His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Qassim Region, has honoured 22 winners in 8 categories of the first edition of the Prince Dr. Faisal bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Award for Volunteer Work. The ceremony at the King Khalid Cultural Center in Buraidah was attended by Deputy Governor His Highness Prince Fahd bin Saad bin Faisal bin Saad.

"We take pride in the growing turnout for volunteer work," Prince Faisal said, stressing that "recognition is not an end in itself, but an incentive to keep giving" and that the true impact of volunteering lies in the benefit it brings to others' lives. He highlighted the importance of organised, institutional volunteering and the leadership's support for it as part of Saudi Vision 2030.

Speaking for the award's trustees, Dr. Nasser Al-Hamoud said the 8 categories target government bodies, the private and non-profit sectors, individuals and volunteer teams. Entries were screened and judged against clear criteria and spanned health, social, humanitarian and national work, with some exceeding 1,500 documented volunteer hours.

Among organisations, Qassim University won the best volunteer idea and initiative category and took first place for both financial and knowledge support in the outstanding supporter category. The Abnaa orphan care charity in Buraidah won best creator of volunteer opportunities, the Al-Khubaib association for Da'wah, guidance and community awareness won the "Mujtamai" award for non-profits, and the Enjad search and rescue association's team was named best volunteer team.

In the individual categories, Eyad Mohammed Abdullah Al-Mousa took first place for the record number of volunteer hours, Jumana Waleed Saleh Al-Ajaji won the volunteer knight category, and Nader bin Ibrahim bin Ali Al-Qunaisi won the "Himma" award for people with disabilities. The governor also toured an accompanying exhibition of volunteer initiatives and projects.