Published Friday 6 October 2023 at 11:56
As next month’s Community Volunteer Awards presentation evening draws closer, organisers are appealing for school and community groups to help create striking sustainable table centrepieces.
The event will take place in King George’s Hall on the evening of Thursday 2 November, celebrating individuals and groups who go the extra mile to make lives better for residents across the borough.
Blackburn with Darwen Council and Community CVS work together on the annual awards, and this year they’re committed to reducing the environmental impact of the celebration event.
Donna Talbot from Community CVS, who leads on the organisation of the Community Volunteer Awards, explained:
We’re moving away from single-use plastics and decorating tables with latex balloons and foil table confetti, to reduce the amount of waste created through the event.
This year, tables will be decorated with confetti made from autumn leaves, and centrepieces created from sustainable materials by local school and community groups.
Already several local schools have agreed to create table centrepieces for the awards event, but we are appealing for more schools and community groups to get involved. We have got 48 tables to decorate and are keen to see how creative local people can be.
On the theme of nature, groups are invited to create centrepieces of any shape using sustainable materials. Table centrepieces can be up to 1 metre high and 30cm in diameter.
As well as adorning the tables at the Community Volunteer Awards presentation evening, there’s a special award available for the best creation.
Coun Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:
In addition to the 12 awards presented at the Community Volunteer Awards each year, a new Smile Award has been created for the best environment project. The winners, the group that designs the best centrepiece from sustainable materials, will be invited along to the event to receive their award.
Any schools and community groups who would like to submit a table centrepiece for the event should email photographs of their creation to donna.talbot@communitycvs.org.uk by Friday 13 October 2023.
On Monday 16th October, all entries will be judged, and the winners notified on Tuesday 17 October.
Coun Phil Riley added:
The Community Volunteer Awards are so important to recognise the amazing volunteers across our borough and to thank them for their contributions to local life.
The awards presentation evening is always an uplifting occasion, and I’m really pleased that we are able to minimise its environmental impact this year.
The finalists across all 12 categories were announced last month.
Filed under : community | Community Volunteer Awards | volunteering