Made in Bury – those who make a difference

Bury’s “unsung heroes” have been rewarded with Made in Bury awards for their outstanding contribution to the community.

The winners were presented with their certificates at the annual meeting of Bury Council by the outgoing Mayor of Bury, Councillor Stella Smith.

You can watch video footage of the winners receiving their awards in the town hall: go to http://new.digitaltreemedia.co.uk/burycouncil/

The winners are:

Outstanding Contribution to a Township Award. Winners are Sheila Blackman, Liz McDonald, Ged McGee and Colette Jones.

• Sheila has built a strong sense of community for the vulnerable group of carers at the Gaddum Centre in Bury, where she is manager.

• Liz has helped transform a dining room in Elmhurst short stay residential home for older people into a safe and supportive community bistro serving great quality food cooked daily on the premises.

• Ged is the chairman of Elton and Walshaw JFC and runs a soccer school on a Sunday morning, improving the lives of young people from all backgrounds and sporting abilities.

• Colette has led the Friends of Close Park group for years, helping arrange events of all kinds. More recently she provided outstanding support for local residents affected by the Boxing Day floods.

Young Person or Young Persons’ Group (aged 25 or under) – Outstanding Community Contribution Award. Winners are Leah Hanlon and George Rimmer.

• Leah is a young lady who has overcome her own language difficulties to support others and help them fulfil their potential through her work with local voluntary group Jigsaw.

• George, only 13, helped many people in need during the Boxing Day floods, helping to clean their homes, arranging furniture deliveries, working over the whole Christmas period even though he was flood victim himself.

Volunteer of the Year Award: winners are Peter James-Robinson, Geeta Sarin, Gary Dawson and Elaine Valle-Jones.

• Peter gives his time to a huge range of charities and organisations all year round, despite being disabled and unable to work. His commitment and voluntary work has been rewarded with an MBE.

• Psychology graduate Geeta set up a website on sexual abuse awareness and helped organisations including Samaritans, Adult Learning Centre, Project 29. She is also secretary of BIG in mental health.

• Gary has learning disabilities but carries out a huge range of tasks, including working on the allotment at Bolton Road Tenants and Residents Association and on the Elms Community Centre garden.

• Elaine has volunteered in Bury’s dementia cafes for five years. Her combination of compassion and support has helped the service to grow substantially in that time.

Good Neighbour Award: winner is Gwendoline Robinson.

• Gwendoline brought up three children alone after their father died of cancer. She was a home carer for Bury Council until she was 65, then became a ‘lollipop lady’, also going into schools to teach about road safety and lloking after ill neighbours.

Exceptional Community Support: Winners are Emily Owen and Redvales Flood Relief team, and Steve and Lucy Houghton-Burnett.

Redvales Flood Relief group

• Emily Owen was serving Christmas dinner at a care home when the Boxing Day floods came. She helped evacuate people, and transport them to the relief hub that had been set up in Radcliffe and Bury. She was joined by Imran Younis, Faisal Khasnoud, Yvonne Bagguley, Andrew Loynes, Shazad Haider, Omar Farooq, and George Rimmer. They immediately started working together in the Redvales area, and set up a ‘whatsapp’. They all gave up their Christmas holidays and worked tirelessly, buying equipment and cleaning out people’s homes, loaded skips, cleaned gardens and brought food to those who had nothing. The fitted washing machines, collected furniture, and even bought a car for a 70-year-old cancer sufferer who lost his in the flood.

• Steve and his wife Lucy used their organisational skills, contacts and leadership to ensure than hundreds of people in Radcliffe and Ramsbottom were helped during the floods.

The awards were presented by the outgoing Mayor of Bury, Councillor Stella Smith, who said: “This council values the work that voluntary, community and faith sector groups and volunteers do across our borough which help make Bury a good place to live, work and visit.

“These awards help us to recognise that, across our communities, individuals and groups continue to give their unpaid time and commitment to improve their local areas and the lives of others. During my time as mayor, I have been honoured to meet many of them and witness firsthand the type of work they do and the positive impact they have on the lives of others. We have been truly overwhelmed by the examples of community activity, giving, sharing and supporting that is happening on a daily basis across our borough, especially the hard work of community members who came together during the floods.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 16 June 2016.

Picture attached: The award winners are presented with their certificates at Bury Town Hall by the outgoing Mayor of Bury, Cllr Stella Smith.