Celebrating our Volunteers

We celebrated the great work of our volunteers at an event at Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club on Friday 1st June which marked both the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and Volunteering Week (1^st – 7^th June), the annual celebration of the contribution of volunteers.

There was a Jubilee themed party for all staff as well as a presentation to celebrate the contribution of some of our longest standing volunteers.

Councillor Dominic Twomey presented certificates to the volunteers and our new Henry Cooper Award for Volunteering was also awarded for the first time.

This annual award commemorates the life of Henry Cooper who volunteered tirelessly for DABD (uk) and Barking House Trust self-catering holiday home for disabled and older people, until his death in 2010. Jeff Archer who has been a volunteer for over 40 years was the first recipient and the award was accepted on his behalf by Alan Keyworth, Board Secretary for Barking House Trust.

Henry’s wife Anne Cooper also attended to see the award presented.

CEO Lesley Hawes said of the event ‘Today really was a celebration, not only of the Jubilee but also of the fantastic contribution of our volunteers. Volunteers play an essential role within the community and their hard work is invaluable.

We are also pleased to be able to present the Henry Cooper award for the first time. Each year we will be presenting this award to an outstanding volunteer who gives so much of their time to help others, just like Henry himself did for so many years.’