• Category: Event

    Nomination’s open for the 2025 Midlothian Volunteer Awards!

    Ellis on 27 February, 2025

    We are pleased to announce that nominations are officially open for the Midlothian Volunteer Awards, an event specially designed to honour the volunteers that help our community. We are excited to shine a spotlight on the dedicated and hard-working individuals that work hard to uplift the communities in Midlothian. Volunteers play a vital role in improving the well-being of our community and now it is time to recognise their fantastic contributions.

    Submit your nomination here before Thursday 27 March!

    Winners at the 2024 Award Ceremony.

    This year’s awards ceremony will be a memorable occasion, celebrating the people that go above and beyond, making a positive impact. The awards provide a platform to acknowledge their hard work and dedication. We encourage everyone to take this opportunity to nominate those who have made a significant difference through volunteering. Whether they’ve given their time to charities, environmental initiatives or have supported those in need.

    This year the awards will be introducing a new category, Volunteer Leader. This category is being reintroduced in 2025 to recognise the enormous efforts of team leads, project coordinators and managers who ensure continuity of business and delivery of services to local communities and vulnerable groups. This award is a small thank you for being innovative, persuasive, brave and visionary; for leading and inspiring people whose motivation is not a salary but sense of purpose and kindness.

    Volunteers’ efforts leave a lasting impression on Midlothian, building a stronger and more compassionate society. We want to thank all volunteers and look forward to sharing their inspiring stories at the awards ceremony.

    The deadline for nominations is approaching fast and will close on the Thursday 27 March. So don’t miss out on the chance to spotlight someone who deserves to be recognised. Help us give back to those who have given so much to our community.

    Authored by Zoe Innes.

    END.

    Ready, Teddy, Go! Success for Young Volunteers’ Event

    Ellis on 5 August, 2024

    After two weeks of planning and learning about event management, young people from across Midlothian came together to host a Teddy Bears Picnic for local children and their families. The event took place on Friday 2 August 2024 in Dalkeith Country Park Community Garden, and was facilitated by Volunteer Midlothian. We had 80 parents/ carers and children in attendance. The volunteers designed a famous bears treasure hunt and there was a pop up café serving refreshments and snacks. Children had the opportunity to meet the bear and guess his name, the children were so excited they could bearly contain themselves!

    Young volunteers welcoming guests to the ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ event.

    Carey Douglas, Youth Coordinator at Volunteer Midlothian said:

    “The young people were full of enthusiasm and energy from the get go.  They became a team very quickly and worked hard to plan and host the event which was a roaring success, I am very proud of them all for their commitment and hard work.”

    When asked about the volunteering experience, one volunteer said:

    “I enjoyed organising the event and deciding what to include.  I enjoyed working as a team and meeting new people.  I enjoyed welcoming the children on the day and seeing all the smiley faces.  Its been great everyone has been very supportive.”

    A member of the public who came along to the event said:

    “This is the third event I have been to in the garden it is such a safe space there is always someone on the gate so you can let the kids enjoy their treasure hunt, I had a cuppa.  It is such a great event well done to the young volunteers for organising it.  I will be back again next year!”

    A young guest at the event said:

    “It was Pawsome!”

    The event was the culmination of two weeks of hard work from the young volunteers, who met weekly to plan the event as part of Volunteer Midlothian’s Summer Youth Programme, ‘Event Volunteers’.  The young volunteers took part in team working activities, they learned about poster design principals, marketing, customer service, planning and communication.  With the latter in mind young people also helped at our conversation café funded by UK Shared Prosperity fund.  The café is dedicated to helping learners in Midlothian enhance their English speaking abilities. 

    The young volunteers will all now receive Saltire Awards as recognition for organising and hosting this unbearably special event!

    Thank you to everyone who came along and supported our volunteers! Learn more about our Transform project for young people here.

    Article by Carey Douglas, Volunteer Midlothian.

    Panda-monium at the Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2024!

    Ellis on 14 June, 2024

    On Thursday 6 June, volunteers across Midlothian arrived at Newbattle Abbey College for our annual Midlothian Volunteer Awards. The night was a blast and we want to thank everyone who attended. It is a joy to celebrate the hardworking volunteers in Midlothian each year. We hope you all had as much fun as we did!

    Photographs

    Thank you to our wonderful photographer, Kris Soul Photography, for capturing the evening.

    Click the button below to see photos from the awards ceremony:

    View Photos

    Programme

    You can see the winners and nominations from the night in our awards programme:

    Mascot Campaign

    In 2024, our mascot campaign is a little different. Each year we usually have a student placement who works with us to organise a competition and campaign with a brand new mascot. This year, we didn’t have a student placement but we couldn’t bear to have Volunteers’ Week without a mascot! We brought back mascots from previous years; Bramble the Bear, Pretzel the Panda, and Ringo the Rhino to keep the tradition going. Take a look at our campaign video down below.

    We hope these mascots will find someone to look after them next year!

    A BIG thank you to our generous sponsors:

    EDF Energy

    Scottish Qualifications Authority

    Well Done You Ltd

    Esk Valley Rotary Club

    Midlothian Council

    Newbattle Abbey College

    Scottish Fire & Rescue Service

    Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership

    We can’t wait to see you all again for next year’s ceremony!

    Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2023

    Ellis on 9 June, 2023

    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.

    Video created by Ellis Paterson.

    Thank you to our wonderful photographer, Kris Soul Photography, for capturing the evening.

    Programme

    You can see the winners and nominations from the night in our awards programme:

    Mascot Campaign

    Our student placement, Julianne, organised our Volunteer’s Week mascot competition this year. She produced this great video that shows our mascot on his journey to the Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2023.

    For the competition, we took name suggestions for our mascot from local schools and the winner was chosen by vote at the awards ceremony. The winner was the name ‘Ringo’, suggested by a child at Woodburn After School Club, who received £100, their own cuddly toy rhino and a winner’s certificate.

    Video created by Julianne Nixon.

    Chief Officer’s Speech

    A Message from Forth One’s Boogie & Arlene

    Thank You to Our Sponsors

    EDF Energy

    Scottish Qualifications Authority

    Midlothian Council CLLE

    Esk Valley Rotary Club

    Police Scotland

    Newbattle Abbey College

    Scottish Fire & Rescue Service

    Midlothian HSCP

    Well Done You Ltd

    Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2022

    Ellis on 10 June, 2022

    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.

    Winners & Nominees

    The winners of the Midlothian Volunteer Awards 2022 are as follows: 

    • Outstanding New Volunteer: Margaret McMekin from Transform Volunteering.
    • Befriender/Mentor of the Year: Alan Paterson from Thornton Rose Riding for the Disabled.
    • Active Volunteering and Climate Change: The Amazing Brains Committee, Art Club.
    • Service to the Community: Juliette Paris from Rosewell Community Council.
    • Health and Wellbeing Award: Margaret Canning from Hearing Link Scotland.
    • Dedicated Service: John McVeigh from Health-in-Mind.
    • Equality & Diversity: Joanna Haba from Home Link Family Support.
    • Saltire Summit Award: Sam Ewens, Lucy White, Andrew Hogg, Caitlin Chambers, Kari Calder, Jaylynn King.
    • Volunteer of the Year: Karyn Mcgrath.
    • Volunteering Team of the Year: Ageing Well Volunteer Team.

    Thank You to Our Sponsors!

    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.