The Diocese of Westminster’s ‘Love in Action’ Volunteering Awards are back for 2024, and after extensive deliberation, the judging panel have selected an impressive list of finalists. Read more about them below, and tune in to the livestream at 6.30pm on Thursday, 14th November to watch as the winners are announced.
St Thérèse of Lisieux Award
Cathy Russo
Cathy (right) has been volunteering at Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Bethnal Green for 25 years. She helps to coordinate tea and coffee after Mass and organises a variety of special events, including quiz nights, potlucks, jumble sales, and fundraisers, fostering connections among parishioners. Cathy also serves on the Parish Council, and has also been involved in Children’s Liturgy.
Teresa Lawrence-Hyde
Teresa has been at Our Lady Immaculate & St Andrew Parish in Hitchin for over 14 years. She serves as lead catechist for First Holy Communion candidates, and during the pandemic also assisted with online Baptism and Confirmation courses. In addition to overseeing the Children’s Liturgy team and training Eucharistic Ministers, she regularly takes Communion to the sick and housebound, and is the only volunteer member of her parish’s pastoral team.
St Thérèse of Lisieux Team Award
Friends of Welwyn Care Homes
About 15 years ago, Anne Horsman, a member of Our Lady Queen of the Apostles parish in Welwyn, gathered a small group of volunteers with the aim of fostering connections between the community and local care homes. The team visits several care homes, organizing various activities for residents such as afternoon tea, games and singalongs. Having started with a small group, the initiative has grown significantly, and is now recognized by the local council for voluntary service.
Westminster SVP Vinnie Pack Team
After witnessing the scandal of people dying on the streets, in 2011 the SVP launched an initiative to distribute 1,000 ‘Vinnie packs’ filled with cold-weather essentials to the homeless in the local area. The project grew quickly, and today provides tens of thousands of ‘Vinnie packs’ to people on the streets across England and Wales. The founding members, alongside hundreds of dedicated SVP volunteers, continue to ensure that ‘Vinnie packs’ remain a beacon of kindness and care in the community.
Parish Social Action Award
Yasko Kurahachi
Yasko volunteers at Farm Street Church in Mayfair, where she founded a Soup Run to provide essential items to homeless people in the local area. Her commitment to this ministry spans several years, and what truly sets Yasko apart is the love and respect she extends to everyone she serves. Her compassionate approach has profoundly impacted both the people she serves and her fellow volunteers, inspiring many to follow her lead in building meaningful relationships with those they assist.
Patricia Waugh
A parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes in Acton for 40 years, Patricia has been an active volunteer for over 20 years. She serves as the parish representative for Justice and Peace and promotes various CAFOD initiatives, as well as supporting Caritas Westminster and engaging with their Safe in Faith project to promote support for survivors of domestic abuse. Alongside this, Patricia serves as a Baptism Catechist and Confirmation group facilitator, and outside the parish she volunteers her financial expertise to help local charities.
Parish Social Action Team Award
CLCC Homeless Project Volunteers
Founded in 2020 in response to the pandemic’s impact on the homeless community, the Central London Catholic Churches (CLCC) initiative brings together volunteers from several parishes to serve those in need. The project began by serving refreshments in Trafalgar Square, and later grew into a restaurant-style lunch service hosted at the London Jesuit Centre, offerings hearty meals and other services like haircuts and a lending library. Driven by a commitment to human dignity, CLCC’s volunteers work tirelessly to foster community and solidarity, to truly make a difference in the lives of those they serve.
Newman House SVP Soup Run Team
The Newman House SVP Soup Run team, led by students Billie and Miriam, is dedicated to serving the homeless living around the Catholic Chaplaincy. With the support of over forty volunteers, the team prepares nourishing meals to bring to those in need. The volunteers seek to be attentive and loving towards those they encounter, and always take time to pray before each delivery. The team also organizes fundraisers and clothing drives to cater to more specific needs, ensuring every interaction reflects their mission to befriend those they minister to.
Primary School Social Action Award
Ann Molloy
Ann has been instrumental in creating a nurturing learning environment for students at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Infant School. A retired teacher who has since dedicated herself to volunteering, she takes great care in assisting students with maths and reading, ensuring that all children have the support they need. Beyond the classroom, Ann volunteers her time to accompany her students on school trips, making sure each child can participate fully and inspiring them to develop an appreciation for God’s creation.
St George’s Caritas Ambassadors
The Caritas Ambassadors at St George’s Catholic Primary School in Enfield are six students in Years 3, 5 and 6. They support the homeless charity Hands On, Hands Out, and held an Easter Appeal that raised over £200 in gift cards for coffee shops, as well as collecting other items for the homeless. The Ambassadors also set up a ‘Caritas Pops’ ice-cream stall at their school’s Summer Fayre, and continue to look for ways to serve and raise awareness about homelessness.
Secondary School Social Action Award
Helen Kiernan
Helen is the backbone of Newman Catholic College’s foodbank, which has been supporting local families in need since the lockdown in March 2020. Open every Friday afternoon, the foodbank has gone from serving 50 families in 2020 to a total of over 10,000 families in the last four years. Helen manages product orders and deliveries, ensuring the foodbank is consistently stocked with essential items. The school received recognition for these efforts in their recent Catholic School Inspection.
St Charles Chaplaincy Team
Ava-Jayne, Lulia, Lauren, Tamona and Farrah are students at St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. Each week, they volunteer as part of the Chaplaincy group at St. Charles Primary School, devoting many hours to reading with children and helping them develop their literacy and numeracy skills. By sharing their own experiences with younger students, they have also become trusted advocates who help to ease any anxieties about transitioning to secondary school.
Young Volunteer of the Year Award
Kai Shah
Kai is a student at St. Columba’s College, and at just 11 years old he is already an active volunteer who enjoys supporting those in need. For the last two years, Kai has volunteered with Maverick Humanity, an initiative focused on helping homeless and vulnerable people in London. Kai contributes by preparing and serving meals, engaging with people, and even running an educational workshop alongside the organization’s CEO. During school holidays, he travels to Camden to serve and support the charity’s work there.
Axel Rejas
Aged 19, Axel is the youngest volunteer at St Ignatius Church’s Social Apostolate in Stamford Hill, where he has dedicated the past year to helping the homeless and those in need. Axel plays a crucial role in meal preparation; the food he helps to prepare serves around 200 people over the course of three days. Always smiling and hardworking, he often assists with serving food and preparing hot drinks when other volunteers are unavailable, and has also taken the initiative to collect and donate clothing for the homeless.
Ron Palmer Lifetime Achievement Award
Mary Foster
For over 50 years, Mary has been a cornerstone of the community at Our Lady of Grace and St Edward’s parish in Chiswick. In the 1980s, she began running parenting classes for new parents, and co-founded a bereavement support group that continues to this day. Most notably, Mary co-founded ‘Acton Homeless Concern,’ a volunteer-run charity that offers hot meals, essential resources and advice to people experiencing homelessness in the local area.
Breda Kelleher
Breda has been serving the community at St. Mary Magdalen parish in Willesden for 50 years. Alongside helping with tea and coffee after Mass and helping to organise events for the parish, Breda is a long-term member and former treasurer of the Union of Catholic Mothers, and Chair of the parish’s Special Needs Group. Breda was also among the first laypeople to be appointed as a Eucharistic Minister, a role she cherishes as she brings joy and companionship to the housebound.
