We love our volunteers. So much that we hold an awards ceremony each year to thank all of the amazing individuals who go out of their way to improve The Union, University and wider community.

 

Nominations for the 2019 awards closed on 26 March, with the annual awards ceremony taking place on Friday 17 May.

This year, over 100 nominations were received. Twenty individuals who have made a real impact and shown true dedication to volunteering have been selected to receive an award.

They have helped bring about positive change for their fellow students or in the wider community. 

This year's winners are:

 

Femi Ade 

Society Committee Member

Femi was the driving force behind the African Caribbean Society’s Black Culture showcase this year, and what resulted was an evening of talent and variety, ranging from student performances of dance, drama and spoken word. Femi has also organised a wide range of debates and networking opportunities for students, and the number of members in the society has risen throughout the year, with 75 members currently. 

 

Chris Berrevoets  

Sport Volunteering Ambassador, Volunteer in the Community with the FA and Course Rep for Sports Management

Chris has been incredibly proactive in his own volunteering, as well as engaging other students to volunteer through his role as a Sport Volunteering Ambassador. He has gone above and beyond, not only to support volunteering events, but to support other student volunteers to get the most out of their experience. Outside of Chris' University volunteering, he acts as a youth representative within the FA and regularly volunteers at participation events across Manchester. Overall, Chris is an incredibly hard working, impressive and enthusiastic individual.

 

Nicholas Cave  

Society Committee Member, Volunteer in the Community with British Red Cross and GMP and Course Rep for Nursing

Nick was one of the founding members of the Nursing Society and has been a driving force behind their success this year – they won three awards at the Societies Awards, including Best Society. Alongside this, he has volunteered with the British Red Cross and Greater Manchester Police all whilst representing students on his course as a course rep and working 37.5 hours a week unpaid whilst on placement. His dedication to bettering the lives of those around him is truly inspiring.

 

Megan Derbyshire 

Volunteer in the Community with CLIC Sargent

Megan has really thrown herself into volunteering since starting in March last year. She won her own personal battle and used that drive and passion to better the lives of those in the community around her. From being a voluntary treasurer with her local American Football team to volunteering with Clic Sargent, supporting young people and their families deal with cancer, Megan's dedication is truly amazing.

 

Arran Embleton

Sports Club Committee Member

Arran has been an incredible committee member this year and has changed the way the Fencing team is viewed, creating one of the most inclusive team environments and actively giving up his time to promote LGBT+ inclusion within Sport. His team have often said how amazing he has been as a committee member and as a friend to all club members. He has incredible ideas and is very diplomatic, leading to many big wins for the team this year.

 

Grace Eyles

Sports Committee Member and Volunteer in the Community for Papyrus

Grace is a beacon of hope and positivity to all sports members at MMU. Through her passion and commitment, she has raised an amazing £3500 for Papyrus Suicide Prevention Charity through Netball’s Disco Dodge Ball and Pong Masters as well as her own personal marathon this year. Also being on both the Netball and Taekwondo committee, she has given up countless times to the running of both clubs. Having had a tough year, she has not given up and has instead given every moment to volunteering and making a positive difference for the people around her.

 

Maria Ferreira

NUS Delegate, Society Committee Member and Societies Council Rep

Maria has engaged with her NUS role for the second year in a row and has made an impact for both national and international student conferences. She is incredibly passionate about what she believes in, and has taken the time to speak to students about their concerns and issues. She is so dedicated to the student journey, inspiring others and being a driving force for change at an SU as well as a national level.

 

Amber Ghei

Course Rep for English

Amber is a great course rep, who works tirelessly to represent her peers studying English. She regularly provides useful and detailed feedback regarding her course, explaining what works well, what can be improved and offers new ideas for improvement for students’ experiences. Amber consults her course mates, ensuring she accurately represents all on her course. Now in her final year, but her hard work as a rep this year will ensure she leaves a fantastic legacy of an improved experience for English students.

 

Frankie Harrington  

Sports Club Committee Member

Frankie is always smiling and having a laugh, and alongside her full time degree, she has been very committed to the Netball club this year, organising three events for students at Cheshire by herself. This is as well as ensuring that in the final year of Cheshire, Netball has had an active and incredibly competitive team. Everyone who knows her says that everything is done with a smile and nothing is too much work for Frankie.

 

Heidi Henders

Course Rep for Contemporary Theatre and Performance, Society Committee Member and Cheshire Council Rep

Heidi has been a committed volunteer with The Union throughout her time studying at MMU’s Cheshire campus. She is an enthusiastic course rep who has represented her peers on Contemporary Theatre and Performance for a number of years, where her can-do attitude has never faltered. She’s also something of a celebrity in Cheshire, as all her volunteering activity means she knows almost every single person on the campus – and they’re always pleased to see her! We also shouldn’t forget to mention her contribution to the iconic “Crewesical the Musical”, which she helped create and performed in Cheshire in March, which immortalised and celebrated the Cheshire experience in its final year.

 

Saira Hillyard  

Student-Led Projects Ambassador and Campaigns Volunteer

Saira has recently become a student-led projects ambassador volunteer and also works with The Union's Campaigns Coordinator to run a new campaign to stamp out loneliness within the student community and further afield. Staff she has worked with say, ‘I have never met someone so passionate and engaged, and such a self-starter’. Saira goes above and beyond with all her responsibilities, working to develop her own role and indicating where she needs my support. She is a great team player and a delight to work with.

 

Laura Holmes 

Volunteer in the Community for CLI and Trafford Domestic Abuse Services

Laura has done so much this year for the CLI as well as the Trafford Domestic Abuse Services. Lives are being changed by the level of commitment and passion shown by Laura, and CLI feel privileged to have her as part of their team. Laura is encouraging, enthusiastic and she relishes the opportunity to support staff, service users and other volunteers at Trafford Domestic Abuse Services. She is a star volunteer and is an absolute asset wherever she goes.

 

Grace Knowles

Society Committee Member and Cheshire Council Rep

Grace has been an incredible volunteer for Genesis Theatre society for the past three years. She has directed, managed and took part in multiple shows each year, achieving all this while doing an intense theatre degree which has meant she is rehearsing and studying until very late into the night and sometimes the early mornings. Her peers says that Grace is incredibly dedicated and one of the most genuine people they have ever met.

 

Joe McCarthy

Sports Club Committee Member

Joe has shown true dedication in his role as Social Secretary for Rounder’s this year, and has been a huge part of transforming the club from a casual pay-as-you-go club with few committed members, to one of the strongest and most charitable groups at MMU. Joe is a kind and outgoing individual, and makes a huge effort to lead by example making the club a much more inclusive place to be.

 

Savannah Middleton  

Society Committee Member, Society Council Rep, NUS Women’s Delegate and Street2Feet Committee Volunteer

Savannah is the Chair of Uniboob and when she’s not handing out ‘Team Boobs’ stickers to everyone or fundraising to Coppafeel, she’s maintaining a social media presence or staffing stalls to raise awareness of breast cancer. Savannah is always busy here at The Union, whether that’s adding agenda points for the council, giving interviews as to why she volunteers, putting events on for Uniboob society, or going along to sports clubs training and society socials to talk all things boobs. Plus, Savannah recently won the Individual Awards for Outstanding Contribution at the National Societies Awards. Congratulations Savannah.

 

Holly Mumford  

Society Committee Member and Cheshire Council Rep

Holly has been an incredibly passionate and committed society member for three years. Throughout her time at Cheshire, she is the only person to ever sit on the Cheshire council for two consecutive years, and as the chair of Musical Theatre she has directed and produced all of their performances for the last two years. She is one of the most committed people when it comes to volunteering her time and effort, and will be very missed.

 

Daniel Roberts

Sports Club Committee Member, Sports Council Rep, Street2Feet Committee Volunteer and Course Rep for Sports Management

Now in his final year, Dan has been an active volunteer both this year and throughout his whole time at university. He has held various different volunteering positions including but not limited to Course Rep, Street2Feet Volunteer for the past three years, Sports Council volunteer, football committee volunteer and AOC and Winter college games volunteer. Dan is happy to do any role in any project that is required, and always does them with a positive, motivating attitude, and a smile on his face.

 

Evelyn Sweeney

Society Committee Member, Society Council Chair and NUS Women’s Delegate

Evelyn has been involved in Societies since starting at MMU. They showed massive amounts of devotion to societies by reaching out to others that had similar interests, helping host multiple events giving everyone a platform and an extra chance to improve the university experience for their members. They have taken that devotion to the next level as your Societies Council Chair and you can really see how far Evelyn has come, as well as the impact they have had on societies over their time at MMU. We look forward to seeing what they do as the Societies and Development Officer for 2019/20.

 

Raheema Valera

Volunteer in the Community with MetMUnch

Raheema is a super dedicated student, a mum of three and one of the most hard working MetMUnch volunteers. She’s not only helped educate kids from various local schools, but has carried out all tasks with responsibility and flair. She has constantly carried out community and nutrition volunteering activities and has acted as a leader for the younger volunteers. She is a role model to all mature students and shows how you can juggle a busy life with University and volunteering too.

 

Chloe Williams 

Society Committee Member

Chloe has turned the Physiotherapy Society around this year as its Chair. From having only six members last year, to 145 at the time of her winning the award, she has put support in place to ensure the society is sustainable for years to come. She has encouraged other societies to take heed from the lessons she has learnt, and is the perfect role model for all committee members.