Unsung heroes recognised for community work by High Sheriff

The 21 winners, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, all received a High Sheriff’s Award at a special ceremony at Oxford Town Hall

The awards. handed out on Tuesday, are designed to recognise those who go the extra mile to help others.

This year High Sheriff Richard Venables was particularly looking for people who volunteer for sporting initiatives, work in mental health or with children.

More than 60 nominations were received and Mr Venables said he was delighted to meet the winners and hand out certificates.

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He said: “This was an opportunity to celebrate the unsung hero but it was also an honour to meet these inspirational people and a humbling experience to see the selfless work they give back to their own communities and causes.

“The nominations come from their own communities and organisations and so have special meaning.

“The story behind each award winner may differ but none of them feel they are deserving of the accolade which makes me believe we have identified the right people.’’

A special group award was presented to Angela Turton, Head of the Oxfordshire County Music Service and the Buddy Ensemble, a group of 650 singers, musicians and performers from secondary schools - half were able-bodied and half were disabled.

They came together over a five-month period which then culminated in a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in the Music for Youth Proms in November last year and bought the house down with a standing ovation.

Ms Turton said: “This very special award recognises some innovative work that hadn’t been done at this national festival before where children with special needs and disabilities were able to be put on the same platform as able bodied children and perform the same piece, giving them status and recognition.”

The ceremony marked the last major event of Mr Venables’ year as High Sheriff and he will hand over to Lady Jay of Ewelme at Oxford Crown Court on April 9.

During his tenure, Mr Venables has focused his attention on young people, with special emphasis on sport development in the most deprived areas as well as raising awareness of mental health issues in secondary schools and colleges.

Mr Venables added: "It has been a privilege to serve Oxfordshire in this wonderful year which has been a personal voyage of discovery."

The role of honour includes people from across the county.

Frances Simmons of Marcham has been a committee member of the Oxfordshire Deaf Children’s Society for more than 30 years and has twin daughters who are both deaf. She set up singing and music classes for deaf children and families in her home and was involved in the refurbishment of the Oxford Deaf Centre. Ms Simmons also runs a community café in Marcham and works with youth in church groups.

Lucy and Tony Quinn set up Wallingford Table Tennis Club in 1978 and developed a strong youth section in co-operation with Wallingford School while remaining almost entirely self-funded. Mrs Quinn has also run German classes for 33 years and led pub music and folk sessions for 26 years.

Abi Johnson has helped lead the Sandford-on-Thames Talking Shop project for the last eight years. She helped develop it from an idea in 2010 to a thriving community hub with three paid staff and 100 volunteers. Ms Johnson also helped with the funding and redevelopment of the village hall.

John Cornelius from Dorchester has spent 12 Years volunteering with Youth Challenge Oxfordshire. He has worked with hundreds of vulnerable young people from Berinsfield for up to 15 months before accompanying them to Kenya for a life changing experience.

Nicola Baugh from Woodstock joined the Oxford Magistrates Bench in 1987 and will retire in 2019. She has spent many years on the advisory board for choosing new magistrates.

Ellie Payne from Littlemore teaches in Wheatley Park School working with students struggling with mainstream schooling. She spends double her contracted hours supporting children and families in crisis day and night and has helped one student gain GCSE results when he was thrown out of his home at exam time. She is also a governor of The Oxford Academy.

Joan Stonham provides a key channel of communication for residents of Eynsham.

She organises, edits and distributes the Eynsham News six times a year to every household free of charge keeping the community informed and connected.

Helen Le Brocq from Bicester has led the Oxford Youth Arts Partnership for 20 years ensuring that it engages with the most vulnerable young people in the county while supporting emerging young artists. Since 2005, OYAP has worked with 20,000 young people in Oxfordshire.

Pat Tucker started the Launton Lines publication in 1995 and ran it for 22 years. She has also played a key role in the local WI, pantomimes, community woodland projects and the historical society. She has also written several books about Launton.

Steve Butcher from Chalgrove set up Oxford Lowland Search and Rescue in 2008 to help police to locate missing people. OxSAR has been involved with 470 searches, 68 in 2018, saving more than 40 lives.

Denise O’Donnell from Oxford is an inspirational specialist nurse who runs the liver disease service at the John Radcliffe Hospital. She has driven programmes for patient care not only within the hospital services in Oxford, but throughout the county.

Juliet Hope from Bucknell set up the Start organisation 12 years ago to help reduce re-offending by supporting ex-offenders into self-employment. Over the last three years, the project has focused on helping vulnerable young women in Oxfordshire move away from the criminal justice system.

David Graham is a postman who is trusted and appreciated by residents of Buckland for his personal communication skills.

Margaret Shergold from Woodstock has provided a free and voluntary nail clipping service to elderly people in the Wheatley area.

Alex Williams from Blackbird Leys has worked with the RAW organisation introducing new ideas to help people with mental health issues.

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Gary Hibbins has worked with young people and youth clubs for the Damascus charity over the last 10 years. He has been involved with several other youth charities most recently as manager of the Abingdon Bridge. He launched the SMART workshop in 2018 delivering this programme to schools to tackle the link between social media and mental health.

Kanta Kumari Gopal from Abingdon has worked with the Oxford Mela Festival for several years promoting musical arts, diversity and positivity.

Peter Pearce from Faringdon has been a supporter of the MS Trust for many years. An MS sufferer himself, he has gone above and beyond in raising the profile of the condition. He recently cycled 360 miles from London to Amsterdam raising more than £4,500.

Robert Caston from Charlbury has overseen the village recreation ground for the last 10 years.

Keith Gowing has been involved in running the Villager Community Bus from Churchill and Sarsden throughout West Oxfordshire as chairman, driver and fundraiser supporting six buses and 40 drivers.

For further information visit the website highsheriffoxford.co.uk