Chance to nominate Bristol’s young unsung heroes for awards

The Bristol Young Heroes Awards aim to shine a light on those who have overcome difficult circumstances, made a difference to others or achieved something extraordinary.

People across the city now have until the end of March to nominate those unsung heroes who deserve recognition for their actions.

Now in their tenth year, the awards are open to anyone living in the Bristol area between the ages of 11 and 19. They will culminate in a gala awards ceremony at We the Curious on July 15, supported by a lineup of high-profile local celebrities, politicians and business leaders.

All finalists get access to the Positive Pathways programme, set up by Community of Purpose, the charity behind the Young Heroes awards. This provides young people with work experience opportunities, career advice and peer to peer learning, with support from corporate partners.

Amy Kington, CEO of Community of Purpose,said: “For some of the young people that we work with and support in Bristol, life is really tough. The pandemic has made things even harder for them and their families and exacerbated their disadvantages, and just as we appear to be coming through the worst of Covid, we are now all faced with watching absolute horror unfolding in Ukraine.

“It is more important than ever that we give our young people a sense of hope, take the time to recognise and celebrate their achievements, and show them that even seemingly small actions can make a difference in the world.

“Our local communities are bursting with young people doing amazing things, often in the face of real adversity. I urge everyone to look around and see if there are any young people that you can nominate. We know from ten years of these awards the positive impact being nominated can have on their lives.”

Since the awards launched in 2012, there have been 101 winners and hundreds more young people who have benefitted from the recognition of being nominated.

The charity says 80 per cent of past nominees reported a significant boost to their self-confidence and aspirations and said they were more likely to try something new as a result.

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The Community of Purpose team have come up with a list of tips to help people with their nominations:

1.    Give as much detail as possible in your nomination to help the judges get to know the young person you’re describing and understand what they have done.

2.    Explain why you have nominated them for the particular category you’ve chosen.

3.    It doesn’t have to be beautifully written – the judges want to know the details, but they won’t be judging spelling, grammar or layout.

4.    If you’re worried about including details that may be personal to the nominee, be reassured that all entries are treated as completely confidential. Nothing will be shared publicly without agreement with the nominee.

5.    Make sure you nominate with plenty of time to spare. Nominations will close on Monday, March 28.

6.    If you have any questions about filling in the nominations form or need a hand, get in touch with the Community of Purpose team by emailing hello@communityofpurpose.com or calling 0117 382 5452.

Enter a nomination by filling in the online form: www.communityofpurpose.com/nominate/.

Main photo of Shelena Artman Enterprise Hero 2021 winner with Bryony from Bake Off – photo: Studio Duo 

Read more: The programme supporting young people to be the change they want to see

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