NOMINEES

Lin Cutforth

For many years, Lin has worked tirelessly for local charities. As a member of the mayoral committee in 2017/18, along with fellow volunteers, she helped raise £15,000 for the Mayor’s Charity to support local worthy causes.

In 2018 Lin organised a Gift Day to raise funds for installing new toilets including disabled access for the community hall at St Thomas’ Church, Helmshore. The afternoon raised more than £5,000. She also led on a project to decorate the hall which took over 500 volunteer hours to complete. Lin also volunteers at The Refectory café at the Church.

Lin is a volunteer at Caterpillars Mother and Toddler Group at Kay Street Baptist Church and at Family, Fun and Food sessions held during school holidays.

During her time as a parishioner at St Peter’s Church in Haslingden, Lin chaired the fundraising group organising a number of activities to raise funds for St Peters Community Centre. For almost four years, she sought funding and organised many events to raise more than £40,000 to fully renovate the community centre. Much of the decorating work was done by Lin personally.

Lin continues to support the weekly handicraft and knitting club she established, not to mention the many events that benefit from her renowned homemade cakes and buns! She also receives a much appreciated friendly welcome from the local older people she takes time to visit. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is another charity close to Lin’s heart and also benefits from her legendary baking skills. Lin supports their coffee mornings, cream teas and other events.

Marilyn Procter

Marilyn was one of the founders of the Haslingden Credit Union in 1991, along with Bill Greenwood, and remains an integral part of the organisation that provides affordable financial support to the community.

Marilyn has been a councillor for 18 years and proudly offers support to the Haslingden community whenever she can. She is part of the Haslingden Street Fair events team, ensuring the annual event continues to be a huge success in addition to organising the Christmas lights switch on.

Marilyn is a member of the ‘Keep Haslingden Tidy’ group and Rossendale Rotary - fundraising and giving support to the local community.

Dr Hilary Wait

Hilary qualified as a doctor in 1983 and has been a general practitioner (GP) for most of her career. She has worked in Rossendale for more than 25 years, providing outstanding care to the people living in the area. Not only has she improved the lives of thousands of patients through her hard work and commitment, she has also mentored and guided a new generation of doctors through her work in medical education.

In 2004, Hilary was instrumental in bringing together several small Rossendale East practices to form the Irwell Medical Practice, now one of the largest providers in East Lancashire serving approximately 15,000 patients. The Irwell Medical Practice was recognised in 2018 as Outstanding by the Clinical Quality Commission.

She is passionate about sexual health and has been heavily involved in the provision of care, establishing a dedicated service for Rossendale in the early 2000’s. She also voluntarily set up a sexual and emotional health service at a local Rossendale high school.

Hilary has been a volunteer trustee and long-time supporter of Rossendale Hospice. She is planning to retire this year and will leave behind a lasting legacy with her colleagues and members of the community she has cared for.

Jackie Oaks

Jackie Oaks is the backbone of most events in Bacup, Stacksteads, Waterfoot, Whitewell Bottom and surrounding areas.

Jackie is involved with two of the main events in her area - the Bacup Carnival and Lantern Parade.

Regardless of the event, Jackie’s leadership and organisational skills ensure everything runs smoothly and to plan. Rev Denise Smith

Denise is well known for her huge commitment to supporting the communities of Goodshaw, Loveclough and Crawshawbooth.

She is a non-stipendiary Anglican priest, which is unpaid and takes up a lot of her time every week.

Denise serves on the local community centre committee and is a member of the Crawshawbooth Primary governing body. She also leads the local Mothers’ Union and helps to run a mothers and toddlers group.

She is regarded as a compassionate leading light at the sheltered housing complex where she lives, and regularly helps to organise events encouraging fellow residents to get together and socialise.

Samara Barnes

While on maternity leave in 2018, Samara was instrumental in setting up the Rossendale arm of the Red Box Project - a national charity aimed at supporting young women, regardless of social and economic background by providing access to free sanitary protection to allow girls to remain in school and continue their education.

Samara’s initial plan was to support three local schools. Within 12 months the project included all high schools in Rossendale, the majority of primary schools and two youth groups. The expansion also included the M3 Project (a charity that offers supported lodgings to young people who are unable to live with their own families), SafeSpace (a project for homeless young people aged 16 to 25 with complex needs) and the Positive Start foodbank.

The Red Box Project relies solely on voluntary support and donations of sanitary products and underwear. To keep it running, Samara collects items from 22 local donation points to make up the red boxes and hand delivers them to schools and youth projects.

Samara’s selfless support of her local community also includes fundraising for Bury Homeless Service and the Rachel House charity. She also works with young carers, care leavers and the young homeless in partnership with Barnardo’s.

She also donates breast milk to the Human Milk Bank to support sick and premature babies across the North West and is a local peer mentor for the confidential TB Alert organisation.

Christine Moffatt and Janet King

In 2018, Christine and Janet founded the Rossendale Lamp Post Poppy Appeal to support the Royal British Legion (RBL) with a colourful and fitting tribute for Remembrance Sunday. Despite having busy working lives and family commitments they worked tirelessly from February to November, in partnership with the RBL, to raise in the region of £15,000 for the charity.

Over twelve months, Christine and Janet approached local businesses and organisations to sponsor lamp post poppies. With the help of volunteers and local schools, personal messages were written on the poppies before they were proudly installed in towns across the Valley – Waterfoot, Water, Whitewell Bottom, Newchurch, Rawtenstall, Crawshawbooth and Cowpe.

Along with fundraising for the Lamp Post Poppy Appeal, Christine and Janet also ensured that the Cowpe war memorial was restored to its former glory and organised the installation of the Tommy Soldiers Memorial in Waterfoot. They also involved Rossendale schools by inviting them to participate in a poetry and art competition where the theme was war/war horse. The winners were awarded a certificate and a monetary prize.

The Rossendale community came together on Sunday 11th November 2018 to commemorate the fallen on the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, thanks to the efforts of Christine and Janet.

Antonella Brollini

In recent years, Antonella has become an international social media sensation and is well known throughout Rossendale for her unique style, sense of humour and selfless support of local charities.

Despite suffering a stroke aged 37 leaving her unable to talk, Antonella refused to let her disability hold her back. With sheer grit and determination she battled back to health. With a renewed sense of perspective, she returned to work at the same time as making a career change to be a patient care advisor in Rawtenstall.

Antonella is now co-owner of the Ruby and Daisy Boutique in Haslingden and is an ambassador of the Curvy Couture range. She has helped countless women of all shapes and sizes find accessible and fashionable clothing - some travelling the length of the country for her fashion and styling tips. She also writes a monthly styling blog for the Lancashire and North West magazine.

Antonella has hosted various fundraising events across the valley to support The Raft Foundation, Charlie’s Chapter, St Mary’s RC Primary School Parent Teacher Association, Bury Hospice, Gemma Epstein and Andy Shaw.

Antonella is also a charity ambassador. Along with her friend, gynaecological nurse Karen Christian, she made a video to raise awareness of the Smear for Smear Campaign, to encourage more women to take the simple, potentially lifesaving test. She has undertaken charity challenges for the NSPCC and supports the Alzheimer’s Society “Look Good Feel Better” campaign, Mental Health is Trending and The Albert Kennedy Trust.

Her sense of humour and larger than life personality are contagious and have brought hope to many during their darkest hours. Antonella frequently visits her terminally ill fans in hospices or at home. Affectionately known as her flower pots, she happily travels across the UK to meet people whose dying wishes are to meet her in person.

Rachel Yates Hoyle

Over the past six years, Rachel has played an active role in supporting the Haslingden community to become dementia friendly. She co-founded Made in Haslingden, providing regular community craft groups and a “Men’s shed” offering support to people living with dementia who may feel socially isolated.

Rachel also established the Death Café, offering people (some of whom may be on their own) the opportunity to chat about death, dying and bereavement in a safe space, enabling them to live life to the full.

Rachel’s continued passion for providing support services for dementia and Alzheimer’s across Lancashire has led her to recently set up her own dementia training and consulting agency.

Rachel is well known for her warm, supportive and welcoming nature, and is always happy to share her own experiences to help others share their concerns.

Ramana Devi

Ramana is a highly regarded member of the Rossendale community, known for her support to charities.

In 2009, Ramana set up an animal sanctuary in Water, Rossendale, providing food, shelter and veterinary care for any animal in need. Supported by her family, she has rescued more than 50 animals including cats, dogs, cattle, sheep, chickens and race horses. She also oversees other environmental projects including planting 6,000 trees and cultivating spaces for wildlife to thrive.

Ramana runs the successful Shiva Trust, offering free services to people in need. In 2016, after many years of supporting people with mental health issues and addictions and offering volunteering opportunities to help people achieve employability, she established the Ekah Foundation in Rawtenstall. This social enterprise focuses on health and wellbeing by selling cruelty-free products and offering free or low-cost self-development education courses.

Ramana is a remarkable woman. She is a female Satguru - a title given to a person whose life purpose is assisting others to self-actualise and achieve their full potential. Her compassion knows no bounds - she works selflessly seven days a week for the positive wellbeing of everyone.

In memory of Gemma Nuttall

Despite being diagnosed with cancer, and being paralysed from the waist down, Gemma devoted her last few weeks to caring for her daughter, Penelope, as best she could, while fundraising for children. She set up the GemmaRose Foundation, and her fantastic efforts raised over £2,200.

Gemma was cared for by Rossendale Hospice, and was particularly grateful to one of the therapists, Marion. She spent time with Gemma and her family, guiding them through how to help Penelope come to terms with her mum’s illness and terminal diagnosis. Marion also went to Penelope’s school to offer play therapy – a service Gemma wasn’t even aware existed.

Gemma left special instructions for the money she raised to be donated to two charities whose care and dedication she had experienced first-hand. The funds were to go to Rossendale Hospice, to support the amazing services of therapists like Marion and the work they do to help children and families through the trauma of losing a parent, and Pendleside Hospice who cared for Gemma during her final days.

Gemma passed away aged 29 at Pendleside Hospice on 14 October 2018. A truly inspirational woman, whose selflessness did so much to support her local community in such a short time, leaving a lasting legacy for Penelope, her mum, Helen and her family.

Her memory will live on through the GemmaRose Foundation, the charity she created and will continue to raise money for Rossendale and Pendleside Hospices and other local charities, thanks to the dedication of her mum and her family.