17 March 2022

Twins Trust volunteers were praised and rewarded for their work during the charity’s annual Volunteer Day.

In a virtual meet-up, volunteers and Twins Trust staff joined together for the day, celebrating their work and support for families in the past year.

Volunteers were presented with long service awards while Jane Flint Bridgewater, a longstanding member of the Twinline team, was the first recipient of the Lucene Hughes award.

Lucene was a Twins Trust volunteer for more than 22 years and died in September 2021 after a short illness.

Five people were nominated for the award.

Jane said: “I am most honoured to receive this, I feel very privileged. I shall keep going on Twinline as long as I can.”

Twins Trust President and Founder Judi Linney handed out the annual awards, giving everyone a chance to hear about the brilliant work going on behind the scenes at Twins Trust.

Judi said: “Without volunteers I don’t think Twins Trust would be the organisation it is now.

“It is a real pleasure for me to award the prizes for the work that people have done.

“It is people like you that make a real difference and you can change people’s lives for the better.”

Twins Trust Chief Executive Officer, Shauna Leven, who joined the charity in September, thanked the volunteers for being an integral part of the charity’s success.

Sharon Darke, Twins Trust Bereavement Group Coordinator and bereavement befrienders Suzie Scofield and Sally Fox shared their personal stories.

The Family Support Team presented a summary of their work in the past year, highlighting the large increases in the number of families they have helped during 2020/21.

Author and twin mum, Charlie Beswick, spoke about her life and her bestselling book, Our Altered Life.

If you are interested in giving up some of your spare time to help Twins Trust, click here.

Awards

Bereavement Support Befrienders

Five years

Vicki Austin, Claire Gee and Cat Hardwick

Twinline

15 years

Stephanie Modell

Breastfeeding Peer Supporters

Five years

Jojo Bailey

Practical Preparing For Parenthood Facilitators

Five years

Joanna Smith, Sasha Hopper, Miriam Page, Emma Court, Julia Rees-Roberts.

Family Crisis Support

10 years

Claire Burgess

Honorary Consultants

10 years

Maggie Dorsman

Special Recognition Awards

Harriet Gibbs – community forum moderator

Sally Fox – bereavement befriender

Suzie Scofield - bereavement befriender

Sue Plenty – Triplets and more Facebook support group moderator

Lucene Hughes volunteer award

Nominees:

Clare Thomas (NI volunteer) - "Clare has been a massive support to me personally. When I found out I was pregnant with twins it was during the first lockdown. I was on Twins Trust Facebook page and Clare contacted me and offered support" 

Sally Fox - bereavement support befriender "Sally is an amazing befriender, and facilitator for the online groups. She is caring, passionate, honest and always manages to make us smile despite the often heavy discussions we have."

Suzie Scofield - bereavement support befriender "Suzie has been a hugely dedicated member of the befrienders support team for a number of years. She is always empathetic, kind and reassuring, she has supported me personally as well as hundreds of other families with their losses"

Jane Flint Bridgewater - Twinline listener "Jane has offered her time as a longstanding member of the Twinline team. She brings great expertise and knowledge to the role. She also offers great support to all of the other Twinline volunteers"

Zoe Sands - Twinline listener "Her commitment for Twinline has been exemplary and she is always volunteering for other shifts before taking a break"

Winner: Jane Flint Bridgewater

A big thank you to all our volunteers.