Finalists announced for Community Volunteer Awards 2024 with a record number of nominations received

The finalists in this year’s Community Volunteer Awards have been revealed with more nominations than ever before in the history of the Community Volunteer Awards being received.

More than 1,000 nominations were received in total, for awards across 12 categories.

The judging for the Community Volunteer Awards, run as a partnership between Community CVS and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, took place on Thursday 5^th September.

The Community Volunteer Awards presentation evening will take place at King George’s Hall on Thursday, November 7^th where all the winners will be announced.

Garth Hodgkinson, Chief Executive of Community CVS, said:

We were absolutely delighted to have received so many wonderful nominations, thank you to every person who took the time to nominate an individual, group or business for an award. Our judging panel had a really tough time choosing the shortlist from such worthy nominations.

We’re really looking forward to coming together with all our shortlisted nominees in King George’s Hall in November, to celebrate their hard work, determination, dedication and the contributions they all make to local life.

The judging panel that whittled the nominees down to a shortlist of 63 included all the sponsors of the event.

The ceremony will celebrate the often heroic work and achievements of our borough’s volunteers, and give them a chance to shine after years of supporting other people and helping to make our borough and our communities a better place.

Categories include Volunteer of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Young People’s Award, Grassroots Awards, Good Neighbour Award and Environment Award, among with many more.

Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:

It is fantastic to see a record number of nominations in this year’s awards. Blackburn with Darwen is, and always has been, a borough that rises to all challenges together, and this is especially true of our community spirit. The Community Volunteer Awards embody this are a real testament to the dedication and tireless work of the people who volunteer day in day out to help make our borough a better place.

The nominees this year are once again truly inspiring and every volunteer and community champion deserves the highest recognition and thanks. We should be very proud that we have so many people in Blackburn with Darwen who give their time and energy to help others and make a difference to their lives. This is very much the best of our borough and I want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone involved and will look forward to seeing the winners.

The shortlist for the 2023 Community Volunteer Awards is:

Health and Well Being Award – Individual category

• Barbara Leyland
• Sahil Usman
• Shaheen Elahi

Health and Well Being Award – Group Category

• Shad Women’s Hub
• Community 1^st Responders
• Blackburn Foodbank

Prosperity, Learning & Employment Award – Individual Category

• Sandy Woods
• Beverly Ormerod
• Fizza Zafal

Prosperity, Learning & Employment Award – Group Category

• Phoenix Hub
• Neuro dyna-mix
• Phoenix Hub

Grass Roots Award – Individual

• Pamela Ward
• Samantha Nye
• Vicky Kelly

Grass Roots Award – Group

• Roots Community
• Respite Service Group
• Friends of Infirmary

Young Peoples Award – Individual

• Fizza Zafar
• Emma Evans
• Lucie Brown

Young Peoples Award – Group

• Children’s Storehouse
• St Georges Mill Hill Scout Group
• Blackburn Youth Darts Academy

Renee Black Award

• Neuro Dyna-mix
• Ahmed Leli
• Offload Northwest

Environment Award – Individual

• Angela Gatehouse
• Betty Mossop
• Wayne Dixon

Environment Award – Group

• Keep Blackburn Tidy
• Little Potting Club
• Cherry Tree Library Community Apiary

Culture Leisure and Sporting Life – Individual

• Keith Brunt
• Ellie Mai Fallon & Jack Watson
• Chris Walton

Culture, Leisure and Sporting Life – Group

• Arts2Heal
• Mill Hill Events Committee
• S.A.S Rights

Lindsay Dunn Award – Individual

• Muaaz Nadat
• Sahil Usman
• Beverly Ormerod

Lindsay Dunn Award – Group

• Voice
• Offload Northwest
• Phoenix Hub

Community Involvement

• Phoenix Hub
• Darwen Community Helpers CIC
• Children’s Storehouse

Good Neighbour Award

• Beverly Ormerod
• Charlotte Leaver
• Victoria Kelly

Volunteer of the Year

• Richard Croasdale
• Keith Brunt
• Pat Foster

Lifetime

• Vera Green
• Ian Hamer
• Judith Houghton