Jim Parker: TV celebs, fayres, processions and sardines! What wonderful volunteers we have in Bay
Torbay’s army of volunteers and carers are humbling
No day is ever the same in the world of journalism. Over the course of the past 50-plus years in that world I have got to meet hundreds, if not thousands of people, mostly nice people, some not so nice, and covered hundreds of stories, some nice and some not so nice.
What has shone like a beacon in all that time is the community spirit we are so lucky to have here in our beautiful Bay.
We are blessed with not a small, but a giant army of volunteers doing great things for little reward and that’s not to mention the thousands of our unpaid carers.
Covid brought that spirit to life like never before as we all started caring for one another like we used to do back in the day as they say now..
Much of this doesn’t make Page One headlines but events, for instance, staged by the community for the community (and visitors) are worth their weight in gold in more ways than one.
In the past few days I have put together stories on local events ranging from pedal kart grand prix, carnival processions and vintage cars on the beach, to fayres, fireworks, Su Pollard and Christopher Biggins enjoying a laugh together at the local theatre and sardines!
All brought to us thanks to the sterling efforts of that powerful volunteer workforce.
The Babbacombe Fayre on the Downs at the weekend particularly grabbed me. Perhaps it was the fact that my granddaughter Neave was on stage performing with the brilliant theatre school Razzmatazz that had something to do with it.
But to see thousands of people enjoying more than 120 stalls - all manned by Rotary, Lions and other charities, clubs and organisations - in such an idyllic setting was magical, heart-warming and somewhat humbling.
The fact that almost £40,000 was raised for local charities, not taking into account the massive boost for businesses on the Downs, was simply amazing.
Steve Holdup and his merry men and women from the Rotary Club of Torbay Sunrise deserve special mention and they got it from Torbay MP Steve Darling who opened the fayre and said: “Steve Holdup is the mastermind behind a lot of it. Despite having to quite rightly call off the dog show due to the heat it was still very busy. Community events like these are the glue that sticks the Bay together.”
David Rowe, from Tormohun Rotary, added: “Babbacombe Fayre was an outstanding success last Sunday, a wonderful example of community spirit.
“The sun was shining with the backdrop of Babbacombe Bay at its best with a variety of over 120 different stalls from other Rotary Clubs, Lions & Mencap and so many more.
“Smiling faces all around, a real feeling of happiness, the entertainment on the main stage was brilliant, the young singers from the Razzamataz Theatre Schools … WOW!
“Particular praise must go to the Rotary Club of Sunrise for the enormous amount of work that goes into organising this event of this scale, all by committed Rotarian volunteers giving their time freely raising monies for local good causes both locally and further afield! Well done Sunrise.”
David Gledhill from Torbay Communities and one of the organisers of the Torbay Community Champion Awards, said: “Babbacombe Fayre is just one fabulous example of how our communities come together.
“Every day there are hundreds of voluntary and charitable organisations with thousands of volunteers working behind the scenes to make the Bay an even better place to be.
“No matter how hard we try, we can never thank our volunteers and charity workers enough; not only do they contribute an amazing amount of money to the local economy through fundraising, they also save an incredible amount of money through unpaid work, allowing groups and organisations to flourish.”
And talking of the value to the economy here are some startling figures relating to another invaluable army in the Bay - our army of unpaid and paid carers.
According to the 2021 census there are about 14,900 unpaid family carers in the Bay - that’s one in nine residents aged over five. More than 5,000 of them provide 50 hours of unpaid care every week. It is no surprise that the Bay has a higher rate of unpaid care than England overall.
As of March last year, 5,764 unpaid carers were on the unpaid carers Torbay Council register - many carers are not registered.
Recent national estimates put the value of unpaid care to the economy in the UK at £184billion a year. That valuation, if applied proportionately to the 14,900 in the Bay, suggests a contribution of £470 million a year. Staggering!
We have a chance to salute and honour our volunteers and carers with our Torbay Community Champion Awards.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 awards, recognising the volunteers, carers, charity workers and community champions who make a lasting difference across the English Riviera.
Now in their third year, the awards, organised by Torbay Communities in partnership with the Torbay Weekly, have already recognised around 300 individuals from the voluntary, community and social enterprise.
This year's awards will culminate in a ceremony at Bay Church in Paignton on Friday, October 2, with nominations remaining open throughout the summer.
Nine award categories are open for nominations this year, recognising people and organisations making a difference in communities across Torbay.
The categories are:
- Health and Wellbeing Champion
- Volunteer of the Year
- Young Volunteer of the Year
- Climate and Environment Champion
- Volunteering Team
- Lifetime Award
- Good Neighbour Award
- Carer of the Year
- Emergency Worker of the Year
During the awards ceremony, attendees will also vote to crown the Overall Community Champion from the category winners.
Anyone wishing to nominate a Community Champion can do so via the Torbay Communities website before entries close later this summer.
David Gledhill says: “Please take time out to nominate in the third Torbay Community Champion Awards. We have already honoured and thanked hundreds of people, but we know, as was clear at Babbacombe on Sunday there are so many more that deserve to be celebrated.”
It is the very least these brilliant people deserve..