Published: 13/03/26

Goodbye from the Local Volunteering Gateways Team

Approaching the end of our Local Gateways project, it is hard to articulate how much of a positive contribution having outreach opportunities in communities across Edinburgh has had for people to connect and find volunteering.

We would like to take a moment to thank all the organisations that we have collaborated with throughout the project for being open to supporting volunteers and letting them thrive.

Volunteering underpins so much of what is special about the projects that we are part of, and together our work has strengthened and supported local communities by making volunteering more accessible, as well as helping as many people as possible explore all the benefits of volunteering.

We are so proud to have supported over 230 people to start volunteering, as well as organising nearly 700 events and supporting 539 Voluntary Organisations. We have also reduced the barriers to volunteering for the 534 people referred to the project.

The work undertaken by this project has been transformational in changing lives as well as offering a massive support to organisations across the city. We have received some wonderful feedback from clients and referral partners that highlight how crucial these services are for all kinds of people across Edinburgh:

feedback

It was a great pleasure to meet you and to take part in the volunteering introduction sessions. Your guidance, patience, and encouragement meant a lot to me...I am sincerely grateful for everything you have done to support me and others in our community. Your help has given me more confidence and motivation to continue my volunteering journey. I will always remember your support and the positive energy you shared with us. Thank you once again for everything.

Local Gateway Client, 2026

I am so very pleased that S is on the pathway to undertaking volunteering with them. From her explanation to me about your help, she is so elated by the prospect of the volunteering and really admired your helpful and inspiring nature.

Third Sector Organisation

It's great that I have been accepted for the smart works position and would like to explore more fashion stylist volunteering opportunities if there are more to apply for in Edinburgh. Thank you for your help to help me get the smart works position.

Local Gateway Client, 2025

Just wanted to let you know I'm still volunteering at Granton Castle Walled Garden, I'm having a great time there getting to know a lot of people and learning new skills. Also still volunteering at Seaview Charitable Trust, I got my PVG certificate so, very pleased with that... I'm still pursuing my dreams.

Local Gateway Client, 2024

I was speaking to one of your success stories today. Ten weeks now volunteering and his baseline of confidence is at a higher level than before.

Community Link Worker

Moving forwards if you have any clients or participants who are interested in volunteering, please direct them to our office on Leith Walk, or you can reach out to our team at hello@volunteeredingburgh.org.uk.

Volunteer Edinburgh is also here to help any voluntary organisations in Edinburgh, so if you do need advice, guidance, or training on how to engage with volunteers please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Local Volunteering Gateway is a project delivered by Volunteer Edinburgh
and funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Family Befriender	Connections Volunteer Mentor	Adult Supportive Transport Driver	Activity Buddy	Lothians Perinatal Befriender
Are you someone who believes in the power of listening and connection? Join us as a Family Befriender at Home Link Family Support, where your support can make a world of difference to families with young children.	Our volunteer mentors are matched with young people who have completed either our Choices or Chances programmes with a positive destination. Main activities will include meeting with your mentee regularly for up to 12 months. Developing an action plan to help them sustain their positive destination. Support your mentee in figuring out what goals they want to work on next. Offer support and advice to your mentee as they navigate the next chapter of young adulthood.	The Supportive Transport Service is a key part of what we offer. It provides transportation to individuals living with or affected by HIV and/or Hepatitis C, helping them meet medical, social care, and daily needs. This might include transport to medical appointments, community activities, or essential errands like grocery shopping. Many Service Users face barriers to traveling independently due to factors such as limited mobility, social anxiety, or financial constraints. In addition to transportation, our drivers often provide a supportive presence by listening or helping individuals reflect on information shared during appointments.	The role of the Activity Buddy is to provide practical support and reduce isolation. The people we work with can find it hard to attend appointments and leisure activities due to poor physical/mental health, limited mobility, social anxiety or literacy issues. When illness, mobility, or side-effects of medication make housework or going out difficult, we offer support to make the home environment more comfortable. Volunteers play a vital part in improving service users’ physical health, mental well-being and quality of life through supportive relationships, community connection, creating pathways for personal growth and collaborative goal setting.	Parents of babies who have received care in hospital from the neonatal team can experience perinatal mental health issues and feelings of isolation.A befriender can provide emotional support to help build positive relationships between parents and their baby and improve parents’ mental health. Accessing activities in the community, going for a walk, or talking over a cuppa are some of the ways in which a Befriender can make a real difference for parents and their babies.
https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/online-support-pre-school-children-and-families-15161/		https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/supportive-driver-volunteer-1/	https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/home-support-service-1/	https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/lothians-perinatal-befriender-16432/

Family Befriender

Connections Volunteer Mentor

Adult Supportive Transport Driver

Activity Buddy

Lothians Perinatal Befriender

Are you someone who believes in the power of listening and connection? Join us as a Family Befriender at Home Link Family Support, where your support can make a world of difference to families with young children.

Our volunteer mentors are matched with young people who have completed either our Choices or Chances programmes with a positive destination. Main activities will include meeting with your mentee regularly for up to 12 months. Developing an action plan to help them sustain their positive destination. Support your mentee in figuring out what goals they want to work on next. Offer support and advice to your mentee as they navigate the next chapter of young adulthood.

The Supportive Transport Service is a key part of what we offer. It provides transportation to individuals living with or affected by HIV and/or Hepatitis C, helping them meet medical, social care, and daily needs. This might include transport to medical appointments, community activities, or essential errands like grocery shopping. Many Service Users face barriers to traveling independently due to factors such as limited mobility, social anxiety, or financial constraints. In addition to transportation, our drivers often provide a supportive presence by listening or helping individuals reflect on information shared during appointments.

The role of the Activity Buddy is to provide practical support and reduce isolation. The people we work with can find it hard to attend appointments and leisure activities due to poor physical/mental health, limited mobility, social anxiety or literacy issues. When illness, mobility, or side-effects of medication make housework or going out difficult, we offer support to make the home environment more comfortable. Volunteers play a vital part in improving service users’ physical health, mental well-being and quality of life through supportive relationships, community connection, creating pathways for personal growth and collaborative goal setting.

Parents of babies who have received care in hospital from the neonatal team can experience perinatal mental health issues and feelings of isolation.A befriender can provide emotional support to help build positive relationships between parents and their baby and improve parents’ mental health. Accessing activities in the community, going for a walk, or talking over a cuppa are some of the ways in which a Befriender can make a real difference for parents and their babies.

https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/online-support-pre-school-children-and-families-15161/

https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/supportive-driver-volunteer-1/

https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/home-support-service-1/

https://www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk/volunteer/find-opportunities/lothians-perinatal-befriender-16432/

Entries
Link to Single Entry	Name	Summary
	Mojtaba (Moji) SedaghatKerdar	Web designer and SEO specialist in Musselburgh. Website builds, updates, local search and social media. WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and other platforms.
	Lauren Gilmour	Jill of all trades former journalist with experience across PR, communications, marketing, social media, photography and volunteer recruitment.
	Alastair Dunn	Able to help with outdoor or indoor tidying and clearance on an occasional basis (as not always in Edinburgh).
	Stewart Dee	Experienced Civil Service Manager looking to use my management and governance experience as a Board Trustee.
	Declan Chambers	IT professional offering tech, data and Infrastructure support, plus teaching and creative skills. Available Mon-Sun, 10am-8pm.
	Sam Clark	Experienced administrative professional offering organisational, data and records management support to charities needing reliable, detail focused help.
	Alastair Logan	Self taught Python and AI developer offering NLP, data, cloud and automation skills to help charities solve problems and work more efficiently.
	Stephanie Alcazar	Available Tuesdays–Wednesdays to support with social media management and training, as well as deliver illustration workshops.
	Jake Whittet	Edinburgh Microsoft 365 security specialist offering free cyber security assessments. Plain English reports, no jargon.
	Samantha Towers	Hello, I'm an experienced joiner, plasterer and painter.
	Thomas Quiroga	Helping charities use AI and low-cost technology to automate admin, improve processes, save time and focus more on supporting their communities.
	Scott Croucher	I’m an experienced chef with over 4 years experience.
	Joshua Stokes	Experienced professional in Data Protection, Records Management and all things considered Information Governance.
	Douglas McEachan	Well-travelled retiree can offer friendly and informal scenic travel slide shows.
	Sophie Jones	Karate coach with 10 years of experience and looking to inspire other people to become karateka (karate kids).
	Declan Gates	French Tutoring
	Valerii Kostikov	Experienced gynaecologist-oncologist (18+ years). Kind, reliable, compassionate and patient-focused. Keen to support people and gain UK healthcare experience.
	Sarah Cleary	Do you have a regular need for someone to sort jigsaw puzzles, bits and bobs (for example sewing beads) that need tidied or organised and sorted by size?
	Dr Donald Glass	Retired University Lecturer offering volunteering time to support visitor experiences at one of Edinburgh's museums.
	ABDUALSME	Experienced barber- qualified for three years.
	BILL KEIL	anything considered
	IAN JACKSON	Team of 10 people available for one day volunteering opportunity. Flexible on what this would entail.
	Izunna Agupusi	I am an Embedded AI Engineer with Raygonal Ltd, Edinburgh, holding an MSc in Artificial Intelligence. I specialise in embedded systems, early career in IT
	Laura McGlennon	As a qualified Yoga & MeditationTeacher I can offer classes teaching children, teenagers and adults. Available Monday to Friday mornings and afternoon
	Rapinder	Pianist, classically trained to above average level.
	Aoife	Passionate volunteer supporting community projects through event help, outreach, and content creation to promote inclusion and positive change.
	Nicole Carter	Qualified Nutrition Adviser who specialises in Eating Well For Good Mental Health free sessions.
	Reuben Nishan Christmas	An engineering degree holder offering to help with STEM tutoring. Also, looking to help out in any capacity related to food/cooking/baking.
	ola amroush	I recently graduated with a degree in Business Management from Edinburgh Napier University. I’ve found it challenging to secure a role in my field
	Brandon Williams	With 35+ years of operational expertise and a passion for helping others, I offer reliable, organised support to make a tangible, positive impact.
Link to Single Entry	Name	Summary

Link to Single Entry

Name

Summary

Mojtaba (Moji) SedaghatKerdar

Web designer and SEO specialist in Musselburgh. Website builds, updates, local search and social media. WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and other platforms.

Lauren Gilmour

Jill of all trades former journalist with experience across PR, communications, marketing, social media, photography and volunteer recruitment.

Alastair Dunn

Able to help with outdoor or indoor tidying and clearance on an occasional basis (as not always in Edinburgh).

Stewart Dee

Experienced Civil Service Manager looking to use my management and governance experience as a Board Trustee.

Declan Chambers

IT professional offering tech, data and Infrastructure support, plus teaching and creative skills. Available Mon-Sun, 10am-8pm.

Sam Clark

Experienced administrative professional offering organisational, data and records management support to charities needing reliable, detail focused help.

Alastair Logan

Self taught Python and AI developer offering NLP, data, cloud and automation skills to help charities solve problems and work more efficiently.

Stephanie Alcazar

Available Tuesdays–Wednesdays to support with social media management and training, as well as deliver illustration workshops.

Jake Whittet

Edinburgh Microsoft 365 security specialist offering free cyber security assessments. Plain English reports, no jargon.

Samantha Towers

Hello, I'm an experienced joiner, plasterer and painter.

Thomas Quiroga

Helping charities use AI and low-cost technology to automate admin, improve processes, save time and focus more on supporting their communities.

Scott Croucher

I’m an experienced chef with over 4 years experience.

Joshua Stokes

Experienced professional in Data Protection, Records Management and all things considered Information Governance.

Douglas McEachan

Well-travelled retiree can offer friendly and informal scenic travel slide shows.

Sophie Jones

Karate coach with 10 years of experience and looking to inspire other people to become karateka (karate kids).

Declan Gates

French Tutoring

Valerii Kostikov

Experienced gynaecologist-oncologist (18+ years). Kind, reliable, compassionate and patient-focused. Keen to support people and gain UK healthcare experience.

Sarah Cleary

Do you have a regular need for someone to sort jigsaw puzzles, bits and bobs (for example sewing beads) that need tidied or organised and sorted by size?

Dr Donald Glass

Retired University Lecturer offering volunteering time to support visitor experiences at one of Edinburgh's museums.

ABDUALSME

Experienced barber- qualified for three years.

BILL KEIL

anything considered

IAN JACKSON

Team of 10 people available for one day volunteering opportunity. Flexible on what this would entail.

Izunna Agupusi

I am an Embedded AI Engineer with Raygonal Ltd, Edinburgh, holding an MSc in Artificial Intelligence. I specialise in embedded systems, early career in IT

Laura McGlennon

As a qualified Yoga & MeditationTeacher I can offer classes teaching children, teenagers and adults.
Available Monday to Friday mornings and afternoon

Rapinder

Pianist, classically trained to above average level.

Aoife

Passionate volunteer supporting community projects through event help, outreach, and content creation to promote inclusion and positive change.

Nicole Carter

Qualified Nutrition Adviser who specialises in Eating Well For Good Mental Health free sessions.

Reuben Nishan Christmas

An engineering degree holder offering to help with STEM tutoring.
Also, looking to help out in any capacity related to food/cooking/baking.

ola amroush

I recently graduated with a degree in Business Management from Edinburgh Napier University. I’ve found it challenging to secure a role in my field

Brandon Williams

With 35+ years of operational expertise and a passion for helping others, I offer reliable, organised support to make a tangible, positive impact.