Volunteer Awards

VOLUNTEER AWARDS Volunteersrecognised at annual awards

Volunteers across the Moorlands have received much deserved recognition at an annual award ceremony.

Support Staffordshire hosted its 2021 Staffordshire Moorlands VolunteerStar Awards virtually on Tuesday, June 8.

The awards aim to: “recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements and commitment of volunteers and organisations who go the extra mile to support our communities.”

For the Leek and surrounding areas, we had three winners. They were:JaneMalkinof Borderland Voices who won the Personal Achievement award; Andrew Sutton of Staffordshire Fire &Rescue Service won the Volunteering Support for Young People; and Mark Johnson of Borderland Voices won the Volunteering Support for theOver 65’s award.

Meanwhile, commendations in the area included: Community Champion for Leek Morrisons Sarah Gould in the Business Contribution to Communities category; Brown Edge and Endon Litter Picking Army in the New Volunteer Team of the Year; Linda Lea of the Brown Edge Luncheon Club in the Volunteering Support forthe Over 65’s category; Cheddleton Local Committee in the Volunteer Team of the Year category; and Bill Taylor of Borderland Voices in the Trusteeofthe Year category.

To watch the virtual award ceremony, go online to: www.youtube.com/channel/UCALwWQP47FS0Z JuAa2YuPNQ.

Andrew ndrew Sutton Sutton of of Staffordshire Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, who volunteers at Leek Fire Station, won the Volunteering Support for Young People award.

Helen Wood nominated Andrew for the award. Here’s what she said in her nomination:

Andy has been volunteering with Safe+Sound for over two years. He supports by delivering Fire Safety workshops in our immersive, interactive pods, and by supporting children and schools as they attend Safe+Sound events and work their way round our five partner delivered workshops.

Andy’s help is invaluable as it helps schools get the most outoftheirvisitstothe fire station and their Safe+Sound experience.

In November 2019 Andy helped support 508 Year Six children from Leek schools as they attended Safe+Sound at Leek Fire Station. He has learnt how to use our new immersive technology –asanew innovative technology driven workshop, this was new to everyone and to be able to learn and adapt to such new technology is acredit to Andy and his determination to succeed.

He has had an immensely positive impact on the children who attended–with feedback such as: “After today Iwill tellmybrother not to charge his phone on his bed,” and: “After today I will make sure the doors are closed at night,” and: ‘After today Iknow what to do if there is a fire.”

It is clear that he is helping keep children and their families safer. He deserves to win as he has acalm, knowledgeable and interesting approach to delivery which the children really appreciate and engage with.

He commits his time and is always reliable, enthusiastic and willing to help. He has grasped the opportunities the new technology has presented him with. It is apleasure to nominate Andy for an award as he, and all theStaffs Fire Service volunteers, are acredittothe organisation and apleasure to work with.

Three Borderland Voices participants were recognised at the Volunteer Star Awards.

Here, Borderland Voices coordinator Andy Collins, tells us about why she nominated Jane Malkin, Bill Taylor and Mark Johnson for the awards.

Since she started coming to Borderland Voices, arts for health and mental well-being,Jane Malkin has blossomed.

Despitecoping with disability, pain management, agoraphobia and anxiety,she’s now alively member of the group. Her writing is always ajoy but more especially she’sbeen providing vital support to others.

Although she has acute anxiety about making phone calls, she’s been regularly ringing another group memberwho’d become isolated. Then she borrowed the Lenovo tablet we’d managed to acquire for our oldest participant and wrote a simple, step-by-step, illustrated ‘usermanual’ to help get them online. For thesereasons, she won the Moorlands area Personal Achievement Award.

We are very fortunate in having participants who also volunteerastrustees and give the board essential feedback. Bill Taylor is one such participant trustee.

His on-going mental health issuesgive him tremendous empathy buthe’salso willing to share his vulnerability. His writing is often quite short, but always penetrating and perceptive. The same is true of his contribution to trustees’ meetings.

During the pandemic, Bill’s volunteering has evolved in anew way. Acutely aware of those participants who for various reasons are unable or choose not to engage online, and despite finding phone callsdifficult, he took it upon himself to ring these ‘off-line’ people regularly, providing that week-by-week, friendly, reassuring contact to our most isolatedmembers. Bill received the Commendation in the Trustee of the Year category.

Mark Johnson has become akey ingredient in Borderland Voices, both as participant and trustee.Asone of just two or threepeopleunder the age of 65, he brings awelcome breath of youthful fresh air to our meetings. Throughout the pandemic he’s supported ourolder participants in so many different ways: in our regular Zoom meetings; chatting to isolatedparticipants on the phone; doing

shopping and fetching prescriptions; providing emotional support and finding sources of additional help.

Mark is such alively yet empathetic person who also has awickedsense of humour and he’s managed to bring much-needed smiles to all our faces over thepast months. Predictably, his response on winning the Support for the over 65s Award was: “I guess that officially qualifies me as the best-dressed Zimmer frame in the Moorlands.”

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