You may have recently read about our fabulous Volunteer Awards which took place at our Manchester Warehouse last month. One of the awards presented during the event was the FareShare UK Perfect Pair. This honour was awarded to husband-and-wife team Ged and Julie Donnelly.
Ged and Julie began volunteering at FareShare during the Covid pandemic. They initially joined the Southampton team but later relocated to the North West. After the move, they started volunteering with FareShare Greater Manchester. Working as a team, Ged serves as a volunteer delivery van driver, while Julie assists him as his driver’s assistant.
Fellow volunteers in Manchester nominated the Donnellys for the FareShare UK awards. They received a beautiful glass trophy to celebrate their achievement. Not only that, they were given a special invitation to head south to London for a very special event.
Trip to Westminster
Three weeks ago, on Budget Day, a special celebration took place at the Houses of Parliament. The event marked the 30th birthday of FareShare UK. Ged and Julie were among five volunteers chosen to represent FareShare’s network. Two representatives came from Brighton, and one travelled from Liverpool. The event was held at the Terrace Pavillion at the side of the River Thames and was hosted by Rt Hon Lord Newby OBE.
On being chosen for this honour, Ged and Julie said “It was really good to go and meet other FareShare volunteers and hear all the speeches.” They went on to say “volunteering like this is good for us, it gives us structure to our week now we are retired and it’s great to make a difference – we enjoy it.”
In addition to the reception held to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of FareShare UK, an early day motion was tabled in Parliament:
“That this House congratulates FareShare, the UK’s leading food redistribution charity, on its 30th anniversary; applauds FareShare for redistributing the equivalent of 135 million meals last year, equating to four meals per second, to over 8,000 frontline charities and community groups in almost every constituency across the UK; recognises the charity’s significant social return on investment, delivering £13 in savings for every £1 spent through benefits to individuals and the state; and urges the Government to work with the charitable food redistribution sector to implement effective measures that further reduce food waste, increase surplus food redistribution to those in need, and strengthen communities throughout the United Kingdom, as the need for such collaboration is more pressing than ever.” – Early Day Motion 277
This trip down to the Houses of Parliament by our very own ‘Perfect Pair’ was a fitting end to our volunteer celebrations for this year. It just goes to show that you never know where volunteering could take you!
If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities at FareShare Greater Manchester, please get in touch.
You can call: 0161 223 8200 and choose Option 6 or send us an email to volunteering@faresharegm.org.uk
