Family Mosaic's pathways2work and Time Bank teams joined forces to delivery a special awards ceremony to acknowledge the hard work of residents who had volunteered their time through work placements or who had provided support to their community.

More than 50 proud volunteers attended the event along with many more family members and friends to celebrate their achievements with staff and partners.

Volunteers were rewarded with formal certificates, a goody bag and some vouchers in recognition of the time they had given up throughout the year.

We were delighted to have in attendance both the Deputy Mayor of Southwark, Councillor Lorraine Lauder MBE and Hackney Wick Councillor, Jessica Webb.

The evening got off to a fabulous start as guests were treated to wine and canapés as they soaked up the sultry tones of p2w client and professional singer, Jun Hamm (left).  Later there were some moving speeches from volunteers and staff members, who talked about the difference that volunteering can make, both to volunteers themselves as well as those who receive the volunteers support
Pathways2work client Michael Benjamin spoke about the enlightening experience he had during a volunteer work placement in the p2w team.  Later we heard from Faith Marriott (right)who took up two volunteer work placements through pathways2work before landing a full time position in Family Mosaic's Housing Options team.

'Immediate benefit within the community...'

Then it was over to the Time Bank clients, where we heard from Ineke Tysma and Joao Da Silva (below), who between them have volunteered 410 hours helping local Hackney residents.  Councillor Jessica Webb expressed her support for the Time Bank project, saying:

"The scheme is an excellent way for people to use their skills for immediate benefit within the community.  I can only commend those that I met on the night for their proven commitment to Time Bank and for Family Mosaic for supporting the scheme.  It is really good news that funding has been secured so it can expand to all Hackney residents."