Volunteering
Can you help? Transport volunteers wanted.
The hunt is on for community stars to help some of the most vulnerable people in their area. 
A Grampian wide volunteer recruitment drive is being launched to find generous people to help support community transport operators across the region.
Volunteers are needed to help people to get to and from vital appointments such as health and social care.
Recruiting people with the passion and time to volunteer for a cause is a constant struggle for many organisations and the recruitment drive hopes to assist that process.
Volunteer roles can range from driving minibuses, using their own cars to transport people (for which they will receive a mileage rate) or acting as escorts to help passengers in and out of vehicles, providing support during the journey.
Volunteers can gain a huge amount of satisfaction from contributing their time and efforts;
Chris Rowe, who started volunteering 2 years ago said “I get satisfaction knowing that I help others to get to their appointments, shopping or visiting friends”.
Madge Forsyth has been volunteering for 14 years: “The smile on people’s faces when I pick them up to take them to their appointments is all the reward I need”.
As well as helping recruit more volunteers, the aim of the project is to establish and build relationships with partners across the health, social care and transport sectors. These relationships are essential in delivering the objectives of the Health and Transport Action Plan (HTAP), designed to improve partnership working across a range of transport and health related issues with access to services being a key issue.
HTAP Programme Manager, Andrew Stewart, said “The recruitment drive is one example of how partner organisations can support each other in achieving improved access for residents.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about volunteering opportunities should contact the Transport to Health Information Centre (THInC) on (01224) 665568. THInC can also provide information on how to get to health and social care appointments by public transport.
For more information on the recruitment drive, please contact Andrew Stewart, HTAP Programme Manager on 01224 664092 or by emailing mailto:andrew.stewart@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
Pride of Aberdeen Awards
We are delighted to let you know that Fly Cup Catering Inverurie was nominated for these prestigious awards and have now been selected as a finalist! As you may know, Original 106fm launched once again the Pride of Aberdeen Awards earlier this year to recognise those doing amazing things in our lives and workplaces today. The Original 106fm panel of independent judges then shortlisted the nominations and selected their final three to go forward as finalists in each category. We are thrilled to announce that Fly Cup Catering have been chosen as one of the three finalists in one of the categories.
What happens next? Well, the overall winner of each category will be decided by open public vote and announced on the night of the ceremony. All the finalists in each category are being revealed over the next few weeks on air, but in the meantime all the finalists will be listed for public vote on the event’s website as of tomorrow (Tuesday the 11th of October):
http://www.prideofaberdeenawards.com/
Please do feel free to share all this information with your friends, family and colleagues so they are able to support Fly Cup Catering by voting online, which is absolutely free to do.
Fly Cup Catering was set up for adults with learning disabilities in recognition of the self-esteem, social and economic benefits that can be gained by being part of a supportive work and training environment. Trainees gain work experience by helping to run the Fly Cup Coffee shop at Burghmuir Circle, Inverurie. The trainees are also involved in the delivery of outside catering services, and the production of bakery goods which they supply to local shops and businesses. Fly Cup is a Scottish charity which enables adults with learning disabilities to access training and employment opportunities within the catering sector.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HELPING YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY TO BECOME MORE ACTIVE?
A Volunteer Walk Leaders Training Courses is being held in Stonehaven on Thursday 6 October 2016. The course is designed to establish a group of local people (aged over 18 years) who are trained to promote and lead Health Walks on an ongoing basis.
Only one day of training is necessary but information will be provided to support development of local walks in Kincardine and Mearns for walk leaders attending the training through Paths for All and through local contacts.
A Health Walk is a short, local, low level walk which seeks to encourage and support people to become more active. A typical health walk usually lasts between 10 minutes and 1 hour.
| Date: |
Thursday 6 October 2016 |
| Time: |
9.30am to 4.30pm Registration from 9.15am onwards |
| Venue: |
McRobert Pavilion Mineralwell Park Stonehaven AB39 2RD
|
|
Cost: |
FREE including resource materials (packed lunch required) |
For booking and more information please contact:
Brenda Johns, Clerical Officer, NHS Grampian
Email: nhsg.publichealth@nhs.net
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HELPING YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY TO BECOME MORE ACTIVE?
A Volunteer Walk Leaders Training Courses is being held in Stonehaven on Thursday 6 October 2016. The course is designed to establish a group of local people (aged over 18 years) who are trained to promote and lead Health Walks on an ongoing basis.
Only one day of training is necessary but information will be provided to support development of local walks in Kincardine and Mearns for walk leaders attending the training through Paths for All and through local contacts.
A Health Walk is a short, local, low level walk which seeks to encourage and support people to become more active. A typical health walk usually lasts between 10 minutes and 1 hour.
| Date: | Thursday 6 October 2016 |
| Time: | 9.30am to 4.30pm
Registration from 9.15am onwards |
| Venue: | McRobert Pavilion
Mineralwell Park Stonehaven AB39 2RD
|
| Cost: | FREE including resource materials
(packed lunch required) |
For booking and more information please contact:
Brenda Johns, Clerical Officer, NHS Grampian
Email: nhsg.publichealth@nhs.net
Carers Parliament 2016: Registration for ballot opens
Carers Parliament brings together carers from across Scotland to discuss the issues that matter to them and to make their voices heard by politicians and other key decision makers. The fifth Carers Parliament is taking place on Wednesday 2nd November 2016 at Heriot-Watt University’s confer
ence centre in Edinburgh. Sign up for the ballot for a chance to take part and make your voice heard on the issues that are important to carers.
How the ballot works: There are two places available for carers from each of the 73 Scottish Parliament constituencies. These will be drawn by ballot by carers on the Steering Group in late July. Carers will be notified in August if they have been successful. If you would like to be considered for a place, apply here: https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/news/carers-parliament-2016-registration-for-ballot-opens
Stonehaven Folk Festival
Are currently organising their team of Volunteers for the Festival weekend (7-10 July 2016). There is a core of regular volunteers but they are always looking for new people to join the team. Duties range from helping set up the venues, stewarding concerts or workshops, selling raffle tickets, general admin duties and tidying up after the festival. Previous similar experience is not necessary but it would be helpful, for more information please contact Louise at friends@stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk.
Stonehaven Recreation Grounds Update
Over the last few years there has been a considerable degree of interest in the land that the recreation grounds occupy. This interest has come from other local groups outside of the Trustees who run the grounds and the Trustees (who are all unpaid volunteers) have purposely not commented on these ideas. What is perhaps not common knowledge is that the Trustees are bound by the restrictions within the Trust deeds for the grounds which stipulate that the land must be used for recreational purposes.
Recently, there has been a significant development due to the Long Lease (Scotland) Act. This act came into force in November 2015 and meant that the title to the recreation grounds land passed to the Trustees of the grounds. This act does not change the bounds of the Trust nor the requirements placed upon the Trustees to use the grounds for recreational purposes.
However, having this land now opens opportunities for the Trustees to develop greater and more varied recreational facilities. It has been sad that Stonehaven has suffered a loss of facilities over the years, such as the squash courts at the old County Hotel. With this in mind, the Trustees are seeking the opinions of the Stonehaven community on what recreational facilities they would like to see at the recreation grounds and we have developed a short online survey to gather your views. We should stress that this survey is only the first small step in examining what the community would ideally like to see and would use at the grounds and how much redevelopment of the site would be needed to fulfil this requirement.
After this initial data gathering exercise we will happily share the results and if and when any draft plans are to be put forward, then the Trustees will engage with feedback sessions and input from the wider community. We would greatly appreciate your thoughts and our survey can be found via a link on our Facebook page or directly at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SRG-future
Thanks for your time and input and we look forward to receiving your comments! Hopefully we can use this as a starting point for delivering improved recreational facilities for Stonehaven.
Have Your Say!
Friends of the Mill of Benholm need your help.
They are working with a team of consultants on a feasibility study looking at the future of the Mill.
This is your chance to have your say and the more responses to the Survey Monkey link below the better, so please try and find 5 minutes to complete the survey and please forward the link on to anyone else that you think might be interested.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Mill_of_Benholm_Community
A public meeting is being held at Johnshaven Village Hall at 7pm on Wednesday 15th June where there will be the chance to explore different ideas for the Mill … this is another important opportunity for the community to get involved so please put the date in your diary.
PORTLETHEN COMMUNITY WOODLAND MANAGEMENT EVENINGS
Over the summer months Portlethen Moss Conservation
Group organise woodland management sessions at the
community woodland. Usually on a Wednesday evening
once a month from May to September. Come along
and join in with a little light exercise, socialise and get
involved in caring for your local wildlife site. 
MEET: at Portlethen Community Woodland
For dates and times and some fabulous photos please
visit the group’s Facebook site http://www.facebook.com/
portlethenmoss
Push The Boat Out
Marketing Volunteer/s Wanted for “Pushing Out the Boat” Literary Magazine
Do you have sales or marketing skills? Do you enjoy literature and art?
If you answered “yes” to BOTH of these questions you might be able to help.“Pushing out the Boat”
– North-East Scotland’s magazine of new writing and visual arts needs to raise its profile and
increase the circulation. To find out more about it, go to
http://www.pushingouttheboat.co.uk
They need short-term marketing assistance as well as more permanent help.
Ideally, tasks could include: identify new ways of raising their profile; update the sales pitch
on the website; issue press releases, improve use of social media; organise events;
securing new sales outlets; and any other ideas.
They have volunteers in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Angus, all working from home;
and they meet as required and at monthly Committees (usually in Ferryhill, Aberdeen).
To find out more about this volunteering opportunity contact Freda Hasler at:
coordinator@pushingouttheboat.co.uk
Volunteers needed to help blind people get online
RNIB wants those with a couple of spare hours a month to visit a blind person
in their local area to help them use the internet. RNIB is looking to recruit
volunteers for its Online Today project which aims to help 125,000
people with sensory loss across the UK get online.
Volunteers are required to commit a few hours a month to visit blind and partially sighted
people in their own homes and help them develop digital skills like browsing
the internet, sending emails, and using an e-reader.
Since its launch in 2015, Online Today events throughout the UK have helped thousands
of people with sight and hearing loss get online.
For more information about volunteering for Online Today go to: www.rnib.org.uk/onlinevolunteer
Are a good listener and communicator?
NHS Grampian is looking for two people to
join its Board as non-executive members
If you are a good listener and communicator and can analyse and review complex issues, you could
be one of the people NHS Grampian are looking for. Anyone with the essential skills to make
a contribution to the Board, as detailed in the application pack, is encouraged to apply.
An application pack and full details can be found at:
www.appointed-for-scotland.org and by clicking on “search vacancies” on the left
hand side. Closing date for applications is Friday 15th April 2016.
K&M Communities 