Every year the hard work of our volunteers is recognised through our annual Volunteer Awards. Community Links held their 5^th Volunteer Awards in September 2011.  At the Awards Ceremony a number of the company’s dedicated volunteers were awarded for the work they have done over the last twelve months.  Very sincere congratulations must go to our four volunteers and Motherwell College - Princes Trust who each received a special award for their tremendous commitment and dedication to our project and indeed their local community.

The recipients of the 2011 Awards are as follows

Progression Award 2011 - Get Engaged

Catherine McNiven

The progression award is all about recognising community involvement and  the volunteer moving on to other activites both professionally and personally.  Catherine consistently conducts herself in a professional and an extremely friendly manner and has been an invaluable contribution to the Community Matters Newspaper activities.  Catherine has been volunteering with the project since 2005 and is a strong supporter of every aspect of Community Links.

Young Volunteer of the Year 2011

Adam McGhie

 Adam was first introduced to Community Links through a school work placement from Larkhall Academy in 2009.  Before his placement ended Adam signed up to be a volunteer and has worked at various Community Links events.  Adam is always willing and ready to lend a hand at whatever is needed. 

Best New Volunteer Award 2011

Paul Hayward

Paul joined Community Links as a volunteer in October 2010 and has been actively involved in the Social Marketing campaigns this year (Breastfeeding and Smoking Cessation) and has contributed greatly to our income generation activites.  Paul again has proven to be a great all rounder and is an assett to the company.   

Progression Award -Get Connected 2011

Jim Casey

Jim joined the ICT project as a volunteer in September 2010 and has been involved in all aspects of the project from installing PCs, offering advice and support to other voluntary organsiations, fault finding, repairs, upgrades, software installations, virus removal and much more. He also managed to secure a part time lecturer's post at Motherwell College (IT Department) and is currently completing a distance learning course at Stirling University for his teaching qualification. He still finds time to volunteer.  

 Investing in Local Communiities 2011

The Board of Management at Community Links have recognised the contribution that young people make to their local communities is invaluable.  In line with the Curriculum for Excellence our award - Investing in Local Communities  - is exclusively for young people in education. The Princes Trust group this year actively participated in many of our projects including Environmental Improvement schemes Focus Groups and Social Marketing campaigns.  They showed true partnership working in their local communities and we were delighted to have been able to develop their knowledge and experience of Community Engagement and Consultation.

Special thanks go to our local sponsors, who with their support, allow us to hold the Volunteer Awards. Our sponsors for the 2011 Volunteer Awards were Buchanan McPherson Ltd (Printers), First Direct, Dunns Food & Drinks, Blantyre & South Lanarkshire Credit Union, Keegan & Pennykidd, Kilbryde & Co, Digital Business Systems and Salus Occupational Health & Safety.

If you have some free time, or would like to be more involved in your community, have a look at our volunteer opportunites page or alternatively give us a call on (01698) 827583, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.