On Thursday 16th March, the High Sheriff of Suffolk Edward Creasy, SCF’s Tim Holder and BBC Suffolk’s very own Lesley Dolphin and Luke Deal once again took to the airwaves of BBC Radio Suffolk to present the 2022 High Sheriff’s Awards.
Although we could not be together in person for the event, usually held at Wherstead Park, it was still important to celebrate Suffolk’s wonderful volunteers, charities and community groups and what better way to do so than LIVE on the radio!
The High Sheriff then visited all the winners to present their awards, with the company of the Award’s sponsors and Suffolk Community Foundation team members.
With a record number of entries of incredibly high quality, it was a real challenge to identify the High Sheriff Awards winners this year, and I would like to thank everyone who applied. The grant process re-emphasised how lucky Suffolk is to have so many wonderful organisations supporting our communities across the county. I am really grateful to BBC Radio Suffolk for allowing us to make the awards live, and whilst we are not yet in a position to celebrate the event in person, we are going to visit all the winners to present them with their awards over the coming days.
2022 High Sheriff’s Awards winners…
Volunteer of the Year Award (Under 30)
Jordan Dunbar – New Skill Centre & Inspiring Aspirations
Jez Perry – Volunteer Police Cadet at Suffolk Constabulary
Laura Ayling – Felixstowe Coastguard & East of England Ambulance Service
Volunteer of the Year Award (Over 30)
Lesley Ford-Platt – Hive, River Stour Trust, Rotary, School Governor, Sudbury Market Town Partnership
I’m amazed and very grateful to receive this prestigious award. It was a lot of work to raise all the money needed to buy the former Church in order to create the Hive Community Hub, but this would not have been possible without the generous support of private individuals and grant-making trusts. My thanks to them for sharing my belief in the Hive project and for helping us to reach our funding target.
Suffolk’s Caring Community Award Winner
IP17 Good Neighbour Scheme
Supporting the Isolated Award Winners
Suffolk Libraries
ActivLives
We’re absolutely delighted to have won this award which recognises the remarkable commitment, professionalism and empathy of all Suffolk Libraries staff over the past two years. They have driven so many new ideas and initiatives to reach out to people.
High Sheriff Annual Award Winner
Newmarket Pony Academy
Group of the Year Award Winners
Kernos Centre
Storehouse Foodbank
St Elizabeth Hospice
Just wonderful to be celebrating #TeamSuffolk heroes again. all the nominees and High Sheriff Award winners, but today’s event provides a really important platform to thank everyone who makes a difference in our county. It’s been a very tough couple of years as our voluntary sector moved mountains to find new ways to support rising numbers of people in need. Today, with a really tough road back to normality still to be travelled, so many thousands more people in Suffolk are facing financial hardship and the appalling choice between heating their homes and putting a healthy meal in the table for themselves and their families. We have never needed our volunteers and the charities and community groups who support them more. Thank you for all you are doing to re-build local lives. Equally, the team at Suffolk Community Foundation would be hugely grateful to hear from anyone in a position to provide financial support for this important work. Emergency support to help people in Suffolk now with their immediate needs can be given to Suffolk’s Surviving Winter Appeal, please donate what you can afford using the button below.
High Sheriff’s Fund Awards £35,543 to 16 Suffolk charities and community groups
Groups awarded grants from the High Sheriff's Fund
Alumah CIO
Brandon PCC
Catch 22
Combat 2 Coffee CIC
Inspire Suffolk
Lighthouse Women’s Aid
MN Well-Child Support CIC
Ormiston Families
Restitute
Room 4
Selig (Suffolk) Trust
SOS Bus
Suffolk Rape Crisis
Suffolk Young People’s Health Project
The Mix Stowmarket
Walton Parish Nursing