The Harbour Project

The Harbour Project

The Harbour Project

Sophie Boyce, from The Harbour Project, said: “We were surprised in the best possible way to hear that we are finalists. We couldn’t do half of what we do without our volunteers and, this year especially, they have adapted to every challenge with resilience and determination. They don’t ask for any recognition but it is definitely deserved.”

The team were nominated by Pam Webb, who said: “The brilliant volunteer team at the Harbour project ensure that the asylum seekers housed in Swindon by the Home Office get the vital support they need to integrate and make Swindon their home. The pandemic lock down periods have been hard on everyone but imagine arriving in Swindon, in a strange country, in a new town, not speaking the language and being locked down in a shared house or even a shared bedroom with a stranger that may not speak your language either. Add to that having no wi-fi and no remote access to any support and not being able to work even if you wanted to.

“Some 97 new asylum seekers, including 35 children were housed in Swindon between January and December 2020 throughout the pandemic and the wonderful volunteer team at the Harbour project made a huge and life changing difference to each and every one.

“The volunteer team have made welfare calls to visitors, helped with critical form filling, made face coverings for them, delivered over 600 food parcels, delivered donated wifi dongles and tablets, taught English and maths lessons in a virtual or socially distanced way and given between 900-1,100 hours of volunteering each quarter.

“This is challenging volunteering, helping strangers who have arrived here with nothing and seeking sanctuary from a range of conditions most of us can only imagine. Showing them kindness and providing vital support to ensure that adults and children are not totally isolated, remain mentally and physically well and can integrate into Swindon society and build a meaningful life whilst seeking the right to remain in this country.”

Nick Hewens

Prospect Hospice volunteer

Nick Hewens

Nick Hewens

Nick said: “I feel very humble to be included within the finalists, as what I do requires little skill, or sacrifice, and so I very much hope that someone more ‘frontline’ and hands on within the care/hospital/hospice sector ends up getting this recognition.”

He was nominated by Su Starkey, who said: “Nick has volunteered with Prospect Hospice for the last four years, driving patients to appointments.

“He has always carried out his activities with constant good humour, but he really stepped up in response to the Covid crisis. Early in the Covid pandemic it was difficult to obtain PPE. Thanks to Hospice UK, the sector’s umbrella organisation, supplies became more plentiful but there still remained the problem of actually distributing them to the hospices who needed them. Our nearest distribution point was Martlett’s Hospice in Hove, a 265-mile round trip from Wroughton. Nick offered to make the trip as many times as we needed him to, racking up almost 3,500 miles.

“Nick, a beef farmer by trade, left the demands of his farm behind numerous times over the course of the year to transport what we calculate must amount to thousands of pounds worth of PPE, fitting as much as possible into his car like a Jenga puzzle. On his return after one trip, a nurse commented that she doubted he could even fit an After Eight mint into the remaining space.

“Nick worked with constant good humour and is an absolute hero, even when his car broke down en route and he needed to be rescued. He has played a crucial role in helping hospice activities to continue throughout the pandemic.”

Georgie Wood

Swindon Borough Council volunteer

Georgie Wood

Georgie Wood

Georgie said: “I hugely appreciate being nominated for this award, let alone to be selected as a finalist. Being a part of an amazing team of volunteers has already been so rewarding to me, but to celebrate the work achieved by everybody over this difficult year is incredible.”

She was nominated by Joy Bells, Swindon Borough Council’s volunteers coordinator, who said: “Georgie started volunteered with us at the beginning of the pandemic. She’d just turned 18. She said she’d be happy to do anything to help.

“She has been selfless and often got on with tasks that haven’t been the most glamorous or garnered very much attention. She spent weeks, writing envelopes, folding letters and helping with leaflet delivery on some of the hottest days of last summer and been on her feet without complaint frequently standing in at short notice at the Covid vaccination clinics at Steam. She’s a young girl with a fabulous attitude when it comes to stepping up and supporting the community of Swindon.

“When the Steam Covid clinic was just starting up in the middle of December, and we were recruiting volunteers, Georgie was there on the first day, standing in the wind and the rain when our elderly residents were first getting vaccinated.

“She was putting people’s minds at rest, giving a friendly word of encouragement, directing traffic in the dark and calming people’s fears. For a young person who’d only left school a few months earlier her ‘let’s do it’ attitude was amazing.”