Derbyshire church charity awards night celebrates High Peak community heroes

The River Network, which has expanded across north Derbyshire from its Matlock base over the past 18 months, welcomed dozens of special guests to a glitzy reception in the historic ballroom of the Ensana Buxton Crescent Hotel on Wednesday, March 16.

The charity’s chief executive Terry Eckersley hosted the evening to acknowledge the contributions that individuals and organisations had made to helping people over the past year, and bring community heroes together from across different sectors.

Terry said: “This was a great opportunity to celebrate, network, connect , develop strategic partnership and awareness.”

Among the award winners were the Friends of Buxton Station (FoBS), in recognition of their voluntary efforts to improve passengers’ experience and the local environment – work which continued throughout 2020 and 2021. Martin Knapp collected the trophy on the group’s behalf.

Terry said: “They shifted their gaze away from the station, across immediate wildlife corridors and into the town. Inclusively sharing goals, FoBS worked with many other associations, voluntary groups, traders, educators, local government officials and others.”

Recent projects for the group have included conservation efforts to support the endangered bilberry bumblebee, installing a scale of model of Buxton Crescent at Manchester’s Piccadilly Station to encourage more visitors to the town, and creating a rail retail trail of independent traders.

Members have also been busy planting wildflowers, hosting a community Christmas tree, setting up a car sharing scheme, restoring vandalised memorial benches and helping parents with homeschooling.

Terry said: “The sheer diversity of partnerships and expanse of projects undertaken show FoBS to be very much at the heart of their community. This was recognised by the granting of the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in June 2021 and three National Community Rail Awards in December 2021.”

Another award went to Kirsty Lownds of the Buxton Baby Bank, which helps hard-up families source baby and toddler equipment, clothes and toys.

Terry said: “Not only has she brought together a team who support families with material needs, they are also there to offer baby weigh-ins and advice on sleep problems and general care and concern for anyone struggling.

“Kirsty and her team are wonderful and have become a much needed service provider to the community and would be sorely missed if it were not there now. So Kirsty deserves an award for her brilliant vision in bringing this all together.”

Mark Jones and colleagues from the New Mills Youth and Community Project collected an award for their work operating a community pantry and clothes bank.

The service user who nominated them said: “There are always activity packs for half terms which help parents out massively, as I have two young children aged three and five. I would have been lost without the support from Mark and his project through these tough times we have all been through.

“Mark and his fantastic team of volunteers do an amazing job in supporting the community and I for one think they should be recognised for their hard work and dedication.”

A spokesperson for the community interest company said: “We were proud to have been in the company of other local organisations who are all working hard to provide services for our communities.

“Big thanks to all our volunteers, sadly some could not attend tonight but were with us nonetheless, we are proud to support individuals and families in New Mills and the surrounding areas, it really is a privilege and we love it.”

There was also recognition for Paddy Bann and his team at the Chapel Good Neighbour food distribution network, which has been supplying people with essentials throughout the pandemic and has recently launched its own youth initiative providing activities for the children at weekends and during school holidays.

Also in Chapel, there was an award for Sally Depee and the Little Cherubs clothing bank which has outgrown its local mission over the past two years, even as Sally was supporting five children at home and losing her mother to cancer.

Terry said: At the beginning of Covid Sally set up ‘Little Cherubs’ organisation to provide much needed clothing to children. This has escalated to also providing beds, furniture and kitchen appliances to families fleeing domestics violence.

“Sally also organised a lorry filled with clothing for the Afghan refugees and more recently has collected & organised distributions of donations of clothing, toiletries and nappies to the Ukraine population affected by the recent Russian invasion. She is a wonder woman with a heart of gold.”

Carol Wilson, of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, was honoured with an award for her work as a community safety officer serving New Mills, Whaley Bridge and Glossop.

Terry said: “She really cares for her local community and goes above and beyond to ensure the safety and happiness of those around her. Carol cares about everyone no matter their background or circumstances, she will go above and beyond to help them, that can mean simply having a chat and brightening their day to multiagency working to ensure someone gets all the support they need.

“She may just feel she is doing her job but she really does deserve recognition for her hard work, selflessness and all around amazing attitude to helping the local community.”

The final High Peak winners on the night were Derbyshire County Council youth and community engagement worker Nicole Beardsley, and Joanne Gregory of the Hummingbird Project in Glossop, which provides clothing, baby equipment and furniture to local residents in need as well as refugees starting new lives in the UK.

For details of all the winners, and more information on the work of the River Network, go to facebook.com/rivernetworkcharity.

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