Volunteer Dedicated Award 2025

This award recognises volunteers who have dedicated their efforts to supporting staff, fellow volunteers, and service users. 

Congratulations to our shortlisted volunteers: Barry, Grace, Patricia, Sowmiya, Shakil Dawood and Karagh. 

The Dedicated Award winner is Shakil Dawood

Shakil has been a volunteer at the Tooting Recovery Café since May 2017, just a month after it opened, demonstrating exceptional commitment to the café and its visitors. His contributions have been diverse and wide-ranging, from leading creative writing and discussion groups to providing invaluable emotional support and assisting with the café’s operations, including setting up and answering the intercom before opening time. 

A prolific poet, Shakil has written over 20 volumes of poetry, further showcasing his creativity and depth of character. His dedication to supporting peers on their mental health recovery journey is truly inspiring. 

The team are truly inspired by Shakil, who embodies what it means to support his peers in their mental health recovery. He is an inspiration to those he supports, proving that recovery and giving back to others go hand in hand. 

"His dedication, compassion, and resilience shine through."