17 Feb 2022 | Posted by Courtney Chandler
Kind-hearted woman takes home the Neighbour Positive Impact Award after years of dedicating her time to her community in Sheffield.
Jane Russon has lived and worked on the Woodthorpe estate her whole life and volunteered at the local community centre for the last ten years.
The community centre in Woodthorpe acts as a hub for the estate, with people constantly dropping by for a quick chat or to look around the community shop which Jane has helped to create.
Jane said, ‘It’s not just about what I do, it’s about what I do and the local community and the volunteers as well.’
Jane has become a leader for the community. She was a referral partner during covid to ensure that people had access to food from the food bank.
“I was hitting over 50 referrals a week at one point for the food bank.”
And she opened the community centre everyday to ensure people could connect with each other.
She said, “We carried on opening the building. But not as a shop, not as a community room. But there for people if they needed help.”
Chairs would be placed socially distanced outside so that there was somewhere for people to come and chat and connect.
Now more people across the estate use the community centre than ever before.
For Jane it is about bringing the community together. When presented with the award Jane was tearful. She said: “I’m speechless.”
But it’s one act of kindness for somebody who gives so much of their time to others. Congratulations Jane.