BB Lewis gets his big award at BBC Broadcasting House

Lewis Shillinglaw, who is a member of the 1st Loanhead Company of The Boys Brigade in Scotland, was presented with his 2016 Make a Difference Award at the Radio 2 studios in BBC Broadcasting House yesterday.

He met Lord Leslie Griffiths, President of The Boys Brigade and BBC Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans at the special presentation, before being interviewed live on air on the Breakfast Show.

Bill Stevenson, Acting CEO of The Boys’ Brigade, said: “Congratulations to Lewis, we are exceptionally proud of him. Like so many BB young people, he has gone above and beyond to help others.

“The Boys’ Brigade aims to make a difference in the lives of young people, like Lewis who give so much to help others.  He is an inspiration and thoroughly deserves this recognition.”

Lewis carried out a remarkable amount of volunteering for the Thornton Rose Riding for the Disabled Project. He has spent in excess of 220 hours assisting the charity, which provides riding opportunities for people of all ages and disabilities. Lewis chose to support this charity for the volunteering section of his Queen’s Badge, The Boys’ Brigade’s highest award.

At the Scotland presentation earlier this year, Lewis received the award from First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.  Following this UK event at Broadcasting House, he said:

“To have met First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was brilliant and to now have travelled to London and appear on radio is truly unbelievable. I’m very grateful to Chris Evans for doing this with us all and I hope that this may encourage more young people to begin volunteering as well.”