Joan Morris

Joan won the Award for her volunteer work with Renfrewshire Carers Centre. Joan, who is a carer herself, has volunteered at the centre for four years.

As well as providing care for two family members, Joan supports the centre in a number of ways including fundraising, telephone and face-to-face support for other carers, befriending and helping others carers to get a break.

Diane Goodman, Centre Manager at Renfrewshire Carers Centre, said:

“Joan is a huge help to us here at the centre and she is always looking at ways she can support us. We nominated her as we wanted her hard work and commitment to the centre and the carers in the area to be recognised and we’re thrilled that it has.”

Regional Winners:

Wales
Gwenda Davies

Northern Ireland
Laoise McDonnell

North East/Yorkshire
Derek Elliott

North West
Sarah Poyner

South East
Elaine Spicer

South West
Vivian Bass

Midlands/East
Bill Simpkins

London
Anne Sudbury

Jim Robson

Jim has been a volunteer with Sunderland Carers’ Centre for 12 years, where he has shown immense dedication and enthusiasm to supporting young carers.

Jim is a carer himself and became involved with the organisation when he was caring for his son who contracted Meningitis at 5 days old leaving him with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Jim also cares for his wife who lives with health problems that require much support and attention. Despite his personal commitments as a carer Jim makes time to help others, going above and beyond what is expected of him.

Jim started out his volunteering role at Sunderland Carers’ Centre as a bus driver and, as his confidence grew, he became more and more involved with the Centre’s work. He now supports staff to run weekly support groups to provide young carers with advice and guidance as well as recreational and holiday activities, to give young participants the opportunity of time away from their challenging roles as young carers. From helping to organise rafting or football to teaching cookery skills, Jim always goes the extra mile in his role.

Regional Winners:

Wales
Jayne Wiecko

Northern Ireland
Niamh O’Reilly  

Scotland
Mary Bulmer

North West
Mathew Powell

South East
Iris Sell

South West
Horace Coward

Midlands/East
Ella McKenzie

London
Linda Fisher

Krish Venkatraman

Krish is an exceptional individual who has not only grasped the role of a primary family carer but has also sought to use his personal experience for the wider benefit of his community. Krish cares for his son and wife. He has also provided care for an elderly neighbour during the final year of her life.

In 2001, following encouragement from the C.E.O. of Reading Crossroads, Krish became a Trustee as a ‘carer representative’ and has taken on a number of roles over the past years. Initially he joined the fundraising committee helping with presentations and arranging cultural evenings to raise funds. His focus has always been to enable the provision of respite care, through the development of clubs, in order to provide opportunities for those being cared for and relief for their carers. His personal experience has proved invaluable in communicating with other carers and in prompting the care provided by Reading Crossroads.

As Chair of the Trustees, Krish has represented Reading Crossroads at national meetings and at local Carers’ Week and Carers’ Rights Day events. He has been a constant source of support and inspiration for the organisation’s staff and for carers in his community.

Regional Winners:

Wales
Jean Roberts

Northern Ireland
Rosemary Arbuthnot 

Scotland
Tom Gallagher

North East of England/Yorkshire
Chris Elliot

North West
Jean Reveley

South West
Cherry Gimmiry

Midlands/East
Caroline Hare

London
Nita Patel

Carina Andrews

Carina is a young adult carer. She has been caring for her mother, who suffers from depression and anxiety, from a young age. As she was growing up, Carina’s role as a carer involved providing practical support to her mother, by organising doctors’ appointments and managing her medication, as well as providing her with emotional support and looking after her younger sister.

Carina has been an active supporter at the Carers’ Support Centre in Bristol for three years. She initially started volunteering with the Young Carers Voice forum, speaking out about issues affecting young carers and in particular, mental health issues.

As Carina approached her 18^th birthday, she became concerned that she could no longer access Young Carers support and so, along with others who were in the same position as her, decided to set up the thriving Eighteen Plus Group, which provides support for young adult carers between the ages of 18 and 25. Since it was set up, the group has been a great success and has allowed Carina to reach out to those who are in the same position as her and who need support.

Carina juggles two part-time jobs working with children and young people, as well as her role as a volunteer. She continues to care for her mother and now her father too, as he has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Her energy and commitment are an inspiration to all those who meet her.

This Award also recognised another 8 winners from, regions across the UK, for their work as carers and volunteers. The winners were: Sharon Findlay, Siobhan Miller, Angela Mulhern, June Gordon, Glenys Williams, Madeleine Spice, Sheridan Butterfield, Bosco Ssendegeya.

Doris Mason

Doris has been a volunteer with Sheffield Carers’ Centre since it opened in 1994. She is 82 and our oldest and longest serving volunteer.

Doris takes on a number of roles, which include providing ‘TLC’ (our telephone befriending service for carers), promoting our services at outreach events and GP surgeries, meeting and greeting both carers and professionals at various events and helping at support groups where she provides cakes and scones freshly baked that morning! She has also taken part in a publicity campaign promoting carers where her photograph appeared on giant billboards around the city, and on leaflets in doctors’ surgeries.

In addition to all this, Doris is still very much a ‘hands on’ carer. Her daughter Elizabeth, who will be 50 this year, has Cerebral Palsy, so this will be Doris’s 50^th year as a care! She has also cared for her late husband.