Chair's community awards

Community heroes

The Chair's Community Awards were first established in 2003 to recognise and celebrate the valuable contribution local unpaid volunteers make to life in South Gloucestershire. They have since become an annual event.

Each year people are asked to nominate their local "community heroes" - people who have made a difference to their community. There are a number of suggested areas of contribution such as community development or safety, promoting equality, arts, sports, play, environment, working with older or young people, advice and advocacy and being a good neighbour. The chosen winners are then invited to a prestigious awards evening to receive their awards.

And for the first time this year, the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire Dame Janet Trotter will be attending the awards ceremony to select an individual from the assembled winners to receive a special Lord Lieutenant’s Award to recognise the contribution that volunteers make to their community.

Nominations are now open, forms available under the Read More section opposite. 

The deadline for nominations is 3rd February 2012

Criteria

The nominated person must satisfy most of the following criteria in order to be considered for an award:

Service

• making their contribution as a volunteer (without pay other than out of pocket expenses) for the benefit of residents in South Gloucestershire. 
• or if the person has received payment for their work, they must have shown additional voluntary effort and dedication well beyond that expected from their employment. 

( Please give specific examples of the person's work or additional voluntary effort when completing the application form. This will assist the panel when making a decision.)

Commitment

The candidate has made a real difference in a number of ways such as: 

• time dedicated to the work they do
• leadership and the motivation of others 
• developing ideas that have helped others 
• helping others overcoming significant challenges

Special Award Categories 

• long service award 
• youngest volunteer 
• joint award (2 people)

Suggested areas of contribution include: (this list is only illustrative)

Exceptions

• unfortunately nominations cannot be taken for groups, as we are unable to administer for large numbers. 
• nominations cannot be accepted from immediate family members. 
• nominations cannot be accepted for elected councillors (currently in post), unless the nomination is for work not associated with the councillor role. 
• previous winners for the same area of contribution.