Across the Volunteering Matters family – including ProjectScotland, Get The Gen, Volunteering Works and #iwill – we turn local knowledge and energy into action and progress, building stronger communities and a better future for all.
Our place-based approach, which is shaped by local knowledge, energy and understanding, is designed to support people in their local communities to overcome the challenges they may face and to unlock their potential.
We provide a platform for volunteers, young people, and communities to challenge existing structures and work with decision-makers to overcome barriers and inequalities.
ProjectScotland
We’re passionate about young people and their ability to positively transform both their own lives and those of the people around them. But the problems faced by Scotland’s young people are becoming more and more complex. They often have a range of barriers stopping them from realising their potential.
Visit the ProjectScotland website
That’s why, since 2005, we have been supporting young people to develop their confidence and skills and move into employment, training or education. ProjectScotland – part of Volunteering Matters – creates a detailed, personal plan for each young person. This includes a volunteer placement with a local charity and one-to-one mentoring, as well as ongoing support from a member of our team.
When we say ‘ongoing support’, we mean it! We’re there for our young people, every step of the way, even after a volunteer placement comes to an end. Because of that, 78% of our volunteers continue on to something better.
Our charity partners get additional skills, talents and enthusiasm and we enable young people to be a stronger part of their local communities and give something back.
Get the Gen
Get the Gen is a social enterprise consulting business created to help businesses through these challenges. They have already worked with over 70 businesses and their employees across the world. Get the Gen draw upon decades of experience within the team around how to create, and harness, the opportunities presented by delivering an outstanding business environment in which true intergenerational working can thrive.
By 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce. Organisations are still grappling with this challenge and the ones getting it right are gaining a significant advantage.
Get the Gen’s approach allows for meaningful engagement and the delivery of practical solutions. It’s not simply training but help to make sustainable, lasting change. As a social enterprise, their profits go towards supporting the work of Volunteering Matters to change young people’s lives for the better.
Volunteering Matters has decades of experience successfully working with young people; providing mentoring and support to help them develop the skills and confidence required to get into, and succeed within, the world of work.
Volunteering Works
We create nationally managed and locally delivered volunteering opportunities for your staff. Whether you’re looking for a one-off team building day or a long-term partnership we work with the causes that matter to your workforce – and we make it happen on a UK wide scale.
Visit the Volunteering Works website
Our Employee Volunteering team pride themselves on delivering high quality employee volunteering experiences at every stage of the process – from an initial idea right through to impact measurement and evaluation.
By combining our expert knowledge of local communities and understanding of business needs, we engage with companies in more than 400 community settings. Some of our partners include KPMG, Aviva, Discovery, Deutsche Bank and National Grid.
Our employee volunteering services include:
- Both one-off and ongoing employee volunteering opportunities
- Team-based or individual opportunities
- School partnerships
- Practical, interactive or skill sharing activities
- In-person or online services
- Dedicated account manager for your programme
- Training and support for setting up and managing your programme
#iwill Movement
The #iwill Movement, coordinated by Volunteering Matters and UK Youth, brings together over 1,000 organisations from across the UK to make participation in social action the norm for young people under 26.
Visit the #iwill Movement website
Young people aren’t just the leaders of tomorrow, they have the energy, skills and ideas to improve society and our environment today.
Currently 4 in 10 young people participate in meaningful social action – volunteering, campaigning, fundraising and supporting others. Those from less affluent communities are much less likely to take part than their wealthier peers.
The #iwill Movement partners with and challenges organisations across the UK to embed support for youth social action into their culture and practice.
