In line with ELBA’s Volunteer of the Month nominations, ELBA also celebrates one volunteer who stood out for their commitment and dedication. After an organisation wide vote, the standout winner was Andy Clark from Harbour & Jones.

Andy was nominated as Volunteer of the Month back in November 2016 for his various work with the Community team, working with Age UK and the Tevoitt Centre social enterprise café. But his commitment goes far beyond this, as he continues to be a “serial volunteer” and demonstrate his ongoing commitment to the community, for example running new cooking sessions with Age UK. Andy is always exploring new opportunities to volunteer.

Davinder Chaggar, Programme Director at ELBA who nominated Andy in the first place, said:

“It has been a pleasure to work with Andy, who has not only been a great champion of ELBA’s work but has personally supported so many initiatives in 2016. His commitment and personable approach is commendable.”

We would like to thank Andy for his exceptional attitude and passion, and look forward to working with him in the near future!

We asked Andy a few questions about winning the award:

Congratulations on the award Andy! Will you continue to volunteer?
Absolutely. It’s so enjoyable being able to give a little back and seeing people from all areas enjoining themselves. It’s a very rewarding thing to do.

Do you think there are any personal benefits to volunteering?
Yes, we all live in our little bubbles and it’s a great leveller to see people sometimes less fortunate than ourselves getting enjoyment – it makes you more humble person. But the most important thing is too see other people benefiting from it, personally the recognition is secondary to the importance of helping other people.

Do you think volunteering makes a difference in the community?
Yes, every little helps but we need to make sure it’s what the community needs as well. There are a lot of people, especially elderly, who are lonely and just to have a chat and spend some time is so rewarding to see as one day we may need help ourselves.