DCF to host awards with BBC Radio Devon

Devon Community Foundation are set to hold their annual Volunteer of the Year awards in October at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter, honouring the hard work and achievements of the hundreds of volunteers contributing to community groups across Devon.

The awards will have an added element of excitement as BBC Radio will be broadcasting the awards live with David Fitzgerald as host for the evening.

In 2013 BBC Radio Devon selected the Foundation as their Charity of the Year and together they raised nearly £37,000 helping local people to build better and more inclusive communities for everyone. They were so blown away by the people behind some of these essential grassroots organisations; they felt they had to be involved again.

Emma Clements from BBC Radio Devon said: “We are delighted to continue our involvement with Devon Community Foundation and to work with them to highlight the wonderful work these groups do helping to keep Devon’s communities alive.”

Last year the winners included volunteers from a variety of projects including Crossroads Care Torbay who were recognised with Devon Community Foundation’s Thriving Communities Award for the invaluable service they offer in their community. Pete Ogburn from HMS Heroes who despite having a demanding full time job, dedicates over 18 hours of volunteering to HMS Heroes each week received Kitsons LLP’s Children and Young People Volunteer Award and they are delighted to be sponsoring the award again this year.

Martha Wilkinson, chief executive of Devon Community Foundation said: “Our Volunteer of the Year Awards are a fantastic way to recognise the amazing and invaluable work of volunteers and the groups they support in Devon. We know better than most what an amazing job these groups do having distributed over £425,000 to local groups, benefiting more than 55,000 people in the past year alone.

“Our next milestone is to raise a further £10 million by 2017 – a difficult but achievable task with the help of the people of Devon. This money will be there forever to continue to build the thriving communities we love in Devon and to help those who are not yet born, solve the problems that we don’t yet know exist. What an amazing thing to say you were a part of!”

The Foundation is currently welcoming nominations for volunteers that deserve special recognition, simply download a nomination form http://devoncf.com/get-involved/volunteer-of-the-year-2014/ or get in touch with Laura on 01884 235884 or email laura@devoncf.com