After careful deliberation, our team of three judges have chosen the winners for the Irish in Britain Volunteer awards. All the judges are experts in their fields, with years of experience in the voluntary sector. They were greatly impressed by the amazing work of the nominees and had an extremely difficult time choosing only three award winners.
The winners are:
The IIBN Award for an Outstanding Individual Volunteer
Brian Heffernan – Causeway Irish Housing
Brian volunteers with TREE, a social enterprise he helped to create with Causeway Irish Housing. As part of TREE, Brian sources raw and recycled materials to upcycle into furniture, which is then donated or sold cheaply within the community.
He has led workshops and classes on furniture restoration and has helped to renovate a disused garage into a creative hub where participants can drop in and work on their furniture.
This award is generously sponsored by the Irish International Business Network (IIBN)
IIBN is a global network made up of Irish entrepreneurs and business professionals whose aim is to connect members to identify and exploit new business opportunities. Established in London in 2007 and supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, IIBN has 8,000 members in Chapters in London, New York, Dublin and several Central and Eastern European cities.
The Moreland Investments Ltd Award for an Outstanding Group of Volunteers
Care in the Community – Irish Network Stevenage
The Care in the Community group provide a visitation service to vulnerable and housebound members of their community. Volunteers check up on the community members and encourage them to attend social activities and interact with others.
The group offers respite relief for carers and liaise with family members who don’t live close by.
This award is generously sponsored by Moreland Investments Ltd.
The Greedy Goose Hampers Award for an Outstanding Trustee
Peter Hinton & Owen Hagan – Irish Community Care Merseyside
As trustees and members of the executive, Peter and Owen have provided sound financial leadership amidst an increasingly unstable funding climate. Providing risk analysis and financial direction, they have helped to lead a restructuring and have supported the organisation to expand its programmes and impact.
This award is generously sponsored by Greedy Goose Hampers, Ireland’s Luxury Hamper Gift Service. 0353 (0)94 9253757
All award winners will receive an award and a special gift, to be presented to them at the Volunteer Awards Ceremony on 4 June at the Embassy of Ireland in London, hosted by comedian Rory O’Hanlon and attended by the Ambassador Adrian O’Neill. All award nominees and nominators have been invited to attend the ceremony.
Irish in Britain would also like to thank the Doyle Collection, the Irish luxury hotel group, who have generously sponsored the Volunteer Awards.