Volunteers Week 2025: Passion Value awards
Our Passion Value award goes to Arnie Hemnes and runner up, Angela White
A resident who demonstrates determination to get the best outcomes for neighbours and their community.
This resident displays a positive mindset when engaging with others to build an energising environment. They challenge behaviours of others and advocate for partnership working.
Passion Value award winner, Arnie Hemnes Living in East London, Chingford, Arnie has demonstrated exceptional dedication and passion as a Volunteer Resident Board Member for the Walthamstow Stadium Community Sports Trust, one of only two residents to serve since 2017.
She has consistently attended monthly board meetings, offering invaluable insights into local tenant needs, all in a voluntary capacity.
As a local resident, she played a key role in allocating £250,000 in funding across more than 20 community projects, making sure the money was spent meaningfully and with impact. A founding member of Love South Chingford (LSC) since 2014, Arnie worked tirelessly to advocate for regeneration in the area.
Her efforts led to a successful plan to transform a disused building in Memorial Park into a café and community hub, now under construction.
She said, “After 10 years, the Council is finally doing it, I'm really really happy with it.”
She also helped establish the LSC Gardening Group, which has revitalised Chingford High Street with community planting efforts.
Arnie actively participates in community engagement events, visiting funded projects and promoting awareness.
She collaborates effectively with fellow board members, many of whom are professionals in housing and charity sectors and champions fairness, equality, and support for disadvantaged groups.
Her advocacy spans a wide range of initiatives, from youth programs to accessibility projects. Her unwavering commitment and voluntary service have significantly enriched the Stadium Place community and deserve recognition.
When we asked Arnie how she feels after receiving the award, she said,
“it’s amazing. I was so so pleased. It’s not something you ever think of. I do it for the residents, to make sure we’re not relying on funding and to make sure the money was spent well and residents were profiting.”
Passion Value award runner up, Angela White
This year, Angela regularly displayed the passion value, throughout the resident involvement opportunities she took part in.
Showing regular determination to get the best outcome for her neighbours and community, Angela has always displayed a positive mindset when engaging with others and contributing to discussion points that other residents have made.
Angela has been a strong advocate for partnership working and has provided suggestions from other organisations and sectors, that could benefit L&Q’s service delivery to help improve and better the way we work with residents.
We asked Angela how she feels receiving this award. She said, “It’s nice that people at L&Q value my work and contribution. I do like to challenge L&Q, but I also understand the constraints that they are working within.”
To become an involved resident, register your interest.