Volunteer ‘shocked’ by charity award win
A VOLUNTEER manager from Carmarthenshire has won a top award from the Guide Dogs charity.
Ruth Evans, from Pontyates, who is partially sighted, was praised for her volunteering expertise in a ceremony held at the Guide Dogs’ National Centre in Leamington Spa earlier this month.
Ruth, 47 accepted her trophy for winning the Expert Volunteer category.
She is a familiar face to viewers of S4C after taking part in the television show Ffit Cymru, where she and four others embarked on a strict diet and punishing fitness regime.
To coincide with this, she organised a 5K at 5pm event for friends and supporters, which raised more than £200 for Guide Dogs.
She also ran this year’s London Marathon virtually for the charity, pounding the Llanelli Coastal Path for hours on end until she had notched up 26.2 miles.
Ruth said: “Winning the award was amazing, and shocked doesn’t come close to describing my reaction.
“I started volunteering with Guide Dogs as a fundraiser five years ago, but quickly realised that I wanted to give more to the charity.
“When the opportunity came to start a fundraising group in Carmarthen, I became the trade secretary and soon after co-ordinator of the group. I qualified as a sighted guide and speaker in 2017. I love going out to speak with various groups, but I really enjoy going into schools. Retired guide dog Barney comes with me and is always a hit.
“I lost the sight in one eye when I was six and I am very aware of what would happen if I lost the sight in my good eye.
“The idea of being able to support a charity such as Guide Dogs was great, and this was definitely a day to remember for a long time.”
Jacquie Hughes-jones, community fundraising development manager for Guide Dogs, said: “Ruth does a great job as a speaker, educating people about the challenges of sight loss and the work of our charity.
“During lockdown she went out of her way to keep in touch with members of her group and local guide dog owners, organising twice weekly calls to promote wellbeing and give people a sense of belonging and purpose.
“She inspires others, organises bucket collections and comes up with creative fundraising ideas galore.”
Guide Dogs Cymru will have a stall at Carmarthen Market on December 3 and 10 where people will be able to buy gifts, Christmas cards and more.