Volunteer Awards 2015: The Winners!
As a small charity, CLAPA is hugely grateful to all of our amazing volunteers for their support and for the second year running we were delighted to hold our Volunteer Awards to formally recognise the contribution made by our volunteers all around the UK.
Voting opened in Volunteers Week in July and closed in October to give CLAPA’s Trustees a chance to pick the winners from all the very deserving nominees.
The awards were presented by CLAPA Trustees Yin Jones and Nick Astor after our Annual Conference on Saturday 21st November. We’d like to thank not only everyone who voted and took part in the awards, but also to every single volunteer and fundraiser in the CLAPA Community and beyond who all make such a huge difference to people affected by cleft!
For a volunteer/team of volunteers/branch/group who have demonstrated exceptional support for other people affected by cleft. This could be by developing a Happy Faces group, organising activities, or a clinic volunteer or Parent Contact who has made a difference.
NOMINEES: Tony Ruel, James and Anita Palmer, Claire Brown, Maria Blackhurst, Rachel Smith, Chris Williams, Maz Poole, Maliha Naveed, Selena Foster, Laura O Neill, Paul Howells.
Winner: Maria Blackhurst!
“She goes out of her way to help every child and parent no matter what age.”
“She also supports new mums whenever they need her.”
“Maria goes out of her way to make everyone welcome.”
“Maria spends a considerable amount of time volunteering for CLAPA, through a variety of ways: She was the Chair of the Lancashire, Cheshire and the Lakes Branch and is now the Treasurer, she is a Parent Contact and will often be liaising with parents late in the evening, she manages the Happy Faces Lancashire Group, attended the Preston Health Mela and is always looking for new ways of supporting others. Many of the people who require CLAPA support cannot afford the cost of attending groups and Maria contacts potential donors to ensure that she can raise funds to enable these families to attend. This avoids the need to request funding from CLAPA directly.
“Additionally, she contacts local Universities and our children’s nursery and school. As such, our daughters nursery held a sponsored toddle which has resulted in families now talking about others who are affected by a cleft. Our sons school handed out leaflets to each pupil in the school which again is a great way to raise awareness. The sponsored walk in Preston was a great event which Maria organised and was well attended.
“I am very proud of the amount of time and effort that Maria spends on CLAPA but she does this is a quiet, effective manner and expects no recognition or praise for this voluntary work. She is now looking at developing her personal knowledge by the consideration of a Masters’ degree in speech which includes modules in Cleft education. All of this will enhance the voluntary role Maria offers and will continue to offer in the future whilst supporting those affected by a cleft.”
For an individual/group/branch who have raised the most money, and/or been creative or innovative in fundraising
NOMINEES: Amy Llewis and Alan McDougal, Ruth Steventon, Charlotte Hutchinson, Jaelan Sinclair, Alisia Farish, Anita Janes, Lewis Perry Mcadam, Lauren Cooper
Winner: Charlotte Hutchinson
After her son, Oliver, was born with a cleft, Charlotte Hutchinson immediately started looking for ways to improve the support available to other local parents on the Isle of Man. She became a Parent Contact in January, and then in March 2015 she organised a ball which raised an astonishing £5,545! This money went straight into CLAPA’s Regional Fund to support local projects around the UK, and Charlotte soon hopes to set up her very own Happy Faces Group.
Well done, Charlotte!
For a volunteer/team of volunteers/branch/group who have made exceptional progress in raising awareness of cleft and CLAPA. This could be through media work, awareness raising stands, events, clinic volunteering etc.
NOMINEES: Alison Wardlaw, Anita Palmer & James Palmer, Amanda Drake-Worth, Kathy Parker, Rachel Scahill
Winners: James and Anita Palmer!
James and his mother Anita first joined CLAPA in 2014 to find out about local activities and help the charity.
Since then, they have become the back bone for volunteering activity across the region – they are on the Committee of the new East of England Branch, they have organised fundraising and awareness raising, James is an Adult Voices rep, Branch Chair and Patient representative. Anita is Branch Secretary, fundraiser and party organiser, and they even hand-wrapped every Christmas gift for the party.
They have attended the CLAPA Conference twice, helped with training and are always unfailingly positive and helpful. James and Anita Palmer are real stars in CLAPA!
For a volunteer/team of volunteers/branch/group who have worked to ensure the patient voice is heard in the development and delivery of cleft services and/or research
NOMINEES: Paul Howells, Kathy Parker
Winner: Paul Howells!
Paul took on the role of lead volunteer rep on top of a busy paid job and looking after his son, Ted, who has a cleft palate and other health problems. Paul was responsible for getting the Patient Voices group so well established, organised and minuted meetings and took time off work to speak on behalf of CLAPA at the national CFS conference in London. He’s worked tirelessly to establish the group and deserves a big thank you!
“I was inspired by Paul Howells when he spoke to the Cleft Teams about my issues and experiences with the service, in a general setting (not pointing me out) and then fed back to me about the answers they gave. I heard he went to a cleft conference and spoke about patient engagement in the Cambridge from a patient point of view. He has also attended a dinner to collect check which had been raised for CLAPA and gave a speech on how the money will be spent and how the CLAPA services are important to the people who use them.”
For an individual affected by cleft who has made an impact through their volunteering, supporting others, online or community support or generally been a great ambassador for all things cleft!
NOMINEES: Paul Howells, Maria Blackhurst, Chris Williams, Sian Cole, Sarah Bennett, Saffwaan Bham, The cleft nurses at Yorkhill Children’s hospital, Glasgow
For an individual or group who have done something exceptional or demonstrated outstanding commitment, dedication in their volunteering for CLAPA this year!
NOMINEES: Everyone in East of England Branch, Kathy Parker, Lucy Stothard, Chris Williams, Tamsin Pennington
WINNER: Kathy Parker!
The award was collected by Selena Foster, Co-Chair of the West Midlands Branch, on behalf of Kathy.
Kathy is a Clinic Volunteer and has made the role her own! She has developed strong working relationships with the Cleft Team in clinic, approached and chatted to hundreds of patients and families and in particular been of great support to families who have been new to clinic.
A number of young people and families have signed up to CLAPA events as a direct result of Kathy’s efforts to promote our work in clinic and the Cleft team have expressed their appreciation for Kathy’s work: “I Just wanted to let you know what a star Kathy was in a very busy clinic with me yesterday. I was running clinic on my own, and Kathy was so helpful with patients , walking them up to photography etc. She’s a credit to CLAPA!”
Kathy is also a key member of the West Midlands Branch and also volunteers at other local CLAPA events in the Central region.
“Kathy is integral to the increase in awareness of CLAPA, within the West Midlands and provides a valuable source of support and information to patients visiting the cleft team. She is a very worthy winner!”
- Awarded to a healthcare professional/team who have gone the extra mile in providing an excellent service to people affected by cleft
NOMINEES: Jason Neil-Dwyer (Trent), Guy Thorburn (GOSH), Sue Butcher (South Thames)
WINNER: Sue Butcher!
Sue has worked as a Cleft Nurse Specialist since 2000, she was in post when all the CSAG recommendations were implemented and was a founder member of the South Thames Cleft Service, sadly for all her colleagues and the hundreds of families she has supported she is retiring at the end of November and we know she will be greatly missed by us all.
“As a member of our Cleft Team, Sue has always spoken up on behalf of the families, always challenging if what we are doing is in their best interests. In fact a suitable epitaph for Sue would be ‘What about the burden of care for the families?’
“Sue has always done her job efficiently, professionally and with great compassion and this is demonstrated in comments families have made since knowing she is leaving.”
Comments from local families:
“Sue was extremely friendly, knowledgeable and caring during what was a stressful time. It was lovely to have a familiar face to see at appointments and at the hospital after the birth.”
“Sue was such an amazing support to us right from the day of diagnosis. We felt lost, shocked & surprised to hear our little baby would be born with struggles. However her comforting voice and matter of fact way made us realise this was not such a big deal. She was always available at the end of the phone and I knew she would always have the right thing to say!”
“I cannot tell you what that meant to me. She talked me through everything and ‘calmed me down’. Her support to us and particularly to me during those first few months will never be forgotten. I shall always remember her – she touched our hearts and left her imprint forever.”
“Our first introduction to Sue was 24 hours after our daughters 20 week scan, she explained all about cleft lip & palate in such a positive way, what to expect and all about the support that was available, this was so helpful. Then regular visits throughout the pregnancy, Sue was amazing with support and practical help and always available when needed, or always knew someone you could put us in contact with to encourage & reassure us. Knowing she was there with a wealth of knowledge and truly dedicated to the job was so reassuring. ”
“When I think of Sue, I think of the word “trust”, because I trust Sue implicitly, both as an irreplaceable colleague and as a dear friend. I trust her knowledge, her experience, her reflective practice, her loyalty, her honesty, her tenacity, her reassurance and her absolute championing of patients and their families, always putting them first in every aspect of her professional life. As a clinician, she knows when to talk but more importantly, she knows exactly when to listen, a quality that can be so powerful for patients and families who may struggle to express themselves at various stages of their journey. Her ability to gauge a situation, to put her patients, families and indeed, her colleagues at ease, and her genuine warmth and quick witted humour lead to all who meet her feeling an overwhelming sense of support and that they are, quite simply, cared for.”
Another colleague said the following of Sue
“She has organised a yearly Teddy Bears Picnic locally offering families the opportunity to meet, chat, have fun and support one another. She has involved all of her own family in helping out with these events, from putting up a tent to protect us from rain or sun, to delivering ice creams and manning the bouncy castle.
“She never forgets the name of the child or the family and seems to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the local families. She is happy to support older children too when issues arise.
“She is a great support to all members of the team, particularly new staff and trainees at the hospital. She is always happy to spend extra time training people or taking them with her on visits to familiarise them with her role.
“Sue has been active in her local branch of CLAPA , being a member on the committee and frequently attending events and just promoting people’s awareness of CLAPA.
“As a team we know she will be a very hard act to follow and we think she would be a worthy winner of ‘The Extra Mile’.
