We have not just one but two winners who we were thrilled to see win on Saturday at the Didcot Town Council‘s Community Awards 2024
It was a Play2Give takeover at the awards evening, held on Saturday evening at the Civic Centre, as we had several of our team nominated and shortlisted across five different categories showing the amazing work and breadth of fantastic contributions our charity makes in the community with just some of outstanding volunteers recognised.
Winning first was our littlest member of the team, Harry, who won ‘Young Volunteer of the Year’.
Harry was shortlisted for the Young Person Award for all of his work helping Play2Give from helping to sort out through toys and gifts for Christmas campaign, Sleigh2Give, to helping out on some of our stalls to being an ambassador for the charity at school. Harry is in year 9 at St Birinus School in Didcot and was described as always being enthusiastic, passionate, and a lovely young man.
Harry was taken up with his victory and was nominated with Lexi, a young volunteer of many years at Helen & Douglas House charity shop in the town.
Our very own Santa – Chris Coates – was the winner of the ‘Service with a Smile’ Award – for the joy and smiles he brings with warmth as Didcot Santa, attending many events in the town, and last Christmas helping to deliver all of our toys and gifts to children in hospital and hospices in Oxford. He has been Didcot’s Santa for the past six years and keeps receiving more and more bookings from residents. He even delivered joy with gifts to a local care home in 2019.
Chris was also nominated for Unsung Hero for his service as Santa alongside other nominees including businessman James Gesner who has raised thousands of pounds for Footsteps Foundation and other good causes and Tesco community champions Elaine and Becci, whilst both long-service volunteers and our dynamic duo, Dave and Linda Latter, were shortlisted in the ‘John Eldridge Award for Voluntary Service’. Dave and Linda were shortlisted alongside Andy Baker, our very own brain injury survivor, who attends Oxford Head Injury Service. Andy has been nominated every year for this prestigious award for several years but has never yet to date won the award. Andy was also shortlisted for the Lifetime Achievement award, alongside the amazing Didcot Christmas Day meals heroine Anna Gatrell, for his two decades of tireless fundraising across 23 years and in making a difference since he began raising money at the age of 14 for Oxford Children’s Hospital, and Monica Kendall, who has been volunteering since 1989 at the Fleet Meadow Community Hall in the town. Monica was this year’s Lifetime winner.
We are so proud of Harry, Chris and all of the nominees and to everyone who continually supports our tiny charity all year round helping us in changing, transforming and saving lives across Oxfordshire. And our thanks go to the town council for supporting us and including us in an impressive shortlist of people and groups making life better in the town.
