Honouring unsung heroes in the local community!

Watford Community Housing has been singing the praises of everyday heroes in Watford! The Hampers for Heroes scheme has rewarded some fantastic local residents who have gone the extra mile for their community, or those who have done something wonderful for someone else.

Working closely with the local communities we serve, we see first-hand the selfless work which is done by many of Watford’s residents. The Hampers for Heroes scheme allows people to nominate their everyday heroes and give them some well-deserved recognition.

Once the nominations were received, our Gateway Membership Team, which represents our tenants, had the difficult task of selecting five winners. The winners were invited to an afternoon tea at the Leavesden Green Community Hub, where they were celebrated and rewarded with a luxury hamper.

Coming from all over Watford and from a variety of backgrounds, the winners were chosen for their dedication to helping people in the community. Jamie-Leigh Barclay won for her passion for supporting and empowering women, having helped to set up an event earlier this year aimed at raising awareness of services available to women experiencing such problems as domestic abuse and isolation. Bill Leighton has been supporting his neighbours for years, and won for his commitment to helping people with limited mobility get around.

Another winner, Pat Slaughter, has been supporting people in the community since the 1970s! She is a huge part of her local spiritual church and recently put on a ‘winter barbecue’ for local residents and volunteers for the Peace Hospice. Her nomination said: “There is no chat about what she does, no trumpets – Pat just does what she does because of the kind-hearted beautiful soul that she is. I would love her to get some recognition for all that she has done for those in Watford.”

The final two winners, Brenda Bachelor and Dave Peachy, were nominated for their commitment to helping, even in the smallest ways. Brenda hosts regular coffee mornings and is a long-standing member of the Meriden Residents’ Association. Dave is always helping with local odd jobs for people, and always takes time out to lend a hand – nothing is too much for him!

As well as honouring the winners, all the nominees were given a certificate and a box of chocolates. Peter Tripp was nominated for his diligence in sharing local events to the wider community, Marion Strawhorne was nominated for going the extra mile for the Meriden Residents’ Association, Special Constable Debbie Curtis-England saved the day at a Deaf Group Safety Awareness day after she stepped in to use her sign language skills to cover for an interpreter and Brian Trowbridge was nominated for dedicating a huge amount of time as the Chair of a Watford Community Housing scrutiny review.

We would like to congratulate all the winners and nominees!