Established in 2017 by DYW Glasgow, the #NoWrongPath campaign aims to provide inspiration and reassurance to young people who are receiving their exam results. ​Some young people may be disheartened by their exam results – so the aim is to show young people that you don’t have to take a straight, obvious or traditional path to employment.

One way of gaining valuable work experience is by volunteering for a cause you are interested in. Volunteering is a great way to:

• Learn new skills. Volunteering can help you learn new skills and gain experience in an industry you might be interested in.
• Grow in confidence. Volunteering can give you the chance to try something new and build a sense of achievement.
• Meet new people. Volunteering can help you meet all different kinds of people, make new friends, grow your network and help you feel part of a community.
• Make a difference. By volunteering, you can make a valuable contribution to the community around you.
• Improve your CV. Volunteering is a great way to improve your CV and shows that you have a commitment to work and learning new skills.

Need more convincing? Here’s some of the feedback we’ve had from our volunteers at Glasgow Wood Recycling.

“I enjoy all the aspects of volunteering at GWR. It’s given me a new interest and I feel like I can contribute to the work here. I have learned new skills with power tools and various different woodwork techniques.”

Liam

“It’s made a big difference for me. 110%, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s going outside of your comfort zone – when you go and explore another field. I’ve learnt a lot – It’s great to be able to pick up a tool and you know how to use it.”

Williams

“I think there’s a strong sense of community here. People are working together for shared goals. There’s space for lots of different people to be here. It feels valuable just to be an individual that might have different skills and different understandings of things.”

Merle

“We’re not all skilled, a lot of us are volunteers so there’s no great expectation that you’re going to do it perfectly. I like that. There’s no pressure on you. You just try to do your best and when you complete something it’s always a good sense of achievement.”

John

Find out more about volunteering opportunities near you:

https://www.nowrongpath.scot/volunteering

https://www.volunteerscotland.net/

Or come and volunteer with us!

Click here to learn more about the roles available.

The post We’re supporting the #NoWrongPath Campaign appeared first on Glasgow Wood.

Wood Unlimited is our new Big Lottery funded training programme which aims to tackle social isolation through woodwork. It’s a 6-week health and well-being themed course aimed at reducing the impact of loss, isolation and loneliness.

The scheme involves a combination of practical woodwork skills, conservation activities and community projects. It aims to support participants as they make community connections to enable continued participation in volunteering and local groups and events.

The programme will be delivered at our workshop in South Street and will include five key elements:

• Practical woodwork skills
• Personal development activities
• A community project
• Making community connections
• Individual action plans to help continued participation

At a recent conference, Cllr Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said:

“Loneliness can have a potentially devastating impact on our daily lives, health and wellbeing. These feelings are even linked with poor health, including high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, and an increased risk of developing dementia.”

There is also a stigma attached to loneliness with almost two-thirds of Glasgow residents surveyed saying that admitting to loneliness is difficult. It is now becoming more prevalent in younger generations as well, going against the common perception and highlighting the severity of the issue.

GWR aims to reduce the stigma of loneliness and social isolation as well as the impact, by getting people together, giving them a place to belong and supporting them to make connections in their community. We are ideally placed to provide this training as we have a proven track record of supporting volunteers and providing opportunities to marginalised groups, helping them to achieve positive outcomes.

Following on from the success of our previous training programme Making Wood Work, this is another exciting chance for our volunteers to meet new people, learn new skills and gain hands-on experience of a craft trade.

The post Wood Unlimited: Initiative tackling social isolation through woodwork appeared first on Glasgow Wood.