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Stalwart volunteer Phil Waters from Frimley has been honoured for his loyal service to UK-wide children’s charity Action Medical Research.
Phil, 64, who has helped to raise funds for the charity for more than 14 years, received an outstanding achievement award in recognition of his work.
The certificate from Action Medical Research is the highest recognition given to its volunteers and is signed by the charity’s patron, HRH The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh.
Phil, a former police officer who now works at Brooklands College in Weybridge, has raised more than £10,000 for the charity since 2002 with his numerous fundraising efforts, including cycling from London to Paris 11 times.
As well as being an ambassador for Action Medical Research, visiting community groups in the region to talk about the charity’s work, Phil has been an integral part of its annual Champions of CycleSport Dinner, helping to organise the inaugural event and volunteering on the day. And last year he swam between the West Pier and the Palace Pier in Brighton to raise vital funds to save and change the lives of sick babies and children.
“I feel a bit of a fraud getting such recognition as I get such a buzz out of helping Action Medical Research – I’m having such a good time doing it,” says Phil, who was born in Leatherhead and grew up in Southwick.
“Action is an amazing charity. Almost everyone out there has been touched by the fantastic work they’ve funded and the people that work there are fantastic; they make you feel a bit special – as if what you’re doing is good.”
Since Action Medical Research began in 1952, it has spent more than £115 million helping support some amazing medical breakthroughs that have helped save thousands of children’s lives and changed many more. Some of the work it previously supported is now commonplace in medical care, such as the vaccines for polio and rubella, the use of ultrasound scanning in pregnancy and the importance of taking folic acid before and during pregnancy to prevent spina bifida.
It is currently funding research into premature birth, meningitis, Down syndrome and epilepsy, as well as some rare and distressing conditions that severely affect children.
Paula Ray, the charity’s Community Fundraising Manager for London and the south east, said: “We’re very proud to present Phil with this special award in grateful recognition of his exceptional commitment and dedication to Action Medical Research over so many years.
“He has always been a great support to our team and it's thanks to the extraordinary hard work of volunteers like Phil that the charity has been able to establish such a long and distinguished track record of funding life-changing research to help babies and children. We hope people will continue to support their local fundraisers so we can do even more in the future.”
If you are interested in helping to raise funds for Action Medical Research, please email Paula Ray at pray@action.org.uk or call 07709 534366. For further information visit action.org.uk/support-us/volunteers
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To download an image of Phil Waters with his certificate, please click on the link below:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/phil_waters_with_certificate.jpg
For a high-res image of Phil Waters cycling from London to Paris in July 2016, please click on the link below:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/phil_waters_l2p_2016.jpg
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For more information on Action Medical Research, please contact Ellie Evans, Fundraising Communications Officer, on:
T 01403 327480
Follow us on Twitter at @actionmedres and @amr_events
Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/actionmedres
Follow us at pinterest/actionmedres
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For more than 60 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today.
Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.