Pocklington Community Volunteers Awards Ceremony 2022
We are extremely lucky in Pocklington to have so many people who give up their time to help and support others. The amazing roles that these people fulfil vary tremendously across our community, and a lot of activities and support would not be available if it wasn’t for these volunteers. Their roles and the time they give the community vary considerably. Some of the groups that operate because of volunteers are: the Brownie and Guide groups, The Repair Café, sports clubs, The Town Council, YPC, Dementia Forward, inclusive sports and tennis, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday socials run by Pocklington Rugby in the Community, church groups, The People’s Pantry and many, many others. There are over 70 groups in Pocklington that run because of volunteers.
So it is only right that we celebrate the amazing work our volunteers do. On Monday 26th September, the second Pocklington Community Volunteer Awards Ceremony took place in the Arts Centre. The community was asked to nominate volunteers in five different categories and over 80 people came together for the celebration. After a bucks fizz reception, the ceremony was opened by Steve McCann, Mayor of Pocklington, who thanked all volunteers for the fantastic work they do in our community.
Andy Bowden, Chairman of Pocklington Rugby in the Community, with Dean Hodgson of Pocklington Town Council, presented the awards and thanked all the volunteers and congratulated the winners, although clearly everyone who volunteers is a winner.
For the Young Volunteer Award, the nominations were: AJ Bryce from The People’s Pantry, Evie and Fred Nightingale for assisting with coaching at the Cricket Club and Syd Newman for her volunteering at YPC. The award went to Evie and Fred Nightingale.
Nominations for the Sports Volunteer Award were: Ian Daniels – Pocklington Town Football Club and Val French for her Breezy Riders and Inclusive Sports. The award was given to Ian Daniels
There were 12 nominations for Community Volunteer Award:
Annie Harrison – YPC; Bronia Trynka-Watson – Pocklington Guides; Andrew Sefton – Pocklington and District Local History Group; Mick ‘the hat’ Carr – Pocklington Rugby Club; Sheila Banks – The People’s Pantry; Neil Burton – The People’s Pantry; Maureen Harrison – The People’s Pantry; Ruth Steels – supporting her neighbours and community; Elizabeth Walker – Pocklington Chronic Fatigue Community and The Repair Café; Ross Gleig – tennis club, PRITC, inclusive sport; Ruth Jackson – GP Surgery (vaccine clinics) carpark stewards; Ruth Hodgson – Town Council (chair of events committee). The award went to Ross Gleig.
The Volunteer Team Award nominations were: Team Ballerina House – Dementia Forward; GP Carpark Stewards and The People’s Pantry. The award was presented to The People’s Pantry.
Nominations for the Trustee Award were: Heather Davidson – The People’s Pantry; Les Slow – YPC; George Jibson – Pocklington Imagination Library; Adam Tipping – Pocklington Town Council and Chris French – Pocklington Tennis Club. The award was given to Les Slow (collected by Katherine Holdsworth – Youth Leader).
A Special Recognition Award was given to Peter Rand for 30 years of volunteering at Burnby Hall Garden. He stole the show with his enthusiastic bowing and crowd encouragement!
The community thanked Dr Tim Maycock and Leanne Maycock for the many, many hours and many, many miles they have run to raise money for Hospice UK, by presenting them with a special award.
A special mention was also given to George Jibson who has raised over £44,000 for Pocklington Imagination Library, meaning over 22,000 books have been given to local children. He has been fundraising for 11 years since he was 13 years old.
The final award – Outstanding Volunteer Award – went to Heather Davidson of The People’s Pantry. In a volunteering role, Heather runs The People’s Pantry. Her roles include organising her regular team of volunteers, and getting stock in ready to distribute for families and organising deliveries to those who cannot visit The Pantry. She has gained the confidence and trust of people who have felt the need to approach her in seeking help. Heather has made huge changes and a huge difference to The Pantry since its start at Market Street Café, and it has grown under her leadership. Although The Pantry is only open two days a week, she works / volunteers all week, including weekends and even when she is on holiday! She strives not to disappoint anybody who contacts her, and will signpost people to other services and to people who can offer the help and support that The Pantry can’t offer. A well-deserved award.
Andy also thanked the various organisations for their support in making the awards such an amazing night. These groups, as well as Pocklington Rugby in the Community, included ERYC Active Towns, Pocklington Arts Centre, Pocklington Town Council, Pocklington Community Volunteers and ERYC Rural Development Department.
“We are already looking forward to next years' event being even more successful, with further recognition of all our wonderful volunteers.” said Andy.
Following the ceremony, there was a buffet (thanks to Franks’ Kebab and Pizzas who stepped in at the very last moment) and live music from Charlie Daykin and Lexi Rae.
If reading this has inspired you to help your community, please get in touch with Louise Partridge, Community Volunteer Coordinator, email: pocklingtonritc@outlook.com. There are over 6,000 adults in Pocklington, if each one gave up an hour of their time each year, we could offer 6,000 hours of volunteering and that would make a huge difference to our community.