widget/exchange-29
widget/exchange-30widget/exchange-33
widget/exchange-31

Community / Young folk celebrated at annual volunteering awards

NEARLY 70 young volunteers were honoured at the Shetland Saltire Youth Volunteering Awards ceremony earlier this week.

The annual event, held at Mareel on Monday, took place in person for the first time since 2019.

The 67 young people, aged between 12 and 25, received a total of 125 certificates between them.

This recognised the 10,000-plus hours of volunteering they had collectively taken part in throughout the year with 25 different local groups, schools and organisations.

The Saltire Awards is a national scheme designed to recognise and reward the commitment young people make to volunteering in their community.

They are locally managed by Voluntary Action Shetland (VAS), are recognised nationally by colleges, universities employers and they are a valuable addition to any CV.

VAS chair Willie Shannon said during his opening speech: “It is fantastic to see the first Saltire Awards event since 2019 and to celebrate young people being recognised for volunteering in the community.

offset-carousel/post-mobile/0

“The efforts and achievements of the young volunteers has been a shining light as we come out of the pandemic and inspires all of us for the future.”

Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart presented certificates to the volunteers – including two Saltire Summit awards, which recognises outstanding contribution.

VAS youth volunteering support worker Lavinia Schmidt said there were many different activities volunteers took part in during the last year.

These included assisting the running of groups such as charities, sports clubs, youth clubs, uniformed groups and other recreational organisations.

During the event Schmidt also added that volunteering had to change massively during the past two years.

“Restrictions and lockdown inspired many people who had never volunteered before to help others, but it also meant that many opportunities had to stop or change to a different format,” she said.

“Now, it is great to see the community finally able to get back together again.”

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
widget/pd_widget-6widget/pd_widget-7widget/exchange-53widget/exchange-54widget/pd_widget-8widget/exchange-55widget/pd_widget-9widget/exchange-56

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.