07 October 2008The voluntary work of a number of young people from the District was recognised recently at the second ever Young Volunteer of the Year award ceremony.
The winner and two runners up were presented with their prizes at Sevenoaks District Council Offices by the Chairman of the Council, Cllr Felicity Broomby.
The winner of the award was 16 year-old Sarah Sturrock of Sevenoaks who was nominated for her award by her mother.
Described as committed to making her community a better place and working hard to put it into practice, Sarah attends twice weekly volunteering placements through VSU Youth In Action with blind and disabled children at Dorton House and Valence School, and also undertakes voluntary work during the summer holidays with young children.
Sarah manages to fit in around five or six hours of volunteering a week around her school work and other activities and very rarely misses a commitment.
As a member of the VSU Youth Committee, and the Middle School Committee at Sevenoaks School Sarah has come up with a lot of her own fund-raising ideas such as a ‘Vision Strike’ which let her, along with some friends, experience what it is like to be blind for four days, raising a considerable amount of money for local groups in the process.
Praised for the positive impact she has on the children she works with and her peers, Sarah was commended for encouraging others, who normally would not participate, to join her volunteering or fundraising ideas.
Sarah received £100 in High Street vouchers for herself, and a £200 cheque went to VSU Youth in Action, to help them continue to support young volunteers
Two runners up each received £50 in High Street vouchers, with an £100 cheque going to the organisation that nominated them.
The runners up were Edward Bankes, aged 16, from Sevenoaks and Eleanor Selleck aged 18 from Kemsing.
Eleanor Selleck was nominated by 2nd Kemsing Guides where she has been volunteering for four years, with her dedication helping the unit to flourish. She is also a volunteer at her local church youth group.
Described as a capable leader as well as being caring, supportive and encouraging, she has been involved in organising activities and supervising the girl guides on countless Friday evenings.
Eleanor was also praised for the outstanding commitment she has shown by completing her Young Leader Qualification and moving on to almost complete the Adult Leadership Scheme too.
The other runner up, Edward Bankes, was commended for the significant contribution he has made to projects running in Sevenoaks and Tonbridge through VSU Youth in Action, who nominated him for the award.
A volunteer for over 18 months now, Edward’s leadership skills have been noted as greatly improving during this time - he will now often take the lead when organising games or activities with young children at one of the after-school clubs he attends.
Edward is also a member of the VSU Youth Committee and is regularly involved in fund raising events.
The remaining nominees were all presented with certificates in recognition of their achievements.
Cllr Elaine Bracken, the Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for young people’s issues, says: "The voluntary efforts of young people often go unnoticed, which is why we introduced the Young Volunteer of the Year award scheme – to recognise and celebrate the contributions they make. Every single young person who attended the ceremony deserves enormous credit for their dedication to helping others in their own time, and for giving other people opportunities they may not otherwise experience."
Residents of the District were invited to nominate young people for the award throughout February and March using nomination forms available from Sevenoaks District Council, town and parish councils, libraries, community and voluntary youth groups and schools and online via the Council website.
The scheme was organised and funded by Sevenoaks District Council to further recognise and celebrate young people’s voluntary contributions and achievements.
The award ceremony took place on Thursday 15 May.
