Volunteer
WCS was accredited the Investing in Volunteer award in 2022 for our recognition and commitment to volunteering. WCS has pledged our commitment to the Volunteer Charter to supports our foundations for a good volunteer experience and upholding the principles of good volunteer practice.
Become a Volunteer
Volunteering creates opportunities for Care Experienced people to connect with one another, understand their identity and build a strong sense of self and belonging to the care family.
We run regular groups, national events and campaigns that influence positive change with professionals and community members. Our volunteers support all of this work, enriching and enhancing the experiences of our members by bringing their skills, experience and passion to our movement.
Our volunteering roles have three main themes:
Participation support
Helping bring Care Experienced members together, both locally and nationally, by supporting regular groups, activities and events.
Firstly, no 2 days volunteering at groups at Who Cares? Scotland are ever the same, every group I support is unique, fun, exciting and every time, I get to know the young people a little bit better. The groups range from sitting chatting doing arts and crafts, running about with a football, playing games, listening to their worries, to trying to empower young people and give them the confidence to have their voices heard.
Taking part in activities, it’s brought me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to do things. The young people just want to have fun with you, have new experiences and feel they belong, just being themselves.
Being A Youth/Group Work Support Volunteer you should enjoy every single second of it, embrace every opportunity that gets thrown at you, you won’t regret it. Just get involved, get stuck in, bring your skills, put forward your own ideas, just be yourself, let your hair down and have a really great time with the young people. Being at my group every fortnight I have got to know the young people, they have built trust in me and feel confident that I am now a consistent in this space they belong to and feel safe and I always leave feeling better than when I came in.
Going the group has become part of my life, it’s something that I enjoy enormously. I feel valued. Sometimes you go home with bits of glitter in your hair, bits of glue, it’s kind of a rite of passage and I like that part of it. It’s just an amazing thing, it gets right into your heart, and that’s where it stays.
As part of my role with groups I have had the privilege of helping at Spring and Summer programmes, taking the young people out on day trips. These have been the best days, and honestly no better way that you could spend a day off. Watching the young people take part in activities that I might have taken for granted and assumed that you can just go and do these things whenever you want, but for the young people it was the first time for a lot of them that they were getting the opportunity to do something fun, just be a kid and enjoy themselves, and the difference it made, you got to see new parts of their personalities come out and be completely carefree and it was just lovely to watch. I’m very happy in my role and that I make a difference and that I contribute somehow.
The impact of volunteering on the young people has been quite apparent, and I think it shows itself in trust, and their openness, and I think it happens quite quickly with the volunteers as I think we have an aura about us that we give off, that we want to help, we want to make things better and once you establish that trust, what you get from the young people is just amazing, they’re incredible.
What I’ve got out of the volunteering experience with the different things I’ve done I just a sense of pride, because it’s such fun and their smiles and the happiness is reward in itself.
Influencing support
Helping us to bring about positive change by celebrating care identity, and raising awareness in local communities, schools and neighbourhoods.
I have been a Community Schools Volunteer since 2021. I was drawn to volunteer for Who Cares? Scotland because of the amazing work they do and I wanted to be part of that, to give a little back from my own experience of being in care.
This volunteer role involves helping to deliver presentations and talks in schools to raise awareness of what school can be like for young people in care. This work is important to help everyone in a schools environment understand Care Experience more and to stop the stigma and barriers that young people from all different types of care can face. This role is about working with the Who Cares? Scotland school delivery team, the school staff and pupils to raise awareness of Care Experience and the work of Who Cares? Scotland and help young people who are (or even don’t know they are) Care Experienced to know what support and opportunities they could get from Who Cares? Scotland and their wider rights. This work is also crucial to help school staff and young people who are not Care Experienced to understand the challenges those in care can face and to ensure Care Experienced young people feel respected, included and understood in their school communities.
Volunteering in this role, I have been able to get to know young people a little and it has been great to then see them engage with Who Cares? Scotland, helping them to own and be proud of their care identity. It has also been great to see them engaging with Who Cares? Scotland outside of school through their groups and events and remember me from their school inputs.
For me personally, I have been able to gain confidence and it has helped with my own education path and career. It has helped me to grow personally and feel like I am achieving something important and really making a difference. I am proud to be able to give my time to such important work.
I would recommend anyone to volunteer at Who Cares? Scotland because it is an amazing experience and you really are making a difference for Care Experienced people.
Organisational support
Helping us to increase our reach, locally and nationally, through membership, fundraising and creating new opportunities.
Volunteering as a Helpline Volunteer with Who Cares? Scotland is about providing support to Care Experienced people of any age, and those who support them. We speak to Care Experienced people (and sometimes social workers or other support workers) on the phone and via email about a range of issues including their time growing up in care and its lifelong impact, our Advocacy provision, financial challenges, housing & homelessness, family relationships, and mental health & wellbeing. The Helpline’s aim is to support Care Experienced people to feel empowered, confident, independent and resilient within their own lives.
We received a great amount of training before we started which really helped me to get to know the team, know what was expected of me, learn, but also feel supported to take on this role with the continued support from the Helpline staff team. Our role is to have one-to-one conversations, sometimes of an extremely sensitive nature and to be able to signpost, offer support to help with these challenging situations people are facing.
I really enjoy this role as I feel privileged to be able to provide a listening space for Care Experienced people when they find themselves needing it the most. I have been able to use my skills and knowledge and put this to good use, offering information to help callers make informed decisions with their issues. We are able to offer Care Experienced people a connection to Who Cares? Scotland to support them to resolve their issues where we can.
This is a really rewarding role where I genuinely feel I am making a difference, supporting people when they often need it the most and are not sure who to turn to. Conversations can range from those calling in distress and needing immediate support, to those calling purely for a connection and knowing it is a safe space, to those updating you on their progress from the support you offered and hearing their appreciation of the help you were able to give them.
This role has had a huge impact on me personally. I have been able to gain new skills and knowledge, build my confidence as well as learn how I cope with challenging situations.
The Who Cares? Scotland Christmas Dinner for Care Experienced people is a great way to volunteer your time. There is literally something for everyone to be able to contribute to whether behind the scenes (helping source gifts, decorating for the big day, writing Christmas cards, making up Christmas parcels) or actually on the day itself. Having volunteered at The Christmas Dinner I seen how important it is for those who choose to attend and it is an excellent way to make all of the Care Experienced people in attendance really feel a sense of belonging and connection on, what can be a tough day and be able to help them enjoy a fantastic Christmas Day.
Volunteering on Christmas Day for Who Cares? Scotland was a highlight of my year and. It was clear how valued we were and that volunteers are essential to create this event and make it a special day for those attending. I felt privileged to have the opportunity to really make a difference and to see that difference in peoples’ faces. I met so many great people and had fun at the same time of giving my support to this day.
Many Care Experienced people who want to attend the Christmas Dinner may struggle to get there. I was able to help by providing transport to and from the dinner. Immediately on arrival to collect my first passenger I could sense the excitement for the day ahead. That excitement hadn’t diminished by the end of the day. The feedback in the car on the way home was amazing, folks were absolutely buzzing. One girl had a gift bag that was taller than her, and full of Harry Potter themed gifts which she absolutely loved. Leaving her with a smile on her face and good memories of a Christmas Day made it all worth it.
Providing transport as a volunteer gives certainty and security to those who want to attend. Even if you think you’ll struggle to help on the day, just something as simple as providing transport can change someone’s Christmas for the better. It was helpful to be able to chat in the car on the way there, reassuring their nerves about the event and that I was there for them all day if they needed me, as a person they now knew.
There was a sense of excitement and energy throughout the whole day. It really was an amazing way to spend Christmas Day and made me think about what’s really important at this time of the year. It was magical sharing this experience with the young people
I felt very moved by the whole thing. It really changed a negative narrative I had around Christmas and I took so much from this experience. It felt great to be involved in something that was doing such good work at a time that can be so difficult for people
It’s what the festive season should be about!
The time that you are able to give makes a difference.
What our volunteers say...
Current Volunteering Opportunities
There are currently some specific volunteering opportunities available in a limited number of areas, however, if none of them work for you, you can still fill in an application form and we’ll contact you about any future opportunities.
Looking to work for us? Check out our Work for us page.
We are looking for volunteers who have access to their own car and can help to enhance our Care Experienced members experience of attending our regular groups and events by providing transport to and from these fortnightly groups.
Transport is one of the biggest barriers our young people face in being able to attend their group. This role has a focus on picking up young people and driving them to Bellshill where the group is based and then returning them home after the session. Pick ups are across the North Lanarkshire area.
How to Apply
Three simple steps to becoming a Who Cares? Scotland volunteer...
1
Complete our volunteer application form online
Your application will let us know if there is a specific role you wish to do and we can learn about your skills, experience and desires to volunteer and how much time you have to spare.
2
Review of your application
We’ll take time to read your application. We do receive a high level of interest from prospective volunteers. Please note that this phase will take place within 3 working days.
3
We’ll be in touch
Dependant on the outcome of your application, the next stage will involve meeting us for an informal interview – a ‘get to know us and you session’!
FAQs
Although we have established volunteer themes and roles, we would welcome any other skills that you might be able to bring, whether it is from your current working life or a past role. Let us know what your skill is and how you and your specialist skill can support Who Cares? Scotland.
If you have any volunteering enquiries or need help with our online application form please email our Volunteer Team at volunteering@whocaresscotland.org
Volunteer stories
Youth Volunteering Case Study
Hear from youth volunteer Shaun about why volunteering is important and how it’s benefitted him.
Investing in Volunteers
Hear from Yvonne, our Volunteer and Participation Manager who shares the exciting achievement of being awarded the Investing in Volunteers accreditation.
What Volunteering Means to Me – Jim’s Volunteer Blog
Hear from Jim, one of our Volunteers in Moray, who talks about why volunteering is important to him.
Get Into Summer – Jacqui’s Volunteer Blog
One of our volunteers, Jacqui talks about having fun during our summer 2021 programme with a trip to Edinburgh Zoo.
