Barnardo’s is committed to providing ‘Better Outcomes for More Children’. Our children’s services volunteers help the charity to deliver essential services in local communities, providing support to over 300,000 children, young people and their families. This role provides a great opportunity to join our fantastic children’s services and help make a real difference. A young carer is someone up to the age of 18 who provides unpaid help and support to a relative, friend or neighbour who due to illness or disability cannot manage to live independently without the carer’s help. It may involve practical support like cooking, housework, or emotional support. Aberdeen Young Carers are looking for Befrienders to spend some quality time with a child or young person between the ages of 5-18 on a regular basis, getting to know them, and building up a positive relationship by being reliable and non-judgemental when listening to them. Befrienders will support the young person to enjoy activities and experiences within the Aberdeen community therefore reducing isolation, and promoting self-esteem and confidence. This is a flexible opportunity and you can commit to meeting with a child or young person for a few hours on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis depending on what time you have available. This would take place outside of school hours, predominately over evenings or weekends. To be a one-to-one Befriender we ask for a minimum time commitment of six months, so that the child or young person has some consistency. We are looking for volunteers, with a passion for making a difference in young people’s lives, with a friendly and approachable attitude and an ability to engage young people, empowering them to take steps towards improving their situation and achieving their goals.
Could you build a positive relationship with them, to support them to face their challenges, make active choices and informed decisions? Are you great at listening to children and young people in a non-judgemental way?
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Tasks: Building positive relationships with children and young people by meeting with them regularly on a one-to-one basis.
Encouraging children and young people to access resources, groups and activities within their local community, such as after school activities, youth groups, and sports clubs.
Promoting and encouraging service users to make active choices and informed decisions.
Accompanying children and young people to attend meetings or attending on their behalf.
Providing emotional/moral support for children and young people, while maintaining an appropriate volunteer/service user rapport.
Adhering to Barnardo’s policies and procedures at all times, including Barnardo’s: Safeguarding; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Health & Safety; Data Protection; Confidentiality; Recording policies and procedures.
Participating fully in training and supervision.
Volunteering within Barnardo’s Values and Behaviours
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Skills: Reliable, punctual and trustworthy.
Approachable and welcoming.
Being passionate about making a difference in the lives of children, young people and families.
Being non-judgmental and positive in their attitude to working with individuals from different backgrounds.
Good listening and communication skills.
The ability to manage and respond positively to challenging situations.
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Benefits: Full induction and training.
Other training opportunities relevant to the volunteer role.
Regular supervision and support.
Out of pocket expenses agreed in advance.
Access to the Barnardo’s internal vacancy listing.
Our volunteers tell us about lots of other benefits of volunteering including; experience of working with children, young people and families; experience for your CV; supporting your local community; meeting new people; increasing self-confidence; feeling like you are making a difference; improving your health and wellbeing; and a chance to contribute to a worthwhile children’s charity.
Disclaimer: We look to recruit a diverse range of volunteers. If your skills don’t fit the role exactly, please do not let this put you off as we are able to be flexible with most of our roles. If you are unable to apply online through the link on this page, please contact the Barnardo’s Volunteering Team on volunteering@barnardos.org.uk or call us on 0208 498 732

Please refer the Job description for details