St Albans volunteer receives ‘Stronger Together’ award for work with Crohn’s and colitis charity
Lorraine Hamond (left) from St Albans, with Sue Cherrie, the head of the board of trustees at Crohn's and Colitis UK. Picture: Crohn's and Colitis UK - Credit: Archant
A St Albans woman won an award for her work volunteering for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, including posing for photos in the charity’s leaflets.
Lorraine Hammond was presented with the 'Stronger Together' award at the charity's headquarters in Hatfield on Thursday, January 30, as part of a ceremony highlighting the essential work volunteers provide.
She said: "Shortly after retiring, I decided I wanted to volunteer to do something worthwhile in the local community.
"I attended a volunteer event and met a representative from Crohn's and Colitis UK, He talked about Crohn's and colitis and inspired me to try and help in some way as a volunteer.
"I volunteered for what I thought was a couple of photos to be taken by the marketing team, but to my surprise arrived to a 'photoshoot' with role-play scenarios. I enjoyed the session which gave them a bank of photos to use - it is still a surprise to see myself in leaflets!"
More than 300,000 people in the UK are living with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, which are both lifelong conditions.
All the volunteers who were nominated for awards were chosen for embodying the charity's values of being 'compassionate, ambitious and stronger together', breaking ground with new practices or supporting the cause 'across the board'.
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Lorraine said: "I have learnt so much about the disease - which I knew nothing about before volunteering.
"In my daily life, I have come across so many people with Crohn's and colitis and can now understand their issues more clearly and point them in the right direction to get the support that they need."
The charity's volunteer development manager April Trawicki said: "We are thrilled to recognize the massive achievements of our incredible volunteers with our awards. Our volunteers constantly inspire and amaze me at the dedicated time and effort they put in towards supporting the cause and the charity.
"We have hundreds of incredible volunteers but it was fantastic to give this 'Stronger Together' award to Lorraine a today and recognize all her achievements so a big well done to her."
