Volunteering : Make a difference in your Community

🤔Who is stepping up?

Forget the stereotypes, in Edinburgh, volunteering spans across all generations, recent data shows that 16–34 year olds are just as active (if not more so) than older age groups, proving a massive surge in young people wanting to be involved in improving their community 👨‍👩‍👦

🤝 It gives back to you, too.

Volunteer Scotland’s “State of Life” research has found volunteering atleast once a week brings an estimated £1,000 per person, per year in wellbeing value. Plus, regular volunteers report massive boosts to personal achievement, community connection and life experience 👨‍🦳

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Why volunteer with a social enterprise?

When you volunteer with a social enterprise, you can gain valuable skills and build community connections while directly supporting businesses that reinvest every penny into community, people and the planet 🌏

Hive Mind Speaks – Apply Here

Events Lead, Bid Writing Assistant, Communications Lead, Fundraising Volunteer Lead, Business Development Lead, People & Culture Coordinator, Community Development Lead & Content Creator

Shrub Coop – Multiple Opportunities available – Apply Here

Trustee, Cycle Buddy, Cycle Trainer, Food Sharing Hub Volunteer, Communications Volunteer, Finance and Enterprise Volunteer, Admin Volunteer, Sewing and Mending Volunteer, Space Engineer, Bike Wrangler

The Salisbury Centre – Multiple opportunities available – Apply Here

Community Seasonal Celebrations Volunteer, Community Meals Co-host, Garden Volunteer, DIY Volunteer, Meditation Volunteer, Seed Library Volunteers, Promotion & Visual Design Volunteer, Befriender Volunteer and Trustee

MyEdinburgh – Visitor Experience Volunteer – Apply Here

Edinburgh Community Food – Warehouse Volunteer – Apply Here

Rhyze Mushrooms – Farm Volunteer – Apply Here

The Bike Station – Shop Floor Volunteers (Tollcross) Apply Here | Shop Floor Volunteer (Gorgie) – Apply Here

St Columba’s Hospice Care – Morningside Shop Volunteer – Apply Here | Stockbridge Shop Retail Volunteer – Apply Here

The Edinburgh Remakery – Events & Workshops Volunteer | Sewing and Textiles Repair Cafe Volunteer – Apply Here

Think Circus – Multiple Opportunities Available – Apply Here

Circus Class Assistant, Events Assistant, Young Volunteer (Ages 16/17) Content Creator, Filming & Photography, Social Media Engagement

Art & Spirituality – Multiple opportunities available – Apply by E-mailing Here for a chat

Website Administrator, Artist with Group Work experience, Corporate Sales Administrator, Data Entry & Communications Officer

Sanitree – Roles for Edinburgh University Students – Apply Here

Business and Finance Manager, Sales Manager, Fundraising/Donations Officer, Social Media Manager, Events Manager, Outreach Officer, Head Designer, Head Writer

Cyrenians – Driver – Apply Here | Residential Community Volunteer – Apply Here

LifeCare – Inspiring Video Content Creator – Apply Here

Citadel Youth Centre – Volunteer Youth Worker – Apply Here

Scran Academy – Academy Programme Support Volunteer – Apply Here

Spartans Community Foundation – 14+ Volunteers for Football Development Programme – Click here to e-mail for a chat

Linknet – Multiple Volunteering Opportunities Available – E-mail here or Visit Here for more information.

Goodies – Multiple opportunities available – Apply Here

Shop helper, Food collector/sorter & Cafe helper

Grassmarket Community Project

Tartan Enterprise Assistant – Apply Here

Make & Mend Activity Volunteer – Apply Here

WHALE Arts – Multiple opportunities available – Apply Here

Community Café Volunteer (Barista), Men’s Makers Support & Open Studio Support

VOCAL (Voice of Carers Across Lothian) – Centre Volunteer – Apply Here

One World Shop – Retail Team Volunteer – Apply Here

Transition Edinburgh South – Youth Work Volunteer – Apply Here

Edinburgh Food Social – Garden Tidy Up Volunteer – Apply Here

Rowan Alba – Wellbeing & Activities Volunteer – Apply Here

Aerial Art House – Children’s Class Assistant, Circus School – Apply Here

Columcille – Dance Volunteer – Apply Here

Edinburgh Community Food – Board Members & Volunteers – Apply Here

Eric Liddell Community – Volunteer – Apply Here

Heart of Newhaven Community – Trustees – Apply Here

Space @ The Broomhouse Hub – Befriender – Apply Here | Young Carer’s Group Volunteer – Apply Here

Datakirk – Social Media Project Volunteer – Apply Here

The main organisation for volunteering in Edinburgh and where we found many of these opportunities is Volunteer Edinburgh.

There are hundreds of different ways to volunteer in Edinburgh. No matter who you are, how much or how little time you have or why you want to volunteer, there is a role that is just right for you. Organisations across the city require a variety of skills and will value the time you have to give.

Volunteer Edinburgh can help you find it. They have been helping all sorts of people in Edinburgh find volunteering for over 45 years. Offering both volunteering opportunities listed from companies, to a jobs board where you can list your skills and be sought out by people in need of your help. For a list of current open opportunities for volunteering in Edinburgh click here.

Any voluntary or public sector organisation can register with them and this allows you to advertise your volunteering opportunities with them for free, to find out more about this click here.

Opportunities & Learning

Offering a range of learning and development opportunities throughout the year, including Core Skills in Volunteer Management (CSVM), Evolve (CPD for Volunteer Managers), Inspire (Peer Support), and the new Challenge Workshops covering a wide range of subjects relevant to working with volunteers.

They hold regular “What We Offer You” sessions to help you get the best from us, and we provide bespoke training solutions tailored to your individual organisational needs.

Volunteer Wiki

This resource has been developed by Volunteer Edinburgh with support from partners, to give volunteer managers access to high quality, reliable and up to date information on managing volunteers.

Whether you are just starting out involving volunteers or you have been managing volunteers for many years, they aim to cover a wide range of volunteer management issues and give you access to the knowledge that you need. Take a look at the Volunteer Wiki here.

avie AI

Volunteer Edinburgh have their own volunteer AI named “avie”, designed specifically for volunteer managers. Whether you’re looking to streamline your administrative tasks or enhance your volunteer programmes, avie offers a range of features tailored to make managing volunteers easier and more efficient.