East Midlands regional winners
Congratulations to the following East Midlands regional award winners!
Best new volunteer
Lewis Tune
Lewis is new to volunteering but really thrives on what he does. He's a volunteer First-Aider for The Red Cross at various events throughout the country and gains a great deal of satisfaction from helping others.
Lewis suffers with learning disabilities including Dyslexia – however he does not let this stand in his way. He attends a first-aid practice session every Tuesday night and then volunteers at events such as bike rallies, races and hovercraft demonstrations at weekends, where he is there on standby to help any members of the public who injure themselves.
Overall committment to volunteering
Shanveer Hare
Shanveer volunteered with a youth mentoring group throughout her teens, but it was when she started a law course that she knew what she wanted to focus on. Shanveer now runs the UK’s only student-lead university pro bono legal service, offering support to students and staff at Leicester University.
The first person to go to university from her family, she also volunteers for a youth mentoring scheme in a deprived area of Leicester, in the hope that she can inspire other young people from her background to follow their aspirations.
Youth worker
Amanda Harker
Amanda is an artist who is passionate about the role that artistic expression has to play in local communities. She is volunteer manager at Artcore, a project that helps young people manage arts projects in the community. She's really enjoying the opportunity to help young people meet their creative potential and build their confidence through art.
National Citizen Service (NCS)
NCS Lincolnshire
Marc is 25 and has been in the RAF for six years. He is part of a group called Youth Activities Working Group (YAWG), which through his work, enables him to volunteer for many different schemes.
It was whilst helping out at a school delivery day organised by the Education Business Partnership that he heard about the National Citizens Service. He decided to apply to become a mentor and went on to lead a team of 13 young people for five weeks during the summer. Marc says, ‘Seeing the smiles on people’s faces, for me, that is the best thing about volunteering. I think the National Citizen Service is a brilliant idea."
About NCS:
NCS aims to promote a more cohesive, responsible and engaged society by bringing young people from different backgrounds together to make a difference in their communities. It is a voluntary programme for 16-year-olds which focuses on their personal and social development. It includes challenging activities, from away-from-home residential experiences to a self-designed social action project.
Team
M8
M8 is a youth club that supports young people aged 12 to 19 who have a learning disability or associated disabilities. The club is supported by a team of 11 young volunteers who meet twice a month to support young people with the challenges they face. This dedicated group of young volunteers provide activities and training for its users, with the aim of helping them live more independent lives.
Bringing communities together
Nisha Nath
Nisha sent up the Bollywood/hip hop dance group Javvani (meaning youthful energy in Hindi) to share her love of Indian dance with the wider community in Derby.
She and her group of dancers and drummers are from varying backgrounds, but share a love of dance and music. Their aim is to break barriers between the different communities in their city through performances and workshops.