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Student Volunteers and Peer Mentors celebrated in awards ceremonies

07 May 2026

The awards celebrated the incredible work and effort of students who have taken part in Volunteering and Peer Support schemes in the past year.

Volunteer of the Year Awards

These students have contributed countless hours to their extracurricular activities, whether that be by volunteering in their community or overseas, advocating for sustainability, or devoting their time and effort into helping fellow students to succeed. 

Volunteer of the Year Award Winners

The winners and nominees of the 2026 Volunteer of the Year Awards embody everything we stand for as a University – social responsibility and community engagement. Their passion, dedication, and impact remind us of the incredible things we can achieve when we come together for a common cause.

Let’s meet some of the incredible individuals and groups who were awarded: 

Students in the Community winner: Drew Gallagher

Drew Gallagher is a final year BSc Biomedical Sciences with Modern Languages student. During Drew’s one-year exchange at The University of Osaka in Japan, Drew demonstrated exceptional leadership by helping to establish a brand-new community event: Hattori Ryokuchi parkrun in Osaka, Japan. Rather than joining an existing project, Drew created this activity from scratch, working with park authorities to secure permissions, the planning and mapping of the 5km course, the recruitment of volunteers, building support and promoting the event within the community. Drew’s impact can be measured not only in attendance numbers but in community cohesion. Hattori Ryokuchi parkrun now provides a free, weekly space where people of different ages and backgrounds meet, exercise, and volunteer together.

Students Helping Students winner: Vuyo Dube

Vuyo is a postgraduate taught student in the School of Social Sciences who founded the Manchester European Society in response to the fractured European student landscape in Manchester following Brexit and Covid-19. Demonstrating exceptional leadership and initiative, he transformed what began as a single-university group into a cross-university society in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, rebuilding connections among European and international students across the city.  Vuyo established formal collaboration with the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, providing students with access to academic expertise, policy discussions, and opportunities linked to European studies. 
Vuyo has also built an ongoing partnership with the Manchester Consular Association, opening rare pathways for students to engage directly with diplomats and diplomatic missions. Alongside these institutional links, Vuyo has developed an extensive programme of events designed to foster cultural exchange and community cohesion.

Student Groups winner: Helping Infants and Parents to Protect their Oral Health (HIPPOH)

HIPPOH (Helping Infants and Parents to Protect their Oral Health) is a student-led project delivered by the Manchester Paediatric Dental Students Society (MPDSS). The project educates expectant parents on protecting both their own oral health and that of their baby at a critical and often overlooked life stage.  Volunteers deliver interactive teaching sessions in Sure Start (antenatal) centres across Greater Manchester, as well as virtually via Microsoft Teams, as part of the Manchester Foundation Trust’s Antenatal Programme, ensuring accessibility for a wide range of families. Since its launch in November 2024, HIPPOH has reached 720 parents, including 431 during this academic year alone, demonstrating sustained growth and measurable community impact.  

The Peer Support Awards

Outstanding Contributions to Peer Support and Outstanding Schemes were among the prestigious awards presented to well-deserving recipients at the Peer Support Awards. The evening also featured a keynote speech delivered by Grace Hollingsworth, a Peer Mentor and Student Coordinator for the BSc Education Scheme. Grace is also the incoming Wellbeing and Liberation Officer at the Students’ Union.

Peer Support plays a pivotal role in guiding first-year students through their transition into university life, providing them with consistent guidance from experienced student volunteers within their field of study. With a community of over 1,700 student volunteers and dedicated colleagues, Peer Support continues to thrive.

  • For the full list of winners for the 2026 event, please visit the Peer Support website.  

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees – you make us proud!

Volunteering opportunities

  • To find out more about Volunteering opportunities at UoM, visit: manchester.ac.uk/volunteers and instagram.com/uomvolunteering.
  • Challenge Accepted: our fundraising and volunteering campaign is one of the first bold steps in delivering our Manchester 2035 strategy; committing to becoming a great philanthropic university by connecting people to the causes that matter most. 
  • Stuck on how to use your volunteering days? Check out some of our existing partnerships in the university, from becoming a STEM ambassador to inspire young people to take a STEM pathway in their future, to our Access Project, allowing you to tutor GCSE students, raising their aspirations and confidence.