Points of Light: July 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 July 2014 (the numbering continues from June’s winners):
54. Christine Howard (Surrey)
Christine wins the award for helping set up both the Surrey Hills Society and the not-for-profit Surrey Hills Enterprises Community Interest Company.
55. Jennie Williams (Merseyside)
Jennie wins the award for working to improve the diets of many people in her community through ‘Shoots’. Jennie also helps run the local residents association and volunteers with a local youth project.
56. Mel Woodards (Somerset)
Mel has used her love of football to create sporting opportunities for hundreds of young people in Somerset. She decided to set up a league for younger players between 6 and 10 years old. Originally aiming to attract 100 to 200 young players to the league, Mel has now recruited her 900th player.
57. Maxine Green (Leeds)
Maxine wins the award for giving over 9,000 volunteering hours on a wide range of projects. In 2013 alone she raised over £700,000 for local causes. Most recently Maxine was selected as a volunteer for the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ in Yorkshire.
58. Alison Grant (London)
Alison wins the award for helping create the largest under-16 cycling club in the country. Alison joined the Slipstreamers Club 14 years ago; the Slipstreamers Go-Ride Club now has over 300 members compared to the 20 at its start in 1998.
59. Jake Hayman (London)
Wanting to give something back to his old school, Jake organised a group of his former schoolmates to go back and provide relatable careers advice to current students. Following the event’s success Jake set up Future First to build networks of former students to do the same in other state schools.
60. Yvonne Jarvis (Birmingham)
Yvonne wins the award for using her own life savings to set up the Brooke House Project in Erdington, Birmingham. Run entirely by volunteers, the Christian charity reaches out to marginalised people in the community who have dependency and behavioural issues.
61. Tom Moore (Norfolk)
Tom wins the award for volunteering with his local Air Ambulance: he has flown more than 500 missions for the East Anglian Air Ambulance service.
62. Pete Smart (Wiltshire)
Volunteer groundsman and coach Pete wins the award for his work in youth football. As well as painting over 5,000 miles of lines for football pitches, he’s now training the grandchildren of people he coached when he was younger.
63. Jackie Patton (County Down)
Jackie becomes the first person in Northern Ireland to win the award; her volunteering efforts brought a major world championship event to her local sailing club. Jackie coordinated a network of 60 volunteers, helping the club to expand and host events, including the prestigious Formula 18 Catamaran World Sailing Championships.
64. Jess Starns (Berkshire)
Jess wins the award for setting up Dyspraxic Me. Inspired by her personal experience of living with dyspraxia, Jess also organises speakers, trainers and guests for Dyspraxic Me events, helping many young people with dyspraxia improve their personal and work skills.
65. Dave Brook (Leeds)
Dave wins the award for setting up his own gang resistance programme, ‘Karate for Inner City Kids’ (KICK) to help young people develop a healthier lifestyle away from the influence of crime and drugs.
66. Ron Andrew (Manchester)
Ron wins the award for tending the graves of local soldiers who fought in the First or Second World War. Ron, a former drum major, spends his time and his own money cleaning headstones and buying flowers and urns to make sure those who gave so much are not forgotten.
67. Frank Blades (Lincolnshire)
After his wife was discharged from hospital Frank became her carer, but felt that they had been sent home without adequate support or advice. Frank wins the award for campaigning about issues that carers face; his work led to all the Lincolnshire Healthcare Trust hospitals introducing a new Carers Policy.
68. Jean Wilson (Worcester)
Jean wins the award for founding the charity New Hope. New Hope supports the families of local children who have disabilities and complex health care needs. Jean founded the group in 2010 when she discovered that there was little support in her area for her daughter Emily, who was diagnosed with a severe disability at 17 months old.
69. Yvonne Obura (Salisbury)
Yvonne wins the award for raising awareness of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) amongst UK doctors. Realising that their knowledge of FGM was low, she volunteered through the charity Orchid Project, helping to develop training materials and guidance for doctors on how to approach cases of FGM.
70. Lauren Eaves (St Albans)
Lauren wins the award for her campaigning against child marriage. Lauren volunteers as a youth advisor and ambassador for Plan UK, a charity that works with the world’s poorest children so they can move themselves from a life of poverty to a future with opportunity.
71. Jenny Thomson (Aberdeen)
Jenny wins the award for her volunteering work at both the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and now the 2014 games in Glasgow.
72. Jackie Murphy (London)
Pearly Queen Jackie has carried on the traditions of her ancestors – who were first crowned Pearly Kings and Queens in 1894 – by raising thousands of pounds for charity. Recently she helped raise £65,000 so that primary school students from a local special needs school will have access to a swimming pool.
73. Sue Ransley (West Sussex)
Sue led the way in a large community effort that saw her village get a new local store. With a troop of volunteers, Sue raised almost £250,000 to buy a building in the village and then transformed it into an attractive shop premises.
74. Claire Gillett (Cambridgeshire)
Claire wins the award for volunteering as a parish nurse. Claire has given up over a thousand hours of her own time; she helped to start new parish nursing schemes and has also inspired others to volunteer as parish nurses.
75. Dave Nash (Wirral)
Dave went to Dale Farm for rehabilitation after suffering major injuries in a traffic accident. Dale Farm helps people with disabilities and mental health issues. Dave was so moved by the way the farm changed his life that he vowed to give the same experience to others; he has since given thousands of hours of his time volunteering at the farm.
76. Brenda Herron (Ulster)
Brenda wins the award for volunteering as a Brownie leader for 33 years. She and her team masterminded all Brownie Centenary events in Ulster including a ‘Star Quest’ event involving 1,000 young girls and culminating in a group dance, a ‘Stay away’ taking 100 Brownies and leaders to Glasgow for a visit to the Science Museum and an overnight stay in a hotel and 3 weekend pack holidays.
The next Points of Light award winners can be found on the August 2014 page; all of the winners can be found via the collections page which brings together all the monthly lists of winners.
Updates to this page
Last updated 31 July 2014 + show all updates
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Added winner 76
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Added recipient number 75 - Dave Nash.
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74 edited to correct winner - Claire Gillett.
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Added recipient number 74 - Dave Nash.
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Added recipient number 73 - Sue Ransley.
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Added recipient number 72 - Jackie Murphy.
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Added recipient number 71 - Jenny Thomson.
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Added recipient number 70 - Lauren Eaves.
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Added recipient number 69 - Yvonne Obura.
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Added recipient number 68 - Jean Wilson.
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Added recipient number 67 - Frank Blades.
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Added recipient number 66 - Ron Andrew.
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Added recipient number 65 - Dave Brook.
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Added recipient number 64 - Jess Starns.
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Added recipient number 63 - Jackie Patton.
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Added recipient number 62 - Pete Smart.
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Added recipient number 61 - Tom Moore.
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Added recipient number 60 - Yvonne Jarvis.
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Added recipient number 59 - Jake Hayman.
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Added recipient number 58 - Alison Grant.
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Added recipient number 57 - Maxine Green.
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Added recipient number 56 - Mel Woodards.
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Added recipient number 55 - Jennie Williams.
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First published.