Margaret Berry
Since 1978, Margaret has gone above and beyond for older people in the Falkirk area and in her vital role at Larbert and Stenhousemuir Age Concern.
Volunteer of the Year Award 2022
Margaret Berry from Larbert and Stenhousemuir Age Concern has been awarded Age Scotland's Volunteer of the Year award.
Margaret received her award, sponsored by PRS Scotland, at the Age Scotland national awards ceremony in Glasgow.
In the early days, Margaret, a working mother of two, began by calling round older people in the area to find out if they required disability aids.
For the past 15 years Margaret has been Larbert and Stenhousemuir Age Concern’s treasurer – a role that made good use of her skills as a professional bookkeeper.
Margaret is also an excellent baker and has provided catering for many of the group’s most popular events, including the weekly Social Hour. An annual highlight is the Christmas party where Margaret always brings meringues – one for everyone, plus a few extra which never go to waste.
She is the person who buys, wraps and arranges distribution of Christmas presents for all the group members, a service that is greatly appreciated by the recipients.
Margaret Berry said:
"One of the nicest surprises of my life was when I was told that I was to receive an award for being a volunteer with my local group of Age Scotland. It took me some time to come to terms with being honoured with an award for doing something which had become a huge and very enjoyable part of my life.
"Over the years I have made many friends and enjoyed happy and even some not so happy times, but being a close knit group we have learned to help each other, I like to think successfully. The many jobs I have taken on as a committee member have been varied but each one brought its own rewards.
"A huge thank you to Age Scotland for helping me to live a full and useful life."
Brian Sloan, chief executive of Age Scotland, said:
"I am delighted to present Margaret Berry with the Volunteer of the Year award. She has dedicated herself to improving the lives of older people in her area for 44 years now, doing everything from bookkeeping to baking.
"I also know that during the pandemic, when the group sadly lost some members to Covid, Margaret attended as many of the funerals as she could, which meant a great deal to the bereaved families. She also kept spirits up among group members by delivering books and jigsaws and calling them for a chat during that difficult time.
"So it is my great pleasure to present Margaret with her Volunteer of the Year award and thank her for everything she has done for older people."
Award Sponsor: PSR Scotland
PSR Scotland is a joint safeguarding initiative supported by Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks, SP Energy Networks, SGN and Scottish Water to promote the Priority Services Register (PSR) for vulnerable households across Scotland.
The Priority Service Register is free to join and helps utilities provide tailored support should your electricity, gas or water supply go off in an emergency as well looking after you during their planned work.