We’re celebrating Volunteer’s Week by sharing the experiences of some of our volunteers across Move On. With offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as Move On Wood Recycling and FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland, we’re lucky to have the support of volunteers across both cities who support us in a variety of ways.

We’re kicking the week off with Tony, who’s been volunteering with Move On since May 2017. Tony was in homeless accommodation and receiving addiction treatment when he was inspired to start volunteering with us – he says the treatment centre received their food from our FareShare warehouse and he “liked the way Move On helps individuals and families.”

Since volunteering in our warehouse to help us redistribute surplus food, Tony has also trained to become a volunteer mentor, to help support a young person one-to-one to achieve personal goals and improve their confidence and social networks. He says the mentor training was excellent and helped improve his own confidence and feel ready to support a young person.

Tony says what he has enjoyed most about volunteering at Move On has been spending time with other volunteers and our staff, adding “I like the atmosphere, everybody seems to get on really well.” As well as enjoying the social side of volunteering, Tony credits the experience with improving his self-esteem and changing his outlook on life: “When I was in homeless accommodation, Move On was the place that got me mixing with people and that gave me confidence. With support from the staff at Move On I’m pleased to say I’ve passed my SVQ 3 in Health and Social Care. Move On staff have also supported me in setting up my own community interest company, Creative Wood Journeys.”

“I recommend Move On to nearly every person I meet and will continue to do so – Move On have been massive for me!”

If you’re interested in volunteering with Move On, we have a variety of opportunities to choose from:

Edinburgh

Glasgow