It was an incredible night for Trinity and Brian House at the annual Radio Wave ‘Heroes in the Community’ Awards 2015. Our volunteers and fundraisers won in four separate categories at the glittering event held at Viva, Blackpool.

Special recognition award

Our amazing Paris2Pisa cyclists picked up this award for their three incredible journeys by bike, raising thousands of pounds for Brian House.

This year, the 11 lads completed their biggest challenge to date and cycled across the Alps, raising well over £30,000 and completing a historic set of three ‘tours’ in Europe, taking in the famous towers of Blackpool, Paris, Munich and Pisa.

Completely self-funded and taking the time away from work and from their families to do the trips, this time the group also cycled an incredible 30,000 training km before even setting off. A collapsed Alpine tunnel en route didn’t deter them either, and the Brian House team here was cheering them on all the way. The group have been into Brian House on several occasions to meet the staff and youngsters – what an amazing set of supporters they are.

Volunteer of the Year

This touching story scooped the award for Trinity volunteers Barbara and Frank. Barbara has volunteered for over 10 years and currently co-ordinates the drivers who pick up our patients each day. Frank has been a volunteer driver for just over three years and was the driver for one of our patients, Ann.  He was asked if he would take Ann to visit her son who she had not seen for more than three years, as he was in prison some distance away. Frank agreed and both he and Barbara took Ann so that she could make her peace with her son, as she knew she had little time left.  Ann had no other family support and was overwhelmed with this act of kindness and talked at length about what a wonderful day she had seeing her son again. Barbara and Frank finished the day by treating Ann to a fish and chip supper.

Shortly after, Barbara had offered to help out in the Day Unit and observed a ‘bucket list’ session. She was struck by the simple things that patients wanted to achieve before they die and  Ann mentioned how much she would love to visit Blackpool Zoo.  Barbara knew that the practicalities of Ann’s illness would make it difficult, but she was determined to make it happen.  Arranging a date was challenging for various health reasons and it nearly didn’t happen, but Barbara and Frank were determined to fulfil the dream for Ann. Blackpool Zoo arranged VIP treatment and even though Ann was in a wheelchair with oxygen she was able to feed the giraffes, which she thoroughly loved, taking lots of photos. They rounded off the day with a meal in a local restaurant.  Ann sadly died two weeks later in Trinity, with her son present.

Young Fundraiser of the Year

Hannah Gilbert got on her bike for the hospice and rode all the way from Stalmine to Lytham to raise money for us in August – despite being only eight years old.

The 20 mile challenge wasn’t the first time Hannah had helped us either, she had previously raised over £1,000 on a 15 mile sponsored bike ride. Her mum Catherine travelled with her and the ride finished with a triumphant arrival at Trinity’s Lytham shop. What an inspiration!

Parents of the Year

The winner of this category also has strong links with Trinity and Brian House. Claire Benson has helped us as a volunteer and is also a fearless fundraiser, taking part in some of our biggest and most challenging events, including illumathon – and she even did a sky dive for us in the summer!

A huge thank you to all the winners for everything you do – and many congratulations on the awards.