Mum who founded inclusive children’s group wins Welsh Volunteer of the Year

Nation.Cymru Staff

A mother who founded an inclusive early years community group following her daughter’s diagnosis with a rare genetic disorder has been recognised for her volunteering work at a national awards ceremony.

Annie Hutchings created Tots Early Years Community (TEYC) when her daughter, Annabel, was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder just before her first birthday, and the group now welcomes around 25 to 30 families in a typical week.

The founder and lead volunteer of the group in Monmouthshire, Annie has now been named Volunteer of the Year at the Welsh Charity Awards 2026, held at the Hilton Hotel, Cardiff, on Thursday 15 October.

Charities, community groups, not-for-profits and volunteers gathered to honour this year’s finalists at the ceremony, hosted by BBC Wales Today presenter Jennifer Jones and organised by WCVA (Wales Council for Voluntary Action).

Other winners included Cancer Research Wales, which scooped Organisation of the Year, while Young Volunteer of the Year went to Bowen Cole from Swansea.

Research by Policy&Practice at St Chad’s College, Durham University, commissioned by WCVA and published in May 2026, estimates that 212,200 regular volunteers like Annie and Bowen give 15.3 million hours of their time to organisations in Wales, and that the sector as a whole generates £3.98 billion of social value, every year.

Annie Hutchings said: “I couldn’t change my daughter’s diagnosis, but I could change the small part of the world she grows up in. That belief is at the heart of Tots Early Years Community.

“I’m really proud of the community we’ve built, the families who trust us and the volunteers who make it all possible.”

Annie balances her role as a volunteer with navigating Annabel’s care and raising her son Joey. Her experiences have helped shape a non-clinical, welcoming community where children can participate in their own way, and parents and carers can find a supporting community.

Cabinet Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution, Dafydd Trystan Davies, said: “Tonight’s winners and finalists show the very best of Wales.

“From Bowen Cole’s youth advocacy and volunteering with YMCA Swansea to Cancer Research Wales’ largest ever investment in research, they show what people and organisations can achieve across this small but mighty nation.

“Every volunteer and charity worker who steps in or finds a way through a problem makes life a little easier for someone, often a stranger. Those values keep Wales the place we all know and love. Across Government, we recognise and value everything you do.”

Swansea’s Bowen Cole was also announced winner of the Young Volunteer of the Year award, who has dedicated hundreds of hours to youth advocacy, equality and peacebuilding in Wales and internationally.

Bowen studies International Relations full-time and has championed underrepresented communities at the Senedd, supported cancer awareness campaigns following his mother’s diagnosis, and encouraged dialogue on the conflict in DR Congo.

Organisation of the Year was awarded to Cancer Research Wales, the only charity dedicated to funding cancer research in Wales.

This year marked its largest research investment in its 60-year history, totalling £2.86m across 20 new projects, which included nine PhD studentships and the charity’s first-ever five-year Fellowship, awarded to Dr Bruce MacLachlan of Cardiff University to establish a laboratory developing new forms of immunotherapy.

Dr Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, WCVA Chief Executive, said: “Tonight is about every one of our winners and finalists, and the thousands of people and organisations they represent.

“From supporting survivors of domestic abuse to championing the Welsh language, community energy and young people’s wellbeing, they show what Wales’ voluntary sector does every single day, often quietly and with no thought of reward.

:Volunteers across Wales give 15.3 million hours of their time every year. That’s 15.3 million hours of kindness, and tonight we got to celebrate just a few of the people behind that figure. Llongyfarchiadau to every one of you.”

Marco Gil-Cervantes of ProMo Cymru also became the first recipient of the new Graham Benfield Outstanding Achievement Award.

Created in memory of Graham Benfield, WCVA Chief Executive from 1989 to 2014, the award recognises Marco’s 30 years of leadership in the voluntary sector, during which he grew ProMo Cymru into a 50-strong social enterprise, set up two helplines for young people, and raised £1.2 million to save Ebbw Vale Institute.

The Welsh Charity Awards is the only dedicated awards ceremony celebrating charities and voluntary organisations across Wales. To find out more about this year’s nominees and winners, visit the Awards’ site here.

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