When Cameron first walked through the doors of Kinross-shire Youth Enterprise (KYTHE), he was simply looking for somewhere to spend time with friends and get involved in something different.
Four years later, the 15-year-old Kinross High School pupil – known to everyone as Cammie – is now helping to provide that same welcoming environment for other young people.
KYTHE is a youth charity supporting young people across Perth and Kinross, providing a safe and welcoming place where they can socialise, build confidence, develop new skills and access support. Through youth clubs, drop-in sessions, activities and outreach work, it helps young people make connections, try new experiences and play an active part in their communities.
The charity is one of seven local youth organisations supported through the Strategic Youth Work Partnership between The Gannochy Trust and Perth & Kinross Council, which has committed more than £1.75 million over five years, from 2024 to 2029, to support accessible youth work across Perth and Kinross.
Cammie first heard about KYTHE when its youth workers visited his primary school in P7 to explain what was available. By S1, he had become a regular at the charity’s Friday sessions and soon began trying some of its other groups and activities.
“I started going to KYTHE in S1, really just as a casual goer,” he explains. “I went every Friday and then started going to some of the other groups too. Quite soon after, I got asked if I would like to volunteer. I said yes and I’ve been volunteering ever since.
“I’ve been volunteering for three years now and it’s been fantastic.”
Today, much of Cammie’s volunteering takes place at the KYTHE Hub opposite Kinross High School. The space gives young people somewhere to relax, meet friends and take part in activities, with games consoles, a Pac-Man arcade machine, dartboard, tuck shop and kitchen.
It is in that kitchen that Cammie can most often be found, helping to prepare, cook and serve food for young people using the Hub. He also lends a hand in the tuck shop, supports groups and activities, and helps with Mobile KYTHE, which takes youth services out into communities including Bridge of Earn and Crook of Devon.
His role has gradually grown as his confidence and experience have developed. As well as helping KYTHE’s youth workers, Cammie now supports younger and newer volunteers, passing on some of the practical skills he has learned himself.
“I like to think I’ve helped teach some of the other volunteers skills, particularly in the kitchen,” he says. “It can be helping them use the system for selling food, but also general life skills like cooking, washing dishes or using the dishwasher.
“I also like supporting some of the new or younger volunteers, which has been nice.”
For Cammie, however, volunteering is about much more than learning practical skills. Working alongside people with different experiences and backgrounds has helped him become more confident communicating with others and more aware of the challenges some people face.
“There are lots of benefits,” he says. “I’ve learnt how to work in a team and communicate with people from all sorts of different backgrounds. You have to learn how to get on with a diverse range of people, which is really helpful in life.
“It’s nice to help other people and to be compassionate. It makes me feel good and I hope what I do helps other people too. It’s a fantastic thing to do really.”
Having spent four years at KYTHE, first as a participant and then as a volunteer, Cammie believes the experience has changed his outlook too.
“It’s probably made me a better person,” he says. “I spend a lot of my time volunteering and it’s made me more aware of other people and how not everyone’s life situation is the same as mine. So it’s been really positive.”
That sense of giving something back extends beyond KYTHE. Cammie also volunteers with a local drama group, helping with younger classes and working alongside professional clown doctors to stage comedy productions.
His experience shows how providing young people with the opportunity to get involved in their community can have benefits that work both ways. While Cammie gives his time and energy to KYTHE, volunteering has given him new skills, friendships, confidence and a stronger connection with the people around him.
And his advice to other young people considering volunteering is refreshingly straightforward.
“Give it a try. You get to meet lots of different people and do things you wouldn’t normally get the chance to do. There is a real sense of community and you learn a lot.
“There’s no harm in trying it once. You’ve given it a shot – and you might find something that’s for you.”