Entries Open for Cats Protection’s Volunteer of the Year Awards

HAYWARDS HEATH, England - Cats Protection is urging anyone impressed by the work of a particular Cats Protection volunteer to enter them for the charity’s Volunteer of the Year 2009 Awards.

The awards, now in their second year, celebrate the huge part played by the charity’s 7,000 volunteers to the success of the charity, which helps 157,000 cats and kittens each year.

People are encouraged to nominate any Cats Protection volunteer who they feel is worthy of special recognition for their efforts. People can enter as many volunteers as they like, for any or all of the following awards:

* Bright Ideas - for a volunteer who comes up with original ways of helping the charity, such as a quirky or exciting way of raising funds

* Flying the Flag - those volunteers raising the profile of their branch or centre. Last year’s winner enlisted a male voice choir to tour the local area spreading word about the work of the local Cats Protection branch!

* Unsung Hero - those volunteers playing a vital ‘behind the scenes’ role, such as repairing cat pens or organising a lucrative bric-a-brac sale year after year!

* Extra Mile - volunteers who go above and beyond the call of duty, such as camping out for nights on end to trap and collect feral cats before finding them new homes

* Distinguished Service - for any volunteer who has shown an incredible level of commitment to Cats Protection and cat welfare, sometimes over many years

The closing date for receipt of entry forms is 19 June 2009. Cats Protection will judge the entries, and the finalists in each category will be invited to a ceremony at the charity’s National Cat Centre in Sussex, on 19 September 2009. There, the winners of each category - and the overall Volunteer of the Year 2009 - will be announced!

To enter a chosen volunteer, please visit www.cats.org.uk/newsandevents/volunteer_awards.asp where an entry form can be completed online, or printed out and posted back to the charity.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Volunteer of the Year 2009 Award winner will be selected from the winners of four of the categories (Bright Ideas, Flying the Flag, Unsung Hero and Extra Mile). The Distinguished Service Award is a special award, with the winner being selected by Cats Protection’s Board of Trustees.

2. Cats Protection’s Volunteer of the Year for 2008 was Sharyn Wood, co-ordinator of Cats Protection’s Arbroath and District branch. Sharyn won both the Extra Mile Award and the Volunteer of the Year Award for helping her branch find new homes for 350 unwanted cats in 2007, as well as sharing her knowledge with other branches and taking in cats and kittens from branches that were struggling to accommodate them. If you would like to interview Sharyn, or any of last year’s category winners, then please contact the Media Office.

3. Cats Protection’s registered charity number is 203644 (England and Wales) and SCO37711 (Scotland). The charity’s vision is to ensure that every cat is given the chance of a life where it will be treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs.

4. Founded as the Cats Protection League in 1927, the charity adopted the name Cats Protection in 1998. We ask that you use the name Cats Protection when referring to the charity in all published material.

5. More information about the work of Cats Protection can be found at www.cats.org.uk

Source: Cats Protection

For more information, please contact Cats Protection’s Media Office on email: media.office at cats.org.uk or tel: +44-1825-741911