Leicestershire Cares, the award-winning charity dedicated to fostering community engagement and support, held its much-anticipated annual awards night, shining a spotlight on the remarkable volunteers and businesses that have made significant contributions to education in the past year. Kieran Breen, CEO, kicked off the evening with heartfelt thanks and a warm welcome to all attendees.
Joining the team in February, Bella highlighted the successes of the year and expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the employment sessions. "We really couldn’t run them without you," she stated, acknowledging the profound impact these sessions have had on students.
Will Teece, Headteacher of Brookvale Groby Learning Campus, a partner school of Leicestershire Cares, was invited to present the Education awards, symbolizing the strong partnership between the charity and local schools. Mr Teece gave a brilliant speech about the importance of bringing our business volunteers into schools and the impact it has on students. A robust and varied careers education is vital for the growth and development of young people, to show them the world of work and the different opportunities available to them.
It really was a great and inspiring event
Will Teece, Headteacher at Brookvale Learning Campus
The "Education Volunteer of the Year" award celebrates individual volunteers who have shown exceptional commitment to attending our education events over the year. To the faces we begin to recognise regularly and to those who can be called on at short notice to support our work. Nominees included Tracy Renshaw from Samworth Brothers, Danielle Young from Nelsons Law, Michelle Stephenson from Cambridge & Counties Bank, and Jessica Kalar from Sytner. The accolade was awarded to Danielle Young from Nelsons Law for her outstanding commitment and support.
Danielle has become a very familiar face at our education events and she inspires her colleagues to get involved with the project as well. Thank you Danielle, for bringing such value to the project and volunteering your time to support the work we do!
I am so very proud to have been awarded the Education Volunteer of the Year Award for 2024. I see so much value in all the education events run by Leicestershire Cares. I don’t remember having such opportunities available to me when I was at school but know that I would have benefited from them significantly. It is always a joy and incredibly rewarding to take part in the events. You can see first-hand the difference it makes with nervous students walking in but happy and more confident students walking out. It may open their eyes to different career options, or just simply give them some experience and confidence in speaking to others, learning key skills for future interviews and workplaces. These students are our future, and I am passionate about supporting them through these great education projects run by Leicestershire Cares. Of course, huge thanks must also go to Bella, Amy, and the whole team at Leicestershire Cares for everything they do behind the scenes to organise the education events. Without them, none of this would happen and it is my absolute pleasure to work alongside them. Together we can.
Danielle Young, Nelsons Law - Education Volunteer of the Year