Chris Perry has volunteered with Queen Mary Sailing Club for over 5 years, for most of that period as a Director, and throughout as the Windsurfing Fleet Captain. His volunteering started during the Covid pandemic, a time when the club needed steady hands and strong leadership – he provided both. He has helped to shape the Club’s health and safety strategies, ensuring that members can enjoy the water with confidence. He played a key role in developing the onboarding process for new members, making it smoother, more welcoming, and more effective. He has turned an inherently isolated activity into a thriving community of like-minded people all having fun together, with a WhatsApp group that now connects over 200 members, offering advice, encouragement, information and chat.

Maggie Merry, Bumps &Babes was described as an exceptional volunteer whose warmth and reliability make such a difference at the Bumps & Babes group. She ensures everyone feels welcome from the moment they arrive, consistently turning up early to set up and to make sure everything runs smoothly before the sessions begin.

One of the things that makes her special is her personal touch. She remembers the parents’ and babies’ names and their preferred drink, creating a caring atmosphere that means a great deal to all parents. Her friendliness helps create an environment where everyone feels welcomed and valued.  She is always willing to hold a baby, offering mums a much-needed moment to rest, enjoy a hot drink, or simply have a free hand. These small acts of kindness have a big impact on the wellbeing of those attending the group.

Since 2019, Linda Emmett has led the Community Garden at The Hub Englefield Green, transforming it into a sustainable, inclusive and highly valued community programme. She has created a welcoming space where people of all ages and abilities can learn gardening skills, build friendships and improve wellbeing while promoting environmental awareness.

Linda has continually adapted activities based on participant feedback, ensuring the programme remains accessible, engaging and relevant to community needs. During the Covid lockdowns, she helped organise and distribute gardening kits with seeds, compost and planting instructions, giving people a meaningful activity during isolation while encouraging home food growing and sustainability.

She organises Family Gardening Days during school holidays, where families plant, harvest and cook using garden produce. Children also take part in wildlife projects including building bug hotels, hedgehog houses and frog ponds, helping them understand the importance of protecting nature and biodiversity. She is recognised for her dedication, leadership and lasting impact.

A few years ago, Karen Coy befriended a lady living with dementia who sadly no longer has family living in the UK. From the very beginning, she brought companionship, reassurance, and kindness into this lady’s life.

Weekly visits for coffee, shopping trips, and accompanying the lady to the Memory Café and other activities have progressed (as with the dementia) to hospital appointments, the dentist and optician, and supports for complex practical and emotional needs — our winner selflessly and generously providing the care and support a close family member would offer if they lived nearby.

Karen embodies everything that their charity strives to achieve: improving the wellbeing of people living with dementia and supporting their families. Her dedication, compassion, and quiet generosity have made a profound difference to someone’s life.

New Volunteer Award: Arthi Natesan

Arthi Natesan joined Home-Start Spelthorne in May 2025 as a home-visiting volunteer. In the last year she has been supporting a very isolated family who were new to Spelthorne; visiting them at home each week and offering practical and emotional support. In the time she has been working with the family she has reduced their isolation and helped them to integrate into the community by introducing them to local services, including the library and local playgroups and nurseries. She has also helped with bills and housing, accessing English classes and the Job Centre.

When things were becoming too much for the family, she advocated for them to get referrals to health and social care. When the family were facing homelessness, she wanted to continue to support them in any way she could. Each week she has been there for the family, with her positive, can-do attitude.

Along the way, she has always adhered to Home-Start’s policies and procedures, which has helped her to maintain professional boundaries and keep herself safe. She has been in regular communication with staff regarding any concerns and her efforts have been recognised by Children’s Services.

Winner Fundraiser of the Year Award: Debbie Garland and Darren West

Our pair of winners in this category both support the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

Debbie Garland took on fundraising in Englefield Green in late 2023 with no previous experience or handover. She spent most evenings throughout October and November on garage forecourts as well as ensuring that collection boxes were put into shops and schools received appropriate materials. As a result of her efforts income went from £0 to just over £5k.

In 2024 she took on Egham again at short notice and almost tripled the income. And in 2025 along with the volunteer team that she had recruited there was more coverage in supermarkets and the money raised increased by another 30%. She leads by example and is always a pleasure to work with.

Darren West started as a volunteer with the appeal  in October 2024 and with very little persuasion took on Chertsey. He managed to increase income that year by 600% – a huge success by anyone’s standards!

In 2025 he took on additional areas in Runnymede, ran summer fundraising events and organised the appeal’s first collections at Virginia Water and almost doubled income again up to just under £12,000.

Winner of Engagement in the Community Award: Stanhope-Seta  

Stanhope-Seta has been nominated not simply for their engagement in the community but for instilling a community-oriented culture within their organisation that is at the core of their business.

They have continuously supported the GASP Motor Project, Holme Farm, Learning to Work and Eikon charities for many years with project work and fundraising. Alongside this, they have created links with around 30 schools in Runnymede, Spelthorne and beyond.

They have created engineering projects and programmes that are suitable for students for work experience from year 8 onwards, placements and apprenticeships; they also host youngsters who need extra input beyond the standard school curriculum.

They attend school and college careers fairs and events and build relationships with key staff. They are passionate about nurturing young people through work and professional-related opportunities and championing their learning in the workplace.

Their commitment to these charities and schools illustrates their conviction that providing hands-on opportunities is the best way to introduce young people to the worlds of engineering, manufacturing and STEM generally.

Their knowledge, positivity and continued support are described as the gold standard.

Winner of Volunteer Team Award: FOWL – Friends of White Lodge

Our winning team – Friends of White Lodge – was originally created to become an extension of the fundraising team at White Lodge and they have grown into something truly special.

From bucket collections, summer fairs and challenge events, to corporate volunteering days, eBay sales, event preparation and ticketed events, this team are always there rolling up their sleeves and helping to raise as much awareness and vital funding as possible.

In 2025 alone, the team contributed an incredible 879 volunteer hours and directly helped raise £44,421.70 for the centre. Their support has enabled White Lodge to massively increase its reach and presence across Runnymede and Spelthorne.

But what makes the team truly special is the community they have created together. They are described as welcoming, supportive and full of friendship, laughter and kindness.

They are passionate ambassadors for disability inclusion and for White Lodge. Whether they are cheering on runners at the London Marathon, supporting inclusive events such as Superhero Tri, facilitating corporate volunteer days or leading community outreach activities, they bring warmth, enthusiasm and positivity everywhere they go.

Winners of the Long-Service Award (10+ years)

Each year we are delighted to be able to recognise all volunteers who have been instrumental in supporting their communities for ten or more years. We would like to celebrate each and every one of these passionate, inspiring and dedicated volunteers, so have awarded all of them for this category.  

• Mark Griffiths- 1st Egham Scout Group: 14 years 
• Jayne Matthews- Witness Service: 16 years 
• Joyce Laptalis- Witness Service: 16 years 
• Julia Gibbs- Spelthorne Museum, Spelthorne Archaeology and Local History Group: 45 years 
• Nick Pollard- Spelthorne Museum, Spelthorne Archaeology and Local History Group: 45 years 
• Beryl Christopher- White Lodge: 25 years 
• Adrian Elston- Chertsey & Addlestone Good Neighbours: 10 years 
• Di James- CARE in Egham: 40 years 
• Jenny Sice- Home-Start Spelthorne: 30 years 
• Anne Damerell- Home-Start Spelthorne: 30 years 
• Michael O’Sullivan- Chertsey Combined Charities: 50 years  
• Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital Volunteers: 10, 15 and 20+ years 

Young Volunteer Award: Joseph Vaughan

This is a new category that we have created this year to recognise a stand-out young person in volunteering

Access Adventures is a disability sports charity based near Staines that delivers a range of adaptive adventure sports, primarily waterskiing and wakeboarding.

Joseph has been working with the group for the last two summers, and despite having no previous experience, has seen his enthusiasm and commitment lead him to progress from being a general volunteer to a Lead Adaptive Waterski Instructor and now a qualified Ski Boat Driver. As well as directly supporting service delivery he helps with site maintenance and even (with some persuasion!) catering when needed (apparently the catering is under duress!).

He volunteers every weekend over the summer, and last year even took a week off work during August to help out. His commitment directly enables individuals with a range of disabilities to engage in outdoor adventure sport; encouraging them to push their boundaries, instilling confidence and facilitating independence. Even in the short time he has been volunteering, his involvement has had a direct impact on many individuals.

He is reliable, dedicated and takes initiative. No job is too big or too small! He is an excellent all-round volunteer, and all at Access Adventures are immensely grateful for his ongoing support.