Since the beginning of the year Crossroads Care Hertfordshire North has been the Comet’s chosen Charity of the Year.

The charity, based in Hitchin, has provided weekly stories, information and photos highlighting the work that it does in helping unpaid family carers.

Sheelagh Taylor, chief executive of Crossroads Care, believes this regular exposure has had an impact on the services that the charity offers.

In the past 12 months referrals to the charity’s service in Stevenage and North Herts has more than doubled, while 19 volunteers were recruited in the year, providing 1,675 hours of voluntary support per year.

It has also recruited more support workers with 22 new staff working in the area and has increased take up at carers cafes – numbers attending increased by nearly 30%.

The charity has also provided more than 9,000 hours of care and support in the past year to 263 clients.

During the year Crossroads Care has been adopted by various organisations as its Charity of the Year, including councillor Jane Gray, chairman of North Herts District Council, and the Hitchin branch of supermarket Sainsbury’s.

Prepared to Care? was the theme for Carers Week in June, with the charity running its biggest ever programme of events – all publicised through this page. Other organisations the charity would like to thanks include North Hertfordshire College, MBDA Systems, The Co-operative Funeralcare, Asda, Waitrose, Stevenage Borough Council, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, La Concha and The Croft.

Ms Taylor said: “This exposure has been amazing and has enabled us to raise the profile of the charity. Being the Comet’s Charity of the Year has given us a wonderful opportunity to promote the work that we do and to raise awareness about the services we can offer to give carers a break.

“We know that more carers in Stevenage and North Herts are now getting a break, more carers know about our Carers’ Cafes and more volunteers are signed up to help us out.

“On behalf of the board of trustees I would like to thank Darren Isted, editor of the Comet, for making us the Charity of the Year.”

Mr Isted said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to have supported Crossroads Care Hertfordshire North as the Comet’s Charity of the Year. By giving the charity the platform to highlight its work it has given our readers a better understanding of the importance of carers and the support that they need.

“I wish Crossroads Care all the best for the future and we will continue to support them in the work that they do.”

If you want to find out more about the charity’s services visit www.crossroadshn.org.uk or call the team on 01462 455578.

Crossroads Care also need more admin volunteers to help out in its busy Hitchin office. If you want to find out more about becoming a volunteer contact Jo Wilkinson by email at jwilkinson@crossroadshn.org.uk or call 01462 427010.