MBE Presentation at Windsor Castle
It was such a complete honour on Tuesday this week to go to Windsor to be presented with the MBE I was awarded in the NY21 Honours List. HRH Prince Charles made the presentation and it was a very special moment - one that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Of course the award came to me, but it was given for all the amazing hard work and effort that has been put in by every single one of our 6500 volunteer aircrew over the last 2 years of Project Wingman - something that was set up with no ideas about how long it may last - but something that has proven time and time again that it is still needed, and deeply impactful. A simple premise of caring for people who care for us all the time, whether we ask them to or not.
Two of my favourite stories from the early days of our charity, which was founded to utilise the transferable skills of grounded aircrew in 2020, to provide well-being support to frontline NHS staff, are these:
Firstly, at one of our lounges, a member of staff came in for a coffee during the early days. They casually asked if we knew when we might be flying again, and the answer "we have no idea" was met with tears. The staff member was from another country, their mother had died with Covid the night before, and they had no way of getting home to see their family, or for the funeral. It was a horrific situation for them to be in, and one of our volunteers was able to spend time in a quiet space with them, just talking to them. Something they greatly needed and that helped them in a small way, to process what was happening. We can't fix things, but we can spend time with people, and the empathy that was shown on that day was hugely appreciated.
Secondly, the now grown up child of a friend was working hard as a Junior Doctor and every night, was in tears on the phone as they returned home. One night, the conversation was more jolly, and they even laughed. Our friend asked what was different about that day - the answer was "I visited a Wingman Lounge". What an incredible thing it is to have made this much of a difference to someones day during their darkest moments.
Needless to say, I am hugely grateful to everyone who has, and still is contributing to Project Wingman and for everything that means to other people. We are making a difference, and making an impact on those around us. None of us can change the whole world, but we can change our own small corner of it - and that's what matters most.
