Hospice volunteer wins top award (From News Shopper)

Hospice volunteer wins top award

11:34am Tuesday 20th December 2011 in Community

Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice volunteer Joan Hallock has been named as Health and Social Care Volunteering winner at a special celebration event, hosted by Age UK.

The accolade recognises Joan’s outstanding contribution to the delivery of health and social care services at Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice in Abbey Wood, South East London.

Joan collected her award from Kate Heaps, Chief Executive at Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice on Friday, December 16.

Joan from Dartford, Kent joins a total eight winners across four categories linked to delivering and supporting health and social care services. The categories were Information and Advice, Home Services, Digital Inclusion and Well Being Services. Joan won her award in the Information and Advice category. The awards were judged on the impact the volunteer has made in relation to the person or group of people they have helped.

Vanessa Hill, Volunteers’ Manager at Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice, said: “I’m so excited about this award – it’s brilliant! There were four categories and two winners per category so Joan has done really, really well!”

Joan joined the Hospice in 1995 as a volunteer fundraiser and five years later, helped set up a drop-in service called ‘Stepping Stones’ to support patients, their carers, families and the bereaved. Within this service, Joan set up a ‘Helping Hands’ team to provide benefits support and guidance to in and out patients, families and carers. The service has helped hundreds of patients, families, carers and bereaved people over the past 10 years. “Thanks to Joan’s dedication and hard work, our patients have been able to access benefits they might otherwise have missed,” said Vanessa. “It’s great that our volunteers are getting the recognition they deserve.”

Commenting on her win, Joan said: “I’m overwhelmed with the news. I’d encourage anyone to volunteer here. There are plenty of things to do and it’s so satisfying and rewarding. I’m really privileged to have had a chance to do this.”

Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice has a dedicated team of almost 600 volunteers working in a variety of roles from charity shop work and fundraising to working directly with patients and their families at the Hospice.

TO FIND OUT MORE, visit www.communityhospice.org.uk