Dundee has about 23,000 volunteers and they will all be celebrated in the city’s first Festival of Volunteering next month.
The week-long celebration, which coincides with National Volunteers Week, will showcase some of the vital work volunteers are doing throughout Dundee.
Lorraine Scrimgeour, 31, knows only too well just how much support is provided by the unsung heroes who give up their time day in day out.
Lorraine felt the need of some extra support with her daughter and found Discoverin Bairns, a multi-agency project under the Volunteer Centre.
She said: “I met Audrey Thomson through the Douglas Community Centre. I was asking for support. Before that it was difficult because when I was having medical appointments or meetings at school my confidence was down. I found it really hard.”
Discoverin Bairns helped Lorraine feel more sure of herself, so much so that she has started volunteering too.
Audrey said: “Lorraine’s been volunteering as a parent and she’s also now helping with the focus groups about their issues.
“Of the issues we deal with it’s usually parents who don’t know where to go for support and they don’t want to be stigmatised. It can be quite isolating. Discoverin Bairns is about getting the stigmatism away and having parents’ voices heard.”
Paul Cameron, 25, also volunteers with the project. He knew Audrey when she was a youth worker while he was growing up.
Paul now has a five-year-old of his own and is starting a degree in community learning development in September.
He said: “Youth workers were a big influence in my life. “Volunteering with Discoverin Bairns we are trying to set up a group for fathers and set up a buddy system for them to help them feel more confident accessing services.”
Others looking for the opportunity to volunteer like Lorraine will find plenty of options at the Festival of Volunteering.
Gill Bain, of the festival’s organising group said: “We already know that Dundee has around 2,300 volunteers and we know that there are many more out there. Join in one of the events and see for yourself.”
The festival runs from June 1 to June 7 with a launch event taking place in Dundee High School’s playground on June 1 from 10am-3pm.