Pamela Shaw

Pamela is an inspiration to me and many others. In 2003 when I was 40, she voluntarily ran a short 'health and wellbeing' course for a group of women during which she suggested we run the Race for Life. I had never run before but we took up her challenge and as a result I am still running as are some of the other women in the group, all now aged in our late 40s and 50s. I know this has made me fitter now than I was in my 20s. Pam herself has run the race for many years. In true style, Pamela celebrated her 60th birthday by swimming 60 lengths in 60 minutes in an outdoor pool in cold wet weather, to raise funds for Options, the Pregnancy Crisis Care Centre she runs in Glastonbury - she completed the challenge with seconds to spare! She is always giving her time to other people especially through her leadership of the team at Options. She is pretty much permanently on call either on the phone, by email or in person to help people through traumatic, emotional and painful issues around pregnancy, abortion and miscarriage, managing to remain positive despite the emotionally draining nature of the work. Pamela is an excellent example of someone who refuses to believe you are too old to take on any challenge. She is always ready to encourage with a word and a ready smile. I think she is exactly the kind of person you are looking for to carry the torch.