Gemma flies high with Saltire Award Dani Drummon One evening in December, Voluntary Action Lochaber and the Highland Third Sector interface hosted an online meeting to present the Saltire Summit Awards. The purpose of this event was to recognise the voluntary work carried out by young people aged between 12 and 25 across the Highlands who have made an outstanding contribution to the people and organisations they support. Guest speaker at the event was MSP Kate Forbes who has been a long-term supporter of the awards and shows a great interest in the work carried out by young people in the community. One of the recipients was Gemma Macleod of Fort William who was recognised during the meeting for the incredible work and the amount of her free time she has given over the last ten years. Gemma has been volunteering for the Tuesday Social Club every Tuesday for nine years, latterly while also working full time. The Tuesday Social Club is a group of senior ladies who meet for tea, cake, games and day trips. Gemma
always makes the ladies laugh and smile and she is one of the main reasons they attend the Tuesday Club. The ladies have described her as a ‘ray of sunshine’ and ‘such a kind soul’. All the ladies at the club nominated her for young volunteer of the year in 2019 and she won an award at Voluntary Action’s VOSCARS. During lockdown, the club had to close and Gemma went the extra mile and delivered hampers at Christmas to the ladies and stood socially distanced and chatted to the ladies in all weather conditions. On St Andrew’s Day 2020 she delivered afternoon teas as the club was unable to meet in person and this Easter she
handed out gifts and had socially distanced chats, making lockdown more bearable for the ladies who were shielding and not able to leave the house. She would often be the only person the ladies would see and always brightened up their isolation while shielding. The panel of judges highlighted that Gemma has shown outstanding commitment over the years, especially during the pandemic. Dani Drummon, Volunteer Development officer for Voluntary Action Lochaber who hosted the event, said: ’It is clear Gemma has a genuine, caring nature with a passion for volunteering and is an excellent role model and mentor for all young people.’ Due to Covid restrictions Gemma’s award certificate was posted to her and she was delighted to receive it just before Christmas. She said: ‘I was really thrilled to see that it had been signed by Nicola Sturgeon and to hear the nice words from Kate Forbes during the meeting. ‘Thank you to everyone at the Tuesday Club for nominating me. I always love helping out and will be happy when everyone can get back together for our usual meetings.’
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