Ironsides Shortlisted for England Rugby Volunteering Award
Massive congratulations to Ironsiders Janneke Diemel, Niall Barrett, Anton Truter, Rory Scott and Demelza Jones for their recent nomination for the England Rugby Volunteers of the Year Awards for their work to set up and run the Critical NHS initiative.
The awards ceremony, in association with Mitsubishi Motors, recognised volunteers’ efforts across three categories: Resilience in Rugby, and Diversity and Inclusion, and Beyond Rugby.
Critical NHS was shortlisted in the Beyond Rugby category, which aims to recognise those who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic to support and unite their local community. The initiative was established as a community based non-profit organisation in March 2020 to support NHS front line staff and those most vulnerable groups in response to the outbreak of coronavirus, and ‘in-turn’ to help sustain local businesses and restaurants as suppliers. It sought to help our local NHS heroes through the pandemic as they faced limited access to food and provisions with supermarkets running low and hospital canteens and food outlets closed.
A celebratory event at Twickenham Stadium saw the finalists enjoy an afternoon event pitch side, followed by dinner in the Spirit of Rugby, where winners were announced. RFU President, Jeff Blackett, who presented the awards on the night: “It was a real pleasure to be able to thank all of our final outstanding volunteers. Every one of the 52 volunteers recognised have given up huge amounts of their time for others and they represent the 100,000 volunteers who do so much for our sport.”
The nomination comes alongside official recognition for Critical NHS from the Mayor of Wandsworth Cllr Richard Field, and from the Prime Minister, who awarded Janneke Diemel and Niall Barrett “Point of Light” awards for outstanding individual contributions to our local community.
Recently rebranded as Critical Support – the group has broadened its goals to provide food to where it is needed most – including community kitchens, shelters which care for the vulnerable and victims of domestic violence, refugees and families in need. Working in partnership with the Felix Project and Fareshare, they have set up SW Food Hub, which aims to promote food-waste reduction by diverting supermarket/shop food surplus to provide relief to people suffering financial hardship in South West London.
The Ironsides community has already contributed in excess of £35,000 in donations to the charity – playing a huge part in supporting the charity to deliver in excess of 175,000 meals, providing a lifeline to many, and supporting the ailing restaurant and catering trades. Ironsiders who want to continue to support this fantastic cause can donate here.
