A St Barnabas volunteer has won the Volunteer of the Year award at the 2017 Coastal Community Awards in Skegness
Lincoln, Wednesday 12th April 2017 – Pam Haynes, a volunteer at the St Barnabas Hospice Skegness Day Therapy Centre, has been selected from over 100 nominations as the winner of this year’s Volunteer of the Year award at the Coastal Community Awards, which were held on 31st March at the Grosvenor Hotel in Skegness.
The Coastal Community Awards were hosted by local radio station, Coastal Sound, who had received over 420 nominations for the various awards on offer.
Sarah Holmes, Complementary Therapy Services Team Leader at St Barnabas Hospice, was the person who had decided to nominate Pam for the volunteer award.
Sarah said:
“Pam began volunteering in 2004 as a home and day care host volunteer, and chose at the age of 74 to undertake Reiki training and join the Complementary Therapy team at the Skegness Day Therapy Centre.
“In 2013, Pam experienced a bad fall and subsequent operations, yet recovered quickly and returned to giving Reiki to patients within four months.
“In addition to her Skegness commitment, Pam has travelled to Louth for several months to cover for another Reiki Practitioner who was unwell.
“Pam is an extraordinary 84 year old lady; she is incredibly compassionate, caring, giving and completely committed to her role at St Barnabas.”
Pam Haynes said:
“I was completely surprised to find out that I won the award, and feel honoured to have been nominated.
“To me, I just do my job and enjoy it. I never really think of it as an effort or that I’m doing anything special.
“I enjoy volunteering and being able to help others, especially as I can see the positive effect that Reiki has on the patients. It can help them to adjust to their conditions and improve their daily lives.
“During my time as a volunteer, I have been privileged to meet some wonderful people who have demonstrated such compassion and strength, who I have learnt from and who remind you how fortunate you are in life.
“People might be quite surprised to find out what a happy place the hospice is. We value life and we encourage others to make the most of theirs. There is a great sense of togetherness and a feeling that you are not in this alone.
St Barnabas Hospice has over 1,100 volunteers who are integral to the success of the organisation. Whether it is complimentary therapists, receptionists or even gardeners, the Hospice values the hard work of every volunteer.
Steve Bond, Volunteer Development Manager at St Barnabas, said:
“Volunteering is a wonderful way for people to learn new skills, boost their CV and give something back to their community. It can help people to make new friends and get hands-on experience in hundreds of roles.”
Picture courtesy of the Skegness Standard www.skegnessstandard.co.uk
For further information about volunteering, call 01522 518 221 or email [email protected]