Woodbury's LED Community Leisure has won The Above and Beyond award at the inaugural Active Kindness Awards.

Organised by Community Leisure UK, the event was held in The Monastery in Manchester.

The aim of the awards is to acknowledge charitable trusts and social enterprises excelling in creating sustainable volunteering programmes in public leisure and cultural sectors.

LED Community Leisure's win was credited to the tireless efforts of its community engagement manager, Lottie Edwards.

Ms Edwards logged over 1,000 miles attending meetings, spreading her enthusiasm among volunteers and Active Kindness members alike.

Bryony Hudson, Active Kindness programme manager, said: "Lottie has an infectious personality and that’s really important when it comes to volunteering because that enthusiasm is passed on to others, who then pass it on to even more people.

"She’s been 100% committed to this project, a 1,000 mile journey is testament to that."

Sidmouth Herald: LED Community Leisure's win was credited to the tireless efforts of its community engagement

The CEO of LED Community Leisure, Peter Gilpin praised Ms Edwards, saying: "Lottie is a very well-deserved winner of this award, and we are very proud of the work that she does within the local community.

"The fact that we have 40 volunteer walk leaders supervising 3,300 wellbeing walkers in East Devon is a wonderful example of what she has achieved this year, so important as we recover from the pandemic."

The Active Kindness programme, backed by Sport England, nurtures volunteer approaches specific to Charitable Trusts and Social Enterprises offering public leisure and culture.

LED Community Leisure UK and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations have since supported 14 Community Leisure UK members with training for the realisation, improvement and monitoring of volunteer strategies.