Category: Dedicated Service to Volunteering Award

Nominated by: Owen Thompson MP

Jim has been Captain of the 1st Loanhead Boys Brigade (BB) for 12 years and has changed the lives of many Midlothian young people for the better. He has been instrumental in BB activities such as competitions, awards and fundraising in the local community and beyond. This includes Project Steadfast, a Boys Brigade charity project which led to the building of St Andrews School and Disabled Centre in Oloolua Ngong, Kenya. Jim has put his heart and soul into his role during his time with the BB.

Nominated by: Home Link Family Support

Maggie trained as a Volunteer Befriender with Home Link Family Support in late 2016 and began supporting vulnerable families at the start of 2017. The support she has given has been through home visits, when allowed, and by phone. Sometimes families have needed a good listener. At other times her input has been to encourage play and interaction with little ones, or to help with managing the specific needs of the family. Maggie listens attentively, takes her responsibilities seriously and is a dedicated volunteer who imparts great wisdom and understanding to her clients.

Nominated by: Health in Mind

Davie is a long-standing volunteer in many roles. He often takes the lead with outdoor group activities including gardening and conservation, supporting others to take part. He has been one of Health in Mind’s mainstay cafe volunteers, providing home cooked meals and sharing his warmth and good humour with the people we support. He always remembers Health in Mind’s hard-working staff, making sure they have a meal kept for them when they are caught up in their work and not able to stop. Davie is a very practical man and his skills in decorating, gardening and repair are appreciated by the entire staff team at Health in Mind.

Nominated by: Volunteer Midlothian

Connect Online is a project that matches volunteers with older people who want to learn digital skills. This might involve using a laptop, iPad, electronic tablet, smart phone or smart speaker. Volunteers support learners at groups or in a one-to-one match. Currently the Connect Online volunteers are still offering remote support via telephone, video call or Zoom group. They have made such a difference this year in keeping people connected and helping to promote digital inclusion, particularly when so many other activities have had to stop. They deserve a very big, digital, ‘thank you’!

Nominated by: Food Facts Friends

Jim has been involved in Food Facts Friends (FFF) as treasurer since 2016 but has expanded his role considerably over the past four years. He applies for grants, creates promotional materials, prints posters and is the person responsible for all our social media. He helped with FFF’s move to its new premises and his hard work was extremely valuable during the very busy months of 2020, when the demands on the foodbank increased sevenfold and new sources of cash/food had to be urgently found to maintain the foodbank service.