Special salute for community heroes (From St Helens Star)

St Helens salutes community heroes at special awards night

11:50am Friday 19th October 2012 in News

OUTSTANDING community heroes have been celebrating at a special awards event.

Helena Homes’ annual Making A Difference Awards ceremony was extra special this year with 10 main accolades being presented to mark Helena’s 10th birthday.

Helena’s board chairman, Peter Styche, also gave out a special Chair’s Award to tenants who are part of the customer excellence panel and customer inspectors group.

The group reviews Helena services for the benefit of all tenants and has become a beacon of best practice among housing associations across the UK.

The Making A Difference Awards 2012 winners were: Tenant of the Year: Lynn Turton for her work fundraising for a children’s play area on the Westfield estate and providing endless support for other people.

Bright Young Star: Sam Patchett for his dedication to helping at events and encouraging young people to get involved with events on the Avenues estate in Parr.

Inspirational Project: Bob Williams from Moss Bank for his work on the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, including a special recipe book for making the most of leftover food.

Partner of the Year: Merseyside Police Community Support and Traffic Officer Charlene Harrison for her commitment to reducing anti-social behaviour in Blackbrook and Haydock.

Local Hero: Eddie McConville from Parr for decades of supporting with the Derbyshire Hill Family Centre and wider community activities in his area.

Together We Can: Margaret Foster from Eccleston for tirelessly volunteering at a sheltered accommodation scheme to help older residents make the most of their lives.

Green Fingers Award: Maureen Wilkinson for looking after a number of community gardens, including one for children and a remembrance green space.

Respect Your Neighbourhood: The Working Worms group from the Four Acre estate in Clock Face for providing community activities including an older people’s lunch club and a Santa’s grotto.

Reaching Out: No Secrets Volunteers for their work in supporting people affected by self-injury. They have grown from a group of two to 24 volunteers working across five boroughs.

Outstanding Contribution: Jennie Williams from Moss Bank for her work on a tenants’ group, leading the Shoots food social enterprise and running a Dream Team for young people.

Rob Young, chief executive at Helena, said: “For the past 10 years dedicated volunteers across our communities – many of who were part of this year’s Making A Difference Awards – have been working side-by-side with Helena to inspire positive change in their communities.

“The daily commitment and effort from our tenants and partners really does make a difference, so these awards are our way of saying thank you and celebrating their achievements.

“Congratulations to all of our winners and runners-up and thank you for your continued support and dedication.”

The event took place at Langtree Park Stadium on Thursday, and was sponsored by Forrest, Saints, Bramall (part of the Keepmoat Group), Mansell, the Furnishing Service, Starfish Communities and DLP.

To find out more about the Making A Difference Awards and the winners’ stories, visit helenahomes.co.uk.