On Friday 15th November, Teignbridge CVS hosted the first Stars of Teignbridge Awards, to celebrate and raise awareness of our local voluntary sector to encourage more people to get involved with their community. It was a full house, with 200 people attending from across Teignbridge.
The event was hosted by our Volunteering Development Worker, Chloe Myers, with entertainment from comedian Tom Glover. Awards categories followed the themes of the Vision for Volunteering, mirroring the Thriving Teignbridge report.
Award nominations were received for 42 organisations and 82 individual volunteers, several of which were nominated for more than one category. In total, there were a total of 327 nominations to consider (184 volunteer and 143 organisation nominations) for just 14 awards. The shortlisting panel covered all sectors: voluntary sector, business, NHS, and council.
Winners included Dan Comer, who created a community garden at the end of his road; The Brighter Days group created by Volunteering in Health volunteers; Mixed Families Together who bring together ethnically diverse families; Ashburton Community Fridge, who work effectively with other local organisations; Conversation Works who run a memory café on a steam train; and Hayley Kingwell who balances being a mum, employee and student with being an active volunteer.
These awards were all presented by our sponsors: Peplows Chartered Accountants, Wollens Solicitors; Strategic Solutions; Phoenix Learning and Care; Claremont Manor; and Teign Tutoring. Other sponsors of the event include Tolchards Ltd; St Austell Brewery; Frog Content; iNarrator; Bluebird Counselling; Angela Boyd Coaching; and Teignbridge Leisure.
The overall winners on the night were Corony Edwards, who was described by her nominators as the heart of the Teign Valley Community, and Dawlish Community Transport who provide essential transport services for the people of Dawlish and beyond. Their awards were presented by our special guests, Martin Wrigley MP and Gordon Evans DL.
Following the ceremony, there was an after party with live music from Ollie Stephens, providing an opportunity for networking and hopefully sparking some future ideas for collaboration too!
More photos available here: Stars of Teignbridge Awards – Dropbox