Wolverhampton man is 'volunteer of the year' after scooping national award

Harbhajan Singh Surj said he was "delighted" to take home the The Anne, Duchess of Norfolk Volunteer of the Year Award, given by Hospice UK, for his work at Compton Care.

The 70-year-old decided to start volunteering at the Wolverhampton-based charity - which provides palliative and bereavement support - after retiring from his job as an engineering manager in 2009.

He has since undertaken a range of roles including being a part of the fundraising team and a member of the 'People Panel', which aims to enable more people in the community to access services at the hospice.

Harbhajan, from Tettenhall in Wolverhampton, said: "I am both delighted and humbled to have received this award and I hope it will help further shine a light on Compton’s services. 

"There are many people within the Sikh community who are dedicated to supporting their local community. 

"By volunteering myself at Compton, I’ve been able to see first-hand the incredible work the charity does to support local people living with a life limiting condition."

The award winner added he was passionate about volunteering with Compton to raise awareness of the services provided by the hospice and show others how they can make a difference.

Karen Evans, partnership development manager at the charity, put Harbhajan forward for the title of 'volunteer of the year'.

She said: “Harbhajan has a real passion for championing Compton's vital services within his local community. He approached me to say he was keen to work with us to raise the profile of Compton within the South Asian community. 

"That meeting was the start of an amazing journey that has proven to be invaluable in supporting Compton’s goal to break down barriers to accessing our services and reduce health inequalities.

“One of the first things he highlighted was a language barrier and was instrumental in the development of translated posters that highlighted our specialist palliative care and bereavement support services."

Toby Porter, chief executive at Hospice UK, which represents more than 200 hospices around the UK, described Harbhajan’s work as a volunteer as "impressive".

He said: "His commitment to breaking down barriers to getting specialist palliative and end of life care for the South Asian community made him shine through as the winner.  

"By highlighting the need for translated written information, visiting local places of worship and supporting community open day events, his contribution has had a lasting impact on reducing inequity of access to care."

Rachel Overfield, CEO at Compton Care added she was "absolutely thrilled" by Harbhajan’s efforts.