dorothy kirk

Community & Voluntary Action, Education & Learning, Environment, Everyday Life, Health & Social Care  

1959 –   

Suggested by Simon Parker  

  
Simon writes,
“A full-time teacher for 30+ years, Dorothy still found the time to work for her community in a variety of spheres. She is a long-standing member of Calstock Parish Council and Cornwall Council, and was awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to Gunnislake.
Fifty years ago, she started the first playgroup in Gunnislake. Campaigning through her membership of the Labour Party (which she re-founded locally), she led the campaign to stop building on Foster’s Field - a community recreation area - fought to improve road conditions after a fatal accident, and was instrumental in getting the local health centre built.  

Chairing Gunnislake Forum for six years, Dorothy was one of the early trustees of Calstock Development Trust, raising £500,000 for community regeneration, including the Woodland Centre for the elderly, Calstock Waterfront, a new traffic system in Gunnislake, and the Oasis learning centre. A volunteer for Talking Newspapers for the Blind and Calstock Archive, she is a contributor to Gunnislake Gateway newsletter and co-wrote the book, Turner In The Tamar Valley, which examined the great painter’s work in the area.  

Dorothy is extremely hard-working and determined in her work for the community in and around the Tamar Valley in South East Cornwall. She has spent many decades serving her community, never seeking monetary gain or formal recognition. She is, in short, one of the world’s good people, always finding ways of helping others. Tenacious and determined, she has succeeded in improving the lives of many in her native Tamar Valley, and the legacy of these achievements will live on for the benefit of future generations.”