Through our Community Volunteer Awards, we aim to reward individuals and organisations for the great work you do in and around Blackburn with Darwen.

A total of 21 awards are available under 12 categories.


2023 Finalists

We had a fantastic response to our call for nominations this year, with over 600 nominees. We are deeply grateful to everyone who took the time to nominate their community heroes. Whittling down this list to decide upon the finalists was a tough process, and we’d like to thank the delegates who attended on Thursday 7th September to make these tough decisions. The finalists are as follows: –

Volunteer of the Year Award

  • Ann Shuttleworth
  • Vicki Davies
  • Sarah Bernasconi-Parsons

Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Vicky McGurk
  • Gordon Fairweather
  • Jason Walker

Lindsay Dunn Award

Group

  • Phoenix Hub
  • Ayup Sultan Trust
  • Talk Ourselves Well

Individual

  • Craig Worswick – Red Rose Recovery
  • Connie Francis – Project Arise
  • Sarah Bernasconi-Parsons – Maggie’s Still Birth Legacy

Renee Black Award

  • Natasha Shah
  • ARC Blackburn (Asylum and Refugee Community)
  • Whitehall Park Gardening Club

Good Neighbour Award

  • Amina Imam
  • Lisa Davies
  • Roy Parker

Community Involvement Award

  • Community & Business Partners
  • BwD Foodbank
  • Clifton Arms

Culture, Leisure & Sporting Life Award

Group

  • Blackburn Pride Committee
  • Arts2Heal
  • Blackburn Empire Theatre volunteers

Individual

  • Vicki Davies – The Little Potting Club
  • John Clucas – Community First Responder for North West Ambulance Service
  • Ann Shuttleworth – Arts2Heal

Health & Well Being Award

Group

  • Blackburn Food Bank
  • BwD Parents in Partnership
  • Shad Chefs

Individual

  • Janet Spencer
  • Sarah Bernasconi-Parsons
  • Simon Donnelly

Prosperity, Learning & Employment Award

Group

  • Age UK BwD
  • BwD Carers Service
  • Community & Business Partners

Individual

  • Carole Davies
  • Ian Lorimer
  • Vicky McGurk

Environment Award

Group

  • Whitehall Park Gardening Club
  • Blackburn Volunteer Lock Keepers
  • Turton Tower Kitchen Garden Group

Individual

  • Vicki Davies
  • Janet Pearce
  • Roy Parker

Young People’s Award

Group

  • BwD Parents in Partnership
  • St. George’s Mill Hill Scout Group
  • The Little Potting Club

Individual

  • Oscar Johnson
  • Conor Lightbown
  • Becky Shaw

Grassroots Award

Group

  • Shad Chefs
  • Maggie’s Still Birth Legacy
  • Clifton Arms

Individual

  • Amina Imam
  • Lisa Davies
  • Sarah Bernosconi-Parsons

General Criteria

Each nomination will be assessed against three general criteria:

  • The background and particular circumstance relating to the individual or organisation and their journey
  • The voluntary effort that the individual or organisation has made and is making
  • The impact or difference that voluntary effort has made and is making to our communities within Blackburn with Darwen.

Volunteer of the Year Award

Awarded to the volunteer whose enthusiasm and dedication to volunteering has made a real difference to the community within the past year. Anyone can be directly nominated for the Volunteer of the Year Award. However, the awards panel reserve the right to elevate any nomination to the volunteer of the year category if they think the nomination merits receiving the overall award.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Awarded to the volunteer who has demonstrated an exemplary long-term commitment to the voluntary, community and faith sector through sharing their expertise, skill set and knowledge. To qualify for the award the individual must have volunteered or worked within the voluntary, community and faith sector for a minimum of 20 years.

Good Neighbour Award

Awarded to the volunteer that helps make their neighbourhood or local community a better place to live or work.

Culture, Leisure & Sporting Life Category Award

Awarded to any individual volunteer or team of volunteers whose enthusiasm and dedication has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to the culture, leisure and sporting life of Blackburn with Darwen.

Health & Well Being Award

Awarded to any individual volunteer or team of volunteers whose enthusiasm and dedication has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to improving the health and well-being of residents of Blackburn with Darwen.

Prosperity, Learning & Employment Award

Awarded to any individual volunteer or team of volunteers whose enthusiasm and dedication has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to improving the prosperity, skills or employment prospects of residents of Blackburn with Darwen.

Environment Award

Awarded to any individual volunteer or team of volunteers whose enthusiasm and dedication has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to improving the local environment and having a positive impact on people’s lives within Blackburn with Darwen.

Renee Black Award

Awarded to any individual volunteer or team of volunteers whose enthusiasm and dedication has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to bringing together the different communities of Blackburn with Darwen and building a shared understanding between different sections of our community.

Lindsay Dunn Award

This award is awarded in memory of Lindsay Dunn, a volunteer who was passionate about helping the most marginalised people within society.

Awarded to any individual volunteer or team of volunteers whose enthusiasm and dedication has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to improving the lives of people experiencing complex, severe and multiple disadvantage (e.g. suffering from poverty, homelessness, poor mental health, offending background, recovering from alcohol or substance misuse, domestic abuse, etc.)

Young People’s Award

Individual Award

Awarded to any young person who volunteers to make their neighbourhood or local community a better place to live or work.

Organisational Award

Awarded to any Organisation whose enthusiasm and dedication has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to giving children and young people the best start in life within Blackburn with Darwen.

Grassroots Award

Individual Award

Awarded to any individual who has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to a community group, small charity, social enterprise that is run entirely by volunteers and has an annual income of under £10,000.

Organisational Award

Awarded to any small organisation (income less than £10,000) from the voluntary, community and faith sector whose voluntary efforts have made a real difference to the residents and borough of Blackburn with Darwen.

Community Involvement Award

Awarded to any organisation from across the public, commercial or voluntary, community and faith sectors whose commitment to social responsibility has made a real difference to the residents and borough of Blackburn with Darwen

Award sponsors and supporters

Many thanks to our award sponsors and supporters without whose support we would be unable to put on the Community Volunteer Awards ceremony.

Community Volunteer Awards 2022

Last year’s award ceremony took place on Thursday 3rd November at King George’s Hall.