• Category: 2021

    Never Mind the Football – the Midlothian Volunteer Awards are Coming Home!

    Richard Cross on 8 July, 2021

    It’s been a month since the 2021 Midlothian Volunteer Awards ceremony took place online, and we are pleased to say that we have now managed to get the trophies and certificates into the hands of all our wonderful award winners and nominees. Here are a few pics of the trophies being handed over. It was a pleasure to work with everyone involved in the awards and to meet the winners in person. We look forward to doing it all again in years to come.

    Well done and thanks again everyone – winners AND nominees!

    Members of Art Club’s ‘Amazing Brains Committee’ receiving their Covid-19 Community Award.

    Ellie and Holly from the Midlothian Breastfeeding Alliance accepting the MBA’s award for voluntary work related to Health and Wellbeing.

    Gina from the Penicuik Ambassadors, who won the ‘Volunteer Team of the Year’ award. Gina was able to come to the Glencorse Centre with her daughter to collect the award at the same time as the MBA.

    Ricky Lloyd from Dalkeith Rugby Club accepting his award for Active Volunteering. Chris Boyle also jointly won this award for his hard work alongside Ricky.

    We wonder who got to take the award home!

    A member of the team from Food Facts Friends receiving the organisation’s certificate of nomination for the Covid-19 Community Award. Heather Mortimore from Food Facts Friends won the ‘Outstanding New Volunteer Award’.

    We delivered the certificate and trophy on the same day that some of the other trophies were handed over in the Penicuik area. Unfortunately, Heather wasn’t there at the time of drop off, but we hope she liked it when she got it!

    Samantha Gough, winner of the Saltire Summit Award for her dedicated volunteering with the children and families charity, Bright Sparks.

    We think Bramble the teddy looks very happy snuggling up with Samantha.

    Joseph Burke, Midlothian’s ‘Volunteer of the Year’ 2021. Joseph won this award in recognition of the outstanding volunteer work he has done over the past 18 months on behalf of local mental health charity Health in Mind.

    Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2021

    Ellis on 4 June, 2021

    The Midlothian Volunteer Awards are all about celebrating the amazing efforts of volunteers in Midlothian.

    The awards take place every year during Volunteers’ Week and are a great opportunity to promote some of the fabulous volunteering projects that exist in Midlothian.

    In 2021, we did things a little differently. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the award ceremony was held online. There was also a new category introduced to acknowledge the amazing community-led volunteering efforts that occurred in response to the pandemic.

    The ceremony was very different to the one we’re used to at Newbattle Abbey College, nonetheless we were joined by around 150 people to share the appreciation and admiration for Midlothian’s volunteers. We even got a mention in UK Parliament!

    2021 Volunteering Team of the Year, Penicuik Ambassadors.

    Winners

    The winners of the Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2021 are as follows: 

    • Outstanding New Volunteer: Heather Mortimore from Food Facts Friends. 
    • Befriender/Mentor of the Year: The Connect Project Volunteers from Volunteer Midlothian. 
    • Active Volunteering: Chris Boyle and Ricky Lloyd of Dalkeith Rugby Football Club. 
    • Health and Wellbeing Award: The Midlothian Breastfeeding Alliance.
    • Dedicated Service: Colette Pye from Mayfield and District Breastfeeding Support Group. 
    • Covid-19 Community Award: The Amazing Brains Committee at Art Club.
    • Volunteer Manager of the Year: Naomi Knights from the Connect Project at Volunteer Midlothian. 
    • Saltire Summit Award: Kyle Anderson, Eva Hesketh-Laird, Louise Gillespie, Melissa Reidie, Samantha Gough.
    • Volunteer of the Year: Joseph Burke of Health in Mind.
    • Volunteering Team of the Year: Penicuik Ambassadors. 

    Photographs

    Mascot Campaign

    In 2021, as part of our mascot campaign, we ran a ‘Name the Bear’ competition for primary schools in Midlothian.

    The bear travelled around Midlothian, visiting different beauty spots and places of interest, posting photo updates on our social media using the hashtag #wheresthebear

    At the end of its journey on June 3rd, the bear received its new name, Bramble, as voted for by participants at the Midlothian Volunteer Awards ceremony. The name was based on entries from local primary school children, with the winning entry receiving £100 for the school.