Volunteers celebrated at inaugural University event

Staff and student volunteers from the University community were celebrated last week [27 April] at the inaugural Celebration of Volunteering awards, which took place at the Whiteknights campus.

The event brought together more than 150 students, staff, alumni, supporters, and members of the local community to recognise and celebrate the wide range of volunteering work being undertaken by members of the University community.

The evening also featured an inspiring speech from Nancy Mudenyo Hunt, who was born in Kenya and founded a UK charity to help people from her home country get out of poverty. Ms Mudenyo Hunt received an honorary degree from the University in December 2022. 

Working in partnership with Reading Students’ Union (Reading SU), the University made awards across six categories:

• Staff Volunteer of the Year (on and off campus)
  • Nathan Helsby – has run a free community choir and has been a coach for Whiteknights Football Club for the last 10 years.
  • Gurinder Purewal – encouraged vaccine uptake among faith groups and homeless people during the pandemic.
• Student Volunteer of the Year (on and off campus)
  • Ramandeep Nijjar – numerous voluntary roles, including Green Volunteers and co-running the Hedgehog Society.
  • Juliane ten Hoevel – works with a Reading-based charity helping to tackle period poverty, and with the Foodshare programme at Wycliffe Baptist Church.
• Alumni and Supporter Volunteer of the Year
  • Jack Abrey – narrates books to enable blind and partially sighted children to access a wide variety of educational topics.
  • Hilary Withey – works with ABC Nepal, an organisation supporting women and girls who have been victims of trafficking, rape and domestic violence.
  • Clive and Sheila Payne – members of the local community who pick up litter on campus.
• RSU Fundraiser of the Year
  • Rizzy Burrow – raised over £2,400 for charity by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
• RSU Community Project of the Year
  • University of Monsters – a project giving local primary school children a taste of university life.
• RSU Student Project of the Year
  • Marrow – a student society that fundraises and recruits new donors to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register. 

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “We have many volunteers in our University community, doing such a wide variety of volunteering roles. It was fantastic to come together to give these people the recognition they deserve. I was incredibly inspired to hear all of the volunteering stories and learn more about the impact these have on our surrounding communities.”

Ramandeep Nijjar, winner of Student Volunteer of the Year, said: “I’ve always loved volunteering. It allows me to make a positive difference, even if it’s just a small difference. It’s really lovely when you get to meet other people that have that same passion or interest that you do and you can collectively unite to make a bigger impact together.”

Tom Woolmer, nominee for Staff Volunteer of the Year, said: “Football has a really powerful role to play in engaging young people. Playing in a team gives them something to be proud of. The power of volunteering and the impact it can have on the community, whether it’s young people or elsewhere, is really positive.”

170 nominations were made in total. Details of all the winners, nominees and their voluntary activity can be found on the Celebration of Volunteering website.

An exhibition will also be on display in the Library foyer from 2-5 May.