MORE than 20 individual volunteers and voluntary groups were honoured as the Pride of Coleford.

Mayor of Coleford Cllr Nick Penny presented glass trophies to the 23 winners in this year’s Pride of Coleford awards.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Cllr Penny said: “This event is my favourite event of the civic year – it is a time when I get to say thank You on behalf of (Coleford Town) Council to you, the members of our community who so freely give of your time to make a difference.”

Three awards went to Five Acres High School: two for charity work and to Lucas for his work as a school ambassador.

The winners were:

Steven has raised £1,097for mental health charity TIC+, who describe Steve as “our very own running man”.

Steve the Newport Half Marathon, Manchester Marathon, and the Cotswold Ultra 100km over a four month period.

He also helps run 0- 5k running groups which aim to help people to improve their health and fitness.

Emma Steel is a leader at 2nd Coleford Guides and also runs Yorkley Brownies. Emma is described as making girls feel safe and comfortable to talk about anything. She is kind, helpful and approachable which helps girls to feel relaxed and motivated to reach their goals. She is also a County Commissioner for Girlguiding Gloucestershire.

Nathan has made a profound impact on the lives of local young people through his unwavering dedication and support of the Coleford Youth Hub since starting as a student on placement over a year ago.

Nathan continues to volunteer about twice a month and has completed many, many hours supporting the Coleford group.

His nominator said “Nathan has a unique ability to connect with kids, fostering an environment where they feel valued and heard.”

The non-profit group is described as offering outstanding health and mental wellbeing.

All funds raised through the £1/session fee, go towards supporting a wide range of community groups. Since 2017 they have donated a staggering £14,000 to 43 local good causes – 15 of which, and over £3,500 has been donated this year alone. The driving forces behind the group are Lee Osborne and Richard Powles.

The groups set up Christmas businesses which resulted in them raising over £250 which they donated to the Forest of Dean Dog's rescue. This hard work, enterprise and endeavour deserves to be recognised as it shows the students are respectful and kind to others.

Four Year 8 students raised over £540 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The students attended the weekly Enterprise Society from September until Christmas and used their start-up of £10 to form a company. The students worked tirelessly inside and outside of school making and selling Christmas decorations and ornaments.

This group of volunteers never fail to produce their weekly news update providing a valuable resource to those who are blind or partially sighted.

The recognition comes as the group celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Also honoured was Christine Mora, Forest Talk’s secretary, and a volunteer for over 20 years.

For many years, Chris has been seen buzzing around during the week to ensure everything is ready for the team of newsreaders and technicians to produce the programme each Saturday.

Pat is secretary for the Coleford Community Choir. Through formal and social WhatsApp groups, she ensures that the choir members know exactly what is going on, and reaches out with good wishes etc. when people are unwell. .

She also works tirelessly to arrange the exchange visits to Coleford’s twin town St Hilaire de Riez and has built numerous friendships outside of the formal choir group, often acting as social secretary booking tables for music nights, arranging meals out, and generally bringing people together for good times.

Pictures by Paul Nicholls Photography.

Last year, the hospice’s volunteers dedicated over 30,000 hours of their time in support the hospice’s work of providing the best care and support for everyone when they need it most.

By selflessly gifting their time and energy, the volunteers enabled Great Oaks Hospice to deliver a range of essential palliative, end of life and bereavement services which touched the lives of more than 1,000 people across the Forest of Dean.

Albert has chaired the Forest Health Forum for many years and is a member of the Patient Participation Group at the Coleford Family Doctors practice and has great expertise in what goes on in the health service locally.

He puts in countless hours of work, and always makes a point of raising Forest issues at a county level, where he is well respected.

Working at at their Broadwell base every day, they provide a safe space with free food and drink, supporting struggling families who are left with nothing after rent and bills are paid , helping get homeless people into the system, supporting domestic violence victims and people with mental health issues.

During the recent summer holidays, the team of volunteers worked with 2 Rivers Housing and provided over 200 meals to children and young people across the Forest of Dean.

The award recognises individuals who have played their role in civic occasions. In May this year, Coleford held a short Service of Remembrance for D-Day, during which two young cadets from the Coleford Platoon of the Gloucestershire Army Cadet Force respectfully read the names of Coleford’s fallen in the Second World War.

Cadet Jamie Harris and former Cadet Lance Corporal William Grant performed this role with the upmost respect and supported each other to do this in front of around 200 members of our community.

Alongside her full-time job, Lisa is a leader at Coleford Guides and Bream Brownies

In addition to running these weekly groups, she also volunteers at the Girlguiding Headquarters running activities such as pistol shooting, whittling and bushcraft.

Lisa is also a member of the Girlguiding Gloucestershire Duke of Edinburgh team, supervising groups of girls on their expeditions. and is also a member of the team taking a group of girls on an international experience to Norway next summer.

Lillie and Charlie have been hard at work to raise money towards a trip to Sri Lanka with a proposition going to a community project while they are there, such as painting a school or developing a community area. Their fund raising efforts have included cake sales, discos for year seven students and even a ‘rags to riches collection’.

Olivia is a fantastic advocate for Alopecia UK and she has recently completed a five-mile sponsored walk around Coleford to raise funds for this cause.

Olivia has alopecia, and has helped spread awareness through the whole of Year Seven at Five Acres High School. This is an extremely brave thing to do at a new school, and her tutor group are very proud of her.

This group of residents developed a beautiful orchard for the community out of rough forestry ground.

Any fruit harvested is free for local residents to take away. Community Orchards not only provide wonderful settings for leisurely walks, but for many often also provide a sanctuary for mental health and wellbeing.

The group also ensure that the ancient tradition of Wassailing is kept alive with their annual event.

Darren McCoy and his team volunteer their time to teach darts toyoung people aged 8-18 every Thursday evening.

In the nomination a parent said “My two youngest children attend this group and love it.

“Not only are they learning a sport, but they are also learning social skills, discipline and they are even learning good maths skills as all children learn how to mark the games.

“My daughter really suffers from severe anxiety and this group has really helped with her confidence.”

Yvonne has been the volunteer operations manager at the Forest of Dean Foodbank for more than 10 years. Yvonne consistently goes above and beyond her role, handling everything from back office administration and recruitment, to deliveries, and even using her own money when needed to replenish stock.Since its launch in Coleford, back in 2013, the Foodbank has become an essential resource and it continues to support the local community.

Lucas is always looking for ways to give back to his school community at Five Acres High.

This includes helping-out at open evenings, giving school in action tours to prospective parents, acting as a school ambassador and working towards and gaining many character education badges.

Jason Rooney and team of volunteers who commit many hours to coaching youngsters locally.

Over recent seasons they have expanded their number of teams significantly and use pitches at Coleford’s King George V ground and Five Acres for coaching sessions and matches.

This group of highly committed volunteers is constantly looking to encourage enjoyment in the game as well as improving the standard of play and teamwork – and they’ve even created their own grassroots football podcast.