The Voluntary Awards for Leicester & Leicestershire (VALL) 2019

The first annual awards to celebrate the fantastic contribution volunteers, charities and community groups make in Leicester and Leicestershire.

On 5 November 2019, we were proud to host our first annual Voluntary Awards for Leicester and Leicestershire (VALLs) to celebrate the positive impact volunteers and charities have on our local community.

The awards took place at Leicester’s Morningside Arena and were sponsored by Morningside Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which manufactures and suppliers quality Generic and Branded medicines to the UK and International markets.

The ceremony was hosted by BBC Radio Leicester presenter Rupal Rajani and Voluntary Action LeicesterShire’s Kevin Allen-Khimani. Kevin is VAL’s Executive Manager for Public Sector Contracts and Projects, and he came up with the idea of the VALLs as a way to recognise the important role played by thousands of voluntary organisations across the city and county, and the vital services they provide within their communities. VAL received 432 nominations for 11 award categories. He said:

“It was amazing to see it come to life, you could see how much passion was in the room from all the people and charities talking about what they do. We are so grateful for the sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to pull it off without their support – It’s been brilliant.”

View the winner’s from The VALL Awards 2019 here:

1. City Charity of the Year (Sponsored by Action Coach)  – The Bridge Homelessness to Hope
2. City Small Charity of the Year (Sponsored by Next) – Sound Café Leicester
3. County Charity of the Year (Sponsored by Freeths Solicitors) – Bodie Hodges Foundation
4. County Small Charity of the Year (Sponsored by BHIB Insurance Brokers) – The Well Harborough
5. Trustee of the Year (Sponsored by Voluntary Action LeicesterShire) – Linda Jones
6. Volunteer-Led Organisation of the Year (Sponsored by Zinthiya Trust) – Woodhouse & Woodhouse Eaves Good Neighbour Scheme
7. Volunteer of the Year (Sponsored by Dluxe Magazine) – Emma Hallam
8. Social Enterprise of the Year (Sponsored by East Midlands Chamber) – Dear Albert
9. Voluntary Sector Ally of the Year (Sponsored by Business 2 Business) – Caterpillar UK Limited
10. Overall Charity of the Year(Sponsored by Morningside Pharmaceuticals) – Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves Good Neighbourhood Scheme
11. Lifetime Achievement Award (Sponsored by Voluntary Action LeicesterShire) – Rick Moore