Islington Volunteer of the Year 2019
PRESS RELEASE
Islington Volunteer of the Year Awards 2019
Wednesday 6th November 2019
Islington’s Volunteer of the Year 2019 is Charity Suzyo Nyirenda for her peer support work for women living with HIV and her courage in being the face of many HIV stigma campaigns. She volunteers for Positively UK, who support people living with HIV with many people living within the borough who access their services
Being a peer mentor means taking the brave step to support other people living with HIV by sharing their knowledge and lived experience. Charity has been doing this for many years, and many of her mentees have now progressed and volunteer with the organization as peer mentors themselves, following her shining example.
Antony Bewick-Smith, Interim Chief Executive at Voluntary Action Islington, said:
“We were humbled by stories of volunteers helping some the disadvantaged and vulnerable – or helping our young people getting the best start in life– even when these volunteers were experiencing disadvantage themselves. Voluntary Action Islington is proud to honour those unsung heroes.”
The Volunteer of the Year Awards were sponsored by Doubletree by Hilton and Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill. They were presented by The Deputy Mayor of Islington, Cllr Troy Gallagher and Peader McFadden from DoubleTree by Hilton Islington at the Voluntary Action Islington AGM.
The full list of winners is:
| Winner | Category | Organisation volunteered for |
| Sherrie Giraud | Young Volunteer of the Year 16-25 | Mixed Martial Arts |
| Wendy Barnes | Older Volunteer of the Year 60+ | HNG Stress project |
| Outpost: Volunteer Shop & Gallery Assistants | Volunteering Team of the Year | Peter Bedford |
| Paul Formosa | Pat Haynes Memorial Trustee of the Year | Centre 404 |
| Charity Nyirenda | Volunteer of the Year 26-60 | PositivelyUK |
Notes to editors:
1.Voluntary Action Islington supports social action locally. It is the membership organisation for voluntary organisations in Islington is accredited Volunteer Centre for the borough up to 2021.
Further information about the winners and pictures can be found here.
Contact:
Marta Aparicio, Volunteer Services Manager, Voluntary Action Islington
marta.aparicio@vai.org.uk / 020 7832 580
Meera Jobanputra, Information and Comms Assistant
meera@jobanputra@vai.org.uk / 020 7832 580
