Twenty-two volunteers from SSEN Transmission and Balfour Beatty have completed final painting and clean-up work at Fyvie Guide House in Aberdeenshire, helping prepare the community facility for an open day and official reopening later this month following a major extension more than a decade in the making.

Staff from both organisations devoted several days to tasks across the building, including preparing areas for painting, tidying and cleaning internal spaces, and repainting walls, woodwork, doors and benches to refresh the site ahead of welcoming visitors back.

In all, 22 people took part in the volunteering effort, accelerating the final push to reopen the venue after its long-running expansion project.

Fyvie Guide House is a charity-run venue that primarily serves Girlguiding groups as well as other youth organisations, offering day visits and residential stays. Its mission is to provide opportunities that build resilience and support wellbeing for children and young people, aligned to a wider vision of an equal world where girls can be happy, safe and fulfil their potential.

Morag Reidford, Chairperson of the Fyvie Guide House Management Committee, added: "The support from the volunteers made a significant difference to the project, allowing us to redirect funding towards other essential maintenance within the house and achieve more overall.

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"Thanks to the number of volunteers involved, work that would normally have taken weeks was completed in just a few days, helping the project move much more quickly towards its final stage.

"There was a real sense of camaraderie between the teams from SSEN Transmission and Balfour Beatty, and we are extremely grateful for their time, effort and commitment.

"We look forward to welcoming all those involved back to our open day, where they will be able to see how their contribution helped bring the project to completion."

Kirsty McNamara, SSEN Transmission's Community Liaison Manager, was among those who took part in the volunteering effort. She said: "At SSEN Transmission, we are committed to making a positive difference in the communities where our projects are based, and volunteering days like these really demonstrate that ambition.

"Working alongside colleagues from Balfour Beatty, our volunteer team worked incredibly well together, supporting one another, sharing skills and getting stuck in to whatever task was needed.

"There was genuine interest in Fyvie Guide House, with everyone determined to do their best and help put the finishing touches on this major refurbishment project. We are proud to support projects like this and to play a positive role in the places where we work."

Natalie Williams, Project Communications Officer at Balfour Beatty, added: "Through volunteering like this, Balfour Beatty teams are able to give something practical back to the communities that support our work. But what made this volunteering effort so special was how personal it felt.

"Many of us live and work locally and have been a part of youth groups growing up, so being able to support Fyvie Guide House feels very personal. Stepping away from our usual roles, getting stuck in and working together on something that will benefit young people for years to come is incredibly rewarding, and it's something our team can feel really proud of."