Points of Light: August 2014 winners
The Points of Light award recognises outstanding individuals - people who are making a change in their community and inspiring others.
The following people were given a Points of Light award in August 2014 (the numbering continues from July’s winners):
77. Brian Borland (South Ayrshire)
Brian wins the award for helping to make the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games such a success - he has spent hundreds of hours dressed as the games mascot ‘Clyde’.
78. Ann Berry (Folkestone)
Ann wins the award for founding the Step Short project to raise awareness of Folkestone’s part in the First World War. She is actively involved in many aspects of the organisation, including fundraising for the Folkestone Memorial Arch.
79. Grace MacArthur (Outer Hebrides)
Grace wins the award for dedicating over 800 hours to volunteering at the age of just 17. Grace started volunteering at the age of 15, spending time at an elderly care home on a weekly basis. After building up her confidence and range of skills, Grace then took her volunteering onto the Children’s Centre Café.
80. Dave Heeley (West Bromwich)
Dave, who was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at 10 years old, wins the award for completing a number of endurance challenges. He has raised a remarkable £500,000 for national and international charities including UNICEF, Guide Dogs and Macmillan Cancer Support.
81. Lee-Ann Gardner (Durham)
Lee-Ann wins the award for giving up her spare time to coach a choir of people in recovery from addiction, as well as their parents and friends. Thanks to Lee-Ann’s dedication and enthusiasm, the group has grown from 4 to 17 members.
82. David Kitchen (Teesside)
David is the Chair of Teesside Environmental Trust which works with the RSPB at Saltholme. He has volunteered tirelessly for more than 17 years to help create a 1,000 acre nature reserve out of a brownfield site. Today RSPB Saltholme is one of the jewels in the crown of the North East, attracting over 80,000 visitors a year.
83. Macauley Stevenson (Nottingham)
16 year old Macauley Stevenson wins the award for volunteering at community football projects across Nottingham, including Kickz and The Premier League 4 Sport project. Macauley, or ‘Macca’, makes sure that all new participants feel welcome, and also helps set up drills, pick teams and referee training matches.
84. Helene Irving (London)
Helene set up an innovative pop-up soup restaurant called London Soup to help community projects get funding. Diners hear pitches from 4 different community projects and vote for their favourite; the door takings then go to that project to help it get started.
85. Sarah Burgess (Bath)
Sarah, a player with Bath RFC Ladies, has raised the profile of women’s rugby in Bath by encouraging women and girls to try out the sport. Her team of volunteers has recruited more than 60 young women to establish an under 13’s and under 15’s side – helping to nurture future talent.
86. Philip Neame (Wiltshire)
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Philip Neame founded The Ulysses Trust, a charity that provides grants so that cadets and reservists can take part in expeditions and other adventurous activities. So far the charity has helped more than 20,000 cadets and reservists to go on more than 1,800 expeditions across the globe.
87. Kathryn Cooney (Lisburn)
Kathryn wins the award for using social media and email to reach out to hundreds of parents who are struggling to cope with their child’s diabetes. She began volunteering for Diabetes UK after her daughter Sarah became critically ill with Type 1 diabetes in 2008, and now works tirelessly to increase support in the community.
88. Bethan Robertson-Smith (Bristol)
Bethan suffered a serious car accident 6 years ago which left her with permanent damage to her facial nerves. Despite her life-threatening injuries she went on to help launch Facial Palsy UK, a charity that provides support to more than 100,000 people living with this condition.
89. Ann Maxwell (Edinburgh)
Ann Maxwell and her husband set up the Muir Maxwell Trust to help and support families of children with epilepsy. The Trust– named after Ann’s son, who was diagnosed with epilepsy at 4 months old – has raised £8 million since it was set up in 2003.
90. Dave Fawcett (Halifax)
Dave Fawcett wins the award for his work with homeless people. During the winter he set up a Halifax branch of Inn Churches, where churches open to provide beds and meals to those without homes. He also established the charity Happy Days, which has supported more than 100 homeless people in Halifax and Bradford.
91. Nigel Blair-Park (Bishop’s Stortford)
Nigel, a dad with 3 children, set up Cromarty Vets, a support group that brings men together to play sports and socialise. As well as organising expeditions and family events, the group raises money for local causes and runs sessions to help fathers deal with issues affecting their families, such as unemployment.
92. Caroline Odogwu (London)
Caroline co-founded and set up ‘She Is You’, a social enterprise that runs confidence-building workshops for young women. As well as raising participants’ self-esteem, the workshops also develop their communication skills and encourage the women taking part to achieve their potential.
93. Angela Sanford (Cambridgeshire)
Angela, who has Down’s Syndrome and is sight-impaired, volunteers with the cycling accessibility project You Can Bike Too, after learning to ride. The project offers weekly cycling sessions and adapted bike hire to people with disabilities, older or nervous cyclists and those recovering from injuries.
94. Adrian Craig (Coleraine)
Adrian, a medical student at Keele University, wins the award for encouraging more than 1,200 people to join the Anthony Nolan bone marrow register. He has been the Expansion Coordinator for Marrow, the student arm of Anthony Nolan, for 2 years.
95. Chris Durward-Akhurst (London)
Chris is a devoted rugby fan who has volunteered with the Saracens Sarries Skills Club for the last 9 years. The club offers regular sessions for young people living with autism, providing a welcoming sporting environment for those with little or no verbal communication skills.
96. Lynn Brimmell (Somerset)
Lynn, a ChildLine Schools Service volunteer from North Somerset, wins the award for educating over 5,100 local primary school children about staying safe from abuse. Service volunteers speak to children of all ages and abilities, giving them the skills to protect themselves and showing them where to find help.
97. Jenny Barrett (London)
Jenny helps to reunite families separated through conflict or natural disaster by volunteering with the British Red Cross international family tracing service. She conducts local searches and interviews people all over the world, helping them to fill in tracing request forms.
The next Points of Light award winners can be found on the September 2014 page. All of the winners can be found via the Points of Light collection page, which brings together all the monthly lists of winners.
Updates to this page
Last updated 29 August 2014 + show all updates
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Added recipient 97: Jenny Barrett.
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Added recipient 96: Lynn Brimmell
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Added recipient 95: Chris Durward-Akhurst
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Added recipient 94: Adrian Craig.
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Added recipient 93: Angela Sanford
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Added recipient 92: Caroline Odogwu
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Added recipient 91: Nigel Blair-Park.
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Added recipient 90: Dave Fawcett
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Added recipient 89: Ann Maxwell.
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Added recipient no. 88: Bethan Robertson-Smith
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Added recipient 87: Kathryn Cooney
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Added recipient 86: Philip Neame
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Added recipient 85: Sarah Burgess.
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Added winner 84: Helene Irving
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Added winner 83 - Macauley Stevenson.
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Winner 82 added - David Kitchen
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Added winner 81 - Lee-Ann Gardner
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Updated with winner 80
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Winner 79 added
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Added recipient number 78 - Ann Berry.
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First published.