Archived press release

Date Published: 11/12/06

Years of tireless work raising money for local and national charities have earned an Aylesbury pensioner a special award. Harry Smith, 87, of Reynolds Drive, who is visually impaired, has been named as Aylesbury Vale District Council’s Volu...

Years of tireless work raising money for local and national charities have earned an Aylesbury pensioner a special award.

Harry Smith, 87, of Reynolds Drive, who is visually impaired, has been named as Aylesbury Vale District Council’s Volunteer of the Year for 2006 for his outstanding commitment to valuable causes.

A keen fundraiser, Harry can regularly be found standing outside Tesco in Aylesbury collecting money for the Bucks Association for the Blind (BAB). He has been a member of BAB for ten years, serving on the committee and running a group to help the blind and visually impaired learn to use computers.

On losing his sight, Harry was given training to learn keyboard and computer skills by a BAB volunteer. This motivated Harry to set up a computer support group for fellow members. The project was launched in 2004 and Harry continues to work tirelessly to provide guidelines and training documentation in large print for members.

Harry spends his Saturdays collecting for Aylesbury Vale Dial-a-Ride, an organisation which helps people in the district who are unable to access public transport.  He has been on the management committee since it started in 1997 and each year organises fundraising events ranging from sponsored walks to abseiling.  Harry has raised as much as £2,500 in a year for his efforts.

Every year, on his birthday, Harry performs a sponsored physical activity to raise money to support WheelPower’s work for people with disabilities at Stoke Mandeville Stadium. He trains twice a week at the stadium with a personal trainer in order to be fit enough to carry out his fundraising activities. To celebrate his 84th birthday, Harry organised a ‘Sporting Marathon’, which included an indoor bowls match, cycling, rowing, running and swimming, and raised £1,128 for WheelPower. 

Harry is also an official speaker on behalf of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and helps support his local voluntary fundraising branch. As well as being a guide dog owner, he regularly visits schools and clubs to give talks on the work of the charity and takes part in fundraising events.

As an ex-RAF serviceman, Harry also supports RAF Halton and their various fundraising activities. He has devoted much of his time and effort to raising funds during the annual Wings Appeal and has participated in numerous charity walks.

The annual AVDC Volunteer of the Year Award recognises and rewards the efforts of people within the district who go out of their way voluntarily to help others. Earlier this year Aylesbury Vale residents were invited to nominate people who they felt were deserving of this award. A panel of judges made up of local councillors had the task of deciding on a winner.

Councillor Pam Pearce, Cabinet Member for Community Matters, who chaired the judging panel this year, said: “There are many local people who work incredibly hard and go that extra mile to improve the life of their local community or the district of Aylesbury Vale as a whole. Harry Smith is an exceptional example of that spirit and a worthy recipient of the award. I would like to say a big thank you to Harry and to all the volunteers in Aylesbury Vale who give their time freely and work tirelessly to make life better for those around them.”

Winner Harry Smith commented: “I’m really pleased to accept this honour. The charities I support are fantastic and it feels great to be giving something back to the community. I hope that my work will encourage more people to take part in fundraising activities and help their local community.” 

Nominating Harry for the award, Aylesbury resident Sigrid Muller, who is also a member of BAB, said: “In view of his never-ending enthusiasm to give his time and effort to help others, I feel very strongly that Harry deserves some form of recognition for all his good work.”

Runner-up was Francesca Flaxton, who was nominated by local resident Claire-Lise Escher Kessler for supporting numerous initiatives within her home village of Haddenham. Her many important roles include running the local brownie pack, assisting children with their reading at the junior school, helping out at a Christian lunchtime club for young pupils and organising church events.

Francesca is also a leading member of Haddenham Cycle Training, which offers cycling training to young people aged six to 11 years old. She trained 60 children in the summer of 2005 and has taught more than 70 youngsters so far in 2006. Francesca has also trained adult volunteers from all three Haddenham schools to enable them to organise further cycling training courses and has organised a number of successful cycling events.

Chairman of the Council, Councillor Sue Polhill, will present Mr Smith with £100 worth of gift vouchers and a commemorative certificate as his award at a private ceremony on 14 December. Ms Flaxton will also receive a commemorative certificate.