Becky Lewis

Becky works with Bristol BASE, the Barnardo’s Against Sexual Exploitation service. She and her team played a significant role in the effective completion of ‘Operation Brooke’ which brought a group of perpetrators to trial for sexual exploitation. Becky and the team provided vital support and advice to the young victims throughout the trial, as well as worked closely with the police and other agencies.

Becky helped to raise wider awareness about the case and the importance of the group going to trial, hosting media interviews with television and radio stations, whilst always making sure that the interests of the young people were safeguarded.

Her support meant that the young people involved in the case felt able to give evidence at the trial, and are now able to face a more positive future.

Carole Rowe

Carole has been a volunteer since 2009 and has been integral to the development of a new mentoring school support programme. The programme sees a group of sixth form students from Bradford Grammar School volunteer their time each year to help young carers prepare for their GCSE exams. As a result of the programme many young carers have achieved higher grades in their exams and have improved their confidence and communication skills.

Carole is an instrumental part of the scheme, stepping in to help with any task, writing references and making a film to capture the scheme in action to encourage future recruitment to the scheme. She aims to expand the scheme to neighbouring schools and her dedication to supporting as many young carers as possible is outstanding.

Sebastian Hope

Sebastian is a volunteer for the Barnardo’s Work Programme mentoring scheme in Yorkshire. He works with young people between 18 and 24 years old, who have been living on benefits for the last six months, to develop their confidence, their skills and help them on their way back in to employment.

Sebastian uses his industry experience and knowledge of working in the learning and development field to support the young people he works with and give them the best chance at gaining employment. He is a positive role model and a great mentor who has shown great commitment to the programme and its clients.

Derek Reid

Derek is a volunteer with the Barnardo’s Corporate Partnership team in the Midlands region, providing invaluable fundraising and administrative support. He takes the lead in managing and developing relationships with local corporate partners, who often take the time to pass on praise to Derek’s managers about his impressive client care.

Derek goes above and beyond what is expected of his role, regularly putting in more hours than his set one day a week. When the team lost their fundraiser, Derek stepped in to take over, attending events to promote the work of Barnardo’s and working with online fundraisers.

John Jones

John is a volunteer with the Barnardo’s Project at Caban Bach in Wales, which aims to promote the inclusion of Dads in their children’s development. He is an activity leader, particularly focusing on organising and instructing on kayaking sessions in the local pool.

John has been dedicated to the project since the beginning and is always willing to extend his support and knowledge to other local clubs and organisations where it is needed. He never fails to put in the extra hours behind the scenes to keep the project going and offering Dads the vital chance to be involved in their child’s development.

Gwen Richardson

Gwen volunteers with the Volunteer Outreach Project, which supports young asylum seekers living in the community in a number of different ways, including helping the young people with their English, budgeting and education needs.

Gwen runs a bike club in the community to provide young people with the skills to maintain their own bikes, manage simple repairs and to ride safely, in a professional, classroom based training programme. The club has already helped over 100 young people from a variety of cultural backgrounds and is continuing to operate effectively thanks to Gwen’s enthusiasm and energy.

Owen Gill

Owen is an outstanding volunteer who is committed to helping families who are challenged by poverty and discrimination. He provides them with counselling and welfare rights advice and has developed innovative community initiatives, such as group holidays for low income families and support groups for black families who experience racial harassment.

Owen has written  number of influential local reports, which have led to changes in practice and fresh resources being brought to the estates for families. He has taken the lead in researching the needs of families in the South West, where a parent is in prison with the aim of developing innovative, and community led, schemes.

Jagrutti Duggal

Jagrutti has been instrumental in developing creative ways of introducing and supporting sexual health advice within the South Asian community, where is it usually a taboo and sensitive subject. She has developed a DVD and CD in collaboration with the young people in the community, which can be used in groups and workshops.

Jagrutti has helped to facilitate workshops which encourage the community to build self-esteem and confidence and introduce them to information on sexualy transmitted infections and the risks that come with these. She has also developed peer education groups with young people where she trains them to be able to deliver the workshops to their peers.