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FIFE VOLUNTEERS PLAYED THEIR CARDS RIGHTFIFE VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2005An inspiring bereavement counsellor who has served her community for over 30 years – building on her own experience of bringing up her own 5 children single-handedly after widowhood and a young man who has put his life firmly back on track after enduring long-term illness by volunteering for the Prince’s Trust are just two of the local outstanding success stories recognised at the Fife Volunteer of the Year Awards last week. The event, sponsored by BskyB and organised by Volunteer Centre Fife, was held at the Parkway Hotel as part of the national celebrations for Make a Difference Day (Saturday 29 October). And what a fantastic night it was! Over 100 volunteers and nominating organisations turned out to show their appreciation for all the hard work and commitment their volunteers had given them and to give the volunteers some much-deserved recognition. The theme for the evening was Bruce Forsyth’s ‘Play Your Cards Right’ with prizes donated by local organisations: Abbeyview Day Centre, Dunermline - Teddy bear & Heavenly Body Kit Arden House Projects, Leven - Sparking Wine & Milk Tray chocolates Barony Housing Contact Point, Kirkcaldy - Three bottles of wine Contemporary Hairdressing Salon, Cupar. - Tigi Big Hair Shampoo & Conditioner Star Prize: The star prize was a £25 gift voucher donated by Garvock House Hotel in Dunfermline. Guest SpeakerFiona Forbes, our special guest speaker and busy volunteer herself, gave an entertaining talk about recognising and valuing the contribution our volunteers make. She had plenty of amusing anecdotes to tell us that took us right back to ‘the days when …!’ She highlighted perfectly how volunteering had been a direct route to employment for her when she was first employed with Fife Council as a Youth Worker. By day, Fiona works full time for Fife Council as the Locality Manager for Cowdenbeath. Outside work, Fiona is a well known singer on the Scottish folk music scene with the group "Sangsters" and as a trio with her niece, Sandie Forbes on fiddle and Sandy Stanage, one of Scotland’s finest guitarists. She is also the compere for the Acoustic Music Club held in Kirkcaldy's Polish Club, and guest compere at the Rothes Halls for Acoustic Music shows. You get nothing for a pair – not in this game!John Murray was the compere for the evening and made a fabulous host in Play Your Cards Right. John is a former winner himself and is a DJ on Victoria Radio Network. John kept us all entertained as he chatted to the contestants, volunteers who had been nominated for an award. A game of Play Your Cards Right was played between each Award Category leading up to the Grand Finals where earlier heat winners battled it out for the grand prize! On hand to assist John were his glamorous assistants – the Dolly Dealers: Dolly Mixture – Cerys Thomas Dolly Daydream – Mary Ray the three Volunteer Development Co-ordinators in Fife We’re happy to say that the losers of each heat did not go away empty handed – each received a super trendy T-shirt with the Shape of Fife exhibition printed on the front.
You will no doubt recall that the Shape of Fife Exhibition is a montage of photographs in the shape of Fife depicting volunteers in action and demonstrating the diversity and extent of volunteering that takes place in Fife. The exhibition was launched on Friday 3 June at the Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy. It is planned that the exhibition itself will be displayed in prominent venues throughout Fife. Details of where you can visit the exhibition will be available on our website very soon. The T-shirts proved to be most desirable with many people asking if they could buy one! In fact one of the contestants was trying very hard to loose so they could get the T-shirt instead of the prize! T-shirts are not available at the moment but, if enough people were interested, we will look to having some more produced. Please lodge your interest to kirkcaldy@volunteeringfife.org for the attention of Val. The WinnersRon Nugent, VCF Manager says “It is always an incredibly difficult task to find an outright winner, there are so many dedicated and wonderful volunteers out there. Many organisations simply would not exist if it were not for their volunteers. They are all winners.” An independent panel of judges agreed the winners: Young Volunteer of the Year – Robbie Collins, Employment and Enterprise, Dunfermline A word from our SponsorWe were delighted that Saskia Nelson, BskyB Community Investment Executive was able to join us for the evening (flew in from London specially). Saskia gave a talk about their Volunteer Programme and what the Sky volunteers have already been contributing to the community. She also talked about the Sky Youth Action Fund which any project working with youth can apply for. Saskia said, “Sky is delighted to sponsor this important event. It’s an opportunity for us to strengthen not only our links with the Volunteer Centre, whose staff do a fantastic job, but also all the organisations they work so closely with. Each year, our Dunfermline-based staff get up to 16 hours paid leave to volunteer and we’re always looking for team challenges based in Fife. We want to spread the word about ways local groups can engage Sky volunteers and access financial support from our Youth Action Fund. It’s also a really good night out which – as an entertainment company – we definitely approve of!” Live MusicBarony Housing Contact Point Ceilidh Band provided the fabulous live entertainment and ensured we finished the night on a high. Contact Point is a mental health day resource centre for adults who are experiencing, or have experienced difficulties with their mental health. Their music group are always on the look out for gigs to play at. For further information and to make reservations contact from Billy Moyes, Manager on 01592 263088. This Year’s category winners |
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Volunteer Centre Fife is a Scottish Company Limited by Guarantee No 169561 with Charitable Status SCO21715 |
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Frances was widowed in 1964. She had five children to look after between the ages of 5 and 17 years. She worked full time as a teacher and brought up her family without help. In 1975 Frances sought help from Cruse Bereavement Care in Edinburgh. Although they did not give her help they invited her on to a training course for bereavement counsellors. After being accepted as a bereavement counsellor she was given West Fife area to cover. Frances single handedly saw every client in that area, until a branch was formed. By this time she had so much work, she started inviting groups to her own home so she could see them quicker. Out of one of these newly bereaved groups, she organised the formation of a steering committee and the Dunfermline branch of Cruse Bereavement Care was formed. Training was delivered to 3 more counsellors and the work was spread a bit more. Frances was then needed to act as administrator, referral secretary and supervisor for the branch.
Since its inception over five years ago, the team of volunteers – a considerable amount of whom have disabilities – have made an amazing contribution to the service. They have demonstrated outstanding commitment and support in all areas of the service. They have responsibility for the IT training programme, support the trainees in craft and woodwork areas, help facilitate discussion groups, maintain the allotment and provide day to day administrative support. As a team they add inestimable value to our project and give us the increased flexibility to enhance the quality of the service Shaw Trust provide. 