From setting up the UK’s first charity to fund womb cancer research to supporting the mental health of students and fighting ‘hidden hunger’ in children – our Volunteer of the Year winners make us proud.

Our annual Volunteer of the Year Awards celebrate the actions of staff, students and alumni who epitomise what it means to make a difference.

And again, our winners have made us proud. 

Our student group winners, PHD students Dr Eleanor Jones, Dr Helena O’Flynn, Dr Chloe Barr and Dr Helen Clarke are all Clinical Research Fellows in Gynaecological Oncology involved in womb cancer research under the supervision of Professor Emma Crosbie. 

They set up the UK’s first charity to support those affected by womb cancer and to raise funds for much needed research, the Peaches Womb Cancer Trust – during the pandemic and while juggling clinical academic careers with starting new families.

The charity was intended to be a local support but as a trusted source of information and support to hundreds of womb cancer patients and their families, it is now a national body with a turnover of over £40,000.

“It’s incredible how dedicated these four girls are,” said Professor Crosbie. “I’m really, really proud of them.”

Our student winner, Hannah Walton (MSc Biomedical Egyptology) drew on her personal experiences of leaving school at the age of fourteen following a traumatic incident to support other young people in the same position by founding the One/Third Project in January 2021. 

Alongside her studies, Hannah worked with more than 900 students and young people in the first twelve months, singlehandedly. Now collaborating with multiple organisations, she has helped thousands of others to grow, develop and safeguard their wellbeing while being encouraged to pursue their goals through social action projects. 

Described as “selfless, hard-working, committed, just one of a kind,” her awards include Platinum Jubilee Champion 2022 and the Points of Light Inspiration Honour Roll for 2021 and 2022.

Alumni winner Rita Robert Otu has been helping fight hunger and empower local farmers, in particular women, in her home country Nigeria since she graduated with an MSc in International Development (Economics and Management of Rural Development) in 2007. 

Rita grew up in a community that suffered from poor nutrition, specifically a lack of vitamin A. UNICEF estimates that at least one in two children under 5 years old suffer from this ‘hidden hunger’ due to nutritional deficiencies in Nigeria. 

But she has returned home an “assertive, pragmatic, go getter” to found Beau Haven Farms, a social enterprise that empowers communities to address malnutrition and lack of economic opportunity with environmentally sustainable farms. 

Rita, a United Nations Empower Women Global Champion, has also led the initiative ‘Uforo Iban Uto Inwang (#She’s Empowered Through Agriculture) to enable 50,000 women, especially widows, to build their financial and entrepreneurial skills and self-confidence to start their own commercial cassava farms. And she has volunteered with HarvestPlus Nigeria, raising awareness of good nutrition and farming opportunities at an event attended by 5,000 Nigerians. 

For more information, please visit: 

• UoM Volunteer of the Year Awards