Following on from last year when Mikeysline’s very own Ross and Callum Kinnaird won HTSI’s Youth Volunteer of the Year Award, we are absolutely delighted to announce that Mikeysline Community Volunteer, Darrel Patterson, has been awarded the HTSI Volunteer of the Year Award 2024.

We are so proud of Darrel and his achievements as a member of our wee team.

Darrel said “Volunteering with Mikeysline is so rewarding, I am very passionate about driving forward the message of Mikeysline, everyone has Mental Health and the more we do to talk about it, defeats the stigma associated with it. Mikeysline is a grassroots charity and is totally reliant on the fundraising efforts from volunteers and the support of people across Highlands and Moray. When I first started volunteering as a Fundraiser for Mikeysline I was shocked and continue to be so, that there is no statutory funding provided, The work Mikeysline do is so important, every suicide is heartbreaking and here in the Highlands it is still more prolific than anywhere else in the UK in Men, so continuing to be a fundraising volunteer so that Mikeysline message and services can be reached far and wide is so important. I believe in what Mikeysline continue to do to help people, and being part of the wider team and supporting them with fundraising is so rewarding, anything I can do to help the charity I will do.”

This award doesn’t take into account length of service but instead focusses on proving the impact that his volunteering role has had on Darrel’s personal growth and development.

For those of you who may not know Darrel, he joined the Mikeysline team during lockdown and has worked tirelessly networking with the business community to secure funding to help keep our services operational which is super important for a grass roots charity like ours that receives no statutory funding and is reliant on the generosity and kindness of the public and businesses. Darrel also helps with our events and promotions securing sponsorship and ticket sales to cover the costs of our events and he also takes part in our own fundraisers such as Miles for Mikeysline as well as helping with stalls.

On behalf of everyone at Mikeysline – Congratulations Darrel!