East Coast Samaritans are delighted to receive the Volunteer Team award 2021 through the Wicklow Volunteer Centre sponsored by Public Participation Network {PPN}
Pictured above is Fiona Downes from the County Wicklow Volunteer Centre presenting the award to East Coast Samaritans.
It's a great honour for us at East Coast Samaritans to receive this award and we would like to thank everyone involved for their participation in giving us this beautiful hand crafted plaque. We would like to thank the County Wicklow Volunteer Centre for their continued support in raising awareness of the work of East Coast Samaritans. We appreciate it so much that you send new volunteers our way and spread the word of what we do.
Here is a bit about what County Wicklow Volunteer Centre and PPN said about the event:
There were 12 volunteer award winners, Tuesday 2nd November was the evening they discovered how valued they are in their community, how valued they are by Wicklow County Council and the Department of Rural and Community Development and how valued they are by the four sponsors of the awards – County Wicklow Public Participation, SSE Renewables, Takeda and Trinity Biotech.
Each award winner received a unique and useful piece of work by a local artisan to celebrate their commitment to, and actions in, supporting the community of County Wicklow. According to the independent adjudicators, “it was very difficult to choose winners when each nominee was so worthy of winning”. The awards were held on Zoom, however, that doesn’t mean that everyone involved didn’t have a great time! For the staff of the County Wicklow Volunteer Centre, the awards were a humbling experience as they marvelled at the extraordinary commitment of the winners, especially during the first and second waves of COVID-19 when all winners went the extra mile to ensure that their services would continue and the weak and vulnerable in their communities were looked after so that social isolation and fear was banished.
The 12 Winners are as follows:
1. East Coast Samaritans – Volunteer Team Award.
2. P.J. Busher, Arklow Community Action Resource Centre – Arklow Municipal District Local Hero Award
3. Deirdre McCormack, Pool for West Wicklow and lots more – Baltinglass Municipal District Local Hero Award
4. Eleanor Murphy, Bray Meals on Wheels & Bray Old Folks Association – Bray Municipal District Local Hero Award
5. Marie McCooey, Greystones Tidy Towns – Greystones Municipal District Local Hero
6. Rachel Harper, Tiglin Centre & much more – Wicklow Municipal District Local Hero Award
7. Aisling Grace, Dunlavin & District Forum – Covid-19 Special Projects Award
8. Liz McMahon, Cheshire Ireland – Virtual Volunteering Award
9. Kasha Huse-Byrne, Bray Citizens Information Centre – Innovative Community Volunteering Award
10. Sibangilizwe Ncube, Greystones Centralised Vaccination Centre – Award For A Member Of The Migrant, Refugee, Asylum Seeking Community
11. Sean Legaspi, Bray Tidy Towns – Under 18 Volunteer Award
12. Ailbhe O’Brien, WaterWipes – Corporate Volunteer Award
The County Wicklow Volunteer Centre would like to thank SSE Renewables who sponsored three awards. Takeda sponsored two awards and Trinity Biotech and County Wicklow Public Participation Network both sponsored one award. Without their support and the support of Wicklow County Council and the Department of Rural and Community Development, these awards would not have happened.
Co Wicklow PPN were delighted to present the Volunteer Team Award to East Coast Samaritans this evening at the Co Wicklow Volunteer Awards 2021.
Speaking at the event Mai Quaid from the PPN Secretariat said: Being a network of nearly 380 community & voluntary groups the PPN is very aware of the amazing work done by volunteers and we couldn’t be more delighted to be sponsoring the Volunteer Team Award. The recent pandemic has impacted heavily on people’s physical and mental health and community and voluntary groups have risen to the challenge to support those that are most vulnerable. East Coast Samaritans provide a vital link for those most in need of support & the volunteers who take these calls should be as proud of themselves and their service as we are to present this award.
"We hope that this plaque, made by a local craftsman from native beech from Powerscourt Enniskerry symbolises our pride and gratitude for what you do.”