HELLO!'s Inspiration Awards took place on Tuesday in a glittering ceremony hosted by Anita Rani. The fourth award of the night was Hello To Kindness, which was voted for by HELLO! readers and was presented to Lorraine Lewis.
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Building on HELLO!'s successful campaign to make social media a kinder and gentler place, the #HelloToKindness award honours those who embody the spirit of compassion by spreading cheer in their community or offering support to those in need.
WATCH: Clara Amfo delivers a tear-jerking acceptance speech
Meet our deserving winner Lorraine Lewis... Lorraine was nominated by her proud husband, Lee, in honour of her work at the organisation they set up together, the Lewis Foundation.
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After supporting Lee's mother when she was hospitalized with cancer in 2016, the couple came up with the idea of sending gift and care packages to patients receiving cancer treatment in hospitals in the Midlands. Their idea grew rapidly and it is estimated that around 2,500 gifts are distributed each month to 14 hospitals.
The #HelloToKindness award was presented to Lorraine Lewis
Lorraine's passion for the cause excelled during the pandemic and, with gifts still bring delivered, they also sent out activity packs to cancer patients who were self-isolating. The organisation recently received a letter of praise from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Incredibly, Lorraine juggles all this voluntary work with her full-time job as a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service. Her husband Lee is in awe of what she gets done.
Speaking about the award, Lorraine told HELLO!: "I can't believe it. I was shocked when I found it I just genuinely could not believe it because I just didn't think people would vote for me."
She added: "For me it was a real eye opener as I don't do it for any acknowledgement, I just do it because it's something that I find really important and that matters to me.
The winners of the HELLO! Inspiration Awards
"My husband nominated me, I was like why didn't you tell me? It meant a lot because without him I couldn't do all the things it's possible for me to do and having someone by your side who supports you in that way, it means the world to me.
"I think my story might have resonated with the readers because it's been a really tough 18 months for people and you hear all the time about someone who has been diagnosed with cancer and it's so hard, especially when you aren't allowed to visit them in hospital and give them the support they need.
"People are realising how tough it is for people going through cancer treatment and there is something that can make the journey a little bit easier."
The Foundation has grown beyond Lorraine's dreams, and now has almost 50 volunteers helping distribute the gifts while they also now offer pamper days for cancer patients in person and online.
"I think this will help to raise awareness for the Lewis Foundation," she continued. "Even after I got nominated the amount of people that had never heard of us before but wanted to get involved after reading about it in HELLO! is amazing. The awareness it brought was incredible."
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