Volunteer rewarded for hard work

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A budding baker from Blackridge has been announced as the first recipient of an award recognising the work of local volunteers and has received a £100 gift card to spend at The Centre, Livingston to thank her for her hard work.The Volunteer Award is a new award set up by The Centre, Livingston, and the West Lothian Courier to shine a light on the amazing people in our local community who give their time for a good cause – from volunteering in a charity shop or with a community group, to doing voluntary work in hospitals.Not only does the recipient of the award receive a framed certificate but they are also rewarded with a £100 gift card, courtesy of The Centre, Livingston, which can be spent at over 80 stores and all restaurants in the shopping centre.The first winner of the new award is 23-year-old Abbie Copland, who, since 2018, has volunteered with Kidzeco, a social enterprise based at The Centre, Livingston which provides families with high quality pre-loved children’s clothes, toys, and essential equipment at affordable prices.Abbie was nominated by Tracy Murdoch, founding director of Kidzeco, in recognition of her hard work, determination and impressive cookery skills which she has brought to her role.Abbie has visual and hearing impairments and as such her support worker Jean Cairns, from Livingston, joined her for each shift at Kidzeco.She initially did three hours, twice each week, dealing with clothes preparation such as identifying the sizes of garments and putting clothing items on to relevant hangers.While working with the team at Kidzeco, Abbie grew in confidence which led to her expressing a desire to work on the shop floor – tidying clothes, checking the displays and bagging up purchases.After two months