'Ma Smith' misses out on Pride of Britain award (From Oxford Mail)
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'Ma Smith' misses out on Pride of Britain award
7:05pm Monday 15th October 2012 in News
A volunteer who has run a soup kitchen for the homeless in the city for more than two decades missed out on a Pride of Britain award.
Icolyn ‘Ma’ Smith, from Cowley, started a soup kitchen for the homeless 22 years ago from the Asian Cultural Centre in Manzil Way, East Oxford.
Every Wedneday, Mrs Smith, 81, and other volunteers cook a roast dinner at the centre for about 50 homeless people.
In 1998, Mrs Smith was awarded an MBE for her services to disadvantaged people and was nominated for a Pride of Britain award, an annual celebration of unsung heroes run by ITV and the Daily Mirror.
She was chosen as one of four regional nominees in Meridian’s Local Hero category, but lost out in going through to the finals to another nominee from Portsmouth.
