A Vale of Glamorgan Council elected member has received a prestigious accolade in recognition of his many years’ service as a volunteer in Wales.
Cllr Anthony Hampton, the Vale’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, was presented with a certificate to recognise over 10 years’ service as a volunteer at the Victim Support event held at St David’s Hotel and Spa on 19 October.
Cllr Hampton, along with other volunteers who have dedicated their time to helping victims and witnesses of crime in Wales, received his award from Victim Support’s President, HRH the Princess Royal.
Victim Support is an independent charity for victims and witnesses of crime in England and Wales. Set up 35 years ago, it has grown to become the oldest and largest victims’ organisation in the world, contacting over 1.5 million people after a crime to offer help.
The charity’s dedicated volunteers are its lifeblood, outnumbering staff by about four to one. They give emotional support and practical help to victims and witnesses from the moment a crime happens, throughout any subsequent trial, and for as long afterwards as necessary.
Senior staff, trustees and volunteers from Victim Support Cymru had the opportunity to meet with the Princess at the event and celebrate the valuable work of the charity in helping victims and witnesses of crime.
Cllr Hampton said: “This was a wonderful event and I’m very grateful to the organiser for this honour. As you can appreciate, the volunteers are unpaid and spend a great deal of time supporting victims of crime, incidents of which can sometimes be horrendous. The visit by HRH Princess Anne to conduct the ceremony was a tremendous boost to the morale of the volunteers and highlights this event as a landmark occasion for the charity and all those involved.”
Gaynor McKeown, Victim Support’s Regional Manager for Wales, said: “The dedication these volunteers have shown over the past 10 years is amazing, and they really deserve this award. We rely on the dedication of our volunteers, and without them we wouldn’t be able to give the same level of support for victims and witnesses in the aftermath of crime.”
In the last year, the volunteers in Wales have contacted over 58,569 victims of crime in the community and more than 17,036 victims and witnesses attending court.
For more information on Victim Support please visit their website at www.victimsupport.org.uk or call the Wales regional office on 02920 464585.
