Helensburgh and Lomond volunteers thanked at special lunch

As part of Volunteers Week Scotland, Helensburgh Community Hub and Visiting Friends are joining forces once again to to celebrate everyone who volunteers for community groups.

Helensburgh Community Hub and Visiting Friends are joining forces again for the second event (Image: Kathryn Polley)

Around 160 volunteers were treated to a celebration lunch as they were the stars at the event on Sunday, June 9.

Volunteers were celebrated for the first time in a special event last year (Image: Kathryn Polley)

The lunch was held during Volunteer's Week to highlight the faces behind some of the area's causes (Image: Kathryn Polley)

It is the second time the special event was held in the town to thank volunteers past and present for all their hard work.

Around 160 volunteers attended the celebration lunch earlier this month (Image: Kathryn Polley)

Volunteers past and present were able to sit down and chat with others (Image: Kathryn Polley)

The event saw photographer Kathryn Polley showcase the incredible people volunteering for different causes in the area.

Photographer Kathryn Polley showcased her work to shine a light on volunteers (Image: Newsquest)

Gill Simpson, hub development manager, said: "So many people said that it was just really nice to meet with other volunteers and that they hadn't realised all the other volunteering that was going on, which is really why we wanted to do this.

"We want people who volunteer to know that what they do is very much appreciated. That is also why we are creating another project that was unveiled at the event that will showcase volunteering through photography.

"We want to give volunteers the status they deserve and taking beautiful volunteer portraits will do that perfectly. We hope that businesses in Helensburgh and Lomond will be interested in working with us to showcase these portraits around the town."

There were volunteers from over 30 different charities (Image: Newsquest)

The event saw a special lunch full of delicious food and drinks (Image: Kathryn Polley)

Jayne Burnett from Visiting Friends said: “Visiting Friends was delighted to join forces with the hub again this year to host this event.

"Each of the organisations who came along knows that they couldn’t provide their unique services without their volunteers, but this just reminded us that together, we all provide the glue that holds a community together – so every volunteer matters."