Volunteer of the Year Award 2012

RELAYS Schools Events Co-ordinator at Plymouth University, Jo Reed, who made the nomination said, ‘Jess fully deserves to win this award because of her genuine enthusiasm and commitment to volunteering, her hands-on practical approach and her amazing dedication. She has never turned down a volunteering opportunity with RELAYS and, on a couple of occasions, has taken time off work or swapped shifts to ensure she can make events. She is a truly committed RELAYS team member!!’

Jess has volunteered with RELAYS since April this year. She has dedicated a lot of time to the RELAYS project, particularly in the lead up to the Devon Games to Inspire.

Jess volunteered her time to pull together the Exeter schools team for this year’s Games which, due to lack of funding, nearly did not exist. In her voluntary role, Jess had to liaise with parents of participants and team managers for each of the 14 sporting events held – this involved being the main point of contact, sending out consent forms, receiving information and managing excel spreadsheets that were used by the sports team managers and coaches.

On the day of the Games, held in Okehampton and attended by more than 1,200 children aged between seven and 16, Jess timed and counted laps in the swimming pool as part of the triathlon.

Jess also volunteered her time at the Summer Devon Ability Games to Inspire, where she worked with over 250 young people with disabilities, assisting with the rowing and tennis sports sessions, setting up the event and clearing away.

She has also worked at the Summer School Games running arts activities and the DASH Day in July. DASH is for looked-after children from across Devon.

Jess is keen to carry on volunteering from September during her last year at Exeter University.

Project Director, Leanne Dingle said ‘Volunteering has been the backbone of the RELAYS project and Jess epitomizes the inspirational quality of our volunteers. Over the last four years, RELAYS has placed nearly 7,500 volunteers and so, to be recognized as our Volunteer of the Year Award 2012, really demonstrates what a truly remarkable person Jess is.’

RELAYS (Regional Educational Legacy in Art and Youth Sport) runs an exciting programme of festivals and events across the South West. Led by Universities South West, it is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity that has been set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games and HEFCE (The Higher Education Funding Council for England).