Charity Champion or Volunteer of the Year nominees – Dave and Jill Whitmore

Charity Champion or Volunteer of the Year nominees – Dave and Jill Whitmore

Dave and Jill Whitmore have been volunteering in their village for so long that some of the children they’ve supported now send their own children to community events organised by them.

The couple, both Madeley Parish Councillors, have been stalwarts of the Madeley community for decades.

An annual carnival, litter picks, awards evenings supported by Gordon Banks OBE, Halloween discos, Easter egg trails, Christmas parties and pantos, trips to Cosford Air Show – you name it and Dave and Jill have done it. The couple also ran Madeley Residents Association for many years.

Dave, 60, combines his voluntary work with working shifts at Bentley Motors. Jill, 68, is the village’s school crossing patrol after stepping into the breach when the post couldn’t be filled.

Dave and Jill are tireless supporters of partially deaf boxer Poppy Edwards, a previous Your Heroes Awards Future Star winner, and have been fundraising so that Poppy can compete overseas.

The Whitmores have been nominated in the Charity Champion or Volunteer category of the Your Heroes Awards by Poppy’s mum, Amy Edwards.

She said: “David and Jill are an amazing couple. They tirelessly help n the community, organising themed events throughout the year such as Halloween discos and spooky trails and Easter egg hunts. David will often spend his spare time litter picking to keep our village tidy.

“Both David and Jill have worked extremely hard to support previous Your Heroes winner Poppy Edwards to help raise funds to enable her to fight abroad. They organised a table top sale, sold David’s paintings and raffles to name but a few of the fundraising ideas and continue to support Poppy in any way they can.

“David and Jill are an asset to our village. Jill works as a patrol lady crossing the children safely to school each day – and always with a friendly smile.

“As a village we are lucky to have a couple who are dedicated to putting others before themselves to make others’ lives that bit brighter. I know personally that Poppy is extremely lucky to have the support from David and Jill.”

Dave said: “The bottom line is that I still do this because I care. I still believe that strong communities are safe communities. We’ve still got strong bonds with some of the people who came to us as children and now have children of their own.”