Good Neighbours (Forth Valley and Newcastle)
Good Neighbours connects trained volunteers with people who need a little extra support, helping to reduce isolation and strengthen communities. Through flexible, short-term tasks, volunteers make a real difference while gaining skills and improving their own wellbeing.
For individuals 18+
We all want to live in communities where people feel connected, supported and able to thrive. Good Neighbours brings this to life by linking volunteers with individuals who may be isolated, unwell, older, living with a disability, or lacking support around them.
Volunteers provide social, emotional or practical help through one-off or short-term activities, such as shopping, walks or friendly chats. The role is fully flexible, with opportunities accessed through the Volunteero app or an online portal, making it easy to get involved in a way that suits individual availability.
With full training, guidance and ongoing support, volunteers feel confident in their role, while those receiving help feel safer, more connected and more able to live independently. Together, this creates stronger, more supportive communities for everyone.
Some examples include
- Helping someone with grocery shopping
- Collecting and delivering medical prescriptions,
- Driving a person to their GP/hospital appointment
- Accompanying someone to a social activity or appointment,
- Helping with odd jobs around the house,
- Light gardening
- Checking in with someone for a cuppa and chat, and lots more!
The volunteering role is fully flexible meaning that volunteers can pick and choose which tasks they are interested in completing, and when.
By becoming a Good Neighbour, volunteers:
- Gain fulfilment: volunteering provides a sense of purpose, and satisfaction from helping others
- Develop social connections: meeting new people, building friendships, strengthening community ties.
- Develop skills: by taking part in volunteering, people often develop new skills and interests, confidence and self-esteem
- Enhance health and wellbeing: volunteering is often linked with improved mental health, reduced stress, and even better physical health through keeping active
- Career growth: networking and gaining new experiences can boost career opportunities, helping to develop your CV
- Have fun! Volunteering can be a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience
- Aged 18+
- Able to give a little time on a regular basis, to complete a task or activity for a person in need
- Able to complete volunteer recruitment and training process
- This volunteer role requires a PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) check which is a criminal record check. This is free to our volunteers and processed by the project
We are passionate about ensuring that each volunteer has a rich and rewarding volunteering experience! As a Good Neighbour, we will provide you with a single point of contact, a member of our staff team, who will check in with you regularly and be on hand to offer help, encouragement and support throughout your volunteering journey. We will also provide all relevant induction and ongoing training, and access to any resources or guidance that will support you to achieve success.
We will offer flexibility around your volunteering role, recognising the need for holidays, time away, or other personal commitments. We will also provide you with the chance to meet other volunteers, take part in social events, and the opportunity to share your story!
We will re-imburse you with any pre-agreed travel and out-of-pocket expenses.
Finally, as a volunteer, you can always expect to be treated with kindness, compassion, respect, with thanks, and so much more.
Could you benefit from the support of a Good Neighbour?
Forth Valley
We are currently not yet accepting referrals in this area. Please come back soon.
Newcastle
Are you a member of the public in Newcastle who could benefit from the help and support of a Good Neighbour? Or do you know someone else who could benefit from the project?
Requesting assistance is easy, simply complete a referral form.
Current volunteering opportunities available
Frequently asked questions
Anyone aged 18+ living in Newcastle, Falkirk, Stirling or Clackmannanshire can request support from a volunteer. The project is aimed at those who are socially isolated, do not have many family or friends around them, or are unable to complete the task/activity themselves due to poor health, frailty, a disability, or age.
This project is funded by the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing fund, and there is no cost to receiving support from a Good Neighbour. However, if you would like to make a charitable donation towards the running costs of the project (including volunteer travel expenses, you can do that here.
Yes, as part of the recruitment process to become a Good Neighbour, volunteers will complete a PVG check to ensure they are suitable to be a volunteer. There is no cost to the volunteer for the check, and support is provided with the process of having the check completed
Becoming a Good Neighbour is a fully flexible volunteering role! There are usually various opportunities for different levels of involvement. You can choose to:
- Volunteer on an as-needed basis.
- Commit to a regular schedule (e.g. weekly or monthly)
- Participate in one-off events or tasks that fit with your availability
We believe that volunteers should not be out-of-pocket for taking part in volunteering and commit to covering pre-agreed expenses including travel costs. We reimburse volunteers with the cost of public transport tickets, or car mileage (£0.45p per mile).
The project responds to requests for support, for people who live in our project areas. If you are a volunteer living outside these areas, there may be an alternative project in your community that you could support. If you need help to find a suitable volunteering opportunity, contact us and we’ll do our best to signpost you to the right place. Alternatively, we are always looking for telephone buddys so if that is of interest to you, please do apply.
Safety is always an important consideration of the Good Neighbours project. We ensure that any tasks which volunteers complete are safe, appropriate, and have necessary risk assessments in place. All volunteers involved follow our organisational guidance, policies and processes, and receive training on Health and Safety, Safeguarding, and Confidentiality. Volunteers are also provided with relevant insurance cover.
The Good Neighbours project focuses on supporting people in need through small acts of kindness, and short-term or “one off” emotional, social and practical support. While some of our volunteers may complete wellbeing checks, or become a buddy for someone in person or over the telephone, it is not a long-term befriending service. For help finding a suitable befriending service, please contact us and we will do our best to signpost you to the right place.
Get in touch
If you are interested in finding out more about this project, or want to make a referral, please contact us.
Forth Valley
Steph: 01259 928 088
Newcastle
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