Assemblies in the School during November relaunched the Haines Award for Service and Volunteering in the Community. The award was started in 2012 as a memorial for the lives of service of Ruth and Frank Haines. These members of the Alcombe Methodist Church were role models of care for others. Christians Together in Minehead organised the annual award at Minehead Middle School until the Covid pandemic in 2019 closed our schools, and as with many things it has taken time to re-establish this community centred initiative.
Assistant Head Teacher, Alex Dyer, introduced the assemblies by talking about the importance of leaving a lasting legacy. Ruth and Frank had certainly done that, and for seven years pupils from the school had done the same, adding their names to the Haines Award shield. Lynne Wooldridge, from Christians Together in Minehead, talked to the youngsters about ideas for making a difference in their communities. The teachers at the school will build on this, with further conversations to help them think about how they could answer the challenge to serve others for the rest of this academic year.
Lynne talked about what volunteers gain through their efforts - things like confidence, new skills, the chance to feel proud and the satisfaction of making a difference with the chance to meet new people of different backgrounds and to stand out from the crowd. She also described the impact their volunteering could have on others; allowing them to feel supported and treated with kindness, cared for and understood and giving them reasons for hope and renewed happiness.
The assemblies were received enthusiastically by the pupils and the staff, and we can all look forward to seeing the fruits of the young peoples’ imaginations and efforts. We hope that people living in the communities of West Somerset will encourage and support the young people of Minehead Middle School as they try to create lasting legacies. We look forward to recognising and celebrating those efforts at the end of the summer term.
Lynne Wooldridge Coordinator of the Haines Award on behalf of CTiM, December 2024