On Wednesday 15th December, Pauline Hall was the proud recipient of the very first Christine Doolan Memorial Award. Pauline was given the award as Chris’s sister and for showing great courage during this year of change. Pauline will be the custodian until 2022, when she and others from DanceSyndrome will judge together who receives it next.
The award is given in honour of Chris Doolan and the love that the DanceSyndrome family have for her that will always live on. Chris Doolan was Pauline Hall’s sister and they both joined our Dancing Family in 2017. Everyone involved with DanceSyndrome came to love Chris for her kindness and generosity and her straight-talking, no-nonsense attitude. Everyone knew where they stood with Chris and she would challenge anyone to break down barriers for Pauline and her peers to be included and consulted. “Nothing about me without me” was her motto, echoing DanceSyndrome’s person-centred values and mission to treat everyone equitably and with respect.
Chris loved all that DanceSyndrome stood for and she herself would help anyone in need. She joined in with the weekly dance sessions in Preston and further afield, travelling across the UK to hundreds of events and showcases. She was determined that Pauline would have the life she chose and never let disability be a barrier. Chris had experienced discriminatory practices throughout her work life and she made it clear to everyone that it was unacceptable. She was vocal about how much DanceSyndrome had enabled Pauline to thrive and live her best life.
This award was created in 2021 to celebrate Chris’s life and honour the contribution she made to our world at DanceSyndrome and to the Learning Disability community as a whole. Every year we’ll be looking for a winner who has:
– shown bravery, compassion and caring
– refused to give in when there were barriers
-challenged difficulties and overcome them
– been a great friend to others and brought joy and laughter to all.
Like Chris herself, the annual award winner will lead by example with integrity and demonstrate great generosity of spirit and heart, giving us all something that we can all learn from.
Congratulations to Pauline for displaying all of these wonderful attributes. Everyone at DanceSyndrome is incredibly proud of her this year.
If you know someone who you think should receive the award in 2022, please keep an eye on our social media for details of how to nominate someone. You can join us on:
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