On the evening of Tuesday 11th November 2025, our very own Jacqui Marsden attended The Shared Services Annual Awards, having been nominated for the Community award.
The atmosphere on the night was tense, and Jacqui held little expectation of winning given the strong field of nominees. For her, simply being nominated was an honour in itself a meaningful recognition of the remarkable charity work she and her team have done over the years. When the result was announced, Jacqui was genuinely taken by surprise. Following a thorough and rigorous review of all nominations, the panel selected our very own Jacqui as the deserving winner of the 2025 Community Award.
The story began a few years ago and to add a little context, Jacqui had learned that a colleague’s son called Joshua was born blind. Moved by his situation, she set herself a personal mission a challenge she felt compelled to take on to make a meaningful difference. And that’s where this remarkable journey begins.
Anyone who knows Jacqui will tell you she’s driven by passion, purpose, and an infectious ‘get-up-and-go’ spirit. With unwavering commitment and a heart of gold, she approached the challenge with total dedication delivering with her team a wholehearted effort to maximise every penny for charity, raising thousands of pounds.
Jacqui chose The Guide Dogs, founded in 1931, this charity is dedicated to ensuring that people with sight loss have the confidence, independence and support to live life to the fullest and Jacqui has forged a strong relationship with the Guide Dogs.
Jacqui, and her dedicated team, has never allowed the momentum to fade and over the years, she has continued to drive and seize every opportunity to raise funds. This has been achieved through raffles, tombola’s, bingo or homemade bakes with a large number of lush hampers, just some of the prizes for the winners.
As a result, Network Plus has developed a strong and enduring relationship with The Guide Dogs. The partnership has even brought regular visits from the dogs themselves, whose presence never fails to delight staff and create a buzz across the workplace
A reflection of the strong relationship Jacqui has built, was evident when being given the honour of naming one of their newly born puppies. In true Jacqui fashion, she selflessly passed the privilege to Joshua, who after much thought and deliberation, chose the name Pippa. Pippa was born on 29th November 2025.
And finally and by no means least, following Jacqui’s efforts and her team, Jacqui was also awarded for being in the Top 20% of fundraisers by the Guide Dogs, another significant achievement. But the journey does not stop there, and through Jacqui, the effort continues this year with plans for Easter Raffle, Summer Tombola, Halloween and Christmas Raffles.
It’s all go, let the fun begin for 2026!
