Unsung heroes honoured
It was smiles all round at a special ceremony to announce the winners of the Blaby District Council Community Awards 2024.
The annual awards recognise and celebrate the contribution and achievements of volunteers and voluntary sector organisations from across the District.
There are three categories - Volunteer of the Year, Young Volunteer of the Year and Community Group of the Year, the winner of which is voted for by the public.
As always it was a challenge for the judging panel to choose between the nominees as all were deserving of praise.
However, after much deliberation the Volunteer of the Year Award was handed to retired teacher Tanya Smith. She has been a bereavement volunteer with the charity Cruse Bereavement for 24 years. The panel felt that Tanya had given so much, carrying a huge emotional weight while supporting others through such a traumatic time.
The runner-up was Paul White the long-standing volunteer manager and coach for the Cosby Coyotes under-17s football team.
Betty Saunders - better known as Akela to many local children and parents in the Blaby area - received a special recognition award for her long service to scouting.
Young Volunteer of the Year was an equally tough category for the judging panel. Our champion was Hannah Farrands - a young leader at 2nd Countesthorpe Brownies. Over the last four years Hannah’s inclusive and modern approach has really enhanced the group. Using her own experiences she has helped other girls overcome obstacles and achieve their potential.
Runners-up were a group of pupils from Winstanley School - Amara Emejuru, Dion Gray, Namakau Sibongo and Rachel Rupondo. All four are Stephen Lawrence Ambassadors who devote much of their time to challenging racism and hate and promoting diversity both within the school and the wider community.
Dion’s mum, Sashane Griffiths, explained how her daughter’s efforts and the dedication of the other volunteers had inspired her.
She said: "I thoroughly enjoyed the awards ceremony. I was so inspired by the other volunteers, I thought about how I could give back myself. I enjoyed the lady who did the bereavement for people in the community. It was honestly so touching, especially for me who lost my mother when I was 11 and now at 34 am still affected because no-one spoke to me about such a devastating loss. That is something I would happily take part in to help others transition a bit better.
"I want to say thank you to the Council members who see and recognise these outstanding individuals in the community. It’s so nice to be reminded that our humanity is still alive and kicking, especially in times like these. It’s wonderful. I am now looking at how to become even more involved with my community also. Thank you guys so much for further igniting the spark within me to help others."
The Community Group of the Year category attracted more than 1,200 public votes.
The top prize of £1,000 went to Thistly Meadow Primary School Parent Teacher Association for their huge fundraising efforts to enhance facilities to benefit both pupils and the community.
This has included gifting books to new pupils to encourage a ‘reading for pleasure’ culture, buying new IT and playground equipment, as well as installing a beehive.
The runner-up was the relatively new equine charity The Next Chapter Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Countesthorpe.
Councillor Terry Richardson, Leader of Blaby District Council and compere for the evening, said: "Attending the Community Awards evening is absolutely one of the highlights of my year. We had so many wonderful nominations this time round and it’s always difficult to choose between them. It’s truly a privilege to spend time with these people who all spend so much time working to make a difference in their communities, whether a champion, runner-up or nominee, they are all winners. Their selflessness and dedication are an amazing example."
Thanks also go to our sponsors who help make the awards a reality - Everyone Active, Central Co-op, Linden Homes and the Love Blaby Lottery.
Councillor Terry Richardson
Leader of the Council