Stratford has four volunteers chosen as champions
THE vital work of volunteers is celebrated with the Coronation Champion Awards this weekend and four volunteers from Stratford district are among the 500 champions selected nationally.
Thousands of people from all over the UK were nominated to receive the Coronation Champions Awards launched by the Royal Voluntary Service which honour the extraordinary volunteers across the country.
Brad Thomas from SPARK Youth Musicin Bearley is off to Windsor Castle for the Coronation Concert on Sunday. He – like other volunteers - will receive a certificate signed by King Charles and Queen Camilla and a coronation pin.
Brad’s volunteer work includes arranging entertainers and visiting residents
at Cherry Trees Residential Home in Alcester as part of St John Ambulance Health Citizens Programme.
“I enjoy conversations with the residents and know it’s helping combat their loneliness which was the initial focus of my social action project there. I’ve also involved some of my sixth form friends from St Benedict’s Catholic High School,” Brad said.
He goes to Leamington Brain Injury Rehabilitation Hospital each Saturday to help people recovering from brain injuries and Brad has also been instrumental with his brother – Sam – creating a music band for refugee and asylum seekers at SPARK.
Brad said: “I’m taking my brother Sam with me to the concert as he has also given hundreds of hours helping young people with music. We’re really excited to see Katy Perry and Lionel Ritchie on stage.”
Stratford’s Kyra Barboutis and Sophie Smith who run Hedgehog Friendly Town have devoted their spare time to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing hedgehogs back into the wild to help protect the animals and boost population numbers.
Their volunteer work started when they were young schoolgirls and they’ve been recognised with several awards for their volunteer work nationally.
They are both delighted to receive their certificates and pin badges and to be picked as one of the 500 out of the 5,000 nominations.
The girls say are very much looking forward to being at Windsor castle for the celebrations on Sunday.
A long-standing volunteer born in Stratford has been named as one of 500 Coronation Champions recognised for his volunteering work with communities and the railways.
Fraser Pithie, who grew up in and lived at Welford has been involved with railways since 1984 when he became involved with helping to stop British Rail’s second attempt to close the railway between Birmingham and Stratford.
Fraser has always been at the forefront campaigning for the railways and better public transport. An activity he remains involved in at Stratford and the communities along the railway into Birmingham.
Over the past three years, Fraser has engaged over 70 volunteers and led a new organisation called the Friends of the Shakespeare Line. It has successfully attracted over £450k of inward investment to the area leading to the current renovation of Henley derelict railway station building, a volunteer and visitor information hub at Stratford’s railway station, which is shortly due to open while also setting up the first UK based City and Guilds NVQ 2 Vocational Qualification for students at a secondary school along the line, Woodrush Academy, at Wythall.
This year the Friends of the Shakespeare Line are leading a project called “Bringing Shakespeare to the Shakespeare Line.” Developed by Angela Okey of Henley in Arden, a Trustee of FoSL and Fraser, the project will see William Shakespeare appear in statue form at every railway station along the railway line between Birmingham and Stratford with the volunteers at each station adopting their own Shakespeare play.
