A volunteer at a foodbank working to help Harrow’s poor and vulnerable is the latest in the line of nominations for our local heroes awards.

The annual Harrow’s Heroes ceremony, which celebrates the good work done by the borough’s volunteers and is run in conjunction with Harrow Council and the Edgware and Stanmore Rotary Club, is returning later this year, and Observer readers are flocking to put forward their local hero.

Sandra Walsh, 67, of Radnor Road, Harrow on the Hill, has been nominated by her team of volunteers at Harrow Foodbank in the Bringing People Together category.

She said: “I was very touched when they nominated me. The truth is I completely rely on all their hard work and dedication, but it was very kind of them to think of me.”

Since May last year, manager Mrs Walsh and her team have volunteered at Harrow Foodbank’s warehouse in Rosslyn Crescent, Harrow, where people go if they are struggling to the point where they can no longer afford to support themselves.

Harrow's Heroes nominee Sandra Walsh, manager of Harrow Foodbank, the warehouse for which is in Rosslyn Crescent, Harrow
Harrow's Heroes nominee Sandra Walsh, manager of Harrow Foodbank, the warehouse for which is in Rosslyn Crescent, Harrow

Mrs Walsh said: “We work with people who have lost jobs, or if their benefit payments are late – it can really break your heart, especially when you think that these people have children.

“Some are on the verge of suicide. I don’t know what they would do if it wasn’t for the food bank. But there are the stories that make it all worthwhile too.

“We have had a man who regularly comes in who had been struggling and sleeping in a car park in Kenton. He had just been offered a job at Sainsbury’s but only on condition that he can turn up in some black shoes. We all pitched in and he got some, and he came back on Friday, in all his uniform, and it was great to see that the support we managed to give him put him on a road to a better life.

“It is hard work, volunteering, especially at the food bank, but you really get the sense when you come home after a day there that you have done some great work. We have helped about 4,000 people since we started, and currently have about eight tons of food.”

Harrow Foodbank is run by the Trussell Trust and distributes food via a voucher system at Holy Trinity Wealdstone in Headstone Drive, Wealdstone, and St Paul’s Church in Corbins Lane, South Harrow.

Harrow’s Heroes awards ceremony takes place at Harrow Arts Centre in Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, in November, and

HOW TO NOMINATE

There are six categories:

■ Young volunteer

■ Bringing people together

■ Inspiring volunteer

■ Health and wellbeing

■ Lifelong volunteer

■ Volunteer team

Nominate at www.getwestlondon.co.uk/harrowheroes before Monday August 18.