We were surprised and delighted to win Charity of the Year at the Oxfordshire Charity and Volunteer Awards last night. It is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of our service users, volunteers, trustees and staff, throughout what has been a challenging year for us and much of the sector. In spite of the challenges, we managed to support 946 people with mental health problems in 2010-11 – that’s 118 more than last year.

Over 350 people attended the inspiring awards event at the Oxford Town Hall, organised by Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action. We were one of three organisations shortlisted, along with Refugee Resource and Young Dementia UK. There was a dramatic pause as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Tim Stevenson OBE opened a gold envelope to reveal that we had won.

Our long-term volunteer Pat Armstrong was one of 40 volunteers whose contribution was also honoured during the evening. Pat has been involved with Restore, particularly the Elder Stubbs Festival, for over 10 years and we are very grateful for her dedication, her wry sense of humour and her optimistic stance about life in general!

Listen to our External Relations Officer talking about the award and Restore on BBC Oxford today.

The event was sponsored by solicitors Blake Lapthorn and Allen Associatessponsored the award Restore won.