A POPLEY man has scooped up a national award which recognises his incredible 13 years of work at the London Transport Museum.

Sam Clift has been awarded the Volunteer Leader of the Year Award 2023 for his contribution to leading volunteering at London Transport Museum.

The 38-year-old volunteer resource manager at the museum and has been leading the volunteering offer for the last 13 years.

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Chris Wade, managing director of Time For Impact and one of the judges, said: “We felt Sam has achieved incredible outcomes. Sam was especially celebrated for pioneering a new five-year volunteering strategy at the London Transport Museum.

"He took the lead in putting the volunteer voice at the heart of the strategy so it would be meaningful, achievable and reflective of volunteer needs.

"Sam did this alongside introducing buddy schemes, volunteer ‘take-over’ days, staff coaching, and developing bespoke opportunities for people with autism spectrum disorder and profound multiple learning difficulties."

Awarded by the Heritage Volunteering Group, the national award recognises innovative and outstanding examples of volunteer leadership and management in the heritage sector.

It celebrates the very essence of excellence in volunteer leadership and focusses on three key themes, innovation, collaboration and passion.

Sam added: "Trying to improve the quality of volunteering for all audiences can often be quite isolating work, so it felt amazing just to be nominated, but to win was real recognition from the heritage sector and I felt very emotional and humbled. "

He was announced as the winner at the annual conference called Heritage Volunteering 2023 which, through professional development workshops and panel discussions, explored how leaders in the sector can build a new future for heritage volunteering.

This year there were nine shortlisted volunteer leaders ranging from small heritage sites, to Independent Trusts, registered charities, local authorities and national organisations.