Make a nomination for the Volunteer Awards
Which unsung hero will you nominate for an award?
In 1969 Mali Jenkins, a volunteer, founded Parkinson's UK. Since then, volunteers have been a vital part of the growing, powerful movement to transform lives and find a cure for Parkinson’s.
With almost 4,000 volunteers involved in Parkinson’s UK, whether you’re Walking for Parkinson’s, Zumba-ing on Zoom or taking part in a research trial: you name it, volunteers have shaped it.
We want to celebrate the unsung heroes who drive Parkinson's services, support and vital research, with our volunteer awards.
You can nominate a volunteer who has made a difference to you, or who you’ve seen putting the Parkinson's UK values into action.
It could be someone like Andrew, who unites people with Parkinson’s, scientists and researchers together at the University of Cambridge to chase down a cure. Read Andrew's story.
Or someone like Vicki who, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s aged 45, is driven to get Parkinson’s understood at her workplace, gym, and anywhere she can. Read Vicki's story.
It can be hard to pick one person. So this year we've launched a Team category. Whether it’s a group who have collaborated to keep activities going throughout lockdown or research volunteers coming together to create an event, you can now nominate a whole dream team, in line with the criteria below.
Who will you nominate? The awards open on June 1. Nominations should be submitted by August 31.
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Nomination criteria
A team is at least 2 or more volunteers (maximum of 12) who have worked together in a flexible and collaborative way to deliver an outcome that benefits the local, national or international Parkinson's community.
Team nominations must:
- show evidence of the Parkinson’s UK values (people-first, uniting, pioneering, driven) when the team worked together
- demonstrate that the benefit the team delivered for the Parkinson's community would not have been possible without working together
- be either led by or jointly led by a volunteer, and all team members will be registered volunteers with Parkinson’s UK.
Individual nominations:
- must be a registered volunteer with Parkinson's UK. If you’re not sure, please contact [email protected]
- can't have won a Parkinson's UK volunteer award previously. Check the full list from 2019. Check the full list from 2020. Or get in touch to ask us
- should recognise activity or contribution that has taken place within the last 5 years.
Top tips for your nomination
What makes your nominee's achievements special? Whether it’s opening the first Parkinson’s cafe in the area or overcoming anxiety to deliver a speech.
Do you have any photos, media coverage, or statistics that show what they have achieved? For example, rather than saying ‘they helped raise awareness of Parkinson’s’ do you have anything more detailed, such as ‘they organised sessions for 150 students to learn more about Parkinson’s'.
Tell us what makes their achievement so important and the difference their contribution has made.
Need some inspiration?
If you need some inspiration for your nomination, read the stories of some of last year's volunteer award winners.