Outstanding Volunteers Award Winners - Henry and Chris Barnes
The Outstanding Volunteer Award recognises those who go above and beyond to raise awareness of our work — and our first winners are not just one person, but a brilliant father-and-son team: Henry and Chris, for their tireless efforts flyering and promoting the Foundation before AFC Wimbledon home games.
Whether it's selling raffle tickets, handing out flyers, or simply being a friendly face on matchdays, Henry and Chris are always out front or behind the south stand, rain or shine, championing the Foundation.
Henry is also one of our success stories — a graduate of our Football for All programme who now plays for Dundonald United. Together, they’re a dynamic duo whose energy and enthusiasm have helped raise funds and awareness for everything we do.
Henry had been a regular on our Football for All programme, attending every Saturday morning, as well as our Holiday Courses. When the Foundation put out a call for matchday volunteers, Chris stepped up straight away and he and Henry have been flyering for us ever since, doing so at almost every matchday.
“Henry managed to sell raffle tickets to a Scunthorpe fan, fundraising for our Foundation”
Scott Lockwood, our Football Development Officer, explained how Henry’s volunteering efforts are a testament to how much his confidence grew while he attended our sessions. The most prominent example of this came at one of our AFC Wimbledon Foundation days, as Scott explains. “Henry came down really bubbly and joyous and when we asked him why, he explained that he’d managed to sell a book of raffle tickets to a Scunthorpe fan upstairs to raise money for our Foundation”.
Henry and Chris’ efforts aren’t just limited to flyering, they’ve also been keen participants and fundraisers in our Wombles Walks, raising fantastic amounts of money to support our work in our local community.
Both Henry and Chris are AFC Wimbledon season ticket holders, cheering on the Dons from behind the goal in the South Stand.
Henry and Chris in the South Stand