Warrington charity workers have beaten stiff competition to win four out of 12 national awards.
The winners – two teams and two individuals – were given the Behind the Scenes Award, Learner of the Year Award, Innovator Award and Outstanding Contribution Award by Making Space, a national adult health and social care charity with over 1200 employees.
They were all presented with a certificate and trophy by Andy Grant – motivational speaker, Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and the world’s fastest single leg amputee in the world over 10KM – at an award ceremony at Manchester’s Mercure Hotel.
Rachel Munn, head of Warrington’s Psychological Wellbeing Services, was given the Outstanding Contribution award in recognition of her commitment to quality and the constant improvements she makes to the services she manages.
“Winning the Outstanding Contribution award means to world to me,” she said. “I am privileged to be able to do the work that I do, but it was so lovely to be recognised for it. I’ve worked for Making Space for a long time and I was honoured to be chosen out of all the amazing nominations.
“I have to say though I couldn’t do what I do without my amazing team, we work together and support each other and we all share the same values and beliefs.”
Maria Marano, who works with the Warrington Day Service, was named Learner of the Year. A qualified social worker, Maria began volunteering for the service after taking a work break to look after her three children. When she realised how many people were waiting for counselling, she decided to train as a counsellor.
“I started volunteering with the service last May, working with the groups doing arts and craft and cooking groups, which I loved,” she said. “I became a support worker on bank staff and then a permanent part-time support worker.
“The more one-to-one work I did, the more I realised people were waiting a very long time to get the mental health help they needed. I was in a situation where I could help, so I started work on the counselling qualifications. I’ve finished Level 2 and am currently studying for Level 3, and it will be a few years before I’m fully qualified, but I’m doing something I love that fits in around my family life.
“I’m actually amazed to receive an award for something that is helping me to be better.”
The Making Space fundraising team – Bob Towers and Natalie Bargery – were given the Innovator Award for their pro-active approach to finding and securing new funding streams during the pandemic lockdowns, and to ensure that services aimed at reducing isolation weren’t negatively impacted.
“Fundraisers across the country have gone through a difficult time over the past couple of years and have had to adapt quickly to such unusual circumstances,” said Natalie. “So, it’s lovely to be recognised for the work we’ve done here at Making Space. We were thrilled to receive the award – we didn’t expect to win knowing the tough competition we were up against so it was a nice surprise.”
The IT team were also recognised for the changes they made during the height of the pandemic. As well as setting up employees and services with the IT equipment, software and support they needed to continue, they also delivered vital PPE to services across the country.
“I am extremely proud of my team and very pleased that all their hard work and effort has been acknowledged by the rest of the organisation,” said manager Chris Mizzi. “Jamie Chimes and Jordan Carrington on the service desk are the frontline of our team, calmly and professionally providing support for over 1200 Making Space employees.
“Field engineer Andrew Haworth is constantly criss-crossing England, visiting over 90 locations, providing onsite support and guidance on how the technology can help our sites provide the best service possible. And while most of the organisation is probably not even aware of Office 365 engineer Francis Jones, the role he plays in our team has the greatest impact on the organisation and lays the foundation that allows a team as small as ours to support an organisation as large as Making Space.
“They are a real credit to the organisation and very deserving of this award.”
Over 250 people across the UK were nominated for the inaugural Making Space awards, with three individuals or teams shortlisted for each award. The awards have been established to recognise and pay tribute to individuals and teams who inspire others, go above and beyond expectations and make a real difference to the lives of the people supported by Making Space.
