Press release: Paul Woodham awarded BEM
26 June 2013
Paul Woodham from Staines has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s birthday honours list for voluntary services to deafblind people through a charity holidays programme.
Every year Sense – a national charity for deafblind people - organises around 25 one week holidays all over the UK for more than 120 deafblind children and adults. Holidaymakers stay in cottages, holiday villages, riverboats and activity centres, supported by trained volunteers like Paul. Activities range from horse riding in Lancashire to canal boating in Hertfordshire. The holidays also provide families that support a deafblind person with a break.
Paul has been a volunteer on Sense holidays since 1989, helping children and adults who are deafblind to enjoy a fantastic holiday experience.
Paul Woodham BEM, said:
“Being awarded a BEM is a real honour and I am overwhelmed to have been recognised by the Queen for my volunteering. Going on a Sense holiday with deafblind people is inspiring, rewarding and most of all great fun. I have been a volunteer for Sense for a long time now and each year I get something different out of the holiday experience.”
Hannah Tompkins, Head of Volunteering at Sense, said:
“Paul is an extremely valued volunteer on the Sense holidays programme and he has helped a huge number of deafblind people experience the joy of going on holiday independently, often for the first time. We are delighted that his commitment to supporting deafblind people has been recognised in the honours list.
“He has shown a great deal of dedication to volunteering over the years and I hope that he will continue to enjoy being a part of our holidays programme which would not be possible without the support of people like Paul.”
To find out more about Sense Holidays email holidays@sense.org.uk or visit our Holiday and short breaks page.
Notes to editors
Sense is a national charity that has supported and campaigned for children and adults who are deafblind for over 50 years. There are currently around 250,000 deafblind people in the UK.
Sense provides specialist information, advice and services to deafblind people, their families, carers and the professionals who work with them. We run services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and employ 2,000 people most of whom work in services directly with deafblind people. Our patron is HRH The Princess Royal.
Deafblindness is a combination of both sight and hearing difficulties. Some of these people are completely deaf and blind, but others have some remaining use of one or both senses.
Causes of deafblindness include premature birth and exposure to rubella during pregnancy, which can cause babies to be born deafblind. Sense therefore supports MMR which has proven to be the most effective vaccination programme against rubella. Some genetic conditions such as Usher syndrome can also result in deafblindness. People can also become deafblind at any time through illness, accident or in older age.