Brookes students honoured at Volunteer Awards

We were delighted to host the annual Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) awards on Wednesday 17 June at Headington Hill Hall, where two of our students were awarded for their outstanding contributions to the community.

Annual Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) awards 2026

Congratulations to Oxford Brookes students Lizzie Bowerman and Soniya Porthukaran who recently received awards at the Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) awards ceremony in recognition of their outstanding volunteering work in the community.

Lizzie was presented with the Student Volunteer Award for her work with Be Free Young Carers, with Soniya highly commended for her volunteering with OX50 Plus.

The OCVA awards recognise and celebrate the unsung heroes across Oxfordshire who make an impact in their local communities, with 12 honours awarded to volunteers. To be honoured at the ceremony highlights Lizzie and Soniya’s incredible work and sacrifice, and how their impact has been noticed across the county.

This year’s ceremony was hosted at Headington Hill Hall, Headington Campus, and was attended by a range of special guests, including Professor Helen Laville, Oxford Brookes Vice-Chancellor, Cllr Chewe Munkonge, Lord Mayor of Oxford, and other guests of honour.

We spoke to Lizzie and Soniya after the awards ceremony to discuss their volunteering work and why they think volunteering is so beneficial.

Lizzie Bowerman - Be Free Young Carers

Could you give me a quick explanation about the charity you've been volunteering for and what your role has been with them?
“I'm currently volunteering for Be Free Young Carers. The charity looks after kids aged 8 to 17 and it's [for] kids who care for a sibling or family member with ill health, in palliative care, mental health conditions and learning disabilities.”

How did you get into volunteering with them?
“Because I'm studying to be a social worker, I did my first placement with them and then I loved it so much that I just wanted to stay. So I just kept volunteering for them.”

What would you say to another student who might be thinking about volunteering? What are the benefits?
“Just do it, it's so good. It's so beneficial. Being a student is tiring and it's hard…but at the end of the day, if I'm going to go home, I'm going to end up going on my phone, going to end up doing something that probably isn't worth my time. If I go and volunteer for a couple of hours with a group of kids who just want to have fun, be a kid, be away from their caring role…be in an environment where they can be themselves, …do things a kid would normally do, that they probably don't have the opportunities for. It's so rewarding and it's so good to just see a smiling face. Every event I've been to, the kids go, ‘are you coming to the next one?’...’are you coming to the next one?’. It's incredible.

Soniya Porthukaran - Ox 50 Plus

What organisation are you volunteering with, and can you tell me a bit about what they do?
“I volunteered with Oxford Brookes in a digital skill workshop…for older adults.”

What got you into volunteering?
“Back in India I did some volunteering with kids…this was my first experience doing this. There was an induction where I met Maya [Volunteer Coordinator at Brookes], and she was introducing this digital skill workshop volunteering and it caught my eye. That made me think that I can share my knowledge with some older adults if it would be helpful to them.”

What would you say to other students about why volunteering is good for you to do?
“For other students, it could be beneficial for yourself as well as for the one you are helping. When I started volunteering, I was not as confident, but through this year I gained confidence. Also, there was an experiential learning week at University and as a part of that, I had a chance to co-lead this volunteering session. Through this, I got experience leading a session, leading a project and as I said [it is] beneficial for the one you are helping. It feels really good because when you're helping them… they feel very emotional that they have learned something and at the end of every workshop there is a big smile on their face.”