We are so thrilled to share the news that Northamptonshire Health Charity has been shortlisted for the Partnership and Systems working in volunteering award at this year’s national Helpforce Champions Awards.
We would like to send a big thank you to the wonderful Volunteers Services team at Northampton General Hospital who kindly nominated us to be considered for shortlisting for the award.
We have been selected for being the #1 supporter of the NGH Volunteers team thanks to the numerous projects and initiatives we have funded and for our continued support to help the team grow and thrive; and to be able to increase and enhance the many services they are able to provide, helping staff and patients across the hospital.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8RH_ZcFnCs Just to be recognised by being shortlisted for this award means so much to us all on the charity team and we are very excited to find out the winners – announced on 30th October.
Alison McCulloch, Head of Fundraising said: “We are really flattered to be nominated by the volunteers at NGH.
It is wonderful for the donations made to the charity from the local community to be recognised as having such a huge positive impact on patient care via the volunteers at Northampton General Hospital.
"We are very proud to support the volunteers team in as many ways as possible, as the team makes such a fantastic difference to the experience of patients and their families.” Matthew Collins, Volunteer Services Coordinator at NGH said: “The Volunteer Services within Northampton General Hospital have very ambitious plans and goals to help improve the patient and staff experiences within the Trust.
With these ideas, we require the support from other teams to help implement them.
The key team being Northamptonshire Health Charity.
They have always supported our fundraising initiatives and backed the ideas put forward.
An example of these are, the outdoor buggy service, the indoor buggy service, the library service, the video call service and the therapy service.
All of which, the charity have helped advertise and raise funds for.
If it wasn’t for the efforts of the charity, we wouldn’t have been able to initiate any of the example services.
They have really embraced our ideas with a positive attitude.
The difference they have made to our services is fantastic.
The funds raised by the charity have allowed us to purchase the Indoor Buggy which has been a real lifeline to many as it is able to take patients from door to door across the large site.
We were able to purchase the outdoor buggy which can drop people to the correct entrance of our large site.
The funds paid for the electric powered library trolley that volunteers could take to wards up the inclined corridors with ease.
They received donations from their wish list to collect games and activities for the therapy service.
They were able to use funds to buy the devices we required to set up the successful video call service.
It’s this type of support that has really boosted what our volunteers can offer within NGH.
It has proved to be invaluable to our service and to the patients.
Patients that have used the services have highly praised them and often wish to donate to the Health charity.
This is because the services have had a real value and impact on improving their experiences whilst in the hospital.
Although we have tried to give examples of the support received by Northamptonshire Health Charity, truly, words will never do justice to the impact their support has to our service and our patients.
Thank you Northamptonshire Health Charity!” We would also like to thank the volunteers team themselves for always stepping up to help with fundraising for the service, most recently by taking part in the Northants Business Games.
Winners will be announced on Helpforce’s website and social media channels on 30th October.
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.” The categories being celebrated at the awards are: Outstanding Volunteering Team of the Year Young Volunteer of the Year Volunteer of the Year Outstanding Staff Champion for Volunteers Volunteer Leader of the Year Partnership Working in Volunteering Innovation in Volunteering Award Celebrating Inclusion and Diversity in Volunteering People’s choice 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 www.helpforce.community