We are thrilled to share that Neal, a Community Support Leader at Aspire Living and Sam, Service Quality Director at Thera South West, are finalists in the Leadership category at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards.
The Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards were originally created to celebrate the work of not-for-profit providers and to showcase the positive influence they have on people’s lives.
We are extremely proud to share that Neal Williams, a Community Support Leader at Aspire Living and Sam Avery, Service Quality Director at Thera South West, have been shortlisted as one of three finalists for the leadership category. This award “celebrates a person who has a leadership role at any level. The individual will have demonstrated outstanding leadership which has positively affected quality of care and encouraged a culture that puts people and quality first.”
When preparing Neal’s nomination, Su Waters, Operations Manager, said:
Neal has been with the company for 20 years during which he has grown in confidence which has resulted in a successful career with the organisation. On top of his CSL role, he is Aspire’s PROACT-SCIPr-UK(r) coach training people in Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) and educating staff members on how to properly implement PBS in their support work.
Neal is the glue holding the team together and always brings a positive attitude and mindset. This has been shown recently when his role has involved navigating several very difficult situations during which time he has developed partnerships with external organisations.
Neal has also had a huge effect on the mental health of the people we support. He encourages learning and exercise through fun activities which the people we support fall in love with. He has taught them how to catch fish and he has taught them how to camp. They make their own fire and catch their own food and the people supported absolutely love it. Neil takes his canoe and takes them out on the water. One of the people they support has ADHD and he can sit there for hours when he’s fishing. It’s such a huge deal for him to be able to find that moment of calm.
Estelle Christmas, Managing Director of Thera South West, wrote in Sam Avery’s nomination:
Leadership for me is the ability to walk in someone else’s shoes and help them find the solutions to challenges.
People with lived experience such as Sam, are true leaders when it comes to impacting how support is designed and implemented.
They know for real, what it feels like to be supported, how it feels to have things done for and to you, what works well and what doesn’t.
Sam doesn’t need to walk in anyone’s shoes, she has her own and is able to lead others in what is right and what is needed.
Sam is a powerful force for change in social care, Thera South West is proud to work alongside her, learn from her and make the changes needed to deliver good quality support.
We could not be prouder of Neal and Sam and are thrilled that they have been recognised for their impact and achievements at the 3rd Sector Care Awards. You can find out the other nominees and award categories here.
We would like to wish Neal and Sam good luck at the awards ceremony, which takes place in March this year.
Interested in joining an organisation recognised as having some of the best leaders in social care?