The winners of the 2008 Young Achievers Award are:
Sport Category (16-19)
Gareth Swift – 19
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Gareth set up a junior football project in his local sports centre for ‘at risk kids’. He encourages the young people to help him raise money for equipment and to cover the cost of hiring the sports hall as well as arranging tournaments against local schools and youth groups.
Sport Category (20-25)
Rikki Colegate – 21
Rikki had been in a group of NEETS (Not in education, training and employment) from a run down estate in Bournemouth. Rikki became part of a local football team and through these links he set up a freestyling football group which for the last year has run every week to teach young people football tricks and engage hard to reach young people.
Community (16-19)
Nathan Ball – 18
Nathan dropped out of school after severe bullying left him emotionally scarred. He then set up and anti-bullying project which runs artistic competitions to promote issues surrounding bullying. Nathan has taken these entries and uses them to go into local schools with other volunteers to talk in assemblies.
Community (20-25)
Dean Kamanzi – 22
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Dean became involved in the Crisis youth volunteering programme as a young homeless person at a crisis shelter. Dean dedicated over 10 hours a week for 3 months to organise a music event for homeless artists. He worked with all the other team members making sure that everyone was able to contribute to the project
Environment (16-19)
Nick Marshall – 18
Nick has ADHD and left school with no qualifications. Nick became involved in the BTCV conservation centre at Hollybush, Leeds and from there has volunteered every week and developed a passion for gardening and horticulture, even completing an NVQ level 1. Nick’s enthusiasm and work ethic make him a role model which other volunteers look up to and which has helped the project turn round “challenging” young people.
Environment (20-25)
Emma Fulwood – 22
Emma has supported a National Trust initiative in local schools working with 140 children to explore the concept of ecological footprints and sustainability. She worked with the children, planning sessions and designing graphics to visually show them the differences they had made to teh environment.
Arts (16-19)
Pip Goodwin – 17
Pip became involved in Collective Encounters, a professional arts organisation in Liverpool, as an alternative to formal education. She chairs and coordinates the young peoples steering group. She is a strong advocate for the youth theatre and is highly proactive in engaging her peers to become involved in the theatre as well as volunteering for the theatre.
Arts (20-25)
Ryan Harston – 23
Ryan has been instrumental in setting up and running dance competitions in his local area. These included “battle of the bounce” which aimed to unite individuals through dance. By running workshops in local schools he targeted areas such as self respect, leadership and communication. His other project Da Urban Leap introduced disadvantaged young people to the art of dance, building the confidence of all the people involved.
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