Celebrating Blackpool’s Shining Community Stars

The stars were shining brightly at Blackpool Coastal Housing’s Community Awards ceremony held to recognise the achievements and contributions customers and community members have made throughout the past year.

Over 130 community volunteers and invited guests, including the Mayor of Blackpool Cllr Gillian Campbell, attended the ceremony held at Blackpool’s Imperial Hotel to celebrate the fantastic contributions made by individuals and community groups in strengthening and developing our local communities.

John Donnellon, Chief Executive of Blackpool Coastal Housing, said “The awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the work our customers and residents do to help strengthen and develop both our local communities and the services we provide at BCH.

“It was the first time we have been able to hold the awards in person since 2019 , it was great to see so many of our involved customers and community groups attending the event and I would like to personally congratulate all who were nominated, those that were highly commended and of course the winners of each award – well done!”

Good Neighbour

Highly Commended -Sharon Hymers - for helping new neighbours become part of their local community and for providing support to vulnerable residents.

Winner - Karen Trigg of Aysgarth Court - for the fantastic amount of support she offers, with one nomination describing Karen as “such a helpful and willing person and such a friend to so many”. Another nomination received explained; ”she deserves recognition for helping people to remain in their own homes, amongst other things she provides support with daily tasks and drives people to/from appointments, and also volunteers in her local community, she’s such a deserving person…I don’t know how she fits it all in!”

Community Champion

Highly Commended - Pauline Fitch and Linda Chapman of Sevenoaks-  for their hard work and dedication to their local community through the activities and events they organise and run at their local Sevenoaks Community Centre.

Joint Winners -  The Memory Girls and Kitchen Divas of Revoe for their collaborative work in combating social isolation and breathing community spirit into their local Community Centre at Ibbison Court. An overwhelming number of nominations were received and just some of them exclaimed; “it’s a fantastic place”, “can’t wait to come each week, what a wonderful job they do”, “I can’t praise the volunteers enough, and the homemade meals are wonderful”.

Working Together

Highly Commended- Patricia Rawson - for her work with BCH on the TOWER Scrutiny Panel and for also playing a key role in her local community as Chair of the South Shore Community Group. Local recovery organisation Jobs, Friends and Houses was also highly commended for their work in building a strong recovery community in Blackpool, allowing people to thrive, not just survive, reconnecting families and bringing people together.

Winner -BCH Complaints Panel - for their commitment to ensuring BCH’s complaints process is fair and robust. The group of customer volunteers are supportive, empathetic and provide an impartial view from a customer perspective, helping to achieve successful outcomes for all parties.

Inspiration

Highly Commended - Ellen Shakespeare - for overcoming her personal barriers to volunteer each week at the A-Shed – a group for autistic people which helps to create a safe and secure environment for them to come together and access support and training.

Joint Winner - John Watton and Khristy Wood.  The complete life transformation John Watton has achieved in just over three years was recognised by the judges; from years in prison and in addiction, to sustained recovery and being employed with JFH to support others on their recovery journey. Khristy’s role in the Grange Park community and overcoming her personal barriers to achieve full-time employment was also highlighted by the judges.

Great and Green

Highly Commended - Roy Perkins and John Crellin - for their commitment to their local community in Bispham, helping to maintain the neighbourhood and Lowmoor Community Centre garden.

Winner - Aysgarth’s gardening group “Roots and Shoots” - for the development and ongoing maintenance of their community garden, which includes growing produce for local residents to enjoy.

Young Leader

Winners - Highfield Helpers. Established in 2018, the group of pupils from Highfield Leadership Academy have provided invaluable support to some of Blackpool’s elderly and more vulnerable residents. From its inception over 6 years ago as an intergenerational IT club to boost resident’s confidence when going online, the Highfield Helpers are a true inspiration and were instrumental in tackling social isolation and loneliness during the Coronavirus pandemic with their Pen-Pal and Kindness Calls projects. Thanks to this, the pupils are developing a strong social conscience and making a difference to the lives of others whilst improving their own communication and leadership skills. Highfield Leadership Academy pupils Nabil, Izzy, Astrid, Layla-May, Spencer, Katie, Maisy, Darci, Lola, Jason and Macy were each presented with certificates to recognise this fantastic work and a glass award was provided to the school.      

Residents Choice

Highly Commended - Gwen Holt and Sharon Roberts - for their voluntary work in their local Revoe community. Known simply as a “lifeline” for residents, they help people to fill their lives with new friends, activities, day trips and events to look forward to as part of their Wellbeing hub.

Winner -Jennifer Munday, also known as “Grange Park’s gift” - who has dedicated her time to volunteering and helping with anything and everything from the local Scouts club to manning the reception desk @The Grange to knitting hats for Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s Neo-Natal Unit, Jennifer is a true unsung community hero.

Resident of the Year

Highly commended - Sue Robinson and the TOWER Scrutiny Panel - for their involvement with BCH in reviewing and developing services for the benefit of all customers.

Winner - Maggie Gregson was crowned Resident of the Year for her commitment to the Bostonway community. She organises regular activities and events at the local Community Centre and delivers to food to those unable to get there.

Longstanding Commitment

David Shakespeare was recognised for dedicating over 15 years of his life to making sure tenants are listened to. During his time with TOWER Scrutiny Panel, he completed 17 service reviews with hundreds of recommendations being implemented as a result, improving service delivery and ensuring a customer focus. David’s knowledge, input and commitment has helped to shape services and ensure that customer views are at the heart of service delivery and decisions, making him truly deserving of this award.

The awards were sponsored by Read and Errington, Tyson, North Liverpool Construction, HUWS Gray, J&F Drainage, 3D Environmental, First 2 Help You, Bambers, Technical and Electrical Services and 5-AM Contract Cleaning.