Marsh Charitable Trust – Marsh Award for Volunteering in Support of Older People

Marsh Award for Volunteering in Support of Older People

This Award is run in partnership with Re-engage and recognises the contribution made by volunteers who support and care for older people. The Award acknowledges the commitment made by either an individual or a group of volunteers.

Re-engage volunteers hold monthly tea parties for elderly people, or act as drivers in order to ensure they are able to attend. The groups are lifelines for many elderly people with little support from friends and family.

As well as one national winner, the Award recognises 21 regional winners across the UK from Wales, Scotland, the South East, the South West, London, the North and the Midlands and East Anglia. Nominations for the Award are gathered and judged internally by Re-engage and a shortlist of 7 winners is put forward to the Marsh Charitable Trust in order to select the national winner.

In 2023, we recognised 12 Award winners to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the MCT’s partnership with Re-Engage.

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2024

Call Companion Volunteers

Danii McKellar – Scotland

Danii is a dedicated call companion volunteer. Earlier this year, after an unexpected illness, Danii’s circumstances changed drastically and she spent time in hospital recovering but very generously continued phoning her call companion for a weekly chat. Danii always communicates with Re-engage, making it very easy to inform her call companions of any changes to their expected calls. Danii is always polite and her kindness and dedication to her volunteering role has been inspiring.

Bev Brush – East Midlands

Bev religiously rings her client every week, regardless of what she has going on in her personal life. If she cannot make her usual day, she makes arrangements to ring at another time and never makes her client feel like they have to rush their phonecall. Bev has supported her clients through some challenging years, and helped them see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sarah Moulton – South East

Sarah is a call companion for Patricia who is 94 years old and they have been speaking on the phone for over a year. Recently, Sarah struggled to reach Patricia for their scheduled call so asked staff to ensure that she was safe and well. Patricia was unwell, but when she heard that Sarah had been asking after her she lit up and became animated, very excited to hear from her. Sarah has built a lovely relationship with Patricia over the last year and, in Patricia’s own words: “Sarah is a wonderful friend and I am so grateful for her calls. She treats me as a human being and I am so grateful to her for that. She is gorgeous and I really enjoy our calls. We like to have a giggle!”

Activity Group Volunteers

Bernie and Ade Quigley – West Midlands

Bernie and Ade run a local pub, where they host a tea party for two groups at least once a year. They have a donations tin on the bar which fundraises for Re-Engage at all times and the funds go towards the tea party they host. Since April 2024, they have opened their pub once a month for the local activity group, sourcing refreshments and offering a variety of activities thanks to their local connections. Bernie and Ade can be relied upon to deliver a fun and interactive atmosphere for guests, and the group would not have been able to continue without them.

Julie Ingham – Yorkshire and the Humber

Julie is Group Coordinator for the very successful Brighouse activity group. She initially helped to promote and start up the group in an area where services for older people are limited, working tirelessly for months with enthusiasm and passion. Julie’s local links have enabled this group to thrive and she has also included partner agencies such as Age UK Calderdale, who regularly attend the group to offer support. Her endless energy and smiles provide a welcome, warm atmosphere for the local aging population.

Tea Party Volunteers

Zuzana Ravoke-Probin – North West

Zuzana has been an invaluable member of her group for the past three years. Her commitment is immeasurable and she consistently goes above and beyond to make sure all her guests are comfortable, happy and entertained. Zuzana uses her skills as a special needs teacher to run activities at the tea parties and encourages all her guests to get involved. Zuzana is also the group’s photographer and does an amazing job of capturing the tea parties and creating cherished memories for all.

Pam Ogilvy – Scotland

Pam took over the Kirriemuir Group when the previous coordinator had to retire, and soon set about rectifying the problem of dwindling guest and volunteer numbers. She is a relief warden at sheltered housing throughout the area, and tells residents about the charity and how they can access support if they need it. Her tea parties are warm, caring and fun and she keeps in touch with everyone throughout to ensure they are supported. Pam champions Re-Engage and is involved at all levels including fundraising and advertising, raising awareness of the importance of the charity.

Paula Protheroe – South West

Paula has been a volunteer since 2016 and currently coordinates four tea parties, acting also as a host and helping to organise over 2,000 meetings. She is now helping to establish a fifth group and is encouraging all of her current volunteers to get involved. She ensures that her guests are aware of other support available to them in the community, recognising their needs and encouraging them to seek additional support where needed. Paula’s commitment and willingness to try new things helps Re-Engage ensure they are doing all they can in her area and supporting as many older people as possible.

Carl Gardner – London

Carl runs the very organised Westminster 43 Group and always goes out of his way to help promote Re-Engage. He has assisted with publicity to help raise the profile of the charity, helping to gain both funding and awareness for older people of the services available to them. Carl attended a meeting with a major funder to speak about his experiences as a volunteer for Re-Engage, ensuring that the right message was put across to gain more funding for the charity.

Sandy Wilkinson – South East

Sandy is her group coordinator, but her role is so much more than that. She acts as the Chief Organiser, Transport Hub, HR Coordinator, Communications Chief and head problem-solver. Thanks to her day job in social care, she has an intuitive knack for knowing what older people need and second-guessing what they might need in the future. Sandy has demonstrated a cocktail of empathy, instinct and resourcefulness which helps both volunteers and older people alike.

Bob Jones – Yorkshire and the Humber

Bob is Group Coordinator of a small group in Doncaster which runs with very few volunteers. He fills in especially as a driver, ensuring that all guests are able to attend the tea parties each month. Even when Bob needed to be in London on a day there was to be a tea party, he ensured that all the guests had a taxi arranged so that they wouldn’t miss out on attending the tea party. He is a pleasure to liaise and work with, and brightens the day of all who come into contact with him.

Elaine Gordon – North West

Elaine began running tea parties in Hale, Greater Manchester from scratch and has grown them into a monthly event to be enjoyed by many people. She has called upon others in the community to help support the group and her determination has made them into something special, with presentations from volunteers and themed tea parties throughout the year. Elaine takes the time to visit guests who are unwell and regularly calls them to ensure they are supported. When someone new joins the group, she visits them to get to know them better and offer additional support to them if they need it and her passion never wavers.

Previous Winners

Alison Ainslie, Alison Knott, Annie Revens, Barbara Burns, Dorothy Anderson, Emma Mcgregor, Jane Galloway, Jean Malcolm, Julie Stein Hodgins, Loraine Coleman, Pat Churchill, and Trish John

Alison Ainslie – In 2022, Alison took the initiative to organise merging two Newcastle tea party groups into one, coordinating both guests and volunteers.

Alison Knott – Alison is a volunteer in the Impact Team, and spends extra time with any survey respondents on the phone while going through the Impact forms that she collects data on, helping them feel heard and supported.

Annie Revens – Annie has boundless enthusiasm and optimism and holds the best interests of her tea party guests at heart, often contacting them outside of the group setting to ensure they are doing well.

Barbara Burns – Barbara has been a volunteer driver for the Chester 1 Group since 2006, giving 16 years of dedicated support to ensuring that older people can access their local monthly tea parties, and has continued her commitment throughout her retirement.

Dorothy Anderson – Dorothy has shown dedication and commitment to Re-Engage for over 28 years, single-handedly running the Clackmannanshire group every month, taking her guests all over the local community, and serving the telephone befriending service.

Emma Mcgregor – Emma has been involved with Re-Engage’s digital skills project from the beginning. The project encourages older people to learn the basic skills needed for a life online, helping them to navigate the internet and online platforms where they are able to stay in touch with people and reduce their isolation.

Jane Galloway – Jane goes out of her way to help her service users and fellow volunteers in any way possible. She contacts all her guests regularly, visiting those who need additional support.

Jean Malcolm – Jean organises groups across her local area, and organises larger tea parties so multiple groups can get together. She has been volunteering for over 17 years and oversees 12 groups and various other activities for older people in the area.

Julie Stein Hodgins – Julie coordinates the Sowerby Bridge group in West Yorkshire and also attends online activity groups. She often stands in for staff when they are unable to attend groups and speaks about Re-Engage within her local community to help raise awareness of their important services.

Loraine Coleman – Loraine is the Area Organiser for Thurrock, overseeing 8 tea party groups, including hosting her own, and going above and beyond to make a difference to the lives of isolated older people in the community.

Pat Churchill – Pat has organised the Stebbing groups for around 20 years, alongside being a full-time carer for her husband until he passed away. She has masterminded two groups, taking on a number of roles including both driving and hosting.

Trish John – Trish goes above and beyond to ensure that her tea party group runs efficiently and that the guests have regular opportunities to connect, encouraging this to happen outside of the monthly tea party as well. She also supports her team of volunteers in a variety of ways, ensuring that they feel supported in their roles.

Jennifer Smith

Jennifer coordinates 5 Call Companion Groups and is also a call companion for countless other older people in those groups and she also finds the time to be an impact volunteer. She does this with a fantastic attitude which makes staff’s dealings with her a real pleasure. The older people that she speaks to are always hugely positive about their conversations with her, and if she has even an inkling that someone is struggling, she wants to help. She makes a massive difference to the impact team and Re-Engage feel lucky that she wants to put so much of her time and energy into supporting the charity.

Bev Owen

Northwich is a very welcoming and friendly group and Bev is caring and gives endless time to all her guests. She joined the charity in 2011, and only launched her first group in 2017, due to a lack of volunteers in her area. Despite this, Bev was not put off and successfully launched the group and since has launched a new group every year and appears on the radio to help recruit new volunteers. Bev has helped guests, by visiting them in hospital and helping them sort to out their houses when they were too ill to do so. Many of these guests have now passed, but Bev’s support would have been invaluable to them. 

Belinda Hankers

Belinda has been coordinating the Horsham 1 Group since 2015, becoming a steadying hand for a group that had previously had 3 coordinators in as many years. She has also been instrumental in the development and launching of a second group in Horsham earlier this year. Belinda cared in particular for one of her oldest guests, Jessica, who has loved on her own for some time and had no immediate family nearby. When Jessica had a fall and was hospital for some time, Belinda came up with a rota to ensure that one of the Horsham 1 volunteers would be able to visit her every day to help her at mealtimes. This continued for 4 months until Jessica sadly passed away and even though she had developed dementia and was unable to recognise anyone the visits would have bought her great comfort. Belinda went one step further by organising her volunteers once again to help the Housing Officer clear Jessica’s flat after she passed away. Belinda did not walk away from the request for help, even though it went above and beyond what was expected of her role and instead found a way to bring all her volunteers closer together.

Sophie Fearnall

Sophie has been a volunteer host for the Chester 1 Group since 2009 and took over as the Group’s coordinator 3 years ago. She is a vibrant and enthusiastic volunteer, working tirelessly for her own group but also with regional needs across Cheshire where there is no regional officer in post. Sophie promotes the work of Contact the Elderly wherever she goes and helps to run events such as the Golden Jubilee celebration, which secured a substantial donation for the organisation.

Sophie inspired a Waitrose store in Cheshire to start a group and was able to secure a substantial donation from their ‘Community Matters’ scheme. She has also facilitated the formation of new groups in Cheshire, which now total five, finding group coordinators and organising training for those who want to be involved. She provides much needed support to the West Cheshire groups, both the older people who are guests and the volunteers that run them.

Sheila Glazebrook

Sheila Glazebrook has volunteered with Contact the Elderly for 50 years. She coordinates and has helped to launch a number of groups in Oxfordshire which provide support to older people in the community. Over her fifty years of volunteering Sheila has carried out an extensive range of work, from volunteering as a driver and tea-party host, to working with Contact the Elderly’s Head Office to help promote their work on a national level.

As well as Sheila, this Award scheme recognised a further 20 volunteers from communities across the UK who have worked tirelessly to provide support networks and companionship for older people. From arranging tea parties and excursions, to partnering with local organisations and promoting volunteering, these volunteers have been instrumental to the work of Contact the Elderly.

Vivien Raggett

Vivien has been a dynamic, enthusiastic and pro-active coordinator for the Harrow Group since she started volunteering in 2007. She works tirelessly to look after the wellbeing of her older guests and volunteers, exceeding her expected monthly commitment. Her group volunteers and older members are very fond of Vivien and always speak very highly of her. Alongside coordinating the group she is a very active member of several other community groups and charities, including her local Lions club.

Despite a series of health issues Vivien has remained dedicated to the group, at one time managing the group from her hospital bed! Vivien’s husband has played an active part in her absence, taking over the driving and much of the coordinating. Despite the many challenges they have faced, they have neither asked to be relieved of their duties nor have they cancelled any of their tea parties and events for their guests. Vivien and her husband truly deserve this Award for their sheer dedication, determination, hard work and contribution to the work of Contact the Elderly and the difference they make to the lives of so many people in their community.

Hilary Thompson

Since inception in June 2007, Hilary Thompson has been the group coordinator and a driver for the Batley Group. She is also a member of the Batley Rotary Club and was their President last year. It is Hilary’s Rotary connection that helped to get the Batley group off the ground and running successfully. Hilary invited Contact the Elderly’s local executive officer to speak to the members of the Batley Rotary Club, and a result of the presentation, the Rotarians decided to form their own group.

As the years have rolled on, Hilary’s passion and dedication has enthused other Rotary clubs in West Yorkshire, inspiring their own members to become involved with the work of the charity too.

During Hilary’s presidential year, Contact the Elderly was the chosen charity of the Batley Rotary Club, with around £800 presented to the local executive officer. Hilary’s passion and longing to spread the word more widely among Rotarians has led to a DVD being produced, as a result of the money. Hilary and her fellow Rotary members took part in the DVD, and as a result, Contact the Elderly has an inspirational film to showcase in its bid to recruit more Rotarians as volunteers.

Roy Rees Williams

A volunteer and Friendship Fund member since 2007, Roy rescued the East Ealing group in April 2010 when it was struggling with numbers. Under the helm of Roy, the group is going from strength-to-strength. Roy has re-organised the group’s admin, arranged a clearer host schedule and recruited new volunteers and older guests himself by setting up a blog and advertising on the local community website.

Roy is very dedicated to Contact the Elderly and has proved this – not only by successfully coordinating a very ‘happy’ group of older guests and volunteers – but by raising a very large amount of funds through his company. Roy has generously agreed to divide this money between his own group and the main charity funds. With some of this money, Roy arranged a very special tea party with canapés and wine tasting for his volunteers and older guests, which they enjoyed immensely.

Roy has proved to be a wonderful group coordinator, advocate, recruitment officer and fundraiser for Contact the Elderly

Juanita Fan and the Southwark Group

Juanita is group coordinator for the Contact the Elderly Southwark Group. She has helped to revive the group, which was struggling with numbers and has made relationships with many local agencies and day centers to recruit new members. Juanita tries to find more unusual venues to host tea parties, such as the Tate Modern and Dulwich Picutre Gallery. She is also extremely caring when it comes to the older members of the group, and she keeps in touch with them throughout the month; visits members who are in hospital; helps out with other tasks like shopping etc, but at the same time is extremely busy with her own work.

Penny Tillott

Lynn Thomas

Lynn Thomas, from the Contact the Elderly Lambeth group, has spent 38 years caring for the elderly, first with Age Concern and then with Contact the Elderly. Lynn always manages to inject an element of fun into proceedings, and is recognised as an unstoppable force for good.

Regional winners were: Isabel Kwok, Jackie Earney, Joan Anderson, Kate Lloyd, and Jean Malcolm

Doreen Eggar, Rita Leloch and Brenda Avery

Doreen, from the St Albans 1 group, has volunteered for Contact the Elderly for 30 years and is deeply committed to her work. In addition to monthly tea parties, she also arranges activities and Christmas events for her group.

Rita and Brenda set up the Dunstable group in 1973 and have run it ever since, recruiting their own volunteers and fundraising for special outings.

Carolyn & Peter Dennis

Carolyn & Peter Dennis run the Contact the Elderly Group in Bournemouth. On one Sunday each month Carolyn marshals sufficient volunteers to run 10 groups picking up around 90 elderly people. Each driver takes the elderly guests out for a short drive and then on to a tea at a volunteer’s house. The volunteers are all very committed, in no small part due to Carolyn’s leadership.

Iris Williams

Iris Williams has been dedicated coordinator of the group for more than 10 years and, with much support from her husband Desmond and friend Shirley Homewood, she ensures that the elderly guests are never let down. Iris has managed to include 6 other groups from the surrounding area and she organises an annual New Year’s party for guests.

Maureen Hutcheson

Maureen has co-ordinated her group for nearly 5 years and looks after up to 14 elderly guests, taking them on outdoor excursions. Maureen frequently ‘hosts’ too, including memorable Burns suppers and Christmas parties embracing additional elderly people, so that she is often organising events for over 100 elderly guests – plus volunteers! Maureen recruits all her own volunteers and elderly guests. She runs a B&B establishment with her visually impaired husband, they are always prepared to go that extra mile to help other people without seeking reward or acknowledgment. Her Regional Development Officer added: we cannot sing her praises too high, her attitude, commitment and energy are quite exceptional.

George Edison

George Edison has been central to the group from its earliest days, and has worked with old and new volunteers over the years, despite looking caring for his wife. Over the years some elderly members have become desperately frail and yet the group has always found a way of keeping them in the group and fully supported.