Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

North-east volunteer made OBE for work across Scotland

Paul Okroj
Paul Okroj

An Aberdeen man has been acclaimed in the New Years Honours List for his contribution to volunteering across the country.

Paul Okroj has been made an OBE in recognition of his commitment as co-chairman of the Scottish Volunteering Forum and his role as chairman of Befriending Network UK.

He has also been instrumental in doubling the number of volunteers within the charity Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS).


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


Having been presented with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee award in 2012 for its contribution to volunteering, CHSS is now urging more people to sign up to working alongside him in 2019.

Mr Okroj said he was “truly honoured” by the news – but added that the thousands of other volunteers across the region should be receiving the honour with him.

He said: “Volunteers are vital to Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s No Life Half Lived strategy.

“Quite simply, we cannot support the 1 in 5 people in Scotland living with chest, heart and stroke conditions without the time, support and commitment of our volunteers.

“I am passionate about sharing the impact and the difference volunteering makes across Scotland.  It is critical in improving our society and wellbeing.

“But the people who really should get this are the thousands of people who give their time to make a difference through volunteering.

“Their efforts are truly heroic and they change lives.”