The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Caledonian Exchange, 19A Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG.
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Our latest members
Welcome to all the organisations that have joined SCVO recently. You can find out more about them below:
A Write Highland Hoolie SCIO
Joined SCVO on 8 January
<p>A Write Highland Hoolie is an annual book festival held each November in the Highland town of Mallaig. Run entirely by unpaid volunteers, the Hoolie is a non-profit-making charity which aims to bring an eclectic mix of culture into the heart of this remote West Highland community while attracting an audience from far and wide. </p> <p>The Hoolie includes participation from some of Scotland’s finest writers, and also features many of the country’s best traditional musicians. Led by director and co-founder Polly Pullar, the festival strives to create a varied and exciting programme including not only the best-known authors, but also brilliant new writers, in a bid to support the continuation of Scotland’s excellent literary reputation. We work closely with the independent Highland Bookshop of Fort William who facilitate book sales.</p> <p>Our Hoolie Hoolets programme runs author events and workshops in local schools to coincide with the festival each year. These are for both primary and High School pupils and include annual creative writing and artwork competitions. Every year, the final event in our programme is a popular children’s prize-giving tea party which is free to attend and is open to all. This includes an interactive session of song and dance with multi-award-winning Oban author and publisher, Alan Windram, and Gaelic singing from pupils of Mallaig Primary School. </p> <p>As Mallaig High School has a reputation for producing fine traditional musicians, we run the Hoolie School of Music Sessions whereby revered musicians hold a workshop for senior music pupils. This provides a unique opportunity for those wishing to further a career in music to work closely with musicians – these have included Duncan Chisholm, Hamish Napier, Ross Ainslie and Tim Edey.</p>
East Calder Community Resources Association
Joined SCVO on 8 January
<p>ECCRA is the Management Committee that runs the Dave King Partnership Centre here in East Calder.</p>
Shapinsay Development Trust
Joined SCVO on 8 January
<p>We are a community development trust for the island of Shapinsay, SDT exists to support and sustain the Shapinsay community by promoting social, economic, and environmental well-being on the island. Our purpose is to make Shapinsay a thriving, resilient, and sustainable place to live, work, and visit — now and for future generations.</p> <p>Community projects: Develop and deliver initiatives that improve quality of life, such as transport services, housing, and local amenities.</p> <p>We create job opportunities, and encourage sustainable enterprise, lead projects that reduce carbon emissions, promote renewable energy, and protect the island’s natural environment.</p> <p>We support community facilities, events, and services that strengthen connections and enhance everyday life. We run a community cafe, a community transport service, rent 3 social houses, with a further 4 to add to that next year, we facilitate community grants and more.</p>
Kirkcowan Primary Parent Council
Joined SCVO on 7 January
<p>Kirkcowan Primary School is a small village school committed to educate, nurture and socialise the children on it's role. It has an excellent reputation as a school and prides itself on being 'small but mighty' often achieving success and recognition within the region. The school works hard to integrate with the community and recognises the importance of it's role in linking the generations and giving back to the village. The Parent Council is formed of parent member volunteers who help liaise between parents and the school staff. The Parent Council is the committee appointed by the Parent Forum to run matters on its behalf. A Parent Council is not run by the school or the local authority but by the parents in the school. The Parent Council is supported by the local authority through advice/support. </p> <p>There are currently 29 pupils enrolled in the school with an addition of 8 enrolled in the Nursery for this academic year. With this role, there are currently two teachers in the main school, sharing a Headteacher with Wigtown School in a Partnership School arrangement. The Nursery has a Nursery Manager and three part time nursery nurses.</p>
West Lothian Youth Foundation Ltd
Joined SCVO on 7 January
<p>West Lothian Youth Foundation Limited delivers football and physical activity programmes that support participation, health, wellbeing and community connection across West Lothian. The charity works with children, young people and adults through community-based, school-based and targeted programmes, using sport as a tool to improve confidence, inclusion, skills development and social outcomes.</p>
Cake or Dice CIC
Joined SCVO on 6 January
<p>Cake or Dice is a community-focused gaming café based in Dundee. We provide a safe alcohol-free space where people can come together to play board games, tabletop games and RPGs, with access to a library of 450+ games.</p> <p>Alongside gaming, we serve affordable food and drinks and run regular events, workshops and ticketed sessions, including beginner-friendly and inclusive activities. We also support local makers by selling handcrafted items on commission.</p> <p>As a Community Interest Company, our goal is to be financially sustainable so we can reinvest into the space, expand opportunities for the community, and continue building Dundee’s go-to destination for gaming and social play.</p>
Carefree Kids East Lothian
Joined SCVO on 6 January
<p>Carefree Kids improves resilience of children and their parents by providing services that support to help parents where possible overcome issues caused by poverty and social exclusion.</p> <p>Our services give children the best possible start in life. We do this through:</p> <p> supporting home safety offering a toy library administering a bursary scheme running a school uniform bank offer winter jackets attending baby clinics/groups/events offer First Aid for Parents courses offering period products supporting baby massage practitioners offering a range of HR services</p>
Comann Eachdraidh Eirisgeidh (Eriskay Historical Society)
Joined SCVO on 6 January
<p>Comann Eachdraidh Eirisgeidh (Eriskay Historical Society) is a voluntary, community-led charity based on the Isle of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides. Our purpose is to safeguard and celebrate the island’s unique cultural, linguistic, and environmental heritage while strengthening community wellbeing and resilience.</p> <p>We collect, preserve, and share Eriskay’s stories, photographs, artefacts, songs, and oral histories to ensure that the traditions and experiences of island life are not lost. Our work celebrates the Gaelic language and its vital role in expressing local identity, values, and connection to place. Through exhibitions, workshops, intergenerational projects, and publications, we bring people together to share knowledge, learn from one another, and build pride in the island’s heritage.</p> <p>Our activities promote both cultural and social wellbeing. We run regular community events such as storytelling sessions, heritage talks, and ceilidhs, alongside health and wellbeing activities including tea sessions for older residents and opportunities for young people to engage with local history. These gatherings reduce social isolation, strengthen community ties, and provide inclusive spaces where everyone feels valued and connected.</p> <p>Comann Eachdraidh Eirisgeidh owns the former Eriskay School and Schoolhouse, which we are redeveloping into Ionad Eilean na h-Òige – a Heritage Centre and Community Hub. This ambitious multi-phase project will provide permanent exhibition areas, community rooms for local groups and visiting services, and flexible spaces for cultural and wellbeing activities. The centre will also include a dedicated office base for the preservation of the Eriskay Pony, a rare and endangered native Scottish breed deeply connected to the island’s history. Exhibition space within the building will celebrate the story of the pony and its importance to Eriskay’s identity, alongside displays exploring island life, crofting, and the Gaelic language.</p> <p>We currently employ two members of staff who play an essential role in developing projects, supporting volunteers, and engaging the community. As our organisation grows, we aim to increase employment opportunities on Eriskay, helping to sustain local livelihoods and attract new residents. Our wider vision is to contribute to the long-term economic health of the islands by increasing visitor numbers, extending the tourism season, and encouraging people to consider Eriskay not only as a place to visit but also as a place to live, work, and raise a family.</p> <p>Our approach is inclusive and community-led, guided by the belief that heritage, wellbeing, and economic resilience are deeply interconnected. By keeping our history alive and creating opportunities for people to connect, learn, and prosper, Comann Eachdraidh Eirisgeidh is helping to build a vibrant, confident, and forward-looking island community with a strong sense of belonging and purpose.</p>
Jewish Care Scotland
Joined SCVO on 6 January
<p>JCS offers person-led social care to older, socially isolated people from the Jewish community in Giffnock and the surrounding area. We offer opportunities to bring people together to combat loneliness and isolation through a range of person-centred services. Our services encourage independence and promote wellbeing, enabling people to stay at home longer for example our social befriending visits. We support people in times of financial need through our Financial Assistance Fund which includes vouchers for essential shopping. </p> <p>Older, isolated people with more mobility problems attend a weekly JCS Wellbeing Hub at the Walton Community Care Centre, each Thursday from 10am to 2pm. For those unable to make their own way, our staff team are able to provide transport to and from the centre. Here they enjoy a hot drink and a cake while catching up with friends, before some entertainment or an activity they’ve chosen and a two-course lunch. For many, this is the only opportunity to get out of the house and to socialise each week due to limited mobility or other additional support needs. </p> <p>One attendee says of the service, “JCS means a lot to me because it helps me to keep in touch with the Jewish community like making friends… and helps me get out of the house which is a nice change from staying in the house all of the time.” </p> <p>Since Covid-19 our social befriending visits have been increasingly in demand. This service can be a visit to someone’s home to spend some time with them to keep them company, or many people choose to go out with a Support Worker. Some opt to get support to do their own shopping, go to a café, park or library for example, something they might be unable to do without this support.</p> <p>We offer a range of non-registered services to anyone in the community including a weekly kosher café, gentle movement exercise classes, lunch and newspaper deliveries and financial assistance. Our café sees an average weekly attendance of around 40 people with more attending some weeks for particular activities including regular discussion panels, community choir sessions and a weekly crafting group. When surveyed last year, 100% of people told us that they attend the weekly café, Welcome Wednesday, to meet up with friends while 80% told us that they come along to make new friends. </p> <p>To promote wellbeing we offer two weekly gentle movement classes and a walking group benefitting over 30 people each week.</p>
Africonnect Exchange CIC
Joined SCVO on 5 January
<p>Africonnect Exchange CIC is a community interest company that supports social inclusion, skills development, and cultural exchange for people from African and migrant backgrounds. We deliver community-led programmes focused on education, employability, digital skills, entrepreneurship, and wellbeing. Our work connects individuals, community groups, and organisations to opportunities that improve access to learning, decent work, and participation in civic life. Through training, mentoring, events, and partnerships, we aim to reduce inequality, promote equality and cultural understanding, and empower underrepresented communities to thrive socially and economically.</p>
Bhaltos Community Trust
Joined SCVO on 5 January
<p>One of the objectives of the Trust is to promote and assist effective utilisation of the resources of the Bhaltos crofting estate and the creation of sustainable development therein.</p> <p>Its aims are:</p> <p>A) to acquire and manage the lands and resources comprising the crofting estate of Bhaltos, Isle of Lewis for the benefit of the whole community of the estate.</p> <p>B) to promote and assist effective utilisation of the resources of the Bhaltos crofting estate and the creation of sustainable development therein beneficial to the community thereof.</p> <p>C) to improve the social, economic, educational and cultural environment of Bhaltos Estate community.</p> <p>D) to conserve and improve the natural environment of Bahltos Estate.</p> <p>E) to preserve as far as possible all items of archaeological interest on the Bhaltos Estate and to encourage archaeological study and exploration on the estate.</p>
Carloway Tweed Mill Heritage Centre
Joined SCVO on 5 January
<p>The Carloway Tweed Mill Heritage Centre (SCIO) preserves and celebrates the living heritage of Harris Tweed weaving on the Isle of Lewis through a working mill, non-accredited museum and community education. What the organisation does...</p> <p>Operates a historic working tweed mill and heritage centre in Carloway, demonstrating the full process of making tweed fabric as part of the traditional island economy and culture of the Outer Hebrides. Provides museum-style guided tours and hands‑on workshops that use ancient working production artifacts to showcase wool, weaving and textile skills that are at risk of being lost. Delivers educational activities for weavers, textile professionals, farmers, local residents and visitors, using practical demonstrations of making and recycling wool products to support skills development, community learning and environmental awareness.</p> <p>Showcase our ancient tweed library of recipes dating back to the 1800's, we will share the knowledge and demonstrate to wool researchers how to replicate them. Promotes the environmental benefits of durable wool textiles and supports community development and the relief of island poverty by sharing technical knowledge, problem‑solving support and opportunities linked to heritage‑based employment. </p> <p>Work with schools and other charitable organisations to mutually support our goals.</p>
Scottish Borders Widowed Community
Joined SCVO on 5 January
<p>We are a support group based in the Scottish Borders for people who have lost a partner. We hold monthly meetings and social events and host a private online group.</p>
Souhrudam
Joined SCVO on 5 January
<p>Our organisation's name is Souhrudam, which means friendship in Malayalam, the language of the South Indian state of Kerala. Our core aim can be defined in two sentences: to advance the cultural heritage unique to Keralites living in Scotland, and to promote racial harmony by helping the Kerala community integrate into the wider Scottish community.</p>
The Veterans Garden Dumfries
Joined SCVO on 5 January
<p>Our organisation, the Veterans Garden Dumfries, is dedicated to supporting veterans and serving personnel through therapeutic horticulture and community engagement. We were established in 2011 as a breakfast club and become an official charity in 2018. We provide a welcoming space where veterans can grow fruits, vegetables and flowers while participating in various gardening activities that promote mental and physical well-being.</p> <p>The Veterans Garden serves as a central hub for peer-to-peer support, allowing veterans to connect with one another, share experiences, and foster camaraderie. We offer resources and signposting to additional support services, including mental health assistance, training opportunities, and community resources, ensuring that individuals have comprehensive access to the help they need.</p> <p>In addition to horticultural therapy, we organise workshops, educational programs, and community events that engage both veterans and the wider community of Dumfries and Galloway. Our goal is to create a safe, inclusive environment that encourages personal growth, skill development, and strong community ties while addressing the unique challenges faced by those who have served in the armed forces. </p> <p>Through our ongoing efforts, we aim to improve the quality of life for veterans and their families, promote mental well-being, and cultivate a supportive network that enriches the community as a whole.</p>
Touch of Love Arts & Culture CIC
Joined SCVO on 5 January
<p>Touch of Love Arts & Culture CIC is a community-led arts and cultural organisation based in Torry, Aberdeen. We work with local residents, particularly ethnic-minority communities, New Scots, women, young people and families, to increase access to arts, culture and heritage.</p> <p>We deliver participatory arts activities including creative workshops, performances, festivals, carnivals and heritage events that support wellbeing, inclusion and community connection. Our work uses the arts as a tool for expression, learning and bringing people together, helping individuals and communities feel seen, valued and connected.</p> <p>Where needed, we provide practical support such as transport to remove barriers and enable participation in cultural activities. Touch of Love Arts & Culture CIC works collaboratively with artists, community groups and cultural organisations to strengthen cultural life in Aberdeen and surrounding areas.</p>
Queen's Park Athletics Club
Joined SCVO on 24 December
<p>Our Club’s mission is to bring people together to run and enjoy sport, exploring the world-class hills, roads and trails on our doorstep and performing at the top end of our respective disciplines. We’re performance focussed, but open to all. Based in the Southside of Glasgow we have access to local parks and trails, road and off-road cycling facilities that have been used for international events, including the Commonwealth Games 2014 and UCI World Cycling Championships.</p>
Celtic Music Radio
Joined SCVO on 23 December
<p>Celtic Music Radio 95FM is a community radio station based in Glasgow. Run by music-loving volunteers, we broadcast on FM and DAB 24/7 to the Greater Glasgow area, Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Inverclyde and worldwide via the Internet.</p> <p>Our programmes feature the widest range of traditional and contemporary music as well as folk, roots, Americana and world music. And we support up-and-coming acts as best we can with our presenters always on the look-out for something new to share. With strong links to Scottish culture and arts, we work closely with prestigious music and arts festivals to provide first-class programmes. Our listeners are diverse and loyal – from the Glasgow area on 95FM and DAB Digital Radio across Scotland and around the world from this website and mobile apps, such as RadioPlayer and TuneIn.</p> <p>We have charitable status and manage to stay on air through volunteer and public donations, fund raisers and on-air advertising and sponsorship.</p>
Danderhall & Newton Miners' Charitable Society
Joined SCVO on 22 December
<p>Provides Leisure, recreation and social engagement opportunities through direct provision or by supporting the activities of other Charities, Organisations, Clubs and National Governing Bodies</p>
Jock's Lodge Community Trust
Joined SCVO on 22 December
<p>Jock's Lodge Community Trust has formed to attempt a community buy-out of the Willowbrae Parish Church building in Edinburgh. Our vision is a vibrant hub where community groups can meet.</p>