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Volunteering

Volunteering for 11 to 25 year olds

Celebrating, acknowledging, and rewarding the dedication, participation, and accomplishments of young volunteers in Scotland.
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How do they work?

  • Find a volunteering opportunity and speak to the team at Borders Community Action.
  • Create a Saltire account to track your volunteering.
  • Start volunteering and add hours to your Saltire account.
  • Download certificates after each milestone. This starts from 10 hours of volunteering.
Saltire Awards

Frequently asked questions

The Saltire Awards celebrate, acknowledge, and reward the dedication, participation, and accomplishments of young volunteers in Scotland who are between the ages of 12 and 25. By volunteering, young individuals can earn nationally recognised certificates that are signed by Scottish Government Ministers, with varying levels of certification being awarded for different amounts of volunteering work completed.

The Saltire Awards recognise volunteering that meets the following three characteristics:

  1. It is a free-will activity. This means the young person wants to, and no one, including the school or parents, is forcing them.
  2. It is not for financial gain. Volunteering is not a job and there is no payment; however, any reasonable expenses may be covered.
  3. It is for the benefit of others. This can include the community, society in general or an individual.

  • Gaining new skills and experience that will look great on a CV and could help with school and/or work.
  • Meeting new people and making new friends and connections.
  • Making a difference to individual people, communities and the environment.
  • Having fun by becoming involved in various activities that might not have been done before.
  • Earning up to 3,000 Young Scot Reward Points with each Saltire Award achieved.

Young people ready to volunteer or already volunteering can head over to the Saltire Awards website to set up an account. Alternatively, contact our volunteering team who can support you in finding your ideal volunteering opportunity.

Organisations interested in involving young volunteers can contact Jenna, our resident Saltire Awards expert!

Saltire Awards

Resources for young volunteers

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Saltire Awards – Why not try volunteering?
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Saltire Awards – Guide (for organisations)
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Saltire Awards – Guide (for individuals)
"I would recommend volunteering to anyone and everyone. Volunteering allows you to meet new people, learn new things and develop new skills. I always think that you get so much more out of volunteering than you think possible. Being a volunteer potentially opens new doors, and in some cases can really be life changing. Why wouldn’t you volunteer?!"
Angela Crow
Hike & Bike Hub
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Borders Third Sector Interface Ltd, trading as Borders Community Action.
Registered address: 1 Drygrange Cottages, Drygrange Steading, Melrose, Scottish Borders, TD6 9DJ