Volunteer Jane is a Coronation Champion!

We are delighted to announce that Jane Fairchild, one of our amazing volunteers has been chosen for a prestigious Coronation Champion Award.

The Coronation Champions Awards, launched by Royal Voluntary Service, is all about celebrating the work of extraordinary volunteers across the UK.

Thousands of people aged from 14 to 103 from all over the UK and supporting a range of causes were nominated and from these nominations just 500 volunteers have been hand-picked by a judging panel presided over by the Queen Consort, and crowned Coronation Champions.

All 500 Coronation Champions will receive a specially designed, official Coronation Champions pin and a signed certificate from His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort and are invited to attend one of the official Coronation celebrations, such as the Windsor Castle Coronation Concert or a Coronation Garden Party.

About Jane Fairchild and Colleen’s Crafters

For the last decade, Jane and her knitting team, ‘Colleen’s Crafters’, have handmade thousands of toys, clothes, and gifts in aid of Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service.

Each year Jane and her team attend around 40 community events to sell these items and to date have raised a staggering £49,500.

Jane’s fundraising for Alexander Devine started because of her mother, Colleen.

It was at a Christmas Fair in Reading in 2012 that Colleen, along with her daughter Jane, first heard of Alexander Devine. At the time they were finishing fundraising for another charity and the event was to be Colleen’s last event before stepping back from her fundraising activities.

However, all that was to change when Colleen and Jane met one of our Community Fundraisers, Susie Knowles. Colleen was so taken by the story of Alexander and the charity’s mission to build a children’s hospice service for Berkshire, she decided to rethink her retirement plans and threw herself into fundraising for Alexander Devine.

Colleen often described our charity as being very close to her heart. To all of us at Alexander Devine, Colleen was a treasured member of our team. She was a very special lady who absolutely embodied all our core values.

Very sadly, in 2018 Colleen passed away. Her daughter Jane decided that she would carry on Colleen’s work and in memory of her beloved mum, the group was named Colleen’s Crafters.

Back in 2013, when Collen and Jane attended markets in aid of us, there were eight other ladies who were knitting soft toys and children’s clothing for the stall. Over the years, Colleen’s Crafters has grown and there are now 22 members. The team is also supported by the wonderful Benedict Court Ladies who knit items for our charity.

As well as creating beautiful handmade toys, baby clothes and gifts, Colleen’s Crafters attend craft fairs all throughout the year to raise money for our children’s hospice service. They cover West Berkshire and surrounding areas, such as Devizes, Marlborough and Laycock.

Debbie Tonkinson, Alexander Devine’s Volunteer Development Manager praised Jane for her incredible contribution to the charity over the last decade:

Jane thoroughly deserves this amazing recognition and we are so proud of her!

 

Her phenomenal fundraising with her team of knitters has made a huge difference to our charity both financially and also vitally in helping raise awareness of our children’s hospice service in West Berkshire.

 

Jane’s tireless drive to do all she can to champion our charity is incredible and so inspiring to others. It has led to welcoming more and more members to Colleen’s Crafters, which now has 22 knitters.

 

Over the last decade, Jane’s team has raised a staggering £49,500, £10,000 of which was in 2022. To date, this total would be enough to fund more than 1,000 hours of specialist care for children and families.