August 22, 2024

The Volunteer Awards

Celebrating PSS Volunteers! 

The Volunteer Awards are officially open! This is your chance to say a great big thank you to our incredible PSS volunteers! We wouldn’t be here today and certainly wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the hard work and dedication of our amazing volunteers! PSS was founded by volunteers all the way back in 1919, and we’re so proud to still have a thriving volunteer base today. 

Our volunteers are some of the kindest, most professional, and committed people you could meet. Not only do they give their time, but they give their expertise and knowledge—and we want to show them how much we appreciate what they do at PSS. 

If you use any of our PSS services, or if a member of your family does, if you’re someone who volunteers at PSS, or if you work at PSS, why not say a big well done to the PSS volunteers you know? There’s no time like the present! 

What are the categories and criteria? 

To launch our new awards, we’ve created six fabulous award categories. Each category represents the impact that the volunteer or volunteers (yes, there are some group ones!) have made on our organisation, the people we support, or the service they volunteer in. 

 Volunteers can be nominated for an award whether they’ve been here a short time or a long time—we’re looking at the difference they’ve made, not the time they’ve been here. 

Here are the categories you can nominate in The Volunteer Awardss: 

Star of the Year Award 

• A volunteer who has gone above and beyond and made a real difference to the service they volunteer in. 

• Someone who is truly brilliant and gives their time to make a difference to the lives of others or make PSS a better place. 

The Thinking Big Award 

• This award is for the ideas people—someone who has come up with an idea, big or small, that has made a difference to how things are done within the service they volunteer, the lives of people we support, or at PSS. 

• They’ve come up with a creative solution or thought of a bright idea that will make a difference to people’s lives. 

The Working Together Award 

• This award is for a volunteer who’s brilliant at co-production. The winner will be someone who has: 

• Worked closely with people we support to make a positive difference to their life or to the services we offer; 

• Supported people who use our service to have a voice at PSS and/or in their community; and 

• Pushed the boundaries to support people to do what they love, despite any challenges that came their way. 

Living the Values Award 

• This award is for someone who lives and breathes the PSS values. 

• They’re big-hearted, open-minded, determined, genuine, and professional all rolled into one. 

• They don’t just demonstrate our values; they channel them into everything they do. 

The Belonging Team of the Year Award 

• This award is for a volunteering group who have gone the extra mile to learn how to be more equitable and inclusive in their volunteering roles for the service. 

• They’ve made changes to the way they do things to become more equitable and inclusive for the people in the service. 

• They are committed to helping PSS become a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive place to be, making sure everyone feels like they belong. 

Volunteer Team of the Year Award 

• This award is for a team of volunteers who have made a massive impact on volunteering at PSS. 

• They’ve made positive changes to the service they’re volunteering in. 

Who can nominate someone for a volunteer award? 

Anyone can nominate a PSS volunteer for an award. You could be: 

• Someone who is supported by PSS/Shared Lives 

• Someone whose family member is supported by PSS/Shared Lives 

• A fellow volunteer 

• A member of the PSS team 

• One of our partners 

Who decides the winners? 

The winners will be decided by lots of different panels made up of PSS teammates, PSS trustees, our volunteer coordinator and people we support.  

When will the winners be announced? 

Nominations will close on Friday 4th October.

Winners will be announced at an online ceremony for all volunteers to attend. 

Date: Thursday, 21st November 

Time: 3:00 pm–4:00 pm 

(The link to join will be sent out closer to the time) 

How to nominate 

Tell us who you’re nominating and which PSS service they’re part of (e.g., Shared Lives, Wellbeing Centres, etc.). 

Tell us which award you want to nominate them for in The Volunteer Awards.

Tell us in detail how the person you’re nominating meets the criteria (see above). Remember, some of our judges probably won’t have met this volunteer before, so the more detail and evidence you can give them, the better. 

There are three ways you can send your nomination in: 

• Send your nomination in as a video (no more than three minutes) via WhatsApp to 07764469365 

• Send your nomination as a voice note (no more than three minutes) via WhatsApp to 07764469365 

• Send your nomination in writing (no more than 500 words) to  [email protected] 

(Important: If your nomination is the winning nomination, you’ll be asked to record your nomination on camera to be shown at our online ceremony.) 

The rules for nominating 

You can nominate as many people in each category as you like, but please separate each person into their own nomination—for example, it’s best to steer clear of saying, ‘I’m nominating Julie and Sarah from Shared Lives Merseyside’—please do two separate nominations, one for each person you want to nominate. 

If you use a video nomination, please make sure your video is filmed with your phone on its side (in landscape). 

Nominations are open now and close on the 4th of October. 

Need a bit of support making your nomination? 

If you’re having any trouble making your nomination, get in touch with someone in the team you’re volunteering for, and they’ll be happy to help! 

What will the winners get? 

There will only be one winner/one team per category. Winners will receive an award.