Deborah Gadd
Rayleigh, Essex

Based at Eastwood Baptist Church in Nobles Green Road in Eastwood, The Olive Tree Centre provides counselling to help people work through their emotional and personal issues.

Debbie’s involvement with The Olive Tree Centre began in 2005 when the organisation’s founder, who attended the same church as Debbie, asked her if she would like to help out in the new counselling centre. Debbie agreed, without hesitation, and provided office and administrative support for the fledgling venture.

Despite having Multiple Sclerosis, which means that she isn’t able to do full time paid employment, Debbie finds that she can manage her volunteering around her condition so that she can attend the centre when she’s well enough, or can work from home.

The centre charges for its counselling services, but has a policy of never turning anyone in need away, even if they can’t pay. So it relies on income from clients and donations to survive. In 2008, Debbie, who had experience in raising money for charity, became the centre’s fundraiser and has organised numerous innovative and successful money making events, including popular curry nights, quiz nights, and raffles. She has also contacted hundreds of local and national stores for prizes and funding, and has been very successful with some major grant applications. In fact, over the past two years, Debbie’s fundraising activities have secured the organisation around one third of its income.

One of her colleagues describes Debbie as a “truly remarkable lady” who “is always cheerful and thinks always of others first”. As well as volunteering for the centre, Debbie also makes visits to an old people’s home, is a church receptionist, and helps out at a mother and toddler group.

Debbie’s long term ambition for The Olive Tree Centre is to secure enough funding to relocate to a new purpose built centre in Rayleigh.

Commenting on her Innovation in Fundraising Award, Debbie said: “This award means a lot to me and is a tribute to the great work that The Olive Tree Centre is doing. It also goes to show that you don’t need to let a debilitating condition like MS hold you back from making a difference to other people’s lives.”

Explaining the judges’ decision to present the award to Debbie, Dr Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England said: “Debbie embodies all that is special about volunteering. Despite her own health problems she has made an enormous contribution to The Olive Tree Centre and to the lives of the people it serves. Through her ingenuity and perseverance she has raised an exceptional amount of money for the trust and contributed hugely to the well running of the organisation. She is a richly deserving recipient of a 2011 Volunteer Award.”