vinspired National Awards: A night to remember

Hi, it's me again, Rochelle - online volunteer reporting back from the vinspired National Awards. You read my blog in advance, saw my Facebook updates on the night and now I'm back again to fill you all in on what happened!

And so the vinspired National Awards has drawn to an end for another year… but what a memorable night it was! The night got off to a brilliant start with entertaining tunes from DJ Lukey  (vinspired’s National Awards DJ volunteer), before the main ceremony, welcoming guests as they arrived. Guests were greeted by volunteer 'Party People' as they piled into London's IndigO2 arena. The first words of inspiration were given through a powerful performance by the Rock Choir who collaborated with Natasha Bedingfield in ‘Ain’t no mountain High’ setting the tone for what was to be a fantastic evening...

But the best was yet to come in the form of the extraordinary finalists who shared their unique experiences and stories. As amazing as it was to see the winners announced  the night was also as general celebration volunteers -  all those hard working, unsugn heroes - it was inspiring to see such so many selfless, dedicated people together in one place. Winner of the Shout Award, Sulaiman Khan, hopes that his volunteering experience can not only make a difference to society but remove barriers faced by other young disabled young people through his innovative campaigning. Making the world a better place was also very important for the Spirit Award winner Kirsty Ashton who raised an an astounding £83,000 for children with life threatening illnesses with the organisation ‘When you wish upon a Star’ after being after being inspired by the work that they were doing to make children’s dreams come true. Due to his unique personality, as described by his nominators, Adrian Stone, winner of the Connect Award demonstrated his strong commitment to connecting communities by reaching out to groups of people who have previously never felt included in a community.

Anthony Nicholls, winner of the Fresh Award, encouraged everyone to get involved in volunteering as it opens up so many opportunities and allows you to meet different kinds of people. Lee Campbell, winner of the Triumph Award, although a very deserving winner, seemed very shocked to win and thanked his supervisor for his success, which was very commendable. Kim Cooper, winner of the Legend Award, expressed that she has been volunteering since 13 and says that since then she has been unable to stop! Youth 4 Youth, winners of the Unite Award showed their humorous side when they said that they were shocked to win as their competition had better volunteering achievements than they had! And last but not least, was Clare Downey, who is an inspiration to all teachers - encouraging all her sixth form students to volunteer.

The night itself was amazing and I learnt the art of Tweeting and getting good iPhone pics! Everyone had something inspiring to say and then the night was topped off by a brilliant after party with some interesting dance moves, on the part of the volunteers and guests. It was an unforgettable evening of brilliance even in these times of hardship, which really shows how much young people can achieve if they are passionate about something. But, what did you think about the event? Comment on this article below and blow my mind….