Awards for volunteers (From Salisbury Journal)

Awards for volunteers

2:53pm Tuesday 30th October 2012 in News By Elizabeth Kemble

A SINGING group and a 19-year-old from Tisbury are among volunteers from Wiltshire to receive a prestigious volunteering award for dedicating their time to improving the lives of people with dementia and their carers.

Esther Saunders, Janek Pawinski from Salisbury and ten volunteers from the Alzheimer’s Society’s Singing for the Brain group in Tisbury, will travel to the House of Lords on Tuesday where they will be presented with the William Brooks Award by TV personality and Alzheimer’s Society supporter, Sir Michael Parkinson.

The awards are presented annually to exceptional Alzheimer's Society volunteers.

The Tisbury Singing for the Brain group was the first of its kind in the area and acted as a springboard for ten new groups throughout the county. Elizabeth Weaver, who volunteers as part of the group, said: “We were all amazed to hear we had won an award for our volunteering as to us, attending the weekly sessions is a pleasure rather than a duty.

“The volunteers get so much out of it, as do the people with dementia and their carers. “It stretches people with dementia but in the nicest possible way and you really notice the difference after they have been attending for a few weeks.”

Miss Saunders supports Alzheimer’s Society’s information and awareness events in south Wiltshire and has won an award in the under 25s category for her enthusiasm and dedication towards volunteering. Mr Pawinski, who began volunteering for Alzheimer’s Society in Salisbury just over a year ago, first volunteered as a driver taking people with dementia and their carers to the local Singing for the Brain group, and then joined as a volunteer at the singing sessions.

He said: “It’s a joy and an honour to receive this kind of recognition.”

Nikki Squelch, head of volunteering development for Alzheimer’s Society said: “Our volunteers in the Salisbury area have really been going that extra mile and these awards give us the chance to come together and celebrate their hard work.”