Volunteering to Learn 
Green fingered and keen Toryglen Gardening Club spy their next target: a disused planter outside a tower block, and hatch their plan to turn the weeds and stones in this container into a practical lesson on garden design and plant maintenance for the people of Toryglen.  Led by two local residents and supported by Toryglen Volunteering Initiative, Toryglen Gardening Club have spent the past year developing and running gardening events across Toryglen in which local people can get involved and not only help improve their own environment but learn a few gardening tips into the bargain. 

Close on their heels have been a group of local young people who have welcomed the chance to get into the open, get their hands dirty and develop their own knowledge about the environment. 
All this green action has translated into free access to horticulture and design classes for Toryglen residents, run by Langside College, and the beginnings of the development of a community garden where volunteering opportunities in everything from composting, to medicinal gardening to wood crafting are all a possibility.
 
Away from the soil and the worms, Toryglen Volunteering Initiative and its dedicated volunteer coordinator, managed by Volunteer Centre Glasgow, allows plenty of opportunity for local people to find the volunteering opportunities that will help them update old skills or even learn new ones.  For example, the Toryglen Toy Library and Distribution Centre allow taster sessions where people can try before they buy and see if the position is something that really interests them before committing to it. 

Unit 34, the local youth project always welcomes the offer of help to deliver its exciting and diverse youth orientated activities and offers people the chance to gain direct experience of working with young people, a must for many courses and careers. 

Similarly, with one eye to the future, local young people are seeing volunteering as the perfect means to experience different types of work and work environments before making any decisions.
 
And for those people who have wanted to look a little further outside their area, the volunteer co-ordinator is able to access over 500 live volunteering opportunities to help Toryglen residents find the most appropriate opportunity for them whether they’re looking to gain direct work experience or doing it for their own personal development.
 
Local groups who have registered with Toryglen Volunteering Initiative are able to access training offered by the Volunteer Centre, allowing people volunteering within these groups to develop their own core skills at the same time as developing the capacity of their group.
 
Whether it’s been volunteering to pick up a shovel, loan out some toys or trying something totally different there is no denying that Toryglen volunteers are gaining just as much they’ve been giving.