Midlothian Volunteer Awards 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 (from the 1-7th June) and are a great opportunity to promote some of the fabulous volunteering projects that exist in Midlothian.
On this page you can read more about the award winners and nominees for 2021:
Outstanding New Volunteer
Sponsored by Lothian Fire and Rescue
For volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution to an organisation and/or their community in less than 12 months. Open to all types of volunteering.
NOMINEES
Heather Mortimore
Andrew Love
Beth Fyfe Falconer
Katrina Drennan
Kathryn Gordon
Befriender / Mentor of the Year
Sponsored by Police Scotland
For individual volunteers or teams who have helped others by being part of a befriending or mentoring relationship, including digital, online and telephone befriending.
NOMINEES
Connect Project Volunteers
Joseph Burke
Colin Pow
Amanda Gillespie
Alzheimer Scotland Volunteer Telephone Companions
Active Volunteering
Sponsored by EDF
A category for volunteers who have taken on an active role in their community, for example:
- Involvement with a community garden
- Leading a walking group
- Cleaning up the local environment
- Helping out at a local sports club
NOMINEES
Chris Boyle and Ricky Lloyd
Ageing Well Volunteers
Dalkeith Guerrilla Gardeners
Mirabelle Maslin
Holly Gibb
Health and Wellbeing Award
Sponsored by Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership
For volunteers who care about the health and wellbeing of people in their community. This could include volunteers that have:
- Helped to develop new services
- Been involved in fundraising activities
- Developed peer support projects
- Done health related campaigning
NOMINEES
Midlothian Breastfeeding Alliance
Green Prescribing Garden Buddies
Lauren and Josie from the Art and Craft in Wellbeing Group
Anam Cara Befriending Volunteers
Dedicated Service to Volunteering
Sponsored by Esk Valley Rotary Club
This category is for people who have dedicated their time to a cause or organisation for an extended period of at least one year, but it could be significantly longer. This would include volunteers who’ve managed to ‘stick at it’ and adapt their role as a result of the pandemic. Volunteers in this category might include:
- Community café helpers
- IT group volunteers
- Volunteer drivers
- Trustees or committee members
NOMINEES
Colette Pye
Penicuik Community Development Trust
Jim Ralston
Maggie Palmer
David Thornton
Volunteer Manager of the Year Award
Sponsored by the Scottish Qualifications Authority
This category is for excellence in volunteer management. Volunteer managers or coordinators can work in paid or unpaid roles. They are usually responsible for a larger team of volunteers, ensuring that services are well run and volunteers are properly supported.
NOMINEES
Naomi Knights
Shondra Riley
Monika Dyczko
Michael Huddleston
Mark Wells
Covid-19 Community Award
Sponsored by Midlothian Council
This is a new award for 2021 to acknowledge the community-led volunteering that has taken place in response to the pandemic. Examples could include volunteer involvement in shopping deliveries, dog walking, hot food provision or community newsletter production. This would typically (but not always) occur as part of an organised neighbourhood initiative. The judges will be looking for outstanding effort and dedication on the part of local volunteers.
NOMINEES
Penicuik Ambassadors
Amazing Brains Committee at Art Club
Gorebridge Resilience Partnership
Food Facts Friends Volunteers
Grant Stanley
Saltire Summit Awards
This award category is for young people aged 12-25 who have achieved an Ascent Award for 100+ hours of certified volunteering and who have also made an outstanding contribution to volunteering. The award is judged by a panel of local Saltire Ambassadors, who are also young people.
NOMINEES
Melissa Reidie
Louise Gillespie
Eva Hesketh-Laird
Kyle Anderson
Samantha Gough
Volunteering Team of the Year and Volunteer of the Year
These two prestigious categories are judged by Volunteer Midlothian and taken from the pool of nominations received for the other eight categories.
WINNER – Volunteer of the Year
Joseph Burke
WINNER – VolunteerING TEAM of the Year
Penicuik Ambassadors
Please read the FAQs.
Midlothian Volunteer Awards FAQs
1. What are the Midlothian Volunteers’ Week Awards?
The Midlothian Volunteers’ Week Awards are all about celebrating the amazing efforts of volunteers in Midlothian. The awards normally take place every year during Volunteer’s Week, from the 1-7th June, although last year’s awards had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. There are ten award categories in total. Nominations can be made for eight of the categories (all except the Volunteer and Team of the Year Award). Only one nomination per person or team is allowed.
2. Who can nominate?
Nominations are usually made by local third or public sector workers. This would include (but is not restricted to):
- A volunteer co-ordinator or other member of staff from a local charity
- A member of staff from Midlothian Council who has worked with volunteers
- An elected member of Midlothian Council
- The Chair or an office bearer of a local community council
- The manager of a local development trust or social enterprise
- A charity trustee or board member
- An NHS worker who has worked with volunteers
- A teacher who has worked with volunteers
If you are a member of the public and want to nominate for any category other than the ‘Covid-19 Community Award’ (which has a more flexible nomination process), the best thing to do is approach one of the people from the list noted above and chat with them about the possibility of submitting a nomination jointly.
Nominations for the ‘Volunteer Manager of the Year’ category can be made by co-workers or volunteers that the person has supported.
3. What about nominations for the Covid-19 Community Award?
We recognise that volunteering can occur informally and isn’t always linked to a local charity or voluntary association. This is certainly true for a lot of the volunteering that has gone on during the pandemic, so this year we’ve decided to open a category up to nominations directly from members of the public.
If you live in Midlothian and want to nominate somebody for the Covid-19 Community Award you must provide details for at least one local third or public sector worker (from the list above) who is willing to support your nomination. We recommend that you let people know that you plan to nominate them. We will then contact the ‘referee’ separately to verify the nomination before contacting the nominee.
4. How are nominations made?
Nominations were made by completing a form on this website.
The deadline for nominations was Monday 29th March at 12 p.m.
5. What information is needed in order to nominate?
Completion of the nomination form is the main part of the process.
For the Covid-19 Community Award, nominations must include the details of one public or third sector worker who is willing to support the application.
All nominations must also include at least two photos of the person or team being nominated (up to a maximum of five in total).
6. Who judges the awards?
Awards are judged using the information provided on the nomination form, so it’s important to include plenty of detail. Where there is a sponsor for a category, they appoint a small team of independent judges to decide who wins that category.
The Saltire Summit Award is judged by other local young people who are appointed as Saltire Ambassadors.
Volunteer Midlothian judges the Volunteer Manager of the Year and Team of the Year award from the pool of nominees who didn’t win their category.
7. Should I tell the person or team I am nominating, or should it be a surprise?
Once you’ve read these FAQ’s and decided that you want to make a nomination, it is a good idea to tell the person or team concerned. They will probably be thrilled to find out! They may also want to know more about the how the awards work and what will happen if they do win their category. It is likely that this year’s awards will involve promotion via social media and other digital channels such as Volunteer Midlothian’s website, so you may want to discuss that with them too (see below for more info on what we are planning).
8. Will there be a ceremony this year?
Due to the ongoing need for social distancing, this year’s awards will be announced online. There will be a live online ceremony held using Zoom on Thursday 3rd June 2021 from 7.30PM.
9. Are there any other things to remember when nominating?
- Remember to provide plenty of detail about what has been achieved by the nominee. The judges won’t know anything about the person or team concerned, so give as much information as possible about them and their unique contribution.
- Focus on the volunteer or volunteer manager, not the group or organisation they volunteer for. The judges are interested in what makes the nominee deserve recognition, not the wider organisation.
- Provide good quality photographs, not blurry or squint! Ensure that you have permission from anyone else in the photograph for it to be used for the purposes of the nomination process.
10. I have a question, who should I contact?
For more info, or if you’ve got any questions, email info@volunteermidlothian.org.uk in the first instance. Alternatively you can give us a call on 07859 914587.