Volunteering Awards 2025: Winners

Winner: Pam Brannigan

Pam has been at the heart of Our Lady Immaculate and St Andrew Parish in Hitchin for many decades, and her presence is felt across every corner of parish and community life. She has raised thousands of pounds for a wide range of causes, through regular Sunday coffee mornings that bring parishioners together while supporting charities like CAFOD, Diapalante and the Hitchin Pantry. Pam’s leadership in co-ordinating the Michaelmas Fair for several years created a beloved parish tradition, bringing together parishioners, locals and friends.  

Beyond fundraising, Pam volunteers with Feed Up Warm Up and the Hitchin Pantry, offering hands-on help to those in need. She also previously ran the Gateway Club for adults with disabilities, and continues to host a weekly house prayer group. Pam also supports with driving elderly parishioners and serving as a reader and Eucharistic Minister. Incredibly, she does all this and more while being a devoted mother, Headmistress at a local Catholic primary school, and serving as an RE inspector for the diocese. Whatever the occasion, her service is given with joy: her nominator says that ‘she is calm, wise, and has a wonderful sense of humour. We are extraordinarily lucky to have her in our parish.’ 

Winners: Morgan Lye & Gosia Marcinek

Morgan and Gosia (centre) are a dynamic pair whose leadership of the St Vincent de Paul Society has transformed parish life at St Mary’s in Chelsea. For over a decade they have run the Good Friends Café, serving breakfasts to between 20 and 30 people each month. With china, tablecloths and homemade bread, they ensure that every guest feels valued and welcomed. Their imaginative spirit extends to festive lunches for the elderly, Easter celebrations for guests of Caritas Bakhita House, and countless other acts of joyful service.  

Alongside this, Morgan and Gosia also provide practical support to the homeless by fundraising to provide sleeping bags and distributing ‘Vinnie packs’ containing winter essentials. They bring together young people, professionals and parishioners of all ages to share in their mission, creating a sense of unity across generations. The laughter, music, and fellowship that fill their events are proof of their ability to nurture community. 

Winner: Anthony Njoku

At just 17 years old, Anthony Njoku has already become a leader at Our Lady and St Catherine of Siena Parish in Bow. When the parish suddenly lost its Master of Ceremonies, Anthony quietly stepped forward without being asked. Despite his youth, he took on the responsibility of guiding and training younger altar servers, ensuring that the liturgy continued to be celebrated with due reverence. This act of service helped the parish community navigate a time of grief and transition.  

Anthony’s service goes beyond liturgical duties, too. He often checks in on fellow altar servers when they are unwell, offers encouragement to younger members of the parish, and models compassion through his quiet, consistent acts of care. Parishioners and clergy describe him as dependable, thoughtful, and deeply committed to his faith, while his peers look up to him as a friend and leader. In Anthony, the parish sees the future of the Church: a young person willing to take on responsibility, form others, and offer service with humility. 

Winner: 2025 Lourdes Pilgrimage Redcap Team

This group of around 65 young volunteers aged between 17 and 20 were an incredible witness to love in action during this year’s diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. Their mission was to support elderly and less mobile pilgrims, many of whom rely on assistance to participate fully in liturgies, processions, and other events. The work was physically demanding — pushing wheelchairs up steep hills, navigating crowded processions, and braving long hours in the rain and heat — but the Redcaps never faltered. Instead, they carried out their service with smiles and infectious energy, creating a spirit of joy that lifted pilgrims and fellow volunteers alike. Their nominator says: ‘They were present and attentive in all they did, in both the physical aspect and the soft skills they brought to their role.’ 

Other pilgrims spoke of the Redcaps as companions rather than helpers, as friends who walked with them every step of the way. In moments of fatigue or frustration, the Redcaps responded with patience and cheer. Their solidarity transformed challenges into opportunities for grace, and demonstrated how young people can model resilience, compassion and joyful service. 

The Year 5 students at St Mary Magdalen’s in Willesden Green have brought new life to their parish community through their acts of kindness. For the last year, they have volunteered to host refreshments after Mass every fortnight, offering tea, biscuits and smiles to parishioners. What began as a simple act of service has become an important moment of connection, especially for elderly parishioners who live by themselves and describe these interactions as the highlight of their week. Their nominator notes that ‘what truly distinguishes them is their ability to build real, meaningful relationships with parishioners. The children don’t just “help out”—they listen, share stories, laugh, and learn.’  

The students from Cardinal Wiseman School in Greenford demonstrated extraordinary faith and compassion during their pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee of People with Disabilities. Partnering with Caritas St Joseph’s, these young volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure that pilgrims with disabilities were supported, whether it was by pushing wheelchairs in the hot sun, assisting with drama performances, or bringing comfort amid the challenges of every pilgrimage. Their service was marked by patience, gentleness and respect, and left a lasting impression on fellow pilgrims. Their nominator said: ‘Nothing was too much trouble for them, and they threw themselves into all the tasks they were given with enthusiasm and love.’  

Winner: George Rego

For more than 30 years, George has been a pillar of St Joan of Arc parish in Highbury: if you have a question about a parish matter, you’ll almost certainly be told to ‘ask George’! And it’s easy to see why: he supports with everything from finance and administration to sacristy preparation, building bookings, and caring for housebound parishioners. George is present at every major event and activity, ensuring that every need is met.   

George stands out for his spirit of service and humble, discreet leadership, never seeking recognition but always doing more than expected. He lifts others up by noticing their gifts and offering encouragement. His dedication extends beyond the parish to support for the Catholic Worker movement and social justice initiatives, but his deepest impact is on the local and personal level: in visiting the isolated, encouraging the young, and ensuring that his parish is always a place of welcome and care. 

Winner: Patricia Farrell

For more than 17 years, Patricia has been the driving force of the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) in Stevenage. Serving as president of St Hilda’s parish conference for 12 years, she has dedicated herself to the spiritual and material needs of her community with remarkable perseverance. Despite now being in her 80s, Pat remains on-call at all hours, responding to requests to visit the sick, deliver food parcels, or arrange funerals for families in need.   

When the pandemic struck, Pat converted her own home into an SVP hub, coordinating aid when the regular structures of support were disrupted. Her house became a beacon of hope, where calls for help were met with immediate action. Pat embodies the Vincentian spirit, living out her faith in every encounter and inspiring fellow volunteers to match her dedication and love. Her nominator says: ‘Pat’s determination and commitment to helping people, whoever they are, and doing so with a motherly, faith-filled love is what sets Pat apart from others. Those of us who are decades younger look on in admiration at the work Pat does and try to emulate it.’ 

Winners: Neighbours in Poplar Volunteers

Neighbours in Poplar began during the COVID-19 lockdown, when many vulnerable residents of Tower Hamlets found themselves isolated and without support. What started as an emergency response quickly developed into a community of more than 60 volunteers, peeling vegetables, cooking meals, and delivering thousands of portions of food each week. The group benefits from the diversity of its members, which include retirees, parents, young professionals, and newcomers from Ukraine, India, and Africa. All are united by the simple conviction that no neighbour should be left behind.  

Alongside food, these dedicated neighbours also offer companionship, spending time with those who are isolated and often being their first port of call when they need medical help or a listening ear. They have accompanied people to hospital, attended funerals, and celebrated birthdays with those who might otherwise have marked the day alone. One beneficiary summed it up: ‘When I hear that knock on the door, I know I matter.’ 

Winners: Dónal MacCraith & Colum Moloney

Dónal and Colum founded the Brent Irish Advisory Service in the 1970s, to support Irish immigrants arriving in London who faced discrimination, isolation and hardship. Guided by compassion and faith, they built a community hub that continues to serve hundreds each year, through welfare advice, housing support and social programmes. For nearly fifty years, they have embodied the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, by standing with the poor, upholding human dignity, and fostering solidarity across generations.

Winner: Jacqueline Ugoala

For over 44 years, Jackie has been a cornerstone of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Holloway. Her life is marked by a tireless dedication to children, families and the wider community. As a mother and foster parent, she has welcomed more than 200 children into her home, offering not just shelter but love and care. Within the parish, she has served in almost every capacity: leading youth groups, running confirmation classes, co-ordinating fundraising events, and most recently helping to establish the parish foodbank, which now supports over 65 households weekly. Her ability to see a need and respond to it has made her a trusted figure across generations.  

During the pandemic, Jackie mobilised volunteers to support shielding households, ensuring that no one was left without essentials or companionship. Today, she continues to serve as a school governor and chair of the parish finance committee, balancing practical leadership with pastoral sensitivity. Parishioners recall stories of her driving across London in the middle of the night to collect children in need of emergency foster care, or making discreet phone calls to check on isolated neighbours. Jackie’s is a true lifetime achievement: a legacy visible both in the structures she has helped to build and in the countless lives she has touched.