Volunteering now more than ever is contributing to local communities everywhere. On Thursday 7 May, the volunteering team transferred their annual Volunteer of the Year Awards event online, to continue celebrating amazing volunteers from across the University.

Viewers tuned in to watch the event live which was hosted for the first time on the @UoMVolunteering Facebook page. The Awards ceremony which has received over 4,300 views revealed winners across alumni, student group, staff and student categories.

Overall Prize Winners

Alumni Category: Joanna Melville

Joanna Melville, a Psychology graduate is a volunteer for the organisation, Sexpression, taking on several voluntary positions of responsibility including Finance Director and now National Director. In her role she has brought about positive change and a more sustainable organisation.

Student Groups Category: Student Angels

Student Angels, a night-time safety initiative, sees teams of trained students heading out over the weekend to support the Manchester community through first aid, chats and getting people home safely.

Student Category: Holly Smith

Psychology student Holly won for her work with the Want Not Waste shop – a shop which provides sustainable goods, refillable dried products and recycles many items that are often thrown away. Her volunteering has seen the shop grow from a small outlet in the Students’ Union to its own premises.

Staff Category: Dr Shanta Coles

Dr Shanta Coles is a Business Information Manager in Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange. She has been a youth worker for 25 years, delivering activities for young people and supporting the design and evaluation of youth work programmes.

Congratulations to all the amazing winners and thank you to everyone who nominated and watched this year’s awards. See the full list of nominees.