Every day in May, I'm running 10km locally. 310km in total - roughly the distance from Volunteer Edinburgh, Leith to Eilean Donan Castle if you were mad enough to run it in one go. I'm doing it to raise money for Volunteer Edinburgh, because the work they do matters and they need support to keep doing it.

Volunteer Edinburgh have been connecting volunteers with people who need them for over 50 years. Behind every volunteer is someone whose day gets a little better because of them. An older person who's been isolated for months. Someone who can't get to the shops. A young person who just needs someone to show up. Simple things, but they matter enormously to the people on the receiving end.

One area of their work I find so impactful is what they do with young people. They're currently supporting many young people aged 16 to 24, many dealing with anxiety, neurodivergence or long gaps out of work, to get into volunteering placements as a stepping stone back towards employment. Schools and colleges regularly refer young people to them who aren't ready for a job yet but need a practical next step. That's a gap that doesn't get much attention, and Volunteer Edinburgh are filling it.