community Action (MCA)

Volunteer Midlothian ‘Where’s the Bear?’ Competition Launches TODAY!

Richard Cross on 24 May, 2021

Volunteer Midlothian are running a ‘Name the Bear’ competition for primary schools in Midlothian starting TODAY, Monday 24th May. Our little furry friend is the mascot for the Midlothian Volunteer Awards, an annual ceremony that takes place during Volunteer’s Week at the beginning of June.

The bear will be travelling around Midlothian over the next 11 days, visiting different beauty spots and places of interest, then popping up every day on Twitter using the hashtag #wheresthebear

Followers will be encouraged on Twitter and Facebook to guess the bear’s location. At the end of its journey on 3rd June, the bear will gain a new name voted for by participants at the Midlothian Volunteer Awards ceremony. The chosen name, based on entries from local primary school children, will win £100 for the school and will get to keep the bear!

The mascot competition is part of a campaign to increase awareness of Volunteers’ Week 2021 and to boost Volunteer Midlothian’s following on social media. We are keen for lots of people to join in and follow the bear on its travels. This is the first time Volunteer Midlothian have run a digital campaign, so YOUR help in making it a success is much needed! Please tell other local people about the bear, especially any families you may know whose children might want to have a go at naming the bear via the school they attend. All local primary school head teachers have been sent information about how to enter.

For more information about how to take park contact Miriam at Volunteer Midlothian.

Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2021: Nominees Announced

Richard Cross on 8 April, 2021

We are now able to share the list of confirmed nominees for the 2021 Midlothian Volunteer Awards, which will take place during Volunteers’ Week from 1-7 June. It’s looking likely that we will run an event on the evening of Thursday 3rd June to announce the winners, so keep an eye out for further updates about this.

The standard of nominations has been very high this year and we have also had a lot of interest in the awards. This reflects all the extra voluntary activity we’ve seen as part of the Covid-19 resilience response in local communities, but also the amazing work that has taken place across the third sector as a whole throughout the pandemic.

All of the nominees are listed below. The full list of Saltire Summit nominees will be announced later on in April. Well done everyone – you are all fabulous!

Outstanding New Volunteer

Heather Mortimore (Food Facts Friends)
Andrew Love (CAPS Collective Advocacy)
Kathryn Gordon (Home Link Family Support)
Katrina Drennan (Penicuik Ambassdors)
Beth Fyfe Falconer (Volunteer Midlothian – Transform)

Befriender Mentor

Joseph Burke (Health in Mind)
Alzheimer Scotland Telephone Companions
Amanda Gillespie (Home Link Family Support)
Connect Project Volunteers (Volunteer Midlothian)
Colin Pow (Health in Mind)

Active Volunteering

Rebecca Lewis (Riverfly on the Esk)
Holly Gibb (Breastfeeding Café)
Mirabelle Maslin (Roslin and Bilston Community Council)
Chris Boyle and Ricky Lloyd (Dalkeith Rugby)
Dalkeith Guerrilla Gardeners
Ageing Well (Midlothian Council)

Health and Wellbeing

Anam Cara Befriending Team
Art and Craft in Wellbeing Group (Health in Mind)
Midlothian Breastfeeding Alliance
Green Prescribing Garden Buddies (Cyrenians)

Dedicated Service

Jim Paterson (Food Facts Friends)
Connect Online (Volunteer Midlothian)
David Thornton (Health in Mind)
Colette Pye (Mayfield and District Breastfeeding Support Group)
Maggie Palmer (Home Link Family Support)
Jim Ralston (1st Loanhead Boys Brigade Company)
Penicuik Community Development Trust

Covid-19

Vernon Miles (Community Activist – Environmental Clean Up)
Grant Stanley (‘Our Stars Family’ on Facebook )
Amazing Brains Committee at Art Club
Food Facts Friends
Gorebridge Resilience Partnership
Penicuik Ambassadors

Volunteer Manager

Mark Wells (Food Facts Friends)
Michael Huddleston (Alzheimer Scotland)
Monika Dyczko (Health in Mind)
Naomi Knights (Volunteer Midlothian)
Shondra Riley (Made in Midlothian)

Saltire Summit Award

Kyle Anderson
Eva Hesketh-Laird
Louise Gillespie
Melissa Reidie
Samantha Gough

Volunteers’ Week Awards 2021: New Award Categories Video

Richard Cross on 18 March, 2021

We’ve put together a second video following on from the one we released last week about the Midlothian Volunteer Awards. This latest video offering tells you more about the categories that volunteers can be nominated for and who the award sponsors are.

Both individual volunteers and teams can be nominated for all of the categories except the Saltire Summit and the two ‘Of the Year’ Awards, which are instead judged from all the nominations put together. This means that every nominee has two chances to win an award – so all the more reason to nominate!

You can watch our other video and read our Awards FAQ’s on our Volunteer’s Week Awards web page.

We hope you like it and that those of us who prefer to ‘watch’ rather than ‘read’ also find it helpful. Please share widely so that as many people as possible know about the awards and can get thinking about who deserves to be nominated. Thanks!

Check out our new Volunteer Awards Video Guide!

Richard Cross on 12 March, 2021

We have put together a video guide to accompany the FAQ’s information for the Volunteers’ Week Awards. We hope that this will be a useful accompaniment to the written information on the website.

We will also be releasing a second video next week explaining more about the categories for nomination. You can also go to the Volunteers’ Week page on our website to view the video and get more information.

We hope you find it helpful. If so, please share widely with others who may be thinking of nominating. Thanks!

Volunteer Group Facilitators needed for the Connect project

Richard Cross on 10 March, 2021

Older people in a Zoom group. Image from Creative Commons.

Do you have an area of interest or expertise you could share with others online? Volunteer Midlothian is recruiting Online Group Facilitators to run small online group sessions with people aged 50+ who may be feeling lonely and isolated during the pandemic.

You will pick an area of interest or expertise that you would like to share with others and develop it into a series of six sessions. You will be matched with up to five people aged 50+ who share this interest and who want to meet others.

Your topic could be arts and crafts, ‘knit and natter’, football memories, teaching languages or a musical instrument, creative writing, quizzes, painting or sketching. You may simply want to run a conversation group based around certain themes of participants’ choice, for example ‘music in the 50s’, ‘crime book club’ or ‘seasonal gardening tips’.

We know there are potential volunteers out there who would be perfect for this role. We are also expecting quite a lot of interest in this project, as it offers the chance to develop valuable skills in group leadership and facilitation. If that person is you then get in touch with our Connect project worker and find out more today!!

Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2021: Nominations are NOW OPEN!

Richard Cross on 8 March, 2021

We are super excited to announce that the nominations for this year’s Volunteers’ Week Awards are now open! The 2021 awards are shaping up to be extra special because they will celebrate volunteering activity from both before and during the pandemic.

Categories for nomination include: Outstanding New Volunteer, Befriender/Mentor of the Year, Active Volunteering, Health and Wellbeing, Dedicated Service to Volunteering, Volunteer Manager of the Year and the Saltire Summit Award.

The winners of the 2019 awards, which were held at Newbattle Abbey College.

A brand-new category has also been introduced for 2021 to acknowledge community-led volunteering that occurred in response to Covid-19. This category will be open to nominations from members of the public in Midlothian who want to recognise local volunteers that have made an outstanding effort in their communities over the last 12 months. We can’t wait to see the nominations flying in! They are open for a three-week period until the end of March, so spread the word through your networks and get thinking as to who you might want to put forward for an award.

More information about how to nominate and the link to the nominations form can be found on our Volunteers’ Week FAQ’s page. We will also be releasing a video guide to the awards later on in the week, so look out for that, particularly if you prefer to listen rather than read.

Good luck! If you’ve any questions, get in touch by emailing volunteering@MCA.scot

Midlothian Volunteers’ Week Awards – Nominations Open NEXT WEEK!

Richard Cross on 4 March, 2021

Volunteer Midlothian is thrilled to announce that the nominations for this year’s Volunteers’ Week Awards will be opening next Monday after an unplanned hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 awards are shaping up to be extra special because they will celebrate volunteering activity from both before and during the pandemic.

Categories for nomination will include: Outstanding New Volunteer, Befriender/Mentor of the Year, Active Volunteering, Health and Wellbeing, Dedicated Service to Volunteering, Volunteer Manager of the Year and the Saltire Summit Award.

A brand-new category has also been introduced for 2021 to acknowledge the community-led volunteering that has occurred in response to Covid-19. This category will be open to nominations from members of the public who want to recognise and reward local volunteers that have ‘gone the extra mile’ over the last 12 months. We can’t wait to see the nominations flying in! They are open for a three-week period until the end of March, so spread the word and get your thinking caps on as to who you might want to put forward for an award.

More info about the awards can be found on our Volunteers’ Week FAQ’s page. The link for the nominations form will be activated on Monday 8th June at 12 p.m. We will also be releasing a video guide to the awards next week, so look out for that as well.

MORE INFO TO FOLLOW SOON!

Volunteer Midlothian receives funding boost from Befriending Networks

Richard Cross on 2 February, 2021

We are really pleased to share the news that Volunteer Midlothian recently received some funding from Befriending Networks to help boost the number of volunteers who take part in our various befriending projects.

Volunteer Midlothian has several befriending projects: ‘Transform’, an intergenerational befriending project, ‘Connect’, which aims to reduce social isolation among members of the older population in Midlothian and also ‘Connect Online’, which matches a learner with a volunteer who can support them with digital skills.

As well as recruiting new volunteers, the funding will also be used to pilot new volunteer opportunities, with a new focus on the creation of online groups to be facilitated by volunteers with particular interests and expertise. This could include for example a music group or a craft group. Volunteers will receive training in group facilitation and online safeguarding, as well as the use of digital technology, widening their skills and knowledge around how to support and include people by using different methods of engagement. The online groups will be open to people in Midlothian who would benefit from having more social connectivity. At the moment all activity is online, though in future we hope some of the groups may be able to happen ‘face to face’.

Keep an eye out for further updates when the project is fully underway – we’ll be looking for more volunteers and clients, so get in touch with Naomi if you are interested in finding out more. Also, a very big thank you to Befriending Networks for helping to make these new developments possible.

Connect with Burns in 2021!

Richard Cross on 29 January, 2021

Three very talented volunteers from Volunteer Midlothian made our online Burns celebration this week an especially enjoyable evening for all involved. They joined staff and volunteers from our Connect and Connect Online projects to celebrate Scotland’s favourite national poet and share some of their own thoughts on being Scottish.

Raj created an homage to Scotland in the form of his videos ‘Our Adopted Land’ and ‘Rabbie Burns – My Take on the Bard’, which are also available on You Tube. We played some snippets of both, before having fun describing our favourite Scottish words (such as ‘scunnered’) and favourite Scottish places. Midlothian of course got a few mentions. A short quiz on Burns and Scotland followed, so we all learned something new. Anyone know what ‘Partan Bree’ is?

Mary treated us to a passionate recital of Tam O’ Shanter with edited highlights. “Weel done Cutty Sark!” Bruce then entertained us with Scottish and Burns songs including ‘Caledonia’ and of course ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to close the event.

Many thanks to our brilliant volunteers who contributed and attended. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Connect project, or Connect Online, contact ku.gr1750223646o.nai1750223646htold1750223646imree1750223646tnulo1750223646v@imo1750223646an1750223646" title="Naomi Knights">Naomi Knights, our befriending co-ordinator.

Videos: Scotland and Burns

Saltire criteria update

Richard Cross on 27 January, 2021

You may recall that at the start of the pandemic Saltire allowed young people to claim informal volunteering hours until August 2021. This arrangement still applies until the end of March 2021. Up to 100 hours of informal volunteering can be accredited.

If you know a young person who has been doing any informal volunteering (e.g. walking a neighbour’s dog whilst they are shielding, or food shopping for an elderly person) please encourage them to add these hours to their Saltire account or go to the Saltire Awards website to register and claim the hours for certification.

Saltire Awards are great to have on a CV when looking for employment and are also an excellent way for young people to demonstrate their contribution and help others!

Volunteer Midlothian and Health in Mind team up to offer mental health training in January

Richard Cross on 6 January, 2021

Hello and happy new year to you all from Volunteer Midlothian! Also not so happy, since we have entered another full lockdown across the UK, but we can only make the best of it and try to be kind to each other in the coming weeks and months.

There is an ongoing need to support the mental wellbeing of third sector staff and volunteers at this time, so we are confident that the provision of three special training sessions later on in January from Volunteer Midlothian and Health in Mind will be welcomed. The sessions have been organised as part of the mental health and volunteering grants project, hosted by Volunteer Midlothian and launched during lockdown 2020. Our development worker Natalie, and also Lisa Hodkinson from Health in Mind, have worked hard to roll this provision out in the last month of funding for the project.

During the staff session there will be an emphasis on maintaining wellbeing at work (including work from home). For volunteers, the focus will be more general, looking at self care and support to stay well in times of stress or additional challenges. Sessions will be short and easy to access. We are sure you will agree that now is the time to encourage people to pause and take a moment to reflect on how best they can support their own mental wellbeing, and that of others around them, as we move through another lockdown and try to deal with the longer term uncertainty of the pandemic.

We’d appreciate it if you could promote the sessions widely around your networks and encourage others to sign up. For more information check out the two poster links below, or contact Natalie from Volunteer Midlothian.

Info about staff sessions.

Info about volunteer sessions.

Core Skills in Volunteer Management goes digital

Richard Cross on 1 October, 2020

Core Skills in Volunteer Management is normally a four-day long course run for volunteer managers and coordinators by Volunteer Edinburgh. CSVM provides a comprehensive introduction to volunteer management in all its varied forms.

We can say from experience that the course content is both informative and challenging. Facilitators are also highly skilled and critically aware of best practice and other topical issues in the field of volunteering. We recommend that anyone involved in volunteer management considers doing some if not all of CSVM, which has recently gone digital – for obvious reasons. At present there are two 7 hour courses available, each running over a period of two weeks. Courses include virtual contact with other volunteer managers and the trainer, as well as coursework and the use of online forums.

There is a small fee for each course, but it would be money will spent and would help to ensure that organisations are fully up to speed with the implications of working with volunteers in the current context.

For more information contact ku.gr1750223646o.hgr1750223646ubnid1750223646ereet1750223646nulov1750223646@arej1750223646et.re1750223646ivaj1750223646 or go to Volunteer Edinburgh’s training and event webpage.

Successful recipients of Midlothian mental health grant announced

Richard Cross on 6 August, 2020

Volunteer Midlothian and Health in Mind recently launched the ‘Midlothian Mental Health in the Community Small Grants Fund’, using money from the Scottish Government’s Supporting Communities Fund, to enable local organisations to pilot new activities that serve the community. The six month project will provide mental health and wellbeing support for those that have been affected by Covid-19 and lockdown. The funded projects will offer internet and telephone-based listening, counselling and peer support. Any face-to-face services will only commence in due course, in line with the Scottish Government’s social distancing guidelines and lockdown routemap.

We are delighted to announce that the seven projects being funded are: Alzheimer Scotland, Anam Cara, Cyrenians, Dalkeith and District Citizens Advice Bureau, Midlothian Sure Start, Rosewell Development Trust and Vocal Midlothian. The projects will support a range of different needs across Midlothian, including those of carers, families, people who are socially isolated, people living with dementia and vulnerable women. All project volunteers will have access to specialist mental health training designed and delivered by Health in Mind specifically for this project.

You can follow on social media for regular updates on the progress of each project on Twitter:

New Midlothian mental health fund now open for applications!

Richard Cross on 2 July, 2020

The Midlothian ‘Mental Health in the Community’ Small Grants Fund has now opened. The fund aims to build the capacity of local organisations to support individuals whose mental health has been adversely impacted by the pandemic and lockdown. This is an opportunity for charities and social enterprises working with volunteers to apply for small grants of up to £10,000 each, to expand and develop their mental health and wellbeing support services.

The fund aims to build your organisation’s capacity to provide volunteer-led mental health support in the community. Volunteer Midlothian have partnered up with Health in Mind, who will deliver bespoke online training to the volunteers providing this support.

To apply for a grant, you must:

Be providing a service to Midlothian residents;
Have been in operation for at least one year;
Be able to demonstrate a track record of mental health service provision.

Funded projects will need to adhere to current social distancing guidelines, so delivery may initially be via telephone or online platforms. We are looking to support a span of activities for people of all age groups, including children, young people, working age adults and older people.

A few key dates for those interested in applying:

Launch of Grant: 2^nd July
Online surgeries for those interested in applying: 6^th and 8^th July
Grant Deadline: 12pm Thurs 16^th July

Please email completed application forms to ku.gr1750223646o.svc1750223646avm@n1750223646osmoh1750223646t.eil1750223646atan1750223646 You can also get in touch with Natalie if you have any questions or would like to discuss in more detail.

Saltire Awards update for 2020

Richard Cross on 1 July, 2020

The Saltire Awards scheme is one of our favourite ways to celebrate and reward the contribution and achievements of young volunteers in Scotland aged between 12 and 25. Young people can gain nationally recognised certificates, signed by Scottish Government Ministers, for the volunteering that they do. Joining the scheme also helps young people gain new skills and experience that will look great on a CV, whilst making friends and new connections.

Over the past few months the scheme has undergone some changes and a new website has been launched. Young people will now be asked to sign up and independently log the volunteering hours they’ve completed. As part of this new system they will be able to see a record of the number of hours they’ve completed on different projects, and the certificates they’ve gained. This will enable them to be more in control of how their volunteering hours are logged and certified.

Even though we’re in the midst of coronavirus, we know that some young people may still be volunteering. Also, a more diverse range of opportunities will likely emerge in the coming months, now that people and organisations have had some time to think through how volunteering can continue during the pandemic, albeit in a slightly different form (more often than not via digital or online roles).

For more information, or to sign up, visit the Saltire website.

Category: Volunteer Midlothian