University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted for three awards in the Helpforce Champions Awards 2021, providing national recognition of the fantastic contribution to volunteering in the health and care sector.
The awards are the perfect opportunity to celebrate the invaluable contributions made by volunteers across the UK during the past turbulent year, fundamentally defined by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three awards include Worthing Hospital volunteer Keith Stainer who has been shortlisted for ‘Volunteer of the Year’ thanks to his contributions over the past 18 months during the pandemic including supporting patients, taking patients items to wards, providing a listening ear to people coming in and dropping off items for their relatives and delivering care packages to staff.
Volunteer Manager Sarah Kahn who has been shortlisted for ‘Volunteer Leader of the Year’ for her care and compassion, leading on care calls to isolated volunteers and doorstep visits to some of our vulnerable volunteers.
The Worthing and Southlands Voluntary Services team have been nominated for Innovation in Volunteering for the Big Hospital Experiment with young adults.
Mark Lever, Chief Executive of Helpforce, said:“2020 and 2021 have seen the NHS and all our healthcare services face one of the biggest challenges in their history, and we have seen volunteers step up in their thousands to help.
“This year, we have received a record number of entries for the Helpforce Champions Awards with so many brilliant examples of innovation, great practice, commitment, and real passion for patient care and support for staff across the health and care sector in the UK.
“We want to thank everyone for taking the time to recognise the volunteers and send our congratulations to those who have been shortlisted and we’d like to wish them the best of luck.”
Sarah Kahn, Volunteer Manager for Worthing said: “I am blown away that our team have been shortlisted for three awards.
“We are incredibly grateful for all of our volunteers and everything they do for our Trust and our patients.”
You can vote for the People’s Choice award until 29th October and winners will be announced on the Helpforce’s website and social media channels on 30th October.
Helpforce partners with health and care organisations across the UK to accelerate the growth and impact of volunteering. They are an independent not-for-profit innovator, focused on co-creation of volunteering projects with NHS Trusts and systems, and rapidly sharing insights and best practice.
To learn more about the charity, please visit Helpforce Community.