2008 Award Winners

A-F | G-L | M-R | S-Z

Mourne Mountain Rescue Team

The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team is a voluntary organisation set up to help lost or injured people in the mountains or vulnerable people missing in the community.

They have been in existence since the early 1960's and were the first Civilian team in Ireland. They rely on donations of money or equipment from the general public or companies to fund their rescue activates.

The team of twenty two is made up of people in all walks of life who give freely of their time and energies to assist unknown third parties in difficulties in the mountains or local area.

Training takes place most Wednesday nights and a full team practice is held once a month.

The team is called out an average of eighteen times per year.

A high level of First Aid training and skill is maintained with some members now trained to administer morphine and other pain relief drugs when necessary.

They are represented on the Northern Ireland Cliff, Cave and Mountain Rescue Coordinating Committee and are a member of the Ireland wide Irish Mountain Rescue Association (IMRA) which is made up from twelve teams.

Contact: Ed Kilgore MBE, Chairman
Tel: 02843722917
Email: MMRT99@aol.com
Website: http://www.mmrt.org.uk

Nanstallon United Youth Football Club

Nanstallon United Youth Football Club provides the opportunity for children from Bodmin and the surrounding communities to train, play football and take part in the social activities of the Club.

The Club was established in 1986 and has had to move grounds more than once. However after a fire in 2004 the Club set up home at Pencarrow Playing Fields and has continued giving players a fun and safe environment. The Club's ethos is to give players of all abilities the chance to play, learn respect for others and experience being part of a team.

"We have a small committee and I am really delighted to see that their hard work and dedication has resulted in Nanstallon United receiving such a prestigious award, and I would also like to thank Mr Richard English who until very recently was the Club Chairman and the Club's driving force for the last 18years." - Brian Stevens, Secretary, Nanstallon United Y.F.C.

Contact: Brian Stevens
Tel: 01208 75678

National Talking Newspapers and Magazines

Started in 1983 by the Talking Newspapers Association of the UK, National Talking Newspapers & Magazines provide a range of more than 200 popular national newspaper and magazine titles in a variety of accessible formats for blind and print disabled people. In audio we offer tape, CD, DAISY CD and MP3 via web download. We also offer digital full-text by email, web download or CD-ROM.

The majority of recordings are produced at The National Recording Centre, based in Heathfield, East Sussex. The centre houses eight recording studios. Each studio hosts 3 recordings each day, producing more than 100 recordings each week. These are distributed to subscribers in the UK and around the world on more than one million tapes and CDs each year.

Volunteers play a key part in many areas of the charity's activity. In particular, more than 200 volunteers provide the voices for all the recordings made at the National Recording Centre. Without this contribution, it would simply not be possible to maintain a service which makes such a difference to so many lives.

Contact: Jane Potter
Tel: 01435 866102
Website: www.tnauk.org.uk

Newcastle Muungano Community Association

The aim of the Newcastle Muungano Community Association is to ease the integration into the British Society of Asylum Seekers and Refugees.

Set up four years ago, Newcastle Muungano Community Association targeted asylum seekers and refugees from French and Swahili speaking African countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo living in Newcastle and its surrounding area. Anyone wishing to join and/or take part in their projects or activities is welcomed and served by the group.

Current activities include a general advice and information service, interpreting and translation referral of clients to other agencies, escort to statutory and voluntary offices, sports activities (football), recreational and cultural activities, the Textile Arts project (Sewing class) and the self advocacy group. All the activities are targeted towards a newly-arrived community in Newcastle where there is not enough resource to deal linguistically and culturally with their target community.

It is a great honour to be awarded this national recognition. It is proof of a fantastic achievement through four years of hard work, and a royal seal of approval for providing good services to the community. We hope it will encourage other small organisations.

Contact: Jean-Paul Buhalagarha
Tel: 07894 235792
Email: muungano@hotmail.co.uk

Nicky's Way at St Nicholas Hospice

Nicky's Way at St Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds is an open access bereavement service for children and young people, of school age, living in West Suffolk and Thetford. It is a group-based programme which runs twice a year, offering creative activities to help bereaved children express and explore their feelings after the death of an important family member. Children and young people eligible may have a connection through a hospice patient or may be bereaved in other circumstances such as loss through a sudden family death.

The service is led and supervised by a member of the professional team in the Family Support department of the hospice and supported by a team of trained and experienced volunteers. Through participation in small groups led by volunteers, the programme offers children and young people opportunities to share worries, fears, hopes, uncertainties, feelings and questions that can arise after the death of someone important and special and to counter feelings of loneliness and isolation.

'Nicky's Way is only possible because of the volunteers who support it and enables children and young people to meet others in a similar situation in a safe and supportive setting.' - Mrs Yvonne Holman

Contact: Yvonne Holman
Tel: 01284 766133

Northampton Hope Centre

The Northampton Hope Centre welcomes people who are homeless or disadvantaged, whatever the reasons and circumstances might be. We are open every weekday in the year and have around 50 people coming into the centre each day. The majority of our team is made up of volunteers; many of whom work in the kitchen helping to provide nutritious and affordable meals on a daily basis. Our people come in to the centre for various reasons - to use the shower facilities, to buy food and clothing, to use the computers, to play pool and to simply sit and relax in a welcoming environment.

Recently we have set up a programme of activities and workshops to involve our people in, such as film discussion mornings, computers courses, art and crafts, employment advice, cookery workshops and gardening projects. It is all about engaging our people in meaningful activity and getting alongside them to help them to build up their self confidence and belief. These activities are run by volunteers who are committed to regularly giving their time and expertise.

We are delighted that the Northampton Hope Centre has received the Queen's Award for Voluntary service - it is an honour and we feel that it is recognition for all the valuable work done at the centre.

Contact person: Richard Appleby, Manager
Tel: 01604 602456
Email: richard.ap@btconnect.com

Pennine Magpie

Formed in 1996, Pennine Magpie offers specialist daytime activities for people with learning disabilities. It works to improve students' quality of life through therapeutic activities and vocational training carried out in a safe, supportive and stimulating environment.

Activities include the teaching of Life Skills, Work Skills, basic computer and internet literacy, accessing public services, health and safety, work experience in their Art Activities Resource Store and art, music, healthy eating and cooking and gentle exercise. These activities are fundamental in helping people with learning difficulties have the confidence to cope with everyday living.

Pennine Magpie meets the needs of people who may not otherwise have been given the opportunity to be supported, encouraged to learn and to socialise in a safe environment, and at a pace they can cope with. Every trainee is individual and the support given to them by the staff and volunteers is based on their respective needs.

Contact: Gillian Sheard
Tel: 01422 383550
Email: gillian.sheard@btinternet.com

Redbridge Youth Offending Team Referral Order Panel Members

Youth Offender Panels are a ground-breaking way of dealing with young people who commit crime. They provide an opportunity for young people to speak for themselves, rather than through representation, and to take responsibility for their actions.

A young person will attend a panel meeting if they have been given a Referral Order by a court. Referral Orders are given to most 10 to 17-year-olds, who plead guilty on a first-time conviction, unless the charge is serious enough to warrant custody. A Youth Offender Panel consists of two volunteers recruited directly from the local community, alongside one member of the Youth Offending Team (YOT). The Panel will meet with the young person and their parents or guardians to talk about the reasons for the offending behaviour and to agree a tailor-made contract aimed at putting things right. The victim is encouraged to attend the meeting to tell the young person how the crime affected them.

The contract may include a letter of apology to the victim, removing graffiti or cleaning up estates and communities. It will also include activities to prevent further offending, such as getting young people back into school and help with alcohol or drug misuse. The contract is supervised by the YOT and reviewed at regular panel meetings. The conviction is "spent" when the order is successfully completed. If the young person fails to comply, the case is sent back to court and a different sentence may be given.

Youth Offender Panels give the community a say in creating effective programmes that ensure young people who offend repair the harm done and are given positive help to prevent further offending.

Contact: Ann Selby
Telephone: 020 8708 7805

Rhyl South West Central Residents Association

In 2003 the Denbighshire County Council decided to demolish a café in the Botanical Gardens in Rhyl and build offices and car park. A petition was organised to stop the destruction of this site which had been there for 70 years and is the only public park in the town which is the largest and most deprived area in the county. The petition was successful and the Rhyl South West Central Residents Association was formed to take positive action. The Café was reopened and some 25 volunteers open the Café daily all year.

The Association now organises courses for all ages and have raised over £150K for gardens improvements. They have taken over an old Bowling Club and Tennis Club building and have raised the funds to refurbish as a community centre and training facility for crafts, IT and meeting rooms.

These two buildings are being leased from the County Council and are self supporting.

Examples of users are: groups of pensioners, parent and toddler classes, sheltered homes residents, disabled person groups and autism committees. The group also represent the community on many local projects as well as attending to the needs and concerns of local residents.

Contact: Eric Black
Tel: 01745 342335