WILTSHIRE LIFE Awards 2018 39
Services to the Community Award
In memory of Tony Martin A big hole has been
Many people in the voluntary and community sector in Swindon will have heard of, or
known Tony Martin. He was an irrepressible force for good with a passion for helping the
disadvantaged. Tony died in September last year and more than 300 people attended his
funeral, a true testament to his impact on the local community. He will certainly be missed.
Working as the volunteering development manager at Zurich Community Trust, he had
the perfect platform to share his passion for the community and to encourage colleagues into
volunteering their time to help local organisations and beneficiaries.
Since its inception in 1973, the Zurich Community Trust has donated more than £65
million. The Trust works in partnership with a wide range of charitable organisations and
engages more than 40% of the Zurich UK workforce in volunteering.
Countless organisations have benefitted from Tony’s support, advice and guidance,
including Swindon Carers Centre, Swindon Women’s Aid, Swindon Therapy Centre for
MS, The Open Door Centre and Uplands Educational Trust. Tony found skilled business
volunteers to help these organisations with business planning, strategic advice, marketing and
branding. He encouraged groups of employee volunteers to support them with the delivery of
their service, and organised collections of food, clothing, toiletries and other goodies which
were then distributed to disadvantaged people.
Tony was a huge believer in collaboration. One of his favourite sayings was: ‘Teamwork
makes the dream work”. He used his experience at Zurich Community Trust to set up
Involve Swindon, a network of companies, statutory bodies and voluntary organisations
working together to encourage employees to give their time and develop their skills through
volunteering in the local community. Each year through Involve Swindon, more than 600
employees from about 20 businesses get involved in volunteering opportunities, ranging from
one-day team challenges to the more regular commitment of becoming a charity trustee.
One of Tony’s greatest achievements at Involve Swindon was a twice-yearly conference
providing charities and businesses with the opportunity to network. These conferences were
attended by up to 80 people and many business/charity relationships started at these events.
Helping others, along with devotion to his family, was Tony’s raison d’etre. One nomination
said: “A big hole has been left that will be very difficult to fill, but those who knew Tony are
determined to carry on his work as he would have wanted.”
left that will be very
difficult to fill, but those
who knew Tony are
determined to carry on
his work as he would
have wanted