Monday 30-05-2022 - 10:34

Volunteers who have demonstrated outstanding dedication to volunteering whilst at university received the High Sheriff Awards. The awards evening took place in the brand-new Activities Hub, with Dr Dewi Roberts, previous High Sheriff, Iwan Davies the Vice Chancellor and Marian Wyn-Jones the Chair of the University Council.

The award was introduced in 2007 when the then High Sheriff and University Council Member, Dr Dewi Roberts and his late wife, Dr Sheila Roberts wanted to award and recognise the contribution that Bangor University students make to the local community through voluntary work.

This year, four individual awards were awarded along with two group awards. Grug Evans was one of the individual recipients of the award. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people within our community were isolated and lonely, therefore it was so important that our in-person elderly events returned. Grug is a volunteer for our elderly projects and volunteers with Hafan Café every week; a place for the community to meet up with friends, and chat with our volunteers. Grug has organised activities for Hafan Cafe, including arranging for Aelwyd JMJ to sign at the St David’s Day celebrations and at the Dementia Friendly Showing of Mamma Mia with Pontio as well as the Tea Party where service users are picked up from their houses and attend a free afternoon tea, with bingo and entertainment.

Sbectrwm is a student led project providing a weekly play session for autistic children and their siblings. A group of enthusiastic student volunteers organise the activities which provides the children with a safe space to develop and have fun.  The kids look forward to Spectrwm every week and the parents and carers really appreciate the hard work of the volunteers.

El Mifflin is one of the project leaders for the Sbectrwm project and was presented with a personal award for their commitment to Student Volunteering Bangor and their position on the Volunteering Executive Committee as the Children’s Representative. El has been fundamental in supporting all of our kids clubs, recruiting more service users and getting them back up and running after Covid-19.

Sblat was another group commended for their hard work. Sblat is an activity group for local children living in the surrounding areas of Bangor; the volunteers organise transport and different activities for the children every week, from trips to Snowdonia Donkeys, to crafts, sports and scavenger hunts.  The kids love attending and it is great to see them develop their skills and increase their confidence as they attend the sessions.

Effie Cawley is the project leader for Sblat and has done a fantastic job in publicising the project to get new children involved, organising the activities and managing the volunteers. She was fundamental in the project returning after Covid-19 and is fantastic at engaging with the kids. Her commitment to Sblat is a main factor in its success this year.

Amber Khan was also reward for her role as project leader for Wellbeing Buddies which pairs carefully selected volunteers with service users. The volunteers support students with the social aspects of university life. In addition, Amber has previously been a volunteer for Walk and Talk who organise weekly walks around Bangor and has volunteered with Connect@Bangor who do weekly drop-in sessions with the Mental Health Advisors. Mental Health is really important to students’ overall wellbeing and student experience and these projects offer students with a friend and someone to talk to when they need it most.

Katie Tew, VP for Societies and Volunteering said “The evening was a fantastic opportunity to thank all the student volunteers for their very hard work and dedication to their causes. The volunteers have been fundamental to the return to many of our projects after covid and I am very greatful for their service.”

The High Sherriff awards are a highlight in the volunteering calendar every year and it’s an honour to have the work recognised. Undeb Bangor would like to thank each one of our volunteers for their hard work and dedication and congratulations to Grug Evans, El Mifflin, Effie Cawley, Amber Khan and the two projects, Sbectrwm and Splat.