PRESS RELEASE
Islington Volunteer of the Year Awards 2022
Hosted by Voluntary Action Islington
Wednesday 2 November 2022
We are very pleased to announce that David Batchelor is the Islington Volunteer of the Year 2022.
David has come on such an amazing journey with The Good Neighbour Project, Help on Your Doorstep.
David stayed home isolated for some years. He was encouraged to attend one of the Help on Your Doorstep coffee mornings. He was a bit shy at the beginning but as time went by David started to relax and the journey started. When lockdown came, he joined the zoom and phone call activities and as we came out of lock down David asked if he could come out leafleting and outreach getting the weekly Good Neighbours timetable out to the Canonbury area. He was very dedicated to this work and was always early.
David then started to volunteer at the Help on Your Doorstep coffee mornings, making all the drinks cleaning talking a bit more to the service users and had a knack of knowing exactly what drinks each person will have. He then started to help with setting up and leading community events whilst volunteering at the actual events and helping other volunteers.
At some point, David started to cover annual leave at other Good Neighbour Project, Kings Cross, and went on to outreaching and volunteering at the Bemerton (Cally), with the group of service users loving his dry sense of humour. It was the biggest change seen in a person: by helping others, it was helping him. Service users preferred David to make their tea & coffee which build his confidence and their confidence.
David has made such an impact across the board, with the staff and our community members.
Help on Your Doorstep has reached so many more Islington residents due to his hard work.
Somanah Achadoo, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, at Voluntary Action Islington, said:
“It is so great to see how volunteering can help someone’s health and wellbeing. The changes David has made during his volunteering has helped his own health and wellbeing, brought his confidence and in turn helped others.”
The Volunteer of the Year Awards were sponsored by Double Tre by Hilton Angel King’s Cross, our Official Sponsor.
The awards were presented by:
• HW The Mayor of Islington, Cllr Marian Spall
• Tim Spencer, Hotel Manager, Double Tree by Hilton Angel King’s Cross, Official Sponsor
The full list of winners is:
| Winner | Category | Organisation volunteered for |
| Molly McConville | Older Volunteer of the Year 60+ | The Sunday Club, St John’s Church |
| Islington Bereavement Support | Volunteering Team of the Year | St Joseph’s Hospice |
| Edward Campbell | Young Volunteer of the Year | SoapBox Youth Centre |
| Guilene Marco | Pat Haynes Memorial Trustee of the Year | MEWSo |
| David Batchelor | Vounteer of the Year 26-60 Year Old’s | Help on your Doorstep |
Further information about the winners and commended can be found here.
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.
Contact:
Marta Aparicio, Volunteer Services Manager, Voluntary Action Islington
marta.aparicio@vai.org.uk : 020 7832 5800
