Carol Elliot and Ian Swanson, Special Events Team

Carol and Ian have been volunteering with the Events Team for over 18 years, supporting up to 4 large events each year, sometimes travelling the length of the country in order to do so. They never ask for thanks, they never ask for expenses, they just like being members of the team. They are knowledgeable and passionate about the work of Barnardo’s, but are also friendly, professional and helpful to all who attend the events they volunteer at. Directly and indirectly, Carol and Ian have helped Barnardo’s to raise millions of pounds during their time as volunteers and have become the backbone of the Events Team. They have always had amazing staying power, standing and cheering for hours during marathon events, setting up for fundraising events and checking tickets and counting money. Carol and Ian are invaluable to the team, and their contributions have led to incredible fundraising feats over the last 18 years. 

Christine Clark

Christine has supported Barnardo’s for over 75 years. She originally became a Barnardo’s helper in 1947, aged 4, when she began collecting money at school and continued to fundraise for Barnardo’s throughout her childhood through jumble sales and selling crafts. She has never been one to blow her own trumpet, but Christine’s dedication to Barnardo’s is inspirational. She has been a member of this Group since the 1960s, soon becoming secretary and later Chair. She has been a driving force of the small group, organising countless events and selling Christmas cards every year. Over the decades, Christine has raised over £150,000 for Barnardo’s, often fundraising in awful weather and attending events with the royal family to help further the work of the organisation.

Christine Butler

Christine is a dedicated retail volunteer, and has always been at the forefront of her store’s fundraising efforts for Barnardo’s. This has been even more evident since the store reopened after the pandemic, when continued restrictions meant that the store was not able to return to their traditional methods of fundraising. Christine came up with the idea to do regular bake sales at the store, encouraging customers to spend that little bit of extra money. In the first week, the store raised an additional £500, and these cake sales have come to be expected by the customers. Christine is an asset to Barnardo’s and provides excellent customer service to everyone who comes into the store. She has battled personal and family issues to continue her volunteering, and from June 2020 to April 2021 has helped to raise an additional £10,000 for the store. 

“Your View” at the Forth Bridge, Events Committee

This committee has shown outstanding and on-going commitment since it was first piloted in 2017. Since then they have successfully organised three events and raised a total of £223,365. The core committee consists of key representatives from Balfour Beatty, Network Rail, Transport Scotland and ‘The Briggers’ who are instrumental to the success of the event. They support all planning and delivery of the event which goes over and above their day jobs and have dedicated a number of hours to ensure the event is a success. They make these contributions free of charge, and Barnardo’s receives 100% of the money from ticket sales. 

The committee have seen the event grow in success, from raising £20,500 in the first year to raising £137,775 in the third year of the event. The event takes place on the bridge, where attendees receive an interactive presentation from ‘The Briggers’ before ascending to the 361-foot high platform where they can experience uninterrupted views of Edinburgh and the Fife coastline. In 2019, they introduced a higher level of ticket providing more opportunities for attendees and in turn raising more money for Barnardo’s. 

Guests have given exceptional feedback to the event, often commenting on the knowledge and passion of those running the event. The committee have been a pleasure for Barnardo’s to work with and have gone over and above to ensure that guests have the best experience possible, and raise as much money as possible for Barnardo’s. 

Rene Faloon

Rene has been an exceptional member of the Newry BHG for over 50 years and her outstanding contributions have meant that the group has adapted to the ever-changing fundraising climate. She is always on the lookout for new fundraising opportunities. Rene enlisted the support of local schools and colleges to continue the tradition of door to door carol singing, as well as encouraging the local shopping centre to host a concert for over 20 schools throughout the years. During her time with the group, Rene has helped them to raise over £73,800.

Keith Johnson

Keith was invited to join a local Barnardo’s fundraising group in the late 1980’s, and he soon took charge, transforming it into the Durham Professional Fundraising Group. He encouraged local business contacts to join the group and has put on a number of events throughout the years in order to raise funds. The group has successfully raised over £350,000 for Barnardo’s over the last 30 years, as well as a number of causes external to Barnardo’s including community work in Uganda. Keith is a much-loved and highly respected supporter of Barnardo’s and the wider community.

Annette Lamb

Annette has been a loyal supporter of Barnardo’s for many years, and during her time as Marketing Manager at the Harvey Nichols store in Edinburgh she was the main link for Barnardo’s, helping them to secure the ‘charity of the year’ partnership. She has organised a number of fundraising events across Scotland, most significantly the now annual Golf Day which has so far raised nearly £75,000 for Barnardo’s. Annette is a pleasure to work with and her passion for Barnardo’s always shines through.

Elizabeth Singer

Elizabeth was a founding member of the Porthcawl Barnardo’s Helper Group which has been running since 1975. She has taken on various voluntary roles in the Group and Barnardo’s as a whole, including Chair of the Appeals Advisory Board, which is made up of county and regional chairs across the UK who represent their local Helper Group and is the fundamental link between volunteers, staff and Trustees at Barnardo’s.

Through her work with Barnardo’s Helper Groups, Elizabeth has contributed to raising over £250,000 for the organisation, organising a variety of local community events to encourage people to raise money for Barnardo’s.

Roger Hollinghurst

Roger first approached Barnardo’s in 2006 when he noticed that a collection box in his local pub needed to be emptied. He was soon responsible for emptying 43 boxes across the North Devon coast and over Exmoor, raising almost £3,000 in 8 years and travelling extensively around the surrounding villages to do so.

Sadly, Roger passed away shortly after the panel selected him as the winner of this Award. However, with the agreement of his family, we were pleased to still be able to recognise the outstanding contributions he has made to Barnardo’s.