Catherine MacLennan is this year’s runner up finalist for Britain’s Best Volunteer Award, an award run by Small Charities Coalition and Markel UK.

Catherine MacLennan has lost six babies to miscarriage and since then has been a tireless volunteer for the Miscarriage Association. This charity provides important information and support to anyone who has suffered the loss of a baby in pregnancy. Catherine was nominated by her own parents and Julia Collar, Hannah Taylor, Carly Onions and Andrea Ford. She has been volunteering with the Miscarriage Association charity since 2011 and is constantly working to raise awareness and funs for the charity.                                                

She does a lot of work whilst volunteering including supporting those that have miscarried or who are going through pregnancy as well as organising countless fundraising events to provide further support to those families who have gone through a miscarriage. She organises night time sponsored walks, candle vigils and provides online support to many people who experience problematic pregnancies. Catherine also runs the Heartlands Miscarriage Support Group in Birmingham where she arranges further fund-raising events whilst offering her support to those in the West Midlands.

The Britain’s Best Volunteer award is run by Markel and Small Charities Coalition who come together in order to discover and award the nation’s most deserving volunteers. The winner wins the grand prize of £1,000 in holiday vouchers for personal use and £1,250 to donate to a charity of their choice. Runners-up of the award, including Catherine MacLennan, Roger Pratten, John Crawley and John Shannon all win an iPad Mini and a donation of £250 to their chosen charity or charities.

The winner of the Britain’s Best Volunteer award this year is Emma Hall, the co-founder and volunteer at Stepping Stones DS. Emma is from Fleet in Hampshire and co-founded the group Stepping Stones after her own daughter Isla was unfortunately diagnosed with Down’s syndrome. The organization helps and supports over 100 families across Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire