Life After Stroke Award for Fundraiser Of The Year 2013 presented by Sharon Stone

Howard Lake | 25 July 2013 | News

Actress Sharon Stone presented the award for fundraiser of the year at the recent Life After Stroke Awards.

This year's winner was stroke survivor Rachel Ingelfield, who was recognised for her work for the Stroke Association and her role as ambassador for Step Out for Stroke. She had raised over £24,000 for the charity following her stroke. 

Stone, who survived a near-fatal stroke in 2001, presented the award to Ingelfield via a video message. 

In the video, Stone said: "I feel very privileged to be giving this particular award to you Rachel, because you and I are both moms, and you and I have both survived a stroke. We know how traumatic and difficult that journey is. It’s a personal journey, it’s a life changing journey. And it’s a journey that makes your children all the more precious and dear to you. Every day after a stroke is a wondrous thing. What you’ve chosen to do with those wondrous days is very inspiring to me and to your community.

“Many people think that strokes only happen to old people. But that’s just not true, in fact, strokes happen to women and to young women. That’s why I really wanted to do this, to present this award to you Rachel because you are a fulcrum pin in the understanding of what is happening. 18,000 women of working age in the UK have strokes every year.

"Because of you Rachel, because you went out as a stroke survivor and are the fundraising person of the year, so many of those women will have a chance – like you and like me, to be with their children, to be with their children and to make a difference in their lives, to have a new beginning, to start over.”
 

The Life After Stroke Awards took place at London's Dorchester Hotel and are designed to celebrate extraordinary stroke survivors, carers and fundraisers. They were hosted by John Sergeant, and attended by many other celebrities included Stephanie Beacham, Christopher Biggins, Lesley Nicol, Ronnie Corbett, Amanda Donohoe, Julian Fellowes, Greg James, Phyllida Law, and Karren Brady, the Awards' first patron.

The Fundraiser of the Year award was sponsored by Toni & Guy.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.