Caring Kent Man Wins National Award - Headway, UK

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 19 Dec 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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A retired teacher from Rusthall who has volunteered at a centre for people with brain injury for the past 17 years has been named Charles Stanley Volunteer of the Year in the annual awards run by Headway - the brain injury association.

Richard Witts, 65, was presented with the award by television comedian Tim Vine at a glittering ceremony at London's Dorchester Hotel on Wednesday 10 December.

In 1991, Richard started volunteering at Headway Tunbridge Wells, part of the national charity that works to improve life after brain injury. At the time, Richard was a teacher and could only offer assistance during the school holidays and occasional career breaks, but since his retirement six years ago, Richard has been an ever-present at the group by volunteering on every one of the four days a week the group is open.

Richard's tasks at the centre vary from playing Scrabble with service users to organising quizzes and offering a listening ear to those who want to talk. However, Richard also regularly goes out of his way to help members of the group that need special assistance by visiting house-bound people and helping with their emergency needs.

Peter McCabe, Chief Executive of Headway UK, said: "Like many charities, Headway relies on the kindness and generosity of volunteers to operate, but Richard's dedication is exceptional.

"His sense of humour, caring nature and boundless enthusiasm make a huge difference to the lives of the service users who truly value his time and effort. His is an inspiration to us all and is much deserving of this recognition."

The Headway Annual Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions of people with brain injuries and those working to support them.

Other winners on the day included were Edward Hunter from Cardiff (Voyage Achiever of the Year), Teresa Phillips from Jersey (Clarke Willmott Campaigner of the Year) and Ron Payne from Hexham (Ameer Meredith Carer of the Year).

Headway