Nominate your champions in North Yorkshire community awards

The awards honour local people and organisations that dedicate their time to help the County Council deliver critical services.

A new Making a Difference award has been added which this year will focus on promoting the theme of rural sustainability in the wake of last year’s Rural Commission launch.

Supported by the County Council, the commission consists of experts in rural economics, policy, community-led ventures, agriculture and the environment, business and media. It aims to address challenges the most rural communities face, and find new ways for them to grow and prosper.

The Chair of the Rural Commission, the Very Rev John Dobson DL, Dean of Ripon, said: “I am hugely encouraged by the initiative of the County Council to create an award recognising those who strengthen rural sustainability. We rural commissioners have heard from and about impressive individuals and communities across this vast, often sparsely populated region. In the face of many challenges, incredible effort is made to take advantage of opportunities and to overcome obstacles. It will be wonderful to see some of this celebrated.”

The four categories are:

- Best community group – awarded to groups carrying out ongoing voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire.

- Volunteer of the year – awarded to individual volunteers over the age of 25 carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire.

- Young people volunteering award – awarded to individual volunteers aged 25 or under, or to groups or projects run by volunteers aged 25 or under, carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire.

- Making a difference – helping rural communities to flourish – awarded to individuals or groups who have through their voluntary activity/activities made a real difference to a rural area/areas of North Yorkshire. This award recognises unique, innovative, enterprising or resilient approaches to overcoming rural issues, challenges or disadvantage.

“We’ve introduced this new award to prove that our rural areas are filled with resilient and self-reliant communities with a reputation for helping others,” said County Council chairman, Councillor Jim Clark.

“North Yorkshire is rich in outstanding beauty, but we know that having a super-sparse population brings significant challenges. The commission is taking dynamic action in supporting growth and prosperity, which is exactly what our awards look to celebrate.

“If you know somebody who is worthy of recognition, I would urge you to nominate them. There are so many unsung heroes in our community who deserve to be found.”

The closing date for nominations is 25 May 2020. Nomination forms can be completed online at www.northyorks.gov.uk/communityawardsNominations are considered by a judging panel, which includes representatives from the County Council and voluntary organisations. Winners will be announced in October.

The winner of each category will receive £1,000 for the project, group or nominated local charity in the case of the volunteer awards. Two runners-up in each category will receive £250.

The winner of last year’s volunteer of the year award was Natalie Davies, Commanding Officer at Scarborough Sea Cadets. The sea cadets are are volunteer-run and self-funded, with 102 children and 24 staff in the unit. Natalie was nominated by one of the parents.

“It was an honour to be nominated and was humbling to be at the ceremony among so many others who do incredible work,” said Natalie.

“We are all one big team and I couldn’t do any of it without them. We all aim to maintain such a high standard and give the cadets the best opportunities available.”

The cadets offer a range of activities from sailing, windsurfing and power boating, to rock climbing, camping, and music. Natalie was awarded £1,000 which was put towards equipment.