St Helena Hospice said a special thank you to 129 people who this year achieved a volunteering milestone with the charity.

At the event held at the Jobserve Community Stadium in Colchester, on 15th October, St Helena Hospice’s chair of trustees, Nigel Pye, and chief executive, Mark Jarman-Howe, thanked all those receiving a milestone badge and recognised the 900+ people who volunteer their time, skills and enthusiasm to a wide variety of roles supporting the work of the charity. 

Mayor Lesley Scott-Boutell was also in attendance to thank the volunteers for their contribution over the years.
This year, local businesses who have supported St Helena Hospice and a selection of dedicated local community supporters were also invited to the Thank You Day to receive a certificate and thanks for everything they do to help raise vital funds for the charity. 

Janice Lingard and Margaret Spurgeon were two volunteers celebrating 35 incredible years of volunteering. They said: “The Hospice has been there for friends and family. We’ve met lovely people and made a lot of good friends and we enjoy it.”

Alice Harker received her 20 years’ long service award, she said: “It’s always good to give back to the community; the Hospice is a worthwhile charity and you never know when your time is up. It’s the friendships, routine and seeing how the organisation has grown over the years, it’s just a worthwhile charity to donate your time.”

Milestone badges awarded at the St Helena Hospice volunteers thank you day:

• 3 years’ service – 52 people
• 7 years’ service – 36 people
• 10 years’ service – 25 people
• 15 years’ service – 9 people
• 20 years’ service – 5 people
• 35 years’ service – 2 people

Recognition awards were also given to two volunteers for going above and beyond:

David Lam was nominated for special recognition by his colleagues at Safe Harbour for his invaluable contributions to the team. He has been instrumental in providing insightful guidance on cultural issues and generating innovative ideas for outreach to ethnically diverse communities. One of David’s ideas was to provide training for English-proficient members of the Chinese community, empowering them to share vital information and resources with others in their community who may face language barriers.

Sam Smale volunteers within the estates team and was recognised by them for her passion for the Hospice which she showed by going over and above her usual duties and helping in the £50 Challenge Car Wash, as well as supporting the catering team at Hero Run. 

Wendy Marcon, voluntary services manager, said: “We have more than 900 incredible volunteers, giving their time to support St Helena in many different roles across all areas of the organisation, and every single one of them are a vital part of the organisation. 

“Without them, we could not do everything we do to complement the care we offer to patients and their families. Whether they volunteer in our retail teams or in patient facing roles at the Hospice, they all bring a valuable resource.  

“Over the next ten years, St Helena has an ambitious vision, to double the number of people we reach and to do that we will need the help and support of more volunteers. So if you’re interested in sparing a few hours a week or month, we encourage you to get in touch or check out our vacancies at our website. We’d love to hear from you.”

Hospice patient Viv recorded a message which was played to everyone in attendance at the Thank You Day. She said: “To the amazing volunteers; you are incredible, donating your time, skills and smiles to support St Helena in all the different roles across the charity. 

“I want to thank all of you because you are making a huge difference to me and to my loved ones every day. Everything you do for this brilliant charity so it can help me and others now and in the future means the world.”

Visit www.sthelena.org.uk/volunteer for information on volunteering with St Helena Hospice.