Information about the organisations and individual volunteers who have won or received nominations in our annual community awards.
Community organisations and individual volunteers make a huge contribution to lives across North Yorkshire. Aiding us in delivering critical services and providing social networks which reduce isolation and enable people to live independently for longer.
They help to deliver a wide range of critical services, from organising luncheon clubs and helping in schools, running cultural and social events, walking dogs and doing shopping for elderly neighbours, helping out at cub scout and brownie guide groups, managing animal shelters and community libraries, and so much more.
Community awards 2022
Below are the shortlisted nominees in each of the three categories.
Making a difference award – helping rural communities to flourish
North Craven Pantries: They were established by groups of volunteers in response to the coronavirus pandemic but have since acknowledged the need for ongoing support. The four Pantries, located in High Bentham, Ingleton, Settle and Hellifield have more than 75 active volunteers and have supported over 1,100 people. They provide access to emergency food and support, and signpost to access wider support where needed.
Revival North Yorkshire volunteers: Revival was established in 2015 to provide activities to help prevent loneliness in older people in remote moorland villages. During the pandemic, Revival reinvented itself to meet the needs of the community, supporting over 200 older and vulnerable people in the remote Esk Valley villages. They made over 4,000 phone calls to check people were coping and have a friendly chat, did 1,300 doorstep visits, delivered 885 hot meals and dealt with a wide variety of other needs.
SELFA Bentham Youth Group: The group is made up of young people aged 11 to 19 who may be experiencing vulnerabilities, disadvantaged and/or have disabilities. The young people have worked on making an impact to their environment by planting trees, making bird boxes, making bird feeders and making bee baths. The group have completed an art project with a professional artist exploring their own identities, developing their self-esteem and celebrating themselves. They are now organising Skipton's first Pride.
Best community group
Sleepsafe Selby: The group provides free support to people in Selby facing a night on the street. A six-bedroom converted shipping container with living area, kitchen, toilets and shower block provides a safe space to stay while guests are helped to look for long-term tenancy. Assistance with life skills is given and guests are befriended, encouraging healthy social interaction and increasing confidence. When guests move out they are helped with a generous range of goods to furnish their new home. Guests often return to volunteer and provide essential lived experience.
Tadcaster Volunteer Cars and Services Association: The group has been providing community transport for Tadcaster and the surrounding area for over 30 years. Within the last five years the group has developed its other community activities such as their charity shop, Knit and Natter and Jigsaw Club. They carry out collection and delivery of prescriptions, food deliveries and coronavirus vaccination appointments and have a community cafe and garden. Plans are moving forward for a designated men’s shed.
Gallows Close Centre volunteers: The group has a local community hub in Scarborough, providing a range of social activities for residents. They work with other groups and organisations to deliver fitness, creative and learning activities based at its well-equipped centre that serves the Northstead, Newby and Barrowcliff areas. It also has outdoor sports facilities and a community garden. During coronavirus lockdowns, the team ensured local families in need were given support including food parcels, prescription collection and care packs.
Scarborough Salvation Army volunteers: The volunteers are essential to the running of the Victory Programme; a fun and free practical programme teaching people to cook healthy and nutritious low-cost meals. Friendships are made and confidence is grown, with many participants becoming volunteers. Referrals come from, amongst others, North Yorkshire County Council’s Living Well team, North Yorkshire Police, as well as probation and inclusion officers at primary schools.
Volunteer of the year
Richard Holmes: Richard volunteers with Citizens Online helping people to improve their digital skills and use the internet safely. He has provided hardware and software support for a wide range of people including refugee families, and families on low income combining his support role with a full-time job. During the pandemic, he identified a support route using screen-view software to facilitate remote assistance when home visits were not possible.
Tracey Romaine: Tracey set up SleepSafe Selby to help homeless people in the town. She had volunteered for several years in soup kitchens and found that she wanted to provide more holistic support to people who have nowhere to live. She raised money, found a site and sourced shipping containers to provide a welcoming place for guests. She also supported them with life skills and donated items when they found a home of their own.
Jill Standish: Jill has been the driving force behind the development of the Ripon Arts Hub. The building, once a social club, provides a professional studio theatre with separate bar, green room and office space, all now fully accessible. The lack of community venues in the city meant that people struggled to access the arts or local entertainment. The Hub now brings people together and enriches the life of the community with a wide range of groups using the facilities.
We have received a total of 81 nominations for 48 different groups and individuals. The judging panel consider the information supplied in the nomination forms and visit short listed nominees.
Finalists will be invited to the North Yorkshire wider partnership conference on the morning of Friday 30 September 2022, where the winners and runners up will be announced and presented with their awards.
Best Community Group
- Active Filey
- Dalewood trust
- Harrogate Fitmums and Friends
- HASAG (Hookstone and Stonefall Action Group)
- Ingleton & District Covid 19 Volunteer Group
- Just the Job Environmental Enterprises Ltd
- Pickering Food Share
- Saint Catherine's Hospice Vaccine Volunteers
- Scarborough Salvation Army Victory Programme
- SELFA Community Fridge
- Sleepsafe Selby
- Skipton Step Into Action
- Swanswans Gymnastics
- Tadcaster Volunteer Cars and Services Association
- Tadcrafters Community Interest Company
- Talk Tonight Selby
- The Clothing Bank
- The Gallows Centre
- The People's Fridge - Whitby Community Fridge
- Wellspring Therapy & Training Volunteers
Making a difference - helping rural communities to flourish
- Nidderdale Plus Community Hub
- North Craven Community Pantries
- Revival North Yorkshire
- SELFA Bentham Youth
Volunteer of the Year
- Jon Allars
- Kim Avison
- Frank Johnstone Banks
- Caroline Bentham
- Quinn Brown
- Rachel Clarke
- Peter Hargreaves
- Richard Holmes
- Lynne Howard
- Carolyn Kitching
- Kelly Robinson
- Lisa Mohd Rofidi
- Tracey Romaine Roberts
- Jan Shally
- Jill Standish
- Ryan Swain
- Sue Ward
- Claire Maxted Wiggins
Nomination categories
There are three categories for the 2022 North Yorkshire Community Awards:
- Best community group – awarded to groups carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire.
- Volunteer of the year – awarded to individual volunteers carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire.
- Making a difference - helping rural communities to flourish – awarded to individual or groups who have through their voluntary activity/activities made a real difference to a rural area / rural areas of North Yorkshire. This award recognises unique, innovative, enterprising or resilient approaches to overcoming rural issues, challenges or disadvantage that have impacted on people, communities and/or the environment.
Eligibility requirements
The criteria for the community awards scheme are:
- Activities that have taken place or been completed from 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022
- All nominations must have had a positive impact on people living in the North Yorkshire County Council area
- Nominated community groups must be constituted, not for profit, and operate in the North Yorkshire County Council area
- Community groups may be a branch of, or affiliated to, a larger regional or national organisation, as long as the volunteers started and developed the initiative for the activity locally, and the group's achievements go beyond what is expected of similar groups in the wider organisation's network
- Nominated individuals must volunteer within the North Yorkshire County Council boundaries in the area of work for which they are nominated
- Self-nominations will be accepted
- Volunteers of all ages are eligible for nomination.
Winners and runners up may not be considered for award in the same category in the following three years.
Judging criteria
All nominations are judged on how the individual, organisation or project has:
- tackled issues that affect people living in North Yorkshire
- made a difference to their community
- helped get people involved and inspired others
The decision of the awards panel is final and the panel reserves the right not to make awards if there are no eligible nominations.
View the terms and conditions for the community awards here.
The following sets out the questions on the nomination forms for the 2022 North Yorkshire Community Awards. This is to help you prepare your answers before filling in the online form. It is not a nomination form in itself.
Best Community Group
Who are you nominating?
Q1 Name of group
Q2 Contact name
Q3 Address
Q4 Telephone number
Q5 Email address
Q6 Website
About you
Q7 Your name
Q8 Your address
Q9 Telephone number
Q10 Email address
Q11 Please confirm that the group is aware of this nomination.
About your nomination
Q12 In which district (or districts) of North Yorkshire does the group carry out its volunteering activity? (Select all that apply)
Craven / Hambleton / Harrogate / Richmondshire / Ryedale / Scarborough / Selby
Q13 Please tick the box to confirm that the group was carrying out volunteering activity between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022.
If your nominated group is selected for the second phase of the awards we will arrange for our judges to visit them/ either physically or virtually whichever is deemed more appropriate.
Q14 If you are able to, please indicate any dates and times when our judges could visit your nominated group in June, July and August 2022 – for example any events or regular meetings organised in this period. Also please indicate any dates to avoid. We won’t hold you to any of these dates but this is just to give us a rough idea for visit planning.
The next few questions are designed for you to tell us how the group you are nominating meets the criteria for the award. This is the information we will use to decide whether your nominated group should be shortlisted.
Q15 What voluntary activity or activities does the group carry out? (for example organising a luncheon club, running a community shop or supporting the elderly?) Please provide a short summary of the activities of the group.
Q16 How long has the group been carrying out this voluntary activity?
Q17 How often does the group carry out this voluntary activity?
Q18 Please list the issues in the local area that the group is addressing (for example isolation and loneliness, health and wellbeing or improvements to the local environment)
Q19 How has the group made a difference to the lives of people in the local area?
If you can, please provide information on the number of people helped, and give us examples of how it has helped particular groups of people or anonymous examples of how it has had a positive impact on individuals.
Q20 How has the group got people involved?
Please tell us how the group has involved people in the local community in their activities. This could include some or all of the following:
- how many people are involved, and if they are all volunteers
- how the group has got the support of the wider community
- how the group has promoted its work
- how the group has encouraged people to volunteer with the group and supported them while volunteering
- how the group has made links to other local groups or businesses
- how the group has inspired other groups or individuals to get involved in the local community
Q21 What plans does the group have for the future?
Please tell us about any plans the group may have for the future. This could include new activities or improvements to existing activities.
Q22 Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the group you are nominating and why they should win a North Yorkshire Community Award? If so, please use the box below.
Making a difference award – helping rural communities to flourish
Who are you nominating?
Q1 Name of group, project or individual
Q2 Address
Q3 Telephone number
Q4 Email address
Q5 Website
About you
Q6 Your name
Q7 Your address
Q8 Telephone number
Q9 Email address
Q10 Please confirm that the person or group you are nominating is aware of this nomination.
About your nomination
Q11 In which district (or districts) of North Yorkshire has your nominee made a difference to a rural community? (Select all that apply)
Craven / Hambleton / Harrogate / Richmondshire / Ryedale / Scarborough / Selby
Q12 Please tick the box to confirm that the volunteering activity took place between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022.
If your nomination is selected for the second phase of the awards we will arrange for our judges to visit, either physically or virtually whichever is deemed more appropriate.
Q13 If you are able to, please indicate any dates and times when our judges could visit your nominated group or person in June, July and August 2022 – for example any events or regular meetings organised in this period. Also please indicate any dates to avoid. We won’t hold you to any of these dates but this is just to give us a rough idea for visit planning.
The next few questions are designed for you to tell us how your nomination meets the criteria for the award. This is the information we will use to decide whether your nomination should be shortlisted.
Q14 How has the nominated group or person made a difference to a rural community / rural communities?
If you can, please provide information on the activities that have been undertaken, who has been involved and how this has made a difference to people, the community and/or the environment.
Q15 Please tell us about the rural issues, challenges or disadvantages your nomination has addressed?
Please tell us the rural challenges that the nominated group or person has worked to address e.g. raising money to develop or improve facilities or services in rural areas, engaging and supporting people disadvantaged by living in a rural location, providing a service that would not otherwise be offered, or improving the environment or biodiversity. Please provide details of the impact made.
Q16 How long has the nominated group or person been carrying out this voluntary activity?
Q17 Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the nominated group or person and why they should win a North Yorkshire Community Award? If so, please use the box below.
Volunteer of the year
Who are you nominating?
Q1 Name of volunteer
Q2 Address
Q3 Telephone number
Q4 Email address
Q5 Website
About you
Q6 Your name
Q7 Your address
Q8 Telephone number
Q9 Email address
Q10 Please confirm that the person you are nominating is aware of this nomination.
About your nomination
Q11 In which district (or districts) of North Yorkshire does the volunteer carry out their volunteering activity? (Select all that apply)
Craven / Hambleton / Harrogate / Richmondshire / Ryedale / Scarborough / Selby
Q12 Please tick the box to confirm that the volunteer was carrying out volunteering activity between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022.
If your nominated volunteer is selected for the second phase of the awards we will arrange for our judges to visit them, either physically or virtually whichever is deemed more appropriate.
Q15 If you are able to, please indicate any dates and times when our judges could visit your nominated volunteer in June, July and August 2022 – for example any events or regular meetings organised in this period. Also please indicate any dates to avoid. We won’t hold you to any of these dates but this is just to give us a rough idea for visit planning.
The next few questions are designed for you to tell us how the volunteer you are nominating meets the criteria for the award. This is the information we will use to decide whether your nominated volunteer should be shortlisted.
Q16 What voluntary activity or activities does the volunteer carry out? (for example organising a luncheon club, running a community shop or supporting the elderly?)
Please tell us, if relevant, which organisations your nominated volunteer works with.
Q17 How long has the volunteer been carrying out this voluntary activity?
Q18 How often does the volunteer carry out this voluntary activity?
Q19 What issues in the local area is the volunteer addressing? (for example isolation and loneliness, health and wellbeing or improvements to the local environment)
Q20 How has the volunteer made a difference to the lives of people in the local area?
If you can, please provide information on the number of people helped, and give us examples of how your nominated volunteer has helped particular groups of people or anonymous examples of how they have had a positive impact on individuals.
Q21 How has the volunteer got other people involved?
Please tell us how the volunteer has inspired others to get involved in the local community, whether individuals, groups or businesses.
Q22 Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the volunteer you are nominating and why they should win a North Yorkshire Community Award? If so, please use the box below.
1. The Promoter
1.1 The promoter is: North Yorkshire County Council, Racecourse Lane, Northallerton DL7 8AD (the “Promoter”)
2. The Competition
2.1 The title of the competition is the North Yorkshire Community Awards 2022 (the “Competition”).
2.2 The Competition recognises and celebrates voluntary work carried out by people and organisations across North Yorkshire.
3. How to nominate
3.1 The competition will run from 1 February 2022 (the "opening date") to midnight on 6 May 2022 (the "closing date") inclusive.
3.2 All nominations must be received by the promoter by no later than midnight on the closing date. All nominations received after the closing date are automatically disqualified.
- To nominate someone to be entered into the competition:
- Choose a voluntary group or person that you feel has made a difference to their community through their voluntary work (a “nominee”)
- Complete the online nomination form at. Paper forms are available on request if you are unable to complete the form online.
- For the avoidance of doubt, you may complete an entry form nominating yourself as a Nominee.
- It is the responsibility of all nominators to ensure that the nominee is aware of the nomination.
3.4 The promoter will not accept:
(a) responsibility for nominations that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause, including, for example, as a result of any postal failure, equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind; or
(b) proof of posting or transmission as proof of receipt of entry to the competition.
3.5 By submitting a competition entry, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions.
3.6 Following an eligibility check, a minimum of three nominees per category will be shortlisted by a panel of judges including:
- Chairman of North Yorkshire County Council
- Vice-Chairman of North Yorkshire County Council
- Head of Stronger Communities, North Yorkshire County Council
- Other employees of North Yorkshire County Council
- Representatives of voluntary and community sector
3.7 Shortlisting will be based on information provided in the nomination forms (the “shortlisted nominees”). The decision of the panel of judges (acting reasonably) will be final. Shortlisted nominees will be notified by email by 30 June 2022.
3.8 Visits to, or virtual meetings with, the shortlisted nominees, where necessary, will take place by 15 September 2022, and as a result finalists will be chosen.
3.9 Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony at the North Yorkshire Wider Partnership Conference at the Pavilions of Harrogate, North Yorkshire Showground on the morning of Friday 30 September 2022 (the “awards ceremony”). Each finalist shall receive three tickets to attend the awards ceremony.
3.10 In the event that a finalist is unable to attend the awards ceremony, then he/she may (subject to giving the promoter prior reasonable notice) nominate someone to attend the awards ceremony on his/her behalf (the “nominated representative”).
3.11 At the awards ceremony winners for each category will be announced. The decision of the panel of judges (acting reasonably) will be final.
4. Eligibility
4. 1 There are three categories for the 2022 North Yorkshire Community Awards.
- Best community group – awarded to groups carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire.
- Volunteer of the year – awarded to individual volunteers carrying out voluntary activity/activities in North Yorkshire.
- Making a difference - helping rural communities to flourish – awarded to individual or groups who have through their voluntary activity/activities made a real difference to a rural area / rural areas of North Yorkshire. This award recognises unique, innovative, enterprising or resilient approaches to overcoming rural issues, challenges or disadvantage that have impacted on people, communities and/or the environment.
The criteria for the North Yorkshire County Council community awards scheme 2022 are:
- Activities that have taken place or been completed from 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022;
- Nominations in all categories must have had a positive impact on people living in the North Yorkshire County Council area;
- Nominated community groups must be constituted, not for profit, and operate in the North Yorkshire County Council area;
- Community groups may be a branch of, or affiliated to, a larger regional or national organisation, as long as the volunteers started and developed the initiative for the activity locally, and the group's achievements go beyond what is expected of similar groups in the wider organisation's network;
- Nominated individuals must volunteer within the North Yorkshire County Council boundaries in the area of work for which they are nominated
- Self-nominations will be accepted
- Volunteers of all ages are eligible for nomination
4.2 The promoter will not accept competition entries that are:
- automatically generated by computer;
- completed in bulk;
- illegible, have been altered, reconstructed, forged or tampered with; or
- incomplete.
4.3 The promoter reserves all rights to revoke your entry into the competition if either your or your nominee’s conduct, is contrary to the spirit or intention of the competition.
5. The prize
5.1 There will be one winner and two runners up for each category.
5.2 Each winner will receive:
- £1000 paid electronically into the group’s bank account or, in the case of individuals, to be donated to the local charity of the winner’s choice
- an engraved trophy and certificate
5.3 Each runner up will receive:
- £250 paid electronically into the group’s bank account or, in the case of individuals, to be donated to the local charity of the winner’s choice
- an engraved trophy and certificate
5.4 The prize is not negotiable or transferable.
6. Winner announcement
6.1 The winners and runners up of the competition will be announced at the awards ceremony (announcement date).
6.2 The decision of the judges nominated by the promoter is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.
7. General
7.1 If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of these terms and conditions, the promoter may, at its sole discretion, reserve the right to exclude your nomination from the competition.
7.2 The promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so.
7.3 These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
8. Data protection and publicity
8.1 North Yorkshire County Council is the ‘Data Controller’ as defined by Data Protection regulations.
8.2 The Council has appointed Veritau Ltd to be its Data Protection Officer. Their contact details are:
Information Governance Office
West Offices,
Station Rise,
York,
YO1 6GA
01904 552943
8.3 The following personal information is collected:
- Name
- Address
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Image (for nominations made by video and shortlisted nominations)
- Bank account details (finalists only. Constituted group only, not individual – for payment of prize monies)
8.4 Personal information is collected as part of the nomination process to enable us to assess the nominations and to communicate directly with nominees and nominators. The contact details will be used to send letters and to arrange judging / videoing visits. Some information is used to promote the community awards.
8.5 The personal contact information will only be shared with the administrators, judges and photographer of the Competition. The administrators are North Yorkshire County Council staff. The judges consist of County Councillors, North Yorkshire County Council staff and representatives of the voluntary and community sector. The photographer is contracted by North Yorkshire County Council. The judges and photographer will not receive any personal contact data until visits have been confirmed. Initial judging decisions will not use any personal details other than name.
8.6 Nominees will need to agree that the promoter may list their name and town of residence on the North Yorkshire County Council website in relation to the competition. Nominees will be asked to confirm their agreement.
8.7 Shortlisted nominees and finalists will need to agree that the promoter may use their name, image and district of residence in connection with this competition. Nominees will be contacted to confirm their agreement.
8.8 Videos will be played at the awards ceremony and will be made available on the County Council intranet and website. Participants in the videos will be asked for their consent.
8.9 The table below sets out the retention period for the data. The retention period is from the closing date of the nominations.
|
Data held |
Retention period (from nomination closing date) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Nominees |
Shortlisted nominees |
Finalists |
|
Name |
3 months |
4 months |
3 years** |
|
Address, phone number, email |
3 months |
4 months |
6 months |
|
Full nomination forms |
3 months |
6 months |
6 months |
|
Short description of reason for nomination |
- |
4 months 1 year* |
1 year |
|
Videos and photographs |
3 months |
6 months |
1 year |
|
Bank account details – groups only. No details held for individuals. |
- |
- |
In line with County Council’s financial policies and procedures |
* shortlisted nominees who receive a highly commended certificate will have their details used for longer.
** finalists’ name will be kept for 3 years to enable the administrators of the competition to ascertain eligibility for future awards.
8.10 For more information about how the County Council uses your data, including your privacy rights and the complaints process, please see our corporate Privacy Notice.