Introduction to the project

The Children and Families Volunteer Strategy project has been funded through the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF), which was designed to support families in Scotland by addressing their unique needs and enabling them to thrive. This Strategy is a partnership project led by Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action, and focused on transforming family support through strengthening volunteering frameworks across Dundee’s Children and Families Services.

The WFWF has a focus on increasing families capacity to engage with early intervention supports available and accessible at the right time and in the right place. The aim is to reduce inequalities and strengthen families before the need for crisis intervention.

The principles of whole family support, arose from the work of The Promise and embedding the voice of the family.

The Volunteer Strategy for Children and Families Services in Dundee aims to make changes to improve and increase volunteering within these services.

The project has focused on the following outcomes:

Improved Governance and Quality of Volunteering Opportunities for Children and Families.
Understanding gaps and barriers to Diversity and Inclusion of Volunteers.
Recognising and Valuing volunteers.

These are interwoven with the following project outcomes that have been set be the Scottish Government for children and families:

Improved family wellbeing.
Reduction in inequalities in family wellbeing.
Reduction in families requiring crisis intervention.
Reduction in children and young people living away from their families.
Increase in families taking up wider supports.

They are addressed through a number of actions below, which have sought to improve the volunteer pathway and ensure that volunteers are recognised and valued:

By involving families to identify the roles that are needed and the diversifying of volunteers, we become more aware of what the right support is, and when it is most needed. This helps us to work alongside organisations targeting groups to reduce the gaps and improve inclusion and diversity.
By creating mechanisms to value and enhance volunteering and a method for recording achievements through the Dundee Volunteer Passport.
A simpler and more streamlined approach to promote volunteering, share training, and communicate within a safe space with volunteers, is hosted through the online platform Go Volunteer Dundee.
A Guidance Document for those that work with volunteers provides a “go-to” for volunteer engagement and support, and lays a solid foundation for effective governance within a volunteering programme.

Please click here to read and download the Dundee Children & Families Services Volunteer Strategy 2025-2028

Dundee Volunteer Passport

The Dundee Volunteer Passport gives those volunteering in Children and Families services in the city a place to record and evidence their training and learning that they’ve achieved in their volunteering role(s).

The passport is only available to those volunteering in select Children and Families Services:

As an organisation, you can sign up to the passport by agreeing with our Terms of Agreement.
As a volunteer, you can ask the organisation you volunteer with if they offer the passport.

The Passport can be used to record the skills and experience developed through volunteering, which can help the volunteers to move into future education or employment. Though it is not mandatory, it has been designed for a volunteer to gain the most from using it. It can include the volunteer’s aims with volunteering, enable them to visualise their volunteering journey, and also to write reflectively about experiences and actions within volunteering.

The Passport will also help the volunteer to move easily between volunteering organisations and opportunities, as they will take their passport and all the information with them.

To request a copy of the Dundee Volunteer Passport Terms of Agreement, and to discuss your volunteering programme further please contact judithclark@dvva.scot.

Follow this link to flip through the Dundee Volunteer Passport.

Guidance Document – A Guide to Making the Most of your Volunteering Programme

The below guide has been created to help you consider the various areas of running a volunteering programme all the way through from the earliest considerations and getting everyone on board. Then your organisation will be able to give all the best support and personal growth a volunteer can have on their pathway; right up until when they move on from your organisation/service.

Follow this link to read & download A Guide to Making the Most From Your Volunteering Programme – Jan 2026

Go Volunteer Dundee Platform

Go Volunteer Dundee is an online platform which connects volunteers to opportunities, and organisations to volunteers. Volunteers can access free optional training once registered on the site, which will increase their understanding of issues and raise awareness of areas that impact on children and families.

For volunteers, it is a safe space to connect, get involved, and make a real difference for children and families in Dundee. They can learn about different organisations and communicate directly to get more details. There are a wide range of Children and Families Services in Dundee offering an array of support and volunteering opportunities from group work, play activities, mentoring, advice and guidance, family sessions and more.

Organisations can share training and news articles on Go Volunteer Dundee, connect with those who have linked with their organisations, communicate directly with individuals or their own volunteers, and invite new volunteers to join.

Before an organisation can join they must accept and agree to the Terms of Agreement, which have been made to ensure that volunteers are safe and supported and valued.

To request a copy of the Go Volunteer Dundee Platform Terms of Agreement, and to discuss your volunteering programme further please contact judithclark@dvva.scot.

Follow this link to access Go Volunteer Dundee.

If you have any access issues or questions regarding the above, please get in touch with volunteer@dvva.scot.