An injury put Invernessian Archie Webster on the road to volunteering just two and a half years ago.
Archie is 15 years old and has now clocked up more than 1000 hours of volunteering with the High Life Highland Young Leadership programme.
That amounts to almost six solid weeks.
For High Life Highland, this makes Archie ‘an absolute diamond’.
Young Leadership programme
They’ve awarded him the first ever ‘Diamond Hoodie’, awarded to anyone who completes 1,000 hours of volunteering under their Young Leadership Programme.
Archie attends Inverness Royal Academy, and is a keen sportsman, regularly taking part in the Inverness Parkrun at Torvean.
When he suffered an injury and could no longer participate in the Parkrun as a runner, he decided to try a different role in the event as a volunteer.
He said: “Since then I’ve done different roles including timekeeping and marshalling, and I’m there most weeks.”
After volunteering at Parkrun and enjoying it, Archie spotted the High Life Highland Young Leadership Programme for 12- 25 year olds, and joined up.
Volunteering at major events
Through the programme he volunteered at the Na Trad Awards, and at Highland Cross.
During his Young Leadership journey Archie completed all eight ‘Hoodie’ milestones in the programme in two and a half years.
Last year he was awarded High Life Highland’s Inspiring Young Leader trophy at their i-care awards.
As part of the leadership programme he organised a charity fundraiser for Mikeysline, involving an 83 mile cycle ride through wind, rain and snow from Inverness to Aviemore and back.
Through it, Archie raised £1,372 for Mikeysline.
He said: “On my volunteering journey to the Diamond hoodie, I have had some amazing experiences and opportunities to learn new skills and meet new people.
“I was inspired to raise money for Mikeysline after hearing from former young leaders Ross and Callum Kinnaird from Nairn Academy talk about the vital services Mikeysline provides at a young leader wellness conference.”
Archie also volunteers at Raigmore charity shop for three hours on Fridays and Sundays, stacking shelves, cleaning and helping out in the office.
Elizabeth MacDonald of the High Life Highland Leadership programme praised Archie’s commitment, describing him as ‘exceptional’.
She said: “Archie has shown an overwhelming amount of commitment and self-motivation and is driven to make a difference to his peers and the wider community.”
Archie is now pondering his life options and thinking about what he wants to do.
He’s thinking about a career in sport, or engineering, which he also enjoys in school.
His mum Eleanor is a healthcare support worker and his dad Doug is an electrical engineer.
Archie also has a little sister, Grace, 7.
He said: “I hope to carry on volunteering and am looking at more challenges to do this year.
“The leadership programme has allowed me to gain valuable life skills from many different sports training sessions that I will be able to use in many different situations.”
The Leadership Programme is underpinned by leadership in sport and youth work, but the awards can also be utilised by young people volunteering in clubs, libraries, facilities, and other community sectors.
Hoodie milestone colours
The Hoodie milestones are navy, purple, green, red, silver, gold, platinum and diamond.
High Life Highland chief executive Steve Walsh praised Archie’s ‘absolutely amazing effort’.
“Archie is helping to make life better every day for people in his local community,” he said.
Conversation