Mandy wins in the Great British Care Awards

Optalis is thrilled and proud to announce that Mandy Loveday, a Senior Support Worker for the Wokingham Learning Disabilities Day Service based at the Acorn Community Centre in Woosehill, has won the South East Regional Award for Ancillary Worker of the Year at the 2015 Great British Care Awards. The ceremony took place at the Waterfront Hotel in Brighton on 3 December.

The award recognises an excellent, person-centred approach to clients, demonstrating dignity and respect through support services.

Mandy’s award was primarily for her work in setting up the Sensory Garden at the Centre. The Garden started as a patch of wasteland and was transformed by the garden project team made up of clients of the service and led by Mandy into something that could be used by everyone at the Community Centre. A special feature of the garden is its use of recycled materials such as crockery, wellington boots, mirrors, playing cards and cutlery.

Mandy said, “We had the idea of turning something old into something new and then I thought the Mad Hatters tea party would be a good theme so that inspired all the decorations for the garden.

Paying tribute to Mandy’s achievement of this prestigious award, Mette Le Jakobsen, Optalis Managing Director said, “Mandy has made an amazing contribution to the Day Service and to the people we support through her imagination and creativity and her ability to motivate and engage others. The garden is a lasting legacy to us all and is a reminder of Mandy’s unique talents and the core values of inclusion that she espouses so effortlessly.”

You can see a video of the opening ceremony of the Sensory Garden here: https://vimeo.com/136192436

Photo caption: Ancillary Worker of the Year Award Winner Mandy Loveday (second left) with members of the Sensory Garden project team