Community heroes honoured
Volunteers and groups are praised at council awards
The winners of North Yorkshire County Council’s annual community awards have been announced.
The awards, which recognise and celebrate voluntary work by individuals and organisations countywide, were presented at the North Yorkshire WiderPartnershipConference at The Pavilions, Harrogate.
There were 73 nominations for the awards from a variety of community groups, organisations and individuals from across the county.
From these nominations, up to five entrants were shortlisted before three finalists were selected in each of the four categories.
The awards showcase the voluntary work undertaken by people to make their neighbourhoods better places to live in and to help the council to deliver critical services, such as providing social networks that reduce isolation and enable people to live independently for longer.
The judging panel, including representatives from the council, volunteer organisations, young people and past winners, was impressed by the quality of the nominees.
The winners were:
Best community project: Thirsk Yarnbombers – a community knitting project encouraging tourism in Thirsk, initially during the Tour de Yorkshire,andraisingmoneyforcharities. The group has more than 200 members and continues to grow.
Runners-up: Chase Garth Park Project and Saxton Village Hall.
Best community group: WHISH – Whitby Hidden Impairments Support and Help – a group supporting families in Whitby and the surrounding ruralarea,whosechildrenhave a hidden impairment and disabilities, through sport, arts, social activities and clubs for children and siblings and advice and support for parents.
Runners-up: The Bobbins Community Craft Centre/ Beach Keepers and Helmsley in Business.
Volunteeroftheyear:Jane Lishman – Jane volunteers for a number of organisations: the Harrogate Easier Living Project (Opening Doors and Driving Force services), British Red Cross (Harrogate Community Connect scheme and Enhanced Home from Hospital in West Yorkshire service), Age UK Knaresborough (Home from Hospital scheme), REACT (Home from Hospital scheme) and at the Harrogate Fair Trade Shop in St Peter’s Church, Harrogate.
Runners-up: Ruksana Mahmood and John Potter.
Young people volunteering award: Joseph Banks – Joseph initiated a youth club in his village in Ryedale, consulting young people in the area and working with the village hall committee to get a club up and running.
Runners-up: Ripon Museum Young Volunteers and the Young Carers and Young Adult Carers Project.
The winner of each category was awarded £1,000 for the relevant project, group or nominatedlocalcharityinthecaseof the volunteer awards. The two runners-upineachcategoryreceived £250.
County Councillor Val Arnold, chairman of the county council, said: “These awards demonstrate the valuable contributionsomanypeoplemake to supporting North Yorkshire’s residents of all ages.
“Organisations and individual volunteers make such a big contribution to the lives of people across North Yorkshire.
“It was a difficult task to select the finalists and even more difficulttochoosethewinners.
“All the entries show how much hard work people put into helping their communities.”