Volunteer: Toni Walton
Age: 17
Placement: Kirkcaldy YMCA

“I definitely made a good choice when I got involved with ProjectScotland.  Now I know I’ll be starting college in the new year and I feel like there is loads of potential in my life.”

Toni left school at 16 with no idea of what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go.  She signed up to become a ProjectScotland volunteer at Kirkcaldy YMCA but wasn’t enthusiastic about it.

Since then, Toni’s attitudes, prospects, goals and life have totally transformed and she has also encouraged other people to change their lives too.

Jill Robb, Programme Manager at Kirkcaldy YMCA, explained: “I think Toni’s biggest achievement was working with adults with learning disabilities.  She hadn’t been in her placement very long when we tasked her with helping the group to write and record their own CD.  All the guys enjoyed working with Toni – she was really approachable and likeable and had a lot of respect for the people she worked with.  At the end of the programme everyone involved felt a huge sense of achievement.”

Thanks to her fearless attitude and a new found drive to make positive choices in life, Toni is going to start at her local college in January 2010.