The Attic SCIO is a local charity dedicated to the community and getting people together. This can be through drop-ins, the community garden, Kidz Club, ‘Clanz’ youth group, camps and lunch drop-ins. The organisation has a small group of young volunteers with different roles, making it a finalist in our Youth Friendly Organisation category.

The project offers volunteering opportunities among different environments such as the children’s clubs, outings, camps, community evenings and family fun days. They even encourage young people to put personal skills and talents to practice. For instance, they have had young volunteers with particular skills in music, IT, Sports, social and cooking/baking and these improve service users’ experiences. They also benefit from having young volunteers as the charity has a significant focus on young people, so their contribution is invaluable.

The Attic SCIO is invested in their individual volunteers through several aspects. They provide training and personal development through a weekly meal together with all staff and older volunteers where relationships are built, and conversations about roles, tasks and responsibilities are held. Each volunteer is allocated a senior mentor who supervises their progress, and suggests new roles for the volunteer based on their special skills. The Attic also provides support to young volunteers who attended the Youth Clubs themselves but want to become volunteers, resulting in several new skills. For example, 18 year old Kirsty has been volunteering since she was 12 and is now about to start work with another community organisation. Kirsty assures that had it not been for her experience at The Attic, she would not have been able to benefit from this opportunity.  Finally ways in which the group acknowledge contributions made by the young volunteers include rewarding with Saltire awards, internal award ceremonies and special meals and trips. We look forward to celebrating with The Attic at the Dundee Inspire Awards!

Rachel – Media Volunteer at Volunteer Dundee