North East Charity Awards ‘Highly Commended’ Small Charity of the Year 2020.

Imagine our surprise and delight when we were contacted by one of our clients, Betty Green, telling us she’d entered Berwick Cancer Cars into the 2020 North East Charity Awards as ‘Small Charity of the Year’. Fast forward several months during a particularly troublesome year, whilst we all made huge adjustments to our daily lives and service operations due to the pandemic, and we were absolutely stunned to hear the judging panel had placed us as a shortlisted finalist! With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, and in the absence of the North East Charity Awards being able to arrange their normal high profile ceremony, they never-the-less pulled out all the stops and held a virtual, online event across social media platforms.

The night of the event started at 6.45 pm and was extremely well organised. The team at Berwick Cancer Cars enjoyed taking a very active role, interacting with the organisers and our fellow nominees, and busily responding to message and tweets from all our well-wishers, including our MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan who tweeted her support on the night and also sent us a letter of congratulations ahead of the event for reaching this year’s shortlisted finalists. Thank you also to her Chief of Staff, Tom Forrester, for his kind support.

The winners on the night were the Easington Lane Community Access Point, with both ourselves and fellow category shortlisted finalists Beach Access North East being accredited as ‘Highly Commended’. We very rarely – if ever – make a fuss or sing our praises (it’s well known the Berwick Cancer Cars team of volunteers are quietly humble folk!) So to have been nominated and then to have received a Highly Commended accolade alongside these immensely deserving and hard-working charities was a wonderful recognition for the work we do to assist cancer sufferers across Berwick and District to reach their cancer related appointments across the North East and sometimes specialist help far beyond. There are a number of incredibly deserving charities within our own area, many of whom we work alongside and who themselves give so generously to support us, we wish them every future success and hope they receive their most deserved acknowledgement too.

After the awards we were contacted by Lesley Hampson, the North East Regional Events Manager, to personally congratulate us and to thank us for our involvement in the awards as they unfolded over social media. She wrote of the event:

“We are over the moon with the engagement we had – the number of charities, individuals and businesses that came together virtually as a community to celebrate was fantastic.  Thank you so much for being part of it and really well done on your commendation.  

The letter you received from Anne-Marie Trevelyan was brilliant.  But the story you told me the other day about a lady who’d stopped her cancer treatment but had read about your services and is now using Berwick’s Cancer Cars to get her to the Freeman for treatment again really struck home with me.  I have shared this with colleagues here, our sponsors and the Chair of the judging panel.  It’s such a powerful story that demonstrates perfectly the need, and indeed the power, of everything you do.

Wishing you and the team, and Betty Green who nominated you, all the very best and hope you’ll be part of the awards again in the future.

I have a framed ‘Highly Commended’ certificate all ready to post out for you.”

Thank you once again to all our incredible well-wishers, supporters and fundraisers who give so generously of their time to help keep our cars on the road and our clients to their appointments. We are both proud and honoured to serve the people of Berwick and District and we gratefully accept this accolade on their behalf. We look forward to seeing it hung in pride of place on the wall of our new home!

With 45 drivers and five cars, @BwkCancerCars allows those living in the north of region to attend essential appointments for free. Widely supported by the community, they kept running through lockdown and are considered invaluable to many people.#NECharityAwards pic.twitter.com/VxDmp2GZkr

— North East Charity Awards (@NECharityAwards) December 3, 2020