The volunteers who put in 6,000 hours of their time to help in the search of Corrie McKeague are just some of the brilliant people recognised by Community Action Suffolk at their annual awards for community heroes.
Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue (SULSAR), which was presented with the Special Award for Exceptional Volunteering for its work in the search for the airman, was just one of the organisations, which also included libraries, hospital projects, youth centres and community groups, represented at the awards ceremony.
Community Action Suffolk (CAS), which supports the county’s volunteers, gathered nominees at the Museum of East Anglian Life on Tuesday, September 24 to show its appreciation of those that give up the time and energy to make their community a better place.
Andy King, SULSAR chairman, said: “We are delighted to have received this special award. Obviously we don’t do what we do for acknowledgment or awards, but to have our volunteers recognised means a huge amount.”
CAS has worked with SULSAR to help the charity find ongoing funding, which will support the costs of running a headquarters in the county.
“There will be lots of ongoing costs to be met, and we’ve grown our team from about 30 prior to the Corrie search, to 100 now, so all those people need continual training to be at their most effective,” Mr King said.
Pete Richardson, CEO of Community Action Suffolk, said: “The CAS award ceremony is always a hugely enjoyable event; it’s really fabulous to be able to celebrate the success stories of how individuals and organisations have been doing their bit in the county to improve the lives of others.
“Every year the awards panel is faced with an exceptionally difficult challenge, selecting from some outstanding and inspirational examples of commitment and selflessness.”
He added: “Sometimes, the dedication of volunteers is immediately visible for everyone to enjoy, in community gardens and beautiful outdoors areas.
“Other times the work that is going on in our schools, towns and villages passes by relatively unnoticed.
“Without it, vulnerable people wouldn’t be given support and communities wouldn’t be the social centres that they are.”
The award winners in full:
Anne Dunford OBE award – youth participation: Student Life
The Roddy Macleod award – youth club of the year: Outreach Youth
The Andrew Towers award – young person of the year: Kelsi Padmore & Morgan Gammon (joint winners)
The Colonel Probert award – community initiative: Aldeburgh Hospital Volunteer Garden Team
The Ian Campbell MBE award – individual initiative: Mark Knowles
The Village Hall or Community Building award: Gainsborough Community Library
The Outstanding Contribution to Volunteering award: Reg Langston
Event Organiser of the Year: John Button
Special Award for Exceptional Community Volunteering: Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue Team
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