25.03.08
Rewarding Community Spirit

Local charities and community groups have been rewarded for their hard work with nominations for the 2008 Spirit of Merseyside Awards.

The Spirit of Merseyside Awards, run by Community Foundation for Merseyside, recognises the work done by Merseyside's vibrant voluntary and community sector by holding a major awards ceremony.

From nearly 1000 projects funded by Community Foundation for Merseyside last year thirty-six groups, organisations and individuals have been shortlisted across nine different award categories - with the winners being decided by a public vote on the Community Foundation’s website.

This year's ceremony, held on Tuesday 3 June at the BT Convention Centre, will be the biggest yet with a speech from Community Foundation Patron, Cherie Blair, and the introduction of new categories including "Celebrity Champion of the Year", an award recognising the support given to local charities by celebrities.

Community Foundation for Merseyside's Chief Executive, Dave Roberts, said: "The Spirit of Merseyside Awards aims to be the biggest community awards celebration on Merseyside. Last year we funded around 1000 community projects and it is vital that the work they've done is recognised by the public, private and community sectors. We hope that such a high profile event will encourage people from all walks of life to become active in their communities - either by making donations or by supporting community groups with their skills and expertise."

This year groups were encouraged to nominate themselves before a panel of community leaders shortlisted a final 36 projects, which will be voted for online with the winners being announced at the event.


The nominees are;

Cultural Champions
Kaleidoscope Art, Art for Their Sake, Una Voce Opera Company and Liverpool Academy of Arts.

Enterprising Communities Award
Young Enterprise North West, Liverpool Centre for Arts Development, Kensington Vision and Saints Community Development Foundation.

United Communities Award
Arabic Cultural Foundation, Chaturangan, Choose Life: The Prisoners Initiative and United Residents Association.

Health and Well-being Award
Halton Access to Sports Forum (HATS), WRVS Fruit and Veg Co-operative Scheme, Carouselles Morris Dancers and South Sefton Gymnastics.

The Green Machine Award
Merseyside & West Lancashire Bat Group, Moreton Adult Training Centre, St Sebastian's Garden Project and Littlewoods of Stockbridge Association.

Children and Young People
Halton Foster Care Association, The Butterflies Project, Formby Youth Theatre and Rampworx.

People's Company of the Year
The Keepmoat Foundation, Medicash, Alliance & Leicester and The Royal Liver Group.

Funding Pioneer of the Year
Run Liverpool, Medicash, Unilever and Merseyside Police.

Celebrity Champion of the Year
Ricky Tomlinson, Jimmy McGovern, Mike Bennett, Ken Dodd and Johnny Vegas.

For more details about this press release please contact Joe Wilson at Community Foundation for Merseyside on 0151 966 3566 or email: joe.wilson@cfmerseyside.org.uk