New Year Honours: Helen Walton, founder of Rochdale Giving Back charity, awarded British Empire Medal

The founder of the Rochdale Giving Back charity has been honoured with a British Empire Medal in the King’s New Year Honours List.

Helen Walton, from Syke, has been awarded a BEM for services to children in care and children in poverty.

She set up the Rochdale Giving Back charity 10 years ago and runs an annual toy appeal to ensure children in poverty and children in care don’t go without presents at Christmas.

The toy appeal has grown from delivering 75 toys to a local women’s hostel in its first year to distributing gifts to almost 2,000 children this year.

In 2022, she met unprecedented demand by driving up promotion of the appeal and donated over 5,000 toys.

The presents are donated by kind-hearted local residents, businesses, organisations and people from across the country and after being sorted by a dedicated and enthusiastic team of volunteer council staff from past and present; they are sent to local families, schools, hostels, district nurses and community groups.

The King’s New Year Honours List includes recipients who have made exceptional contributions to their local communities and the country as a whole.

Helen is one of 105 people in the North West who have been awarded honours.

Helen, 55, said: “This came as a complete surprise. Even when I read the letter telling me about the award it didn’t really sink in. I run the toy appeal because I think it is important that we put something back into the community and at the heart of everything, I am a public servant. I have worked for the council all my working life and I recognise that there is a lot of need in the borough so I help out wherever and however I can.”

As well as running the toy appeal, Helen is also a member of Rochdale Parent Carer Voice 25+ group, which advocates on behalf of parents of disabled adult children, and GM Equal, a regional equality body.

Her experience of being the mother of a disabled child recently led to her being invited to being a Trustee of CASCAIDr, a national specialist social care advice charity.

Helen added: “It was partly my experience of having a disabled child and coming into contact with other families that led me to volunteering and the toy appeal. To say I was shocked and surprised when I received the letter about my award is a bit of an understatement but it is a huge honour and I am very grateful that the work of the appeal has been recognised.”

Steve Rumbelow, the chief executive of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “I am delighted for Helen. She is an outstanding council officer who embodies all of the principles of a great public servant. She continually puts the needs of others first and sets an example that we should all follow.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The New Year’s Honours list recognises the exceptional achievements of people across the country and those who have shown the highest commitment to selflessness and compassion.

“To all honourees, you are the pride of this country and an inspiration to us all.”

Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. If you know someone who has achieved fantastic things worthy of recognition, go to www.gov.uk/honours to find out more about how you can put them forward.