Helping Herts is the Unsung Hero at the Bishops Stortford Indie Awards 2022
Helping Herts, the official charity of the Stort Valley Rotary Club, has been announced as the winner of the Unsung Hero Award at the Bishop’s Stortford Independent Community, Sport and Business Awards 2022. The awards ceremony took place on Thursday November 24 at South Mill Arts Centre.
The awards were overwhelmed with nominations as the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges of the current cost of living crisis have emphasised the extraordinary work carried out by people leading ordinary lives.
The Unsung Hero award, sponsored by Stort Chemicals, was created to celebrate the individuals and organisations who beaver away behind the scenes to make life better for others.
Gordon Morrison and Jim Tatchell, founders of Helping Herts, attended to collect the award which was presented by Mathew Sanderson, Sales Manager at Stort Chemicals.
At the ceremony Gordon and Jim were credited as being “an unstoppable fundraising team through combining their business acumen with philanthropy”.
They launched Helping Herts, a countywide campaign, with the backing of Stort Valley Rotary Club, to support good causes after the Covid-19 pandemic, when many charities were struggling to survive.
Though focussing their efforts on twelve organisations dedicated to child welfare, the Helping Herts campaign raised an impressive £210,000 in 2021 and £126,000 in 2022 so far. As well as coming up with innovative ideas to generate money for the charities, Gordon and Jim organised two intrepid charity walks in 2022. Earlier this year they walked 180 miles of the Hertfordshire Way together over two weeks, before inviting supporters of their sponsored charities to complete a leg each as part of a wider event.
As they drive Helping Herts forward, both Gordon and Jim are drawing on a wealth of experience in the business and charity sectors. Gordon, the president of Stort Valley Rotary, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire in recognition of his charitable work and has also chaired two charities to improve outcomes for children with cancer. After a successful career in construction, Gordon established the Chaldean Group of Companies to manage the Chaldean estate at Much Hadham.
Jim is also a Rotarian and a member of the Stort Valley council in addition to his work as a hands-on trustee of Bishop’s Stortford Food Bank. He uses his business experience as founder of a clutch ofcompanies, including Circadian FX, to lead Exidex, which stands for the Experienced Individuals Ideas Exchange. Before the pandemic, Jim was a founder member of English O’Clock, a language speaking group to welcome people of other nationalities to the town.
Gordon Morrison said: “Stort Valley Rotary created the Helping Herts initiative to gain interest from the people of Hertfordshire in the work that our partnering charities deliver. It is wonderful that our efforts have been recognised.”
Jim Tatchell said: “I was genuinely shocked and delighted to receive the award on behalf of Helping Herts.
It’s great to see the recognition of the work put in by the whole team to create something that is making a real difference across the county”.