Published Tuesday 15 March 2016 at 12:42
Volunteers and community workers were honoured at the 1V Community Champion Awards. The awards were held in association with the One Voice Annual Dinner on 27th February at Maida Restaurant, Blackburn.
The One Voice Annual Dinner, sponsored by Community Integrated Care, HPA Solicitors and Blackburn College and supported by the Baiter Sehat Project, also marked the fifth anniversary of the organisation.
The 1V Community Awards saw some of the best work in the community celebrated with six awards presented on the evening. The Dinner also included a keynote speech from Mohammed Khan, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council who spoke of the importance of personal health, and women’s empowerment with an aim to see more Asian women in future leadership roles.
The event, which was hosted by 16-year-old Zahra Ahmed, commenced with nine year old Maleeha Asif presenting the 1V Scouts video of their visit to London and the national History Museum.
The West End Girls (WEGs) thrilled the audience with a performance entitled ‘West End Girls – East End Boys’ which explored the issue of marriage and female empowerment.
The project leaders of One Voice all received certificates of appreciation by Mohammed Khan.
A new award was presented this year that aimed to reward an individual or organisation that has promoted community cohesion through leadership in Blackburn and Darwen.
The ‘Mohammed Khan Leadership Award’ was awarded to faith leader Derek Estil.
Neil Matthewman, CEO of Community Integrated Care who sponsored the Institute of the Year award spoke about the new Dementia Care Centre that is about to be launched in Blackburn, EachStep Blackburn. Neil also talked about the importance of working with communities.
Vice principal of Blackburn College, Tracy Stuart spoke of the importance of education and Blackburn College’s alliance with One Voice in a bid reach to out to local communities.
The event also saw the launch of an organ donation campaign in Urdu, ‘It’s About Time 2’ (IAT2), specifically targeting those members of the local community for whom English is not a first language, in conjunction with East Lancashire Hospitals Trust.
All the nominees for the 1V Community Champion Awards were chosen by the members of One Voice, and the community at large.
The highly contested Youth of the Year Award went to Sammy Partington.
The Institute of the Year was won by Al-Imdaad.
Abid Saleh was awarded as Man of the Year.
The much coveted Woman of the Year award went to Salma Mohammed.
The awards culminated in the Outstanding Achievement Award which was given to Janet and Howard Alderson Perkins for their work in scouting for almost 30 years in Blackburn.
One Voice chairman, Abrar Hussain said,
The Annual Dinner was a wonderful evening with so many inspiring people gathered together in one room in a spirit of tangible cohesion.
The fifth anniversary of One Voice in particular marks an important milestone for us.
We would like to congratulate the winners and the nominees in 1V Community Awards.
Councillor Mohammed Khan, Leader of the Council, said:
One Voice has done a lot of good since its inception five years ago – it has gone from strength to strength. They are really a force for good in Blackburn with Darwen and I wish them future success.