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Person announcing winner at Team London Volunteering Awards 2018

Mayor of London's Volunteering Awards

The Mayor of London joined the rest of the world, on International Volunteer Day 2020, Saturday 5 December, by thanking and recognising the invaluable contribution that volunteers make to creating safer, stronger and more resilient communities.  

This year, Londoners have pulled together to help the city’s most vulnerable people. Incredible efforts of volunteers have kept communities and neighbourhoods, supported and connected.  

Team London received hundreds of nominations and it was an almost impossible task to choose winning volunteers from the inspirational stories of the dedication and commitment of London’s volunteers in the face of the pandemic.  

What is different this year?

This year the GLA will grant a small amount of funding to the charity that has nominated the winning volunteers*

Each winning individual volunteer, or team of volunteers, will receive a personal thank you letter from the Mayor of London.

(*Any such award is subject to the organisation passing all due diligence checks to be undertaken the GLA and the execution and return to the GLA of a funding agreement, copies of which you will be provided with in due course. Any expenditure that the organisation incurs and/or to which its commits (including any which it may have incurred or committed to in relation to the preparation of its application for GLA funding) prior to satisfaction of both requirements are entirely at its own risk).

Watch The Mayor thank all Londoners for their service to our city:

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Mayor of London Volunteering Awards 2020 categories and winners

We are delighted to announce the winners of the Mayor of London Volunteering Awards 2020.

Volunteering which engaged with and supported the local community to ensure vital services, food, aid or equipment were delivered to members of the community.  This category included all volunteering that enabled an organisation’s reach to be extended across the wider community to support the most vulnerable people during the crisis.

Winners:

  • The Crisis Response Volunteers - Imperial Health Charity, Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster
  • Janet Irwin - St Nicholas's Church, Tooting, Wandsworth
  • Jaz Potter - Selsdon COVID-19 Response Team, Croydon
  • The Roconnect Volunteers - Roconnect, across London

This category recognises volunteering that supported organisational changes necessary to deliver services differently, to ensure vital support continued to be delivered during the crisis. This category included more digital and online volunteering, phone services taking the place of previously face-to-face services. Volunteer activities that were adapted to ensure the sustainability of support. 

Winners:

  • The Free2B volunteers - Free2B Alliance, Wandsworth
  • Integrated Community Service Volunteers - Islington MIND, Islington
  • Peer Led Check-in Volunteers - Outside Edge Theatre Company, across London
  • Divanio Crooks - Southside Young Leaders, across London

This category recognises those organisations that collaborated and worked in partnership with other organisations across community, borough or sector throughout the crisis. Nominations in this category included networks, organisations, Mutual Aid groups, church groups, community sport groups who worked together to coordinate a joint local response.   

Winners:

  • Gospel Temple Apostolic Church, The Tottenham Food Hub, The Felix Project - Haringey, Enfield
  • Archbishop’s Park Community Trust, Roots and Shoots SEN project - Lambeth
  • East African association, Streatham Academy Football Club - Lambeth
  • Evelyn Community Store Lewisham, Fareshare - Lewisham

A special acknowledgement of younger volunteers who showed outstanding commitment to their local community:

Winners:

  • Havering Volunteer Centre Young Volunteers

Past winners

Bringing Londoners Together

Improving Life Chances

Building Stronger Communities 

London’s Environment 

Activity and Wellbeing

  • Alan Beer Silverfit (Winner)
  • Andrew Longhurst Tapestry
  • Teresa Jackson Paddington Development Trust
  • Bea Teuten The Mulberry Centre
  • Cycle Sisters Volunteers
  • Future Youth Zone Activity Volunteers
  • The Maypole Project Activity Volunteers
  • North Meets South Activity Volunteers (Winner)
  • The Hurricanes - Gearies School & Hatton School (School winners)
     

Culture and Creative London

Interfaith Volunteering Award Winner

  • Bibi Rabbiyah
     

Long Service Award Winners

  • Eleanor Kinnear
  • Vivienne Belgrave
  • Christopher King
  • Emdad Rahman
  • Barbara Gates
  • Winston Belgrave
     

Young Volunteer of the Year Winner

  • Ida Saidy
     

Mayor's Special Achievement Award Winners

  • Bromley Youth Council
  • Kusai Rahal
  • Beni Mondua
     

Business in Action Winners

  • Depositary Trust & Clearing Corporation
  • Zendesk
     

Employer Supported Volunteering Winners

  • Network Rail Training Team
  • Just Eat
  • RBC Capital Markets
     

Crowdfund London Award Winner

  • Build Up Hackney

Individual volunteer or team award (under 25)

  • Isaac Skrzypczyk, Merton Volunteer Police Cadets (Merton) is a Cadet Ambassador who uses his experiences as a transgender person to support young people and particularly young LGBTQ cadets.
  • Deptford Green School Feminist Society (Lewisham) Students from Deptford Green School set up the Feminist Society to inspire girls to think about political and community leadership
  • Morden Urban Rangers (Merton) is a team of young volunteers who carry out conservation projects at Morden Hall Park providing opportunities for locals to get involved in looking after their green spaces 

Individual volunteer (over 25)

  • Thomas Pocock (Lewisham) is a Yes Futures Coach and volunteers with groups of disadvantaged young people teaching them to believe in themselves and arranging workplace visits
  • Antonia Cohen (Croydon) Antonia created The Refugee Cricket Project to bring young refugees together, improve their English and offer guidance with asylum applications
  • Llewellyn Alleyne, YMCA West London Llewellyn helps to run free community football sessions at Botwell Leisure Centre as well as a drop-in session for people with substance abuse issues

Volunteer team award

  • The Rainbow Club Supplementary School (Lewisham) provides emotional as well as educational support in English and maths for refugees and asylum seekers in South London
  • The Kambala Estate Residents Association (Wandsworth) Is run by residents and provides practical support to parents and carers of children with autism
  • #EveryBodyCanDance Dance Crew (Surbiton) created an inclusive fitness video produced by and featuring people with disabilities to encourage them to stay active

Business or corporate volunteering group award

  • C Space, Shaw Trust (Harrow) C Space volunteers equip Shaw Trust clients, including those with health conditions and disabilities, with vocational skills to help them into work
  • Capsticks LLP), Wimbledon Guild (Merton) Capsticks employees volunteer with Wimbledon Guild to hold gadget workshops helping older people make best use of their smart devices.
  • Mace Group, Hammersmith Community Gardens Association (Hammersmith and Fulham) Volunteers shared their technical expertise and skills to help complete large infrastructure projects on two of Hammersmith Community Garden’s site 

Innovative project or charity award

  • Mixed Martial Arts for Reform and Progression (Islington) uses Mixed Martial Arts to help young people develop life skills including health, education and financial responsibility
  • South West London Law Centres (various locations) provide free legal advice and representation to people who could not otherwise afford access to justice
  • Home for Good Volunteers (Westminster) provide community support for vulnerable and formerly homeless people who have been resettled and/or are facing isolation 

Young Londoner Award

  • Brogan Brooks, BoxUpCrime (across London) uses her DJing skills to provide inspirational music for young people to divert them from turning to crime
  • Nahimul Islam, Wapping Youth FC (Tower Hamlets) volunteers on a TV show that inspires peaceful integration. He launched his own football club and delivers talks on knife crime
  • Tanisha Barrett-Thomas, For Jimmy (Lewisham) Tanisha has a passion for raising awareness of youth violence in Lewisham. She now works with her peers on safety issues across the borough
  • Leyton Citizens, Leyton Sixth Form College (Waltham Forest) Students meet with local leaders to discuss how to support young people at risk of getting involved in youth violence
  • Hendon School’s Silence the Violence initiative raises awareness of issues surrounding gang affiliation and community safety through conferences and campaign days 

Long Service Award

  • Jean Chippendale (Westminster) has volunteered with Contact the Elderly for over 30 years, she ensures isolated people are assigned a volunteer driver so they can attend social events
  • Tony Catherall (Bromley) volunteers for Bromley Community Counselling Service where he set up the Debt Advice Service using his experience in banking to assist with debt problems
  • Sedley Wilson, Croydon People First (Croydon) Sedley is chair of Croydon People First, the self-advocacy organisation for people with learning disabilities in Croydon

Read more about the 2018 awards.

Community crowdfunding award           

Corporate volunteering in the community      

 Innovation in employee volunteering   

 Long service awards        

Mentoring & coaching 

My community         

Our environment     

Spirit of 2012 - school award       

Sports & healthy living

 Unilever - school award  

Volunteer centre award 

Read more about the 2016 awards.