Inspirational young people have been honoured by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
Dozens of inspirational young people have been honoured by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for their commitment to volunteering and self-development.
The young volunteers were thanked for their efforts during the SFRS's first ever Youth Volunteer Scheme (YVS) awards ceremony.
The YVS operates in several areas across Scotland and aims to harness firefighting disciplines to provide young people, aged between 12 and 17, with transferable skills.
Youths work with trained SFRS instructors to build on skills like teamwork, communication and self confidence. Training is done through the prism of firefighter life and involves an introduction to some basic operational tasks.
Last Thursday's awards ceremony aimed to thank both the young people involved and the instructors who volunteer their time to support others. Awards were handed out for outstanding contribution in areas including leadership and teamwork.
Leigh-Anne McAdam is a Team Leader within the SFRS's Community Safety team and helped to organise the event.
She said: "The inaugural Youth Volunteer Scheme awards ceremony was a huge success.
"The evening looked to highlight the impact our Youth Volunteers and Volunteer Youth Instructors have contributed through their involvement in local YVS units.
"We received over 100 nominations for awards including; Partnership, Health and Wellbeing, Operational Skills and Outstanding Contribution.
"We thank everyone who joined us on the night and who has contributed to the planning and running of YVS."
Since February 2020, the YVS has engaged with over 300 young people, who have collectively contributed nearly 3500 hours of volunteering to their local schemes. The group has also had the support of more than 200 adult instructors, who have contributed a collective 8,000 hours of volunteering time.
Find out more about our Youth Volunteer Scheme and how to apply.