Celebrating our 2025 Mandy Burrows Award winners

October 2025

We were pleased to announce at this year’s AGM that the 2025 Mandy Burrows Award – which recognises members who have made an outstanding contribution to WAY – was jointly awarded to two incredible women: Fiona and Orla. 

Remembering Fiona

It is with great sadness, however, that we also had to share the emotional news that one of this year’s winners, Fiona, died this summer after being diagnosed with cancer. 

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We were able to let Fiona and her family know about the award before she died, following the WAY’s July Board meeting when the winners were decided upon. We are deeply grateful that Fiona knew just how highly regarded she was within the WAY community.

Fiona truly embodied the spirit of peer support that makes WAY so special. At Fiona’s funeral, both the support she received and gave to WAY was mentioned several times and, as many members can attest, Fiona was described as a “connector of people”. 

One of Fiona’s nominees summed this up brilliantly:

“The support that Fiona offered to so many members was exceptional. While she had her own health concerns, she was a regular face on the Facebook page and a constant source of support and encouragement.”

Fiona’s compassion and kindness touched countless WAY members. This award is a heartfelt thank you from all of us for the love and strength she so generously shared. Fiona will be greatly missed, and we hold her family and friends in our thoughts.

Congratulating Orla

Our second 2025 Mandy Burrows Award winner, Orla, was nominated for her tireless efforts to support WAY members through yoga. Based in the West Midlands, Orla began running regular online yoga sessions during the pandemic, helping members find calm, connection and healing during an incredibly difficult time.

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Reflecting on the award, Orla shared:

“WAY was the first place I felt like a person after becoming a widow. It’s where I dared to start sharing what I’d learned. And somehow, that’s grown into retreats, weekends for widowed parents, and now... this. An actual award. For yoga. For grief yoga. I know – wild! 

I am an introvert. I’ve grown up with little confidence, had almost no support around me when my husband died (no lasagnas -- not one!). But even with so much against me, I have grown, changed, adapted, and found my feet – firstly through helping myself through yoga; and then having the online community of WAY to feel held by; and then by helping others discover just how impactful movement and meditation is on the grieving and traumatised body, heart and mind.

Honestly, I’m still reeling. I started teaching yoga to other WAY members because it helped me survive grief when everything in my life fell apart. It was never about winning anything – it was about getting through the day, showing up, and offering something gentle and grounding to people who, like me, were just trying to breathe again.

If my late husband Andy could see me now, he’d probably laugh and say, ‘Who is this woman?’ But I think he’d also be quite proud. I’m totally honoured, and very much thrilled.”

“I am also really proud to be a joint winner with Fiona,” she added. “Although I never met her, she did come to some of my sessions and, when I heard she was not doing so well, I offered to send her a recorded guided meditation. I’ve no idea if she managed to use it, but I would love to think she did find a tiny bit of respite, if she had.” 

From offering regular yoga classes to running retreats and weekends for widowed parents, Orla has gone above and beyond to share tools for healing and reconnection. Her generosity of spirit has made a lasting impact across the WAY community.

About the Mandy Burrows Award

The Mandy Burrows Award was established in memory of WAY member Mandy Burrows, who died at the age of just 30 in January 2014. Many of Mandy’s friends and family made donations to WAY in her memory, and the charity decided to use these funds to create a lasting tribute. Each year, the award celebrates members who embody the values of peer support, compassion and community that Mandy herself was known for.

Congratulations to all of our inspirational nominees