Volunteer Award Winners

Creative & overall Volunteer of the Year

Name: Pauline Cole

Role: Shop Volunteer, West Wales

Pauline lost a good friend to cancer, and when her Mother died she felt she wanted to help cancer patients get the treatment they deserve. Now she raises as much has she can to support our work.

Pauline has been with us for 2 ½ years. In that time she has been inspirational to everyone in the Pembroke shop. Her imaginative window displays bring customers into the shop purely to say how wonderful the window looks, and they never leave empty handed.

For Breast Cancer Awareness month, Pauline dressed up in a Pink Wig and Bra and didn't give up her collections until she had raised over £300. Her ideas inspire everyone she works with.

Bold

Name: Hywel Jones

Role: Tenovus Ambassador

Hywel has shown a huge amount of courage whilst he has been going through a really tough time. Hywel has a form of throat and neck cancer and was initially helped by our welfare rights team.

Hywel has appeared in features in the press and is an excellent spokesperson in support of Tenovus. He joined our Sing For Life choir with his lovely wife and let film crew into his home for a BBC documentary, where he talked about his experiences.

And as if that's not enough he has agreed to his picture and a quote being plastered all over the backs of buses for adverts to promote the support line. He is a huge inspiration!

Inspiring

Name: Phyllis Morrison

Role: Shop Volunteer, West Wales

Phyllis moved from the Midlands in 2006 to Wales. She arrived on the Wednesday and on the Saturday came to Tenovus to enquire about volunteering: she started the very next week. That perfectly sums her character up, always ready to start a new adventure.

At the young age of 90, Phyllis is behind the counter every Saturday. She has an amazingly positive outlook on life. When she begins her shift she walks around the shop making sure every button is done up, every hanger is facing the right way round and that every garment has the correct size cube on. She has such dedication, commitment and passion for what she does and we are extremely appreciative of her help.

Supportive

Name: Sue Thomas

Role: Shop Volunteer, Mid Wales

Sue has been a dedicated volunteer for over 8 years, working 5 days a week and even 6 when required. She is a vital member of the team in Aberystwyth.

Sue started with Tenovus after her retirement at the local hospital. She wanted to help the cancer sufferers she saw every day and make a difference and she truly has. During difficult times she has stepped up and helped in every way possible, including running the shop alone. 

Sue encourages others and helps raise money in every way she can. She has raised £500 for a young volunteer for was skydiving for Tenovus, and £300 for a sponsored chest wax event. She excels at selling our raffle tickets, often raising £500 from each one. She's nicknamed 'The Queen of Gift Aid', signing up a staggering number of customers. 

She is a great example to all our volunteers. After 8 years of work she takes great pride in knowing our customers and often people come in to the shop and spend just to see her as she's a great member of the community.

Sue creates a great working atmosphere, and is always happy to help as Tenovus is a big part of her life. She is the real life and soul of the team! 

Respect

Name: Lowri Lewis

Role: Shop volunteer, Cardigan and Penparc Friends of Tenovus Secretary

Lowri has been volunteering for ten years at our Cardigan shop, and has been a member of PenParc Friends of Tenovus for longer than that.

Colleagues said it was difficult to know what category to nominate Lowri in. She is creative, producing winning fundraising ideas - from coach trips to Cawl evenings. She is a supportive and vital member of the shop team, frequently filling in when others are away in addition to her regular volunteering. She also inspires others, always giving up her time for the causes she believes in.

The Penparc Friends group, of which Lowri is Secretary, recently handed over a cheque for £10,000 pounds; an astonishing achievement, particularly from a small community, at a time of economic uncertainty.

Lowri is a retired teacher, and colleagues believe she volunteers to continue contributing to the community. 

Young Volunteer

Name: Jenny Coleman

Role: Shop volunteer, Sherborne

Jenny enrolled with us on 3^rd June 2010. She has Asperger's Syndrome but this has not stopped her in any way. She works extremely hard and is always offering to come in if we are short staffed. She attends Yeovil college and is on a fulltime foundation course. She finishes the course in July but has already asked if she can stay on as a volunteer as she loves it so much.

Jenny's parents and college lecturer agree that by volunteering here she is more confident and a lot more positive. It's a pleasure to have her helping us and the sheer progress she has made is fantastic!