Charity workers from Warrington received recognition for their hard work, winning four prestigious awards last month.
Several individuals were picked out as winners at the much anticipated and first ever Making Space charity awards ceremony that took place September 13, at Manchester’s Mercure Hotel.
The Warrington-based national charity that focuses on adult health and social care, held the ceremony to mark its 40th anniversary and handed out trophies for 12 categories, having received more than 250 nominations from all over the UK.
And winners were presented with a trophy and certificate from Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and motivational speaker, Andy Grant.
Rachel Munn, head of Warrington’s Psychological Wellbeing Services was one of the successors from the night, taking away the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ award for her ‘commitment to quality and constant improvement’.
Rachel said: “Winning the Outstanding Contribution award means the world to me. 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.
“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.”
Along with Rachel came another Warrington winner, Maria Marano who is a social worker for the Warrington Day Service – a service that supports people living with mental health conditions.
Maria, who was named ‘Learner of the year’, began volunteering at the organisation during parental leave, but after realising the demand for talking therapy within the community, decided to train up as a councillor and devote her career to the cause.
“I started volunteering with Warrington Day Service last May, working with the groups doing arts and craft and cooking groups, which I loved,” Maria explained.
“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’m actually amazed to receive an award for something that is helping me to be better.”
And Bob Towers and Natalie Bargery from the Making Space fundraising team also won the ‘Innovator Award’ after finding new avenues of funding during the struggle of the pandemic.
The IT team were also recognised for their efforts during the pandemic as they not only offered important technical support during the changes to the company at that time but also delivered PPE to services across the country.
Chris Mizzi, head of IT, said: "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.
“Jamie Chimes and Jordan Carrington on the service desk are the front line, calmly and professionally providing support for over 1,200 nationwide 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. And while most of the organisation is probably not even aware of Office 365 engineer Francis Jones, the role he plays 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.”
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