Love is all around at annual Volunteer Awards

Volunteers from across Lancaster came together to celebrate the year’s success at the Volunteer Achievement Awards 2018, with an appropriately named volunteer walking off with the big prize.

Love really did fill the function room of Trimpell Sports and Social Club as the Volunteer of the Year gong was presented by the Mayor of Lancaster, Coun Andrew Kay, to Margaret Love for her amazing work with mental health charity Peer Support.

Margaret has dedicated herself to helping some extremely vulnerable people, despite suffering some deeply personal losses with the sad passing of both her son and her husband.

Rebecca Chesworth, Peer Support’s Project Coordinator, said “Over the last 2 years Margaret has gone through so much personal pain and turmoil, but she has managed to stay such a beautiful, sunny and understanding presence at Peer Support and is an inspiration to everyone who she is around.”

The night also saw Steph Hoggarth awarded with the inaugural Roger Sherlock Community Inspiration of the Year award for her strong leadership in Galgate during last November’s devastating floods.  The award is named in memory of Councillor Roger Sherlock who sadly passed away last year.

CancerCare had a number of their volunteers recognised with 10-year-old Rory Wood sharing the Young Volunteer of the Year award with Luke Caton (18) from Out in the Bay, and Owen Westwood (10) from the Carnforth Community Swimming Pool, with the big Fundraiser of the Year award going to The Scarletts, an amazing group of ladies who turned their cancer diagnoses into a positive, raising thousands of pounds for the charity.

The annual event, this year delivered in partnership between Lancaster District Community and Voluntary Solutions, and Lancaster City Council, recognises the dedication, hard work, and often personal sacrifice of volunteers who make life-changing difference to local people.

It is an opportunity to say thank you to people who give their time with no expectation of reward.

The mayor of Lancaster, Coun Andrew Kay, added: “Volunteers are the lifeblood of our community and without them many organisations and services would simply not be able to function.  I was delighted to join this celebration of the district’s volunteers and the work they do every single day to improve the lives and opportunities of local people.”

Proceedings were kept bouncing along by presenters Kevin Goodall and Mark Waddington from Lancaster District CVS.  Mark, Volunteer Centre Coordinator, said: “When the panel got together to make the hard decisions about who should win each award, there were tears, and the event itself was just as emotional with so many amazing stories to share.  It is a privilege to know these people and to be able to say thank you in this way.”

There were also winners in the Trustee of the Year and Lifetime Achievement catergories.  Guy Christiansen was recognised for his amazing work as Chairman of Lancashire Youth Challenge, and Pat Clelland took away this year’s Lifetime Achievement award for all that she has done for Lancaster Tennis Club.

The awards were supported by some wonderful local businesses, who donated prizes for the deserving winners. Evolve Tattoos, The Dukes Theatre, TAO Hair, Salt Ayre Leisure Centre, Jo & Cass Hair and Beauty, and Nice & Spicy, showed real community spirit with their kind contributions.

Yak Patel, CEO of Lancaster District CVS said “We thank these local businesses for their tremendous gifts and for supporting community action by local people. Volunteers give so much of their time to others and this is a way of saying thanks to them for everything they do.”

Notes for Editors

•       Full list of winners:
o       Volunteer of the Year – Margaret Love from Peer Support
o       Young Volunteer of the Year – joint winners Luke Caton from Out in the Bay, Rory Wood from CancerCare, Owen Westwood from Carnforth Community Swimming Pool
o       Roger Sherlock Community Inspiration Award – Steph Hoggarth
o       Fundraiser of the Year – The Scarletts from CancerCare
o       Trustee of the Year – Guy Christiansen from Lancashire Youth Challenge

•       Roger Sherlock was elected to represent the Skerton West ward on the city council in 1995 and served as Mayor of Lancaster in 2009/10.  He was a passionate community activist, and sat as council observer on the Lancaster District CVS board of trustees.  He sadly passed in November 2017.

•       Peer Support is a recovery and well-being centre for those with mild to severe and enduring mental health problems in the Lancaster and Morecambe area.

•       CancerCare is a unique independent charity dedicated to helping  families affected by cancer and other potentially life limiting conditions living in North Lancashire and South Cumbria.

•       Out in the Bay aims to provide support to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people in the Lancaster area, as well as raising awareness for LGBT issues and campaigns.

•       Carnforth Community Swimming Pool is a community asset in the true sense, managed and run by local people all acting as volunteers to provide access to swimming after the pool was faced with closure after cuts to budgets.

•       Lancaster Tennis Club is a community sports club catering to both young people and adults, delivering a full programme of events through the year.

•       Lancashire Youth Challenge is a dynamic charity which enables young people to build confidence and resilience via an exciting year-round programme of physical, creative and cultural activities and projects.

•       Mark Waddington can be contacted Mondays, Tuesdays, or Fridays on 01524 555900, or by email at markwaddington@lancastercvs.org.uk.

•       Lancaster District CVS chief officer, Yak Patel, can be contacted on 01524 555900 or by email at yakpatel@lancastercvs.org.uk.

Lancaster District CVS has spent the last 40 years supporting the local not-for-profit sector, including help with fundraising, training, volunteering, development of policy and procedures, and a whole host of other services.  The CVS works closely with local city and county councils, as well as the NHS, CCG, police, fire service, higher and further education providers, all to support local communities.