HDA Volunteer Awards 2016

Here at the Huntington’s Disease Association we value our fantastic volunteer fundraisers and would like to celebrate their success.
We are launching the inaugural HDA Volunteer Awards to say a public thank you to the individuals going the extra mile for our charity.
With so many wonderful volunteer fundraisers supporting us, there will be two opportunities to be awarded ‘Inspirational Volunteer 2016’.
Please read more about the nominees below and then visit this website to cast your vote for who you think is the most ‘Inspiring Volunteer’. You have one vote, so make it count.
We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the HDA and its work in supporting people with Huntington’s disease. We couldn’t do it without you!
Frank Allen
Frank Allen, from Essex, recruited a dedicated team of cyclists to conquer the gruelling cycle ride from John O'Groats to Land’s End in July 2015 – a staggering distance of nearly 900 miles.
As part of his fundraising Frank organised a spectacular ball in March 2015, and enlisted the support of friends and family to help secure prizes for a fantastic raffle and auction held on the night.
Frank’s daredevil daughter and mother-in-law took part in skydive to help raise funds towards the final total, and his daughter’s school held a non-uniform day, adding to his fabulous fundraising total and helping to raise awareness of HD.
We would like to thank Frank, his family and all the team members – their support has been truly amazing.
Michelle Carlaw
Runner Michelle Carlaw, in Northamptonshire, braved 26.2 miles of blisters to take part in the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon as part of Team HDA.
In preparation for the marathon, Michelle completed a number of shorter distances and extremely challenging obstacle courses.
In between the hours and miles of training in the lead up to the event, Michelle organised over 15 fundraising events, including bag packs at local supermarkets, coffee mornings, raffles, a sports day at her daughter’s school and even a ‘pamper and prosecco’ evening. During the lead up to Christmas she created bags of reindeer feed to sell to friends and family and donated 10% of her income from her cake making business.
Michelle showed incredible commitment to fundraising in the lead up to the marathon and raised significant funds and awareness for the HDA – thank you Michelle.
The Kerton Family
The Kerton family from Northumberland have been taking part in the Great North Run on our behalf for over 5 years.
2014 was a special year for the family as three generations, grandad Edwin, father Stewart and granddaughter Ellis, were finally able to all take part together – a day they had all looked forward to for many years. In 2015 Stewart’s wife Amanda donned her trainers to join the team and again they raised a huge amount of money.
In addition to their annual Great North Run challenge, the family organise local events to raise extra funds and most importantly awareness.
Through the awareness they have raised in their local community, they have inspired friends to join the team for the 2016 Great North Run, growing their fantastic team of volunteer fundraisers. Granddaughter Ellis has certainly got the running bug and along with Stewart will be taking part in the Morpeth to Newcastle marathon this year as well.
The Kertons’ passion, spirit and dedication to supporting the HDA is astounding – thank you!
Margaret Sutherland
Keen dancer Margaret Sutherland, from St Helens, has been a dedicated HDA supporter for many years and uses her passion for line dancing to raise funds and awareness of HD. Along with a loyal group of friends, Margaret organises two events each year which are hugely popular and well attended. Margaret puts her all into these events and even uses her own money to buy prizes for the raffle, which is always a big hit on the night. Margaret’s husband Arthur, who had Huntington’s disease, sadly passed away but is remembered fondly at each event. Margaret’s dedication to supporting the HDA is phenomenal and we would like to thank her for all she has done for us over the years.
Olive Arnold
Olive Arnold, from Herefordshire, has been a wonderful HDA volunteer for over 6 years. Olive has taken part in the Cardiff half marathon, raising significant funds and awareness of HD.
Olive has been integral in helping us to secure a substantial grant from the Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity, for which we are enormously grateful.
We would like to thank Olive for the continual commitment and enthusiasm she has shown to supporting the HDA over many years.
Charles Shetcliffe & The Ship Of Fools Theatre Company
Charles Shetcliffe, from London, is the artistic director of The Ship of Fools Theatre Company.
In 2015 the company took their dynamic and evocative show on a UK wide tour. Charles used the tour of ‘From the Cradle to the Bin’ as a way to raise awareness of Huntington’s disease, while also raising crucial funds for the HDA.
After every show Charles gave a moving talk about Huntington’s disease to their audience members. This without a doubt raised vital awareness among many people who had never heard of the disease.
We would like to thank Charles and the Ship of Fools Theatre Company for their fantastic help and support to educate new audiences about HD.
Jamie Lake
Jamie Lake, from Plymouth, has been involved in fundraising and raising awareness for the HDA for many years.
In 2015 he organised a very successful charity ball and raffle evening, as well as an exhausting 50 mile walk which raised a fantastic amount of money and got lots of people involved.
Jamie has started his own online Huntington’s disease awareness campaign ‘Thumbs Up For HD’, encouraging people post a photo of themselves giving a thumbs up on social media. In addition to this, Jamie started a petition asking the government to help and support people who are affected by Huntington’s disease, which has received over 7,000 signatures so far.
Jamie was honoured in the Pride of Britain and Pride of Plymouth awards in 2015, receiving well-deserved recognition for all he has done to raise funds and awareness of HD.
If you thought he couldn’t fit any more in he will be giving a talk at our young person’s conference later this year. We are incredibly grateful for Jamie’s commitment to increasing the profile of the disease amongst the public and raising vital funds for the HDA.
Vote
We need your input into this fantastic award, so please cast your vote now!
Sponsors
Here at the Huntington’s Disease Association we value our fantastic volunteer fundraisers and would like to celebrate their success.
We are launching the inaugural HDA Volunteer Awards to say a public thank you to the individuals going the extra mile for our charity.
With so many wonderful volunteer fundraisers supporting us, there will be two opportunities to be awarded ‘Inspirational Volunteer 2016’.
Please read more about the nominees below and then visit this website to cast your vote for who you think is the most ‘Inspiring Volunteer’. You have one vote, so make it count.
We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the HDA and its work in supporting people with Huntington’s disease. We couldn’t do it without you!
Frank Allen
Frank Allen, from Essex, recruited a dedicated team of cyclists to conquer the gruelling cycle ride from John O'Groats to Land’s End in July 2015 – a staggering distance of nearly 900 miles.
As part of his fundraising Frank organised a spectacular ball in March 2015, and enlisted the support of friends and family to help secure prizes for a fantastic raffle and auction held on the night.
Frank’s daredevil daughter and mother-in-law took part in skydive to help raise funds towards the final total, and his daughter’s school held a non-uniform day, adding to his fabulous fundraising total and helping to raise awareness of HD.
We would like to thank Frank, his family and all the team members – their support has been truly amazing.
Michelle Carlaw
Runner Michelle Carlaw, in Northamptonshire, braved 26.2 miles of blisters to take part in the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon as part of Team HDA.
In preparation for the marathon, Michelle completed a number of shorter distances and extremely challenging obstacle courses.
In between the hours and miles of training in the lead up to the event, Michelle organised over 15 fundraising events, including bag packs at local supermarkets, coffee mornings, raffles, a sports day at her daughter’s school and even a ‘pamper and prosecco’ evening. During the lead up to Christmas she created bags of reindeer feed to sell to friends and family and donated 10% of her income from her cake making business.
Michelle showed incredible commitment to fundraising in the lead up to the marathon and raised significant funds and awareness for the HDA – thank you Michelle.
The Kerton Family
The Kerton family from Northumberland have been taking part in the Great North Run on our behalf for over 5 years.
2014 was a special year for the family as three generations, grandad Edwin, father Stewart and granddaughter Ellis, were finally able to all take part together – a day they had all looked forward to for many years. In 2015 Stewart’s wife Amanda donned her trainers to join the team and again they raised a huge amount of money.
In addition to their annual Great North Run challenge, the family organise local events to raise extra funds and most importantly awareness.
Through the awareness they have raised in their local community, they have inspired friends to join the team for the 2016 Great North Run, growing their fantastic team of volunteer fundraisers. Granddaughter Ellis has certainly got the running bug and along with Stewart will be taking part in the Morpeth to Newcastle marathon this year as well.
The Kertons’ passion, spirit and dedication to supporting the HDA is astounding – thank you!
Margaret Sutherland
Keen dancer Margaret Sutherland, from St Helens, has been a dedicated HDA supporter for many years and uses her passion for line dancing to raise funds and awareness of HD. Along with a loyal group of friends, Margaret organises two events each year which are hugely popular and well attended. Margaret puts her all into these events and even uses her own money to buy prizes for the raffle, which is always a big hit on the night. Margaret’s husband Arthur, who had Huntington’s disease, sadly passed away but is remembered fondly at each event. Margaret’s dedication to supporting the HDA is phenomenal and we would like to thank her for all she has done for us over the years.
Olive Arnold
Olive Arnold, from Herefordshire, has been a wonderful HDA volunteer for over 6 years. Olive has taken part in the Cardiff half marathon, raising significant funds and awareness of HD.
Olive has been integral in helping us to secure a substantial grant from the Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity, for which we are enormously grateful.
We would like to thank Olive for the continual commitment and enthusiasm she has shown to supporting the HDA over many years.
Charles Shetcliffe & The Ship Of Fools Theatre Company
Charles Shetcliffe, from London, is the artistic director of The Ship of Fools Theatre Company.
In 2015 the company took their dynamic and evocative show on a UK wide tour. Charles used the tour of ‘From the Cradle to the Bin’ as a way to raise awareness of Huntington’s disease, while also raising crucial funds for the HDA.
After every show Charles gave a moving talk about Huntington’s disease to their audience members. This without a doubt raised vital awareness among many people who had never heard of the disease.
We would like to thank Charles and the Ship of Fools Theatre Company for their fantastic help and support to educate new audiences about HD.
Jamie Lake
Jamie Lake, from Plymouth, has been involved in fundraising and raising awareness for the HDA for many years.
In 2015 he organised a very successful charity ball and raffle evening, as well as an exhausting 50 mile walk which raised a fantastic amount of money and got lots of people involved.
Jamie has started his own online Huntington’s disease awareness campaign ‘Thumbs Up For HD’, encouraging people post a photo of themselves giving a thumbs up on social media. In addition to this, Jamie started a petition asking the government to help and support people who are affected by Huntington’s disease, which has received over 7,000 signatures so far.
Jamie was honoured in the Pride of Britain and Pride of Plymouth awards in 2015, receiving well-deserved recognition for all he has done to raise funds and awareness of HD.
If you thought he couldn’t fit any more in he will be giving a talk at our young person’s conference later this year. We are incredibly grateful for Jamie’s commitment to increasing the profile of the disease amongst the public and raising vital funds for the HDA.
Vote
We need your input into this fantastic award, so please cast your vote now!