07 06 24 | Community

Day 5: Volunteers Week in Stockport – Young Volunteer Award and Volunteer Team Award

Day 5: Volunteers Week in Stockport – Young Volunteer Award and Volunteer Team Award

Throughout Volunteers’ Week, we are highlighting some of Stockport’s amazing volunteers whose work and dedication were recognised at the recent Stockport Rocks Volunteer Awards evening. 

Friday 7th June:
Today we recognise the people who have been highly commended along with the winners of the Young Volunteer and the Volunteer Team Awards.

Young Volunteer Award

Winner: Elizabeth Nichols (pictured above), ARC

“Lizzy, 24, has been volunteering with Arc since 2022, as a wellbeing assistant on our Young People’s project, which supports young people facing severe life, family and mental health challenges each year. Lizzy’s confidence has improved since volunteering at Arc, and more recently has created her own Arts Project and has met other artists and has set up her
own art space in Grit Studios.” Noreen McCole Bridge – Arts for Recovery in the Community (ARC)

Highly Commended: Megan Finch (pictured above with Jo McGrath – CEO of Sector 3),
Signpost Stockport for Young Carers

“Megan used to access our service when she was younger as she cares for her brother Adam who has complex needs. Megan continues to care for Adam and also for her partner. Megan now volunteers in our young carers respite groups… We are extremely proud of Megan, her caring role has impacted on her own mental wellbeing and she has worked hard to overcome many obstacles. Despite this Megan is giving up her time to help other young carers and make a difference in the longer term.”   Katy Frankland – Signpost Stockport for Carers

Highly Commended: Daniel Reid (pictured below left), Seashell Trust

“Daniel has been volunteering at Seashell’s inclusive football sessions in the community for over a year now. He arrives at volunteering with a smile on his face, keen and enthusiastic and does his absolute best at what he is doing. Dan has global development delay and needs time to process things, Dan has a limited vocabulary and communicates using his assistive devices or non-verbal body language. It has been a joy to watch Daniel adjust and adapt to his environment, grow in confidence with the group of players, staff and parents and carers who watch the session from the sideline.”  Stephen Pearson – Seashell Trust

Highly Commended: Zak – Higson-Dibb (pictured above right), Grove Lane Baptist Church

“On a Saturday morning, since lockdown, we have run a donation point for Chelwood Foodbank in the car park of Grove Lane baptist Church. Zak helps each week. He turns up faithfully on a Saturday morning at 10am, and stands in the car park for 2 hours, collecting, sorting and chatting, come rain or shine – or cold winds or heavy school work demands. He helps to set things up and put them away afterwards.

“There are weeks when we depend on him alone to manage the heavy work of putting up a gazebo, moving tables, heaving tins into car boots, because many of us are too old and frail to do this. Without him, we would struggle to manage on those days.
His commitment to this activity, and his willingness to join in with people he did not know, and with whom he might, on the surface, appear to have little in common, has encouraged us all.”
Ruth Gouldbourne – Grove Lane Baptist Church


Volunteer Team Award

Winners – An Organisation Run by Volunteers:
Dementia Disco (pictured above with Steve Oliver, CEO musicMagpie and Chair of Stockport Economic Alliance

“Their efforts go beyond simply organising events; they provide invaluable moments of joy and connection for individuals facing cognitive challenges. Music and dance have been shown to stimulate memory and evoke positive emotions in those with dementia, making the disco a particularly effective form of therapy. By creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, the team fosters a sense of belonging and empowerment among attendees, combating the isolation often experienced by individuals
with dementia. Moreover, their commitment to understanding the unique needs of each participant ensures that everyone feels supported and valued.” Carmen Malpas

Winner – Volunteer Team: The Wellspring

“The Wellspring would not function without the support of volunteers, we open 7 days per week, 365 days a year. The volunteers are the backbone of our service. Each session has a committed team of regular volunteers who give up their time to support those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Volunteers completely manage our twice daily food provision, feeding up to 80 people at a time, dedicated to providing an excellent level of service alongside an abundance of compassion, empathy and care.

“Last year our volunteers would have made up at least 15,330 hours of work and prepared and served 64,400 meal items. The Wellspring is not just a resource within the community, a building or project The Wellspring is a family of people with one shared passion for helping others, without our volunteer team this would simply not exist.”
Aaron McMillan – The Wellspring

Highly Commended: Brinnington SEND
(pictured above with Steve Oliver, CEO musicMagpie and Chair of Stockport Economic Alliance)

“This is a group of parents who have children with SEND (special educational needs/disability) who have organised coffee mornings inviting different professionals to attend so other parents can get advice and be empowered to advocate for their own children. They have put on events that gives children with SEND opportunities that they might not have otherwise gotten.”
Angela Dean

Highly Commended: All for Ukraine (pictured below left)

“Overall, they have given well in excess of 1,000 hours each of voluntary time towards helping Ukrainians in the last year.
But what really makes them stand out, for me, is the way they hold themselves to the highest professional standards despite not receiving any financial compensation for their humanitarian efforts. They are a perfect team, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses to increase productivity and efficiency, and reach their collective goal of providing
innovative solutions to help Ukrainians in Stockport and beyond flourish in their temporary homes. ”  Anthony Barlow

Highly Commended: OWLS (pictured above right)

“This group of ladies give up their time to support women and children that have or are going through Domestic Abuse. They also take on people that have come to them for support but then take them on as volunteers, build up their confidence so that they can go out and gain fultime employment. They do al this whilst fighting their own demons and disabilities, going above and beyond and prove there is life after Domestic Abuse. They are all heroes.”  Courteney Osment 

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