Lynn Crump

Said the following about Heather Waugh:

“Since Heather joined Freightliner as the only female freight train driver in Scotland in 2019, she has been actively involved in creating, organising and taking part in a number of fundraising events for charity.

Since witnessing a suicide during her time with a previous employer, Heather has been a staunch advocate for mental health awareness and is a volunteer with Samaritans. Her close relationship with Samaritans has meant that she has supported them with case studies and has featured in a Samaritan’s video promoting their suicide prevention training courses to encourage others in the sector to sign up, where she gives a personal account of how she has used the training in practice. More recently, Heather was approached to be the face of Samaritan’s poster campaign for the RailStaff Awards and Heather was, once again, happy to oblige.

Heather’s biggest achievement is the ambitious annual Railway Family Fundraiser she started a couple of years ago. As co-founder, she wanted to produce an event that wasn’t simply about raising money. It was about creating something that made people feel part of it. Rather than the traditional auctions that we see so often, and that so few people can realistically take part in, she decided to source all the same wonderful experiences but put them into a prize draw.

Heather was the driving force behind last year’s fundraiser, which supported the National Rail Awards in paying tribute to the incredible efforts of Ukrainian Railways by providing fundraising to the British Ukrainian Aid charity. This high-profile event had over 40 railway companies involved, and raised over £25,000 through the Prize Draw, and a couple of special events.

"We feel privileged and greatly appreciate an opportunity of being the beneficiaries of The Railway Family Prize Draw. We would like to thank the companies who offered such generous prizes for your kind support. We are immensely grateful to Heather Waugh and Natasha Hanson for organising such a successful fundraising campaign and your ceaseless hard work. We are grateful to all the participants of the prize draw for your contribution towards helping the people of Ukraine. The funds raised will enable British-Ukrainian Aid to provide Ukrainian hospitals, schools and orphanages with humanitarian aid, medical supplies and generators to help the most vulnerable survive the winter and receive life-saving support."

Dr Natalia Tronenko

Co-Founder

British-Ukrainian Aid

This year’s fundraiser is particularly special to Heather. Recently, Heather volunteered at the New Life Centre in Cambodia, sponsored by GVI Cambodia, where teachers educate the children, teach them English and support local villages by providing food and medicines. Known as the school of joy, Heather was overcome by the kind and joyful people, despite the poverty and disadvantage they face.

This year, the fundraiser will raise funds for this special school and is on a bigger, national level with more events and experiences on offer and, despite only recently launched, companies including Freightliner, Network Rail, Scotrail, LNER, Alstom, BTP, have confirmed their involvement.

Heather has been instrumental in producing a promotional video which is shared on the Railway Family website and on social media to encourage participation: Railway Family (charityhive.co.uk)

Heather should be congratulated and recognised for her endless drive, commitment and enthusiasm in raising funds for charity and is very deserving of the 2023 RailStaff Award for Charity.“