Young at heart!

That's Whitefield teenager John McSwiggan, who has emerged as a young people's champion in the borough.

John (18) juggles his ever-expanding voluntary work with his job as administration assistant at the Information Shop on The Rock, Bury.

And his hard work within the voluntary sector recently received deserved credit and recognition.

John, of Kenmore Road, Whitefield, received a certificate at the Bury Council-organised Awards for Voluntary Service in the Community in the work with children and/or young people category.

The teenager launched his unpaid work stint at the age of 13 when he became manager of the Whitefield Tornados roller hockey team. A year later, he helped develop the Bury Metro Roller Hockey League which originally involved four squads but which now boasts 14 teams. John, who has held the post of league secretary, said: "I have also been manager of the Manchester Hornets.

"When I originally became involved in roller hockey, all the teams met up and we discussed the idea of getting the league together."

Aside from that, he is the current chairman of Bury Youth Forum and Bury Metro Youth Council.

For the past 18 months, he has been employed by the Whitefield-based Shuttle Centre to help empower youngsters.

John is also involved on the Bury Lifelong Learning, cultural and recreational and sports scrutiny panel and Whitefield and Unsworth Area Board.

He was the first person in the borough to be presented with a special "Millennium Volunteer" certificate after notching up 200 hours of voluntary work in a three-month period.

During the day, he is based at the local authority-run Information Shop which provides advice, information and support on issues and concerns for young people aged between 13 and 25.

"Being chairman of the Youth Forum also allows us to have a lot of say in decisions," he said, but admitted that it can be quite difficult to combine a hectic voluntary schedule with his full-time commitments.

"It can be quite hard," said John. "I'm usually running from one place to another while trying to keep my social life together."

Nevertheless, the former Philips High School pupil has no regrets about the route he has taken.

"I got involved with roller hockey and then training at one of the youth centres. Since then, everything has just snowballed."

And it looks as if his workload is about to increase even further.

"I've been asked to apply for a place on the National Lottery Charities Board, but I don't know as yet if I will be accepted."

Commenting on his recent voluntary award, the public-spirited teenager said: "It's really nice to be recognised, especially at such a young age."

At the moment, John is working towards becoming a fully-qualified youth worker.