The ACE Awards - Bernadette Spellman

At last year’s Volonteurope conference in Genoa, Bernadette was selected from hundreds of entries as one of the eight winners in the Active Citizens of Europe Awards, recognising the outstanding contribution of volunteers across Europe.

She says...

"I co-delivered a workshop about peer support volunteering at Volonteurope 2008 in Genoa. This included telling people how they could support people with learning disabilities. I also shared my experiences and the type of support I have needed in the past and what I need now. I feel it is very important to share these skills so people all over Europe can learn how to support people with learning disabilities.

It was really good to meet people from lots of different countries and I was able to show them that people with learning disabilities can do lots of things with the right support. I also got to see what they do for people with disabilities in Genoa and share what the differences are back here.

I also attended the awards ceremony while I was there and actually won an award for the volunteering I do. I was really delighted to receive the award and to know people in Europe recognise the volunteering I do. It made me feel very proud.

I feel I gained so much from the experience and feel even more confident as a trainer and independent as a person. Thank you!"