Rotary honours pandemic heroes
Maidenhead: Awards for those who helped others
A neighbour who offered support to every house in her street and the entire staff of the intensive care unit at Wexham Park Hospital are just some of those honoured in the Maidenhead Rotary Club COVID-19 Heroes Awards.
The club asked the public to nominate people in the Maidenhead area who had gone over and above the call of duty during the first stage of the pandemic, in five categories covering hospital workers to community volunteers.
Almost 200 people responded, nominating more than 30 people or groups they thought had gone the extra mile.
Last month, a judging panel including Rotary president Mary Spinks and Maidenhead MP Theresa May had the job of selecting the winners.
The awards were the idea of President Mary, who had a 52-year career in nursing and is a former director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
Originally the aim of the
scheme was to give £100 to the five category winners but Mary decided to double the fund so others could be recognised with £50 runnerup awards.
She said: “The entries showed the incredible community spirit and selflessness of so many people willing to go out of their way to help not just neighbours but complete strangers.”
Among the category winners was community volunteer Alice Lewthwaite from Oaken Grove, who contacted every one of the 84 houses in her road to offer help and support.
The Open category was won by Shilpam Bidasaria, owner of Desi Flavorz, who supplied thousands of cooked vegetarian meals to NHS doctors and nurses at seven hospitals, as well as
supporting GP surgeries and Maidenhead Foodbank.
The whole staff of
Wexham Park Hospital’s intensive care unit will share a special award of £200.
President Mary said: “It is difficult to comprehend the pressure and emotions of ICU staff who had to cope with patients, isolated from loved ones, and aware that they could die from this terrible virus.”
Miriam Blazey, manager of Elizabeth House in Cookham, won the Community Health Worker category, and the Care Home Category award went to Craig Thorne at Thames Hospice, who worked extra shifts to ensure the new hospice opened on time.
Theresa May said: “Everyone who was nominated had gone over and above the call of duty in supporting their local community.
“But what this shows is what a fantastic local community we have of people willing to help their neighbours in such difficult times.”
Everyone nominated who did not win a prize receives a Rotary service recognition certificate from the club.