Islington Volunteer of the Year Awards 2024
PRESS RELEASE
Islington Volunteer of the Year Awards 2024
Hosted by Voluntary Action Islington (VAI)
Wednesday 6th November 2024
Great Hall, London Metropolitan University
This year, we are delighted to announce the winner of the Islington Volunteer of the Year 2024.
Tony Quinn, YES Outdoors | HC Cycles Workshop | Rose Bowl Youth Club | Brickworks Community Centre | Calypso Gymnastics | Go Full Steam | Metrobox London | Driftwood Pictures | Lift | Prospex | The Thanet Youth & Community Centre
Tony received nominations from a wide array of people for his work and across an even wider array of voluntary organisations, community centres, youth clubs and more. These nominations had one major thing in common – they were extremely passionate, insistent that we recognise the incredible work done by Tony in Islington over the past year and indeed years prior.
We had nominations from parents, who Tony had personally managed to steer away from a spiral into crime and danger that had once seemed inevitable. We had them from youth workers, whose positions Tony had managed to protect and careers he’d managed to support. And from leaders of organisations he’d worked for and indeed rescued during financial dire straits, through fundraising and countless hours of voluntary work.
His selfless work takes many forms; whether mentoring vulnerable young people to learn and get qualified in bicycle maintenance, or taking young Islington residents out into the country for outdoors activities, or playing an advisory role at a free-to-attend youth boxing club, or collecting and donating bicycles to Ukrainian refugees, or personally transporting food collections to those in need, or teaching rock climbing to teens who’d been left behind by the system, to being a constant source of support and advice for people he’s previously work with… the list truly goes on.
Suffice to say, Tony Quinn goes above and beyond to help those who most need it in Islington and the surrounding areas, in an ever-expanding number of ways that are able to reach an incalculable number of vulnerable people and effect real change in their lives and the community. A pillar of the community in the truest sense of the term, he has touched so many lives so deeply that it is little wonder that so many of those who know him consider him absolutely indispensable.
Navinder Kaur, Chief Executive Officer, VAI, said: “Tony is truly an inspiration to all the young people he supports through his work, not only in Islington, but across North London. Through developing strong links in the community, he’s created a much-needed environment for disadvantaged young people to get the support they need to succeed in life.
We are also incredibly proud of the winners in the other categories, Carolyn Baker, Yusuf Uddin, Stephen Mullin and Latin American Women’s Aid’s Volunteer Team. We also want to pay homage to all Islington volunteers who do so much for others. It’s because of you that Islington is so special.
The Mayor of Islington Cllr Anjna Khurana, added: “Tony’s story of incredible altruism, supporting countless young people in so many ways over the years, is awe-inspiring. It was such an honour to present him with the award for Volunteer Of The Year, alongside so many other deserving winners. It’s truly heartening to see the spirit of volunteering and of community continue to burn so brightly here in Islington. My congratulations to all the winners”.
The Volunteer of the Year Awards were sponsored by Double Tree by Hilton London Angel Kings Cross, our Official Sponsor.
• The awards were presented by: HW The Mayor of Islington, Cllr Anjna Khurana and
• Richard Lee, General Manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Angel King’s Cross
The full list of winners is:
| Winner | Category | Organisation volunteered for |
| Carolyn Baker | Older Volunteer of the Year 60+ | Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants |
| LAWA’s Volunteering Team | Volunteering Team of the Year | Latin American Women’s Aid’s Volunteer Team |
| Yusuf Uddin | Young Volunteer of the Year | Museum of the Order of St. John |
| Stephen Mullin | Pat Haynes Memorial Trustee of the Year | Culpeper Community Garden |
| Tony Quinn | Volunteer of the Year 26-60 Year Old’s | YES Outdoors |
Further information about the winners and commended can be found here.
Notes to editors:
1. Voluntary Action Islington is working for a fairer Islington by supporting community and voluntary action. It is a membership organisation for the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector of Islington and delivers volunteering services through the accredited Volunteer Centre for the borough.
Contact:
Marta Aparicio, Volunteer Services Manager, Voluntary Action Islington
marta.aparicio@vai.org.uk : 020 7832 5801
