INSPIRING young people took centre stage at the town’s Peace Centre for the annual Warrington Youth Awards.
Children, young people, parents, carers, and representatives of the business and charity sector gathered to recognisesthe achievements of children and young people from across Warrington and also celebrated the people and organisations that support young people.
Over 130 people of all ages joined Onside Warrington Youth Club to celebrate the amazing achievements of local children and young people. Jaspers Catering provided a beautiful afternoon tea and guests enjoyed entertainment from a young lady involved in the performing arts project, ‘Immortal Dreams’.
The ceremony was supported by local businesses and charities including European Metal Recycling (EMR), Sharples Group, The Briggs Charitable Trust, Amathus, Nichols plc, Xpress Legal, Jaspers Catering, Adele Carr Financial Recruitment, Faisal Rashid MP and Wire FM who took to the stage to award certificates and trophies to young people on recognition of their achievements in categories such as:
Learning & Achievement, Arts, Music and Theatre, Sport, Young Entrepreneur, Young Volunteer, Personal Journey, Inspiring Young People to Achieve, Business of the Year, Sport, Community Impact and Future Leaders. A full list of categories, winners and sponsors along with pictures of the day will be available on Warrington Youth Clubs website very soon! www.warringtonyouthclub.co.uk
This year’s ceremony ended with the Candice Roberts Award, which commemorates a young woman who volunteered for Onside Warrington Youth Club before her life was tragically cut short on her 26th Birthday as a result of Guillain-Barré Syndrome. The Candice Roberts Award was presented by Cheryl Siddall, Candice’s sister, and recognised a young person who has overcome extreme challenges. The award was presented to Emily Hannon, a young lady that despite her own difficulties has continued to support other young people in Warrington, never giving up despite how she was feeling and becoming a true inspiration for young people.
Dave McNicholl, Chief Executive of Onside Warrington Youth Club, commented: “This event has been a true reminder of the amazing impact young people can have on their local community. Every nominee should be incredibly proud of the difference they have made, not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of other young people across Warrington.”
Mark Brocklehurst, Chair of Onside Warrington Youth Club, stated, “ The Youth Awards has been a fantastic event which has provided a platform for the business community of Warrington to both support and recognise the incredible and inspirational efforts of Young People. The future of Warrington is looking very bright!”
“We would like to express our gratitude to the High Sheriff of Cheshire, Mrs Sarah Callander-Beckett, and to the business community for supporting this event. We look forward to working with them in the future.”
The Winners:
Arts, Music & Theatre: Mcualey Watson
“Mcualey is a very talented young man and he welcome any opportunity to sing and play instruments, he is a genuinely gifted, polite and respectful and thoroughly deserves this accolade, I hope that Mcualey further develops his musical skills and I look forward to watching him on stage one day soon!”
The Business of the Year Award Winner: Kier
Kier Group plc is a leading property, residential, construction and services group which invests in, builds, maintains and renews the places where we work, live and play. They operate across a range of sectors including defence, education, housing, industrials, power, transport and utilities. Kier have a strong community and CSR ethic and actively promote not only Onside Warrington Youth Club but also the Youth Zone network, they support Fundraising and Patron development within their own networks and contacts and have attended events such as the Albert Schloss celebration, NCS Graduation, the Queens Award Celebration and the Youth Zone showcase event in December.
The Candice Roberts Award Winner: Emily Hannon
Emily is a wonderful girl, despite recovering from her own issues, she has continued with her involvement with Warrington Youth Club and in 2016, Emily took part in the NCS programme – graduating in September 2016. Since then she has gone on to be crowned Miss Teen Cheshire, has supported others, raised money for charity and spoken to other businesses on behalf of Onside Warrington Youth Club, she is an inspiration to all….
Community Impact Winner: The Warrington Wolves Foundation ‘Young Trustees’
The Young Trustees organised the Youth Mental Health conference to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of Mental Health and aimed the conference at local high schools. It was attended by over 125 young people and a variety of local services including Papyrus, State of mind sport and Warrington Public Health.
Recognising the fact that 75% of mental ill health starts before the age of 18 they decided to do something positive….. They spoke to and listened to their peers and developed a programme of activities that answered the questions and concerns of many young people in the town, they aimed to reduce stigma and raise awareness and we are very proud to present them with their award
The Future Leader Award Winner: Jonathan Hackett
When Jonathan was introduced to Warrington Youth Parliament, and It’s safe to say he was very anxious, but through the support of his buddy became more confident and relaxed in the group. Jonathan is very empathetic towards others this with his knack for articulation and ability to pick up on the thoughts, feelings and views of other ensures that Jonathan really puts forward the thoughts of his peers and he is thriving within the Youth Parliament
Inspiring young people to achieve Award Winner: Mark Jones & Zoe Lancaster
Mark is a very inspirational man, he took his vision of engaging with the community for the benefit of local children and made it a reality, He worked tirelessly organising and fundraising for the event and has become a firm supporter of Onside Warrington Youth Club. Both Mark and Onside Warrington Youth Club would also like to recognise Zoe Lancaster, a very inspiring lady who also worked non-stop to ensure the event took place
Learning & Achievement Award Winner: Marcus Wilton
Marcus is a totally different person to whom he was back in 2014. He is more confident, more outgoing and also socially far more confident. So much so, Marcus is now talking to professionals and large groups about how having ADHD And ASD affects him. His talks stretch to Conferences together with school visits, allowing other young people who may feel isolated, similar to how Marcus used to as a result of his ADHD and ASD, to realise that support is available and also that its “okay to feel different”.
Personal Journey Award Winner: Levi Rushton
Levi is now attending full time education, he has learned to ride a bike and has improved his health enormously. He has shown courage and bravery to achieve this and has become a bright confident young person with a vibrant personality and a positive future ahead.
Sports Award: Leon Hoey
Leon is committed, brave, dedicated and passionate about sport and does not let his condition hold him back. He is so committed to Rugby that recently whilst recovering from an operation, (that he says ‘will help him play more Rugby’) he spent his time in hospital passing a rugby ball around the ward…..
The Young Entrepreneur Award Winner: Lucy Blakely, Kat Botez, Ellie Shillcock
These entrepreneurial young ladies, not only pitched at Vimto head office….they won the competition and were invited to visit the House of Lords in London with the Vimto team and Baroness Helen Newlove. Vimto loved the concept of the machine and whilst it didn’t promote gambling, it was a fun and safe risk for customers…
Young Volunteer of the Year Award Winner: Brodie Carr
Brodie is an inspirational young man, he has gone on to organise regular FoodBank collections and takes his school friends along to the Foodbank to volunteer too, he collects his pocket money and saves it to buy treats and chocolates that he hands out to the homeless in Manchester, he has also recently started to volunteer at ‘The Room at the In’’ where he cooks, bakes and collects toiletries for the homeless and his plan for the future is to collect enough unwanted toys and gifts so no child in Warrington will go without a Birthday present.
