All of the winners at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards

At the Council House last Friday evening (22nd October), a special awards dinner was held to celebrate the nominees for the 2010 Local Hearts Awards, and announce the award winners. Giving praise and recognition for all of the work done by these unsung heroes intheir communities, the evening was hosted by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Michael Wilkes and the Deputy Lady Mayoress, Mrs Vivienne Wilkes and compered by local poets Spoz and Matt Windle.

All of the winners and highly commended nominees received prizes which will help them to continue their great work in the community and help to make future projects become a reality.

The full list of winners includes:

Active Citizen (Male)
Mick Williams

Active Citizen (Female)
Sister Helen Ryan

Active Citizen (Young Person)
Luke McClean

Community Group
Balsall Heath CATS

Young People’s Group
RocNewz

Community Learning
Nick Reynolds

Lifetime Achievement Award
Joan Knowles

You can hear interviews with all of the award winners here. Click here for a full list of the nominees.

RocNewz are awarded the prize for Young People's Group at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards

The winners of the Young People’s Group Award were RocNewz, the creators of a newsletter aimed at Birmingham’s children in care.

The group selects themes for articles, reports on news, views and events and provides information on issues that affect looked after young people, highlighting their concerns.

The RocNewz reporters undertook their first major roving reporters’ assignment earlier this year at the G2K10, a summer fun consultation event for Birmingham’s children in care.

Nick Reynolds collects the Community Learning Award at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards

At the 2010 Local Hearts Awards Nick Reynolds received the prize of the Community Learning Award, sponsored by Residents University and Birmingham City Council’s Take Part programme.

Along with a handful of other residents, Nick Reynolds set up the Roman Way residents’ group in Edgbaston about five years ago. Thanks to Nick’s efforts, the group has gone from strength to strength and is now a community interest company (CIC), with Nick as its company secretary.

Nick never misses an opportunity to learn and to enable others to do so by sharing his knowledge and experience. He sits on the council of the Resident University, which provides a programme of events and learning opportunities for people who live and work in Birmingham’s neighbourhoods.

To hear our interview with Nick in full, click on the arrow below.

Sister Helen Ryan collects her award for Active Citizen (Female) at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards

Sister Helen Ryan sums up the impact of her work and that of fellow volunteers as social cohesion, and helping the most vulnerable people in communities is clearly at the forefront of this. Sister Helen was talking to us after accepting her award for Active Citizen (Female) at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards. You can hear the interview in full below.

Sister Helen Ryan is Director of St Mary’s Convent of Mercy in Handsworth and Chair of Governors at St Frances School in Lozells.

St Mary’s Convent has an open door to people asking for support and Sister Helen works tirelessly to help and support vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the community, including vulnerable women, asylum seekers and refugees.

Sister Helen is a great example of leadership and an encourager of cohesion in an ethnically and religiously diverse community.

Representatives of Balsall Heath CATS at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards

Nazreen Bi, of Balsall Heath Children Action Team Support (CATS), talks on behalf of the organisation about the origins of the organisation and the impact of young volunteers on the work they do, as well as how they serve children and families in the local area. Nazreen’s passion for the work is obvious during the interview, and it’s clear why the organisation is held in such high esteem within the community.

Balsall Heath CATS is a voluntary group that provides inclusive play opportunities for disabled children and their families.

The group was established to provide opportunities for a number of local children and families that were isolated and excluded from mainstream services because of their additional needs and were struggling to find support.

Through their work and activities, Balsall Heath CATS has created a lifeline for these families by supporting children and their families at home through engaging them in play activities and by taking children on trips and to community centres and other facilities.

Luke McClean at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards

Visibly thrilled with his award, Luke McClean beamed while talking about some of the projects he’s been active in, including a community cafe and a youth club for young people, as well as his future as a social entrepreneur. Asked about how it feels to win an award, he grinned:

“You don’t do it to get an award and you don’t do it to get anything out of it; you do it because you see people’s faces and the kids are so enthusiastic. It’s such a buzz and it makes you feel amazing.”

Luke, aged 19, from Castle Vale, is a committed and dedicated volunteer who gives up large amounts of his time to help his local community.

He started Young Stars, a group for children and young people aged 8 to 16 years old, using music, drama and dance to build confidence and self-esteem and address difficult issues that some young people face.

Luke has organised numerous activities to raise money for local and national charities. He is now developing a social enterprise community café to provide a meeting place for individuals and groups in Castle Vale where they can also access organisations who can provide services tailored to their individual needs.

You can see more about Luke’s work by watching the video below:

Joan Knowles at the Local Hearts Awards

Joan Knowles, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Local Hearts Awards, talks about the enjoyment she’s got from working for the benefit of the community. She reflects on life as a foster parent and the opportunities that are open for other people to get the same satisfaction Joan has derived from helping others. You can listen to an interview with her in full below.

Joan, approaching her 80th birthday, is an active, vibrant, well-recognised and respected member of the community in Shard End.

For many years, Joan helped to coordinate the Shard End carnival and this year marked the 40th anniversary of her involvement with Aylesford Hall which, through Joan’s hard work and dedication, has become recognised as a community hub. The hall offers a varied programme of events, including a pensioners’ club, art and yoga classes, activities for children and young people and meeting space for mental health and religious groups.

Cllr Ian Ward, Chair of Shard End and Tile Cross Neighbourhood Board, said: “Joan’s Lifetime Achievement Award is well-deserved. Joan has dedicated her life to the people of Shard End. It’s impossible to sum up everything she’s done, but the greatest tribute to her is that she doesn’t realise the tremendous contribution that she’s made. For her, it’s just what she does.”

Last year we have a fantastic time celebrating active citizens in Birmingham with the Local Hearts Awards.  You can listen to all of those shortlisted talk about their work on our People’s Stories category.

Now it is time to nominate again.

Who do you know who deserves recognition for the part they play in their community?

It might be a member of your family, a friend, someone you work with or a neighbour. (It might even be you – in which case ask a mate to send in the nomination).

Download this form as a pdf  fill it in and send it on to us. Click here for the same form as a word document, which you can fill in and then e-mail to Karen_Cheney@birmingham.gov.uk .

Good luck to whoever you nominate.

Ray Brookes, John McGill, Adam Noon and Sonya Williams

Friends of Jasmin Fields campaigned for a piece of land in their neighbourhood which had been left to rot and attracted fly-tipping. It was full of rubbish, but a group of local people organised a clearing up day, and then gained funding to fence off the area and renovate it and start looking after this small piece of parkland in Brandwood End – now the Jasmin Fields Nature Reserve.

The group have engaged the local school, have had young people volunteering to be a park ranger, and now the area is full of wildlife and is a place for families come to play, walk their dogs and enjoy the area they live in. The group hope they have empowered the local community. For their work, they have now been nominated for the Community Group category of Birmingham’s Local Hearts Award.

[podcast]http://podnosh.com/files/2009/10/Grassroots-Friends-of-Jasmin-Fields1.mp3[/podcast]

Indu Daji and Electra Soudy

Electra Soudy and Indu Daji have been nominated for the Community Group Local Hearts Award for the work they have done with BETI, which they set up 10 years ago to empower women and give them training and support.

Indu focuses on muslim and hindu women and Electra with single women and voluntary groups – helping those coming to Britain who may be abused by their relatives and in-laws, assisting their learning of English and giving them the advice and guidance they need to get on the job ladder.

The group aim to liberate women in Birmingham who suffer under their families, feel estranged, or are being forced into arranged marriages. Both women have a background which has led them to this work – Electra ran away from her Greek home because her father was setting up an arranged marriage, and Indu also suffered when she moved to the city, but was given confidence by Electra.

The two women also inspire and motivate each other, and are well-known in the community as people other women can come to for help, shelter and advice. Here’s their story.

[podcast]http://podnosh.com/files/2009/10/Grassroots-BETI-group.mp3[/podcast]