As part of the National Volunteer Recruitment Campaign, we aim to promote volunteering by highlighting the experiences of volunteers in Midlothian. By looking at their journeys into volunteering and the impact it has had on their lives, we hope to inspire potential future volunteers.
We’re excited to share a story from one of Volunteer Midlothian’s own volunteers, Callum. He volunteers with our Transform Project, helping out in the community garden. Listen to his volunteering story by watching the video below:
“I can say wholeheartedly the positive impact it’s given my life.”
In this piece, Monika describes her current experience volunteering on a project with one of our member organisations, Midlothian Sure Start. She also discusses her search for volunteering roles before finding her place at Midlothian Sure Start.
“Thanks to this project I am growing as a person, meeting new people, making new friends, and feeling like a part of our community.“
Monika
Volunteer at Midlothian Sure Start
“I am Monika, one of the 13 trained volunteers that are working on the “Our stories” project that is led by Midlothian Sure Start. The project is sponsored by Midlothian Council and funded by the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Accelerator Fund. We, the researchers, are all different and come from different backgrounds and possess different skill sets that complement each other. We all have lived experience when it comes to children’s poverty, hence our passionate approach to the topic.
We had a 6-week course (one group is based in Dalkeith, one in Penicuik) preparing us for working on our community research project that involves talking to local families with children who experienced or are currently experiencing either absolute or relative poverty. In general, we are aiming to talk to 100 families by December. Before that, we are hoping to talk to the majority of families to identify common struggles and to then present them to The Scottish Government in October during Poverty Week and propose some changes. At the same time, we are hoping to show some of the stories in a creative way during our exhibition in October and January.
Our community project is the first of its kind in Midlothian, we don’t have any ‘set structure’ and we learn as we go. Our group is very creative when it comes to working on exhibitions, and I would love to say the sky is the limit, but, unfortunately, we have a limited budget, and we need to find more budget friendly ways to express our findings. Each of us devote their free time as much as we can, talk to others at various events, like today’s one, share news about our project on radio etc.
I feel supported by Tim and his managers, I believe I could ask for their guidance or help with anything. And if you know Tim, you know he is ready to help anybody 24/7.
My personal journey has been an interesting one and I believe everything happens for a reason. As my kids are very young (the oldest one was 3.5 years old when my third kid was born) and I was working full time and part time, I had limited opportunities to volunteer. We don’t have any family in the UK, and I felt that by contributing to our community it would make me a part of it. I contacted two places in Penicuik within the last year where I could put my skills to use but, in the end, nothing came out of it. I ended up on Sure Start’s emailing list and just one day contacted Tim about the project he was starting as I was curious what it was.
Fast forward a few months, I am helping with interviews, meeting new people, creating exhibits based on the stories we collected. If you told me last January I would be writing poems, a song with a professional singer and writer, or using my passion for photography, I would simply not believe you. Thanks to this project I am growing as a person, meeting new people, making new friends, and feeling like a part of our community.
I had recently learnt that I love listening to people and decided to become a counselor in the future. I have already planned the studies and plan to apply for the next term. I am very excited about it as I will be able to help people and learn new skills”.
As part of the National Volunteer Recruitment Campaign, we aim to promote volunteering by highlighting the experiences of volunteers in Midlothian. By looking at their journeys into volunteering and the impact it has had on their lives, we hope to inspire potential future volunteers.
We’re excited to share a range of stories from volunteers at Penicuik Storehouse. They are a community-owned cooperative with a mission to bring the community together, to promote sustainable living, and to encourage healthy eating for all.
“The staff are lovely, friendly, and always grateful for the volunteers.”
Jackie
Volunteer at Penicuik Storehouse
“My name is Jackie. I am 57 years old and I volunteer in the shop at the Penicuik Storehouse. I started volunteering here almost one year ago and I love it. I decided to begin volunteering after having to stop work some years ago due to chronic illness. I became quite isolated and wanted to give something back when I felt well enough. Although it can be stressful when busy, everyone takes a laid-back approach which is great. They put your needs as priority. For example, I struggle with fatigue and pain. I only have to request, and help is always there. A seat, a coffee, a wee break.
What I enjoy most is the socialising. Meeting new people and chatting. The staff are lovely, friendly, and always grateful for the volunteers. What I have experienced personally from volunteering is my self-esteem returning and a build-up of confidence generally. I would highly recommend to anyone thinking of volunteering to do so at the Penicuik Storehouse. It really is a lovely place to work”.
Alan
Volunteer at Penicuik Storehouse
“I started at the Storehouse with no idea what it was about. All I wanted was to keep on helping within my community. Heck, I thought I would only do a couple of hours a week then I was asked if I could do the Community Lunch. I thought sure and it was chaos. I had no idea. But I was helped and learned and Iove the challenge and buzz of cooking for our customers’ community. I love trying to think of new recipes”.
Louise
Volunteer at Penicuik Storehouse
“I have been volunteering at Penicuik Storehouse for almost 2 years. The reason I started volunteering at the Storehouse was to get out of the house and meet people. When volunteering, I work on the till and serve customers. Recently I have learned how to write down customer orders for the café.
I have gained confidence since volunteering at the Storehouse and like to try new things. I like meeting new people and also new staff too and I love to work on the till with my buddy and like to see my pal from Bonnyrigg too. I would recommend volunteering at the Storehouse. My advice is, ‘Try your best and have fun with it!’”
Midlothian TSI are delighted to confirm that free Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme membership for Qualifying Voluntary Organisation (QVO) volunteers will continue.
This announcement follows Disclosure Scotland’s consultation over PVG fees last year. We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the consultation, and in doing so, influencing this decision. There was a great national response and consistent messaging from across the third sector.
As well as continuing the fee waiver for QVOs, fees for the new Level 1 and Level 2 disclosures will remain at their equivalent levels in 2025. Further details of the announcement can be found on Disclosure Scotland’s website.
The Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 will begin implementation on April 1 2025, with the first key change being that PVG membership for those in Regulated Roles will become mandatory.
As part of the National Volunteer Recruitment Campaign, we aim to promote volunteering by highlighting the experiences of volunteers in Midlothian. By looking at their journeys into volunteering and the impact it has had on their lives, we hope to inspire potential future volunteers.
We’re happy to share a story from a volunteer driver named John. He volunteers with HCL Transport, a local charity that provide essential services that support people of any age who have mobility challenges.
“I would encourage everyone to get involved in the volunteer sector if they are able, as many groups and organisations are crying out for help. There is a role out there for everyone!”
John
Volunteer Driver at HCL
“I retired in 2019 after 30 years as a Police Officer and then lockdown hit. My wife had been a nurse for over 40 years until her retirement in 2017, and with the arrival of the pandemic, she volunteered to go to a COVID Ward to help out and ultimately to assist in the vaccination programme. I felt like I should also try and help out, so in June 2020, volunteered to be a telephone befriender via the Midlothian group ‘Fancy a Blether’. I was given two older gentlemen to engage with over the phone once a week and did so for the next year. To be honest, I found it difficult to keep the conversation going at times and ultimately realised this type of role wasn’t a good fit for me.
I then got in contact with the Edinburgh Food Project at Sighthill and did some work there for a few weeks, before moving on to support the work at the Vaccination Centre at The Royal Highland Showground. This was a massive operation and the role involved welcoming people to the Centre, providing information and reassurance to them before and after vaccination.
The travelling to and from the Showground proved to be problematic so in March 2021 I started to cover the Vaccination Centre at Gorebridge Leisure Centre and worked there until February 2022.
In March that year I began working as a volunteer driver with HCL Transport, based at Loanhead, who provide supported accessible transport for people with mobility challenges in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
I’m still working there today and having done a variety of roles, I’ve eventually found the one that best suits me. I enjoy the driving and meeting the service users who absolutely rely on us to get out and about. As a volunteer I can be really flexible about when I work and the company are always happy when I’m available to help out.
I would encourage everyone to get involved in the volunteer sector if they are able, as many groups and organisations are crying out for help. There is a role out there for everyone!”
As part of the National Volunteer Recruitment Campaign, we aim to promote volunteering by highlighting the experiences of volunteers in Midlothian. By looking at their journeys into volunteering and the impact it has had on their lives, we hope to inspire potential future volunteers.
We’re delighted to share a story from a volunteer named Euan. He volunteers with VOCAL, who provide support for unpaid carers in Edinburgh and Midlothian, to help identify the issues affecting them and achieve the best possible outcome for carers.
“I realised that I was not alone on the journey that was unfolding in front of me.”
Euan
Peer Mentor Volunteer at VOCAL
“My interface with Vocal and the services they offer started after my mother passed away, leaving my father at 88 with Dementia. I did not even consider myself a carer until mail for my mother from Vocal was still coming to her, as I had not informed them of her death. On reading the mail from Vocal, I realised that I was not alone on the journey that was unfolding in front of me.
My father had a professional care package already in place. I attended several of Vocal’s day courses to help me understand his condition and prepare for what lay ahead. At my first course, all who attended were asked to introduce themselves, say who they were caring for and say what condition or type of dementia the person they were caring for had.
I had no idea until that first course how many different types of dementia there are and more importantly, I had no idea what dementia my father was suffering from, I had never asked and my mother never told me. I contacted our GP practice, and because I had been listed by my mum as next of kin after she passed away, I was told my dad had Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia. Our relationship over my 3-year caring journey went through a complete role reversal of our parent-child roles. I took early retirement from my job BUT when I tell you my final job was being in charge of the Roads Department for the City of Edinburgh Council it wasn’t too hard to step way early. So, I ended up feeding my dad, reading him stories, consoling him, wiping his bottom and, along with his paid carers, generally looking after him. I found that looking back through family photo albums and listening to music stimulated his failing memory and brought us closer together. I never lived with my father but interacted with his paid carers on a daily basis.
The break sessions in the Vocal courses I attended started the participants informally discussing their roles as carers, and through that I was more able to accept my role as a carer, as well as my role as a son. The discussions brought the attendees together in sharing the experience they were going through with their family members.
I think Vocal picked up on this interaction and asked for volunteers to be trained as “peer mentors”, to literally share experiences with carers in similar roles. I carried out the training, became a peer mentor and, in that role, have met many carers over the past few years. My father passed away at 91, when I was being trained, so my carer role ceased, but I continued training to become a peer mentor.
I still find it cathartic to talk about my father and the caring experience I had with him, so peer mentoring has given me that sharing opportunity to talk about my father, that otherwise would never have happened. I am assured by Vocal staff who receive the feedback from carers who have been through peer mentoring, that it has been a hugely positive experience and is very well received. It may however never have happened if, as I believe, Vocal had not keenly observed the interactions of attendees at their day courses, and seen the value in carers sharing their experiences, in order to help other carers deal better or more knowledgeably with their caring role.
Vocal was there for me when I needed information to help me understand my father’s condition and the anticipated journey of a terminal disease. I am fortunate, and I even feel privileged, to have been given the opportunity to repay Vocal by volunteering for them in my role as a peer mentor”.
Regulated Roles: Current ‘Regulated Work’ will become ‘Regulated Roles.’ If you’re in a Regulated Role, you legally need to become a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.
New Responsibilities: Both the organisation and the individual are now responsible for ensuring PVG membership if in a Regulated Role. This means if your organisation mistakenly says you don’t need a PVG when you actually do, both parties could face legal consequences.
New Roles Added: Some roles that weren’t previously covered by the PVG scheme, like football agents, talent scouts, and certain hospice positions, now require it.
What You Need To Do:
Check if You’re Doing or Providing a Regulated Role: Identify if your role or your staff/ volunteers’ roles are classed as Regulated Roles.
Get PVG Membership if Required: If your role qualifies, make sure you join the PVG scheme before April 1 2025.
Stay Updated: Check out Disclosure Scotland’s website at www.disclosure.gov.scot for full details of the upcoming changes.
If you are unsure about the changes or have any questions, contact Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS):
After two weeks of planning and learning about event management, young people from across Midlothian came together to host a Teddy Bears Picnic for local children and their families. The event took place on Friday 2 August 2024 in Dalkeith Country Park Community Garden, and was facilitated by Volunteer Midlothian. We had 80 parents/ carers and children in attendance. The volunteers designed a famous bears treasure hunt and there was a pop up café serving refreshments and snacks. Children had the opportunity to meet the bear and guess his name, the children were so excited they could bearly contain themselves!
Young volunteers welcoming guests to the ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ event.
Carey Douglas, Youth Coordinator at Volunteer Midlothian said:
“The young people were full of enthusiasm and energy from the get go. They became a team very quickly and worked hard to plan and host the event which was a roaring success, I am very proud of them all for their commitment and hard work.”
When asked about the volunteering experience, one volunteer said:
“I enjoyed organising the event and deciding what to include. I enjoyed working as a team and meeting new people. I enjoyed welcoming the children on the day and seeing all the smiley faces. Its been great everyone has been very supportive.”
A member of the public who came along to the event said:
“This is the third event I have been to in the garden it is such a safe space there is always someone on the gate so you can let the kids enjoy their treasure hunt, I had a cuppa. It is such a great event well done to the young volunteers for organising it. I will be back again next year!”
A young guest at the event said:
“It was Pawsome!”
The event was the culmination of two weeks of hard work from the young volunteers, who met weekly to plan the event as part of Volunteer Midlothian’s Summer Youth Programme, ‘Event Volunteers’. The young volunteers took part in team working activities, they learned about poster design principals, marketing, customer service, planning and communication. With the latter in mind young people also helped at our conversation café funded by UK Shared Prosperity fund. The café is dedicated to helping learners in Midlothian enhance their English speaking abilities.
The young volunteers will all now receive Saltire Awards as recognition for organising and hosting this unbearably special event!
Thank you to everyone who came along and supported our volunteers! Learn more about our Transform project for young people here.
Disclosure Scotland has opened a proposal to introduce feesfor volunteering. They plan to remove the current fee waiver and apply a fee of £28 for volunteers to join the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme membership (this is a 60% reduction on the proposed standard fee of £70). If implemented, this will have a huge impact on volunteers and volunteer involving organisations.
Disclosure Scotland are also making changes to the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. As part of this, the PVG membership scheme will become a legal requirement for those in ‘Regulated Roles’, this could mean that even more people will need to be signed up to the PVG scheme, thus more people will be affected by the fee proposal.
Our Stance
We believe volunteering should be free for everyone. Volunteers give their time and effort to help others and asking them to pay to do so is insulting.
At a time when we are in a volunteer crisis and volunteer numbers are steadily falling, this only puts up more barriers to volunteering. Many organisations rely on volunteers to do important work, and adding fees will make it harder for them to recruit volunteers.
The implementation of this fee goes against core values and meaning of volunteering. The Volunteer Charter from Volunteer Scotland mentions, “No one should be prevented from volunteering due to their income.”.
What You Can Do
Now is your chance to speak up. We are conducting our own survey to examine the impact implementing fees for PVGs could have on volunteers and volunteer involving organisations:
ALSO, westrongly encourage you to submit your views to the VSDS online consultation. They will use this feedback to decide whether to go forward with these fee structures. Your responses are crucial.
You do not need to answer every question, however we urge you to answer the ‘discount for volunteers’ section. The two questions are as follows:
Question 6 – Do you agree with the proposal to move to a fee discount structure for volunteers in QVOs?
[Yes / no / don’t know]
Question 7 – What information do you think we need to consider when proposing moving to a fee discount for volunteers in QVOs?
[Free text]
We think Question 6 is ambiguous and could be interpreted in different ways. We recommend you do not to answer this question, and instead write your full response under Question 7.
Spread the Word
Share this information with your colleagues, friends, and anyone else who might be interested. Together, we can make sure volunteering stays accessible for everyone.
