Nominations for young Flintshire volunteers now open

A Flintshire volunteering award for young people aged 14 to 25 will be decided from today, 16 November, until 11 December.

Flintshire Local Voluntary Council (FLVC) set the award up after the passing of Tom Jones, one of their founding trustees whose work as a long-standing Flintshire County Council and community councillor earned him an OBE.

The opening of nominations will coincide with the seventh annual ‘I Will Week’, which is designed to make participation in social action the norm for young people.

FLVC say the ‘Tom Jones Award’ will be for those ‘deserving recognition of their outstanding contribution to volunteering in Flintshire’.

Ann Woods, Chief Officer at FLVC, said: “It has been an honour to remember and celebrate the life of our late friend Tom with this annual award.

“A nomination is a great way to show appreciation and to give thanks to a community-minded young person – all the nomination form asks for is a short paragraph explaining why the nominee deserves the award.

“COVID-19 has prompted a surge in volunteering, and many young people haven’t hesitated to help local people in need so we’re proudly anticipating more nominations than ever this year.”

In previous years, the ‘Tom Jones Award’ has been given to Kirsty Ann Hughes, nominated in 2017 for her contribution to Girlguiding West Flintshire, as well as Chloe-Ann Brooks, recognised in 2018 for supporting activities which benefitted the Saltney community and representing its young people on the Town Council.

Last year, James Reynolds earned the honour for his commitment to Saltney Ferry Scout Group and the wider scout movement across Wales.

This year’s ‘I Will Week’ features online sessions which combine to create ‘The Power of Youth Festival’ and are open to all – www.powerofyouth.iwill.org.uk.

Nomination forms for the 2020 ‘Tom Jones Award’ can be downloaded from the homepage of the FLVC website, www.flvc.org.uk, requested by telephoning 01352 74400, or emailing [email protected].

The winner will be announced at an awards event planned for early next year.