Brunelcare Celebrates Colleagues at the 2026 Long Service & Colleague Awards

Colleagues from across Brunelcare came together at Leigh Court in Bristol earlier this month for the charity’s annual Long Service & Colleague Awards, a special occasion dedicated to recognising the commitment, compassion and achievements of teams across the organisation. Brunelcare, a nearly 85-year-old charity cares for people across the Southwest in their own homes, in care homes, on its housing sites and out in the community.

The awards were presented by Brunelcare’s Chair of Trustees Graham Russell, and the afternoon began with celebrations for colleagues reaching significant long service milestones this year, ranging from 10 years of service through to an extraordinary 45 years.

Together, the colleagues recognised represented more than 1,100 years of combined service to Brunelcare and the people they support, a remarkable reflection of the dedication, loyalty and passion that continues to shape our organisation and community every day.

Among those celebrated were Georgina Noonan, Care Assistant at Brunelcare’s Saffron Gardens Care Home, and Beverley Morrison, Domestic Assistant for Housing, who marked incredible milestones of 40 and 45 years of service respectively. Both colleagues were recognised with heartfelt words from their teams, celebrating decades of unwavering commitment, kindness and compassion shown to residents and colleagues alike.

The second half of the event saw the return of the annual Colleague Awards, which recognise individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond in their roles and who embody Brunelcare’s values.

Members of the Executive Team took to the stage to present awards across a range of categories, including Going Above and Beyond, Leadership and Living the Values.
The event concluded with reflections from Interim Chief Executive Sonia Furzland, who attended her first Brunelcare Awards event and spoke about the strong sense of passion, pride and community felt throughout the room.

Sonia said: “From my very first days at Brunelcare, I’ve been struck by the culture of caring across the organisation. The positive feedback from residents’ families I have had speaks for itself, reflecting not just the quality of care, but the genuine compassion behind it. What stands out most is the strength of relationships between colleagues – there’s a real sense of shared purpose. It’s clear that we not only care deeply for our customers, but we also take great care in creating places our communities are proud to call home.

“The great thing about being a housing and care provider is that both services can learn from each other, and over the coming months collaboration and teamwork will be a key focus for me. It’s great to come into an organisation where my focus can be on building on what’s strong, rather than focussing on what’s wrong.”