Over 150 guests attended a gala dinner to celebrate Barnet’s community heroes. Now in its 8th year the Barnet Group Community Awards ceremony was held at the Sangam Centre, and guests included nominees, sponsors, as well as trustees and staff of The Barnet Group, with awards being presented by the Mayor of Barnet, Tony Vourou.
This year saw some incredible nominations submitted by Barnet Homes and Opendoor Homes residents, staff, voluntary and community partners from across Barnet who wanted to acknowledge those who have made a positive impact in their communities.
Elliott Sweetman, Interim CEO of The Barnet Group said, “It is with great pride and joy that I present this year’s outstanding nominations and share the inspiring stories of the remarkable individuals and groupsthat make up our Barnet community. 2024 was a year of resilience and growth. Despite the ongoing challenges posed by the cost-of-living crisis and a rapidly changing world, our community continues to thrive. The true strength of Barnet lies in its diversity and its ability to come together as one. These nominations are a testament to the incredible people who embody the spirit of unity and determination that defines our community.”
The Mayor of Barnet, Cllr Tony Vourou is a great believer in community work, thanked all the volunteers who do such a tremendous job. The Community Awards coordinator, Deborah Beckford said, “Year on year the Community Awards have grown and it is getting harder to pick an outright winner because to us they are all winners. The event is so uplifting and inspirational, to celebrate the amazing work that groups and individuals do in our communities and to say thank you! These are our unsung heroes, and we are privileged to work alongside them and support them where we can.”
The winners were:
- Good Neighbour
Margaret Lacey - Community Project of the Year
Barnet Dementia-Friendly Walking Football Team - Community Group of the Year
Green Man Management Group - Voluntary Sector Group or Charity of the Year
Unitas Youth Zone - Young Volunteer of the Year (under 25)
Maryam Omer Ali - Volunteer of the Year (over 25)
Kelly Hui - Social Value and Customer Service Award
Vallectric
Voluntary Sector Group or Charity of the Year
Unitas, Barnet Youth Zone
Robin Moss, Chief Executive, Unitas said, “This award is a huge honour and a recognition of the life-changing work happening at Unitas every day. In a time when youth services are under immense strain, awards like this highlight just how vital spaces like Unitas are for the future of our community. This award belongs to every staff member, volunteer, young person, and supporter who makes Unitas what it is.”
Volunteer of the Year (over 25)
Kelly Huii
Kelly said, “It’s good that I can use my IT skills to contribute to my community. I didn’t expect to win the award, but it’s the icing on the cake!”
Young Volunteer of the Year (under 25)
Maryam Omer Ali
Good Neighbour
Margaret Lacey
Margaret was ecstatic and said, “It feels fabulous at my age to win something and recognition for what I’ve been doing to help my neighbours out.”
Community Group of the Year
Green Man Management Group
Helen Shannon from Green Man Management Group said, “We’re delighted to win this award for our community!”
Contactor Social Value and Customer Service Award
Vallectric
Vallectric’s Michelle McGovern said, “To our surprise the evening ended on an incredible high for us as Vallectric as we were awarded Social Value Contractor of the Year! We are thrilled, humbled and incredibly grateful to receive this award. It has been a privilege to be able to support the local community and work alongside some fantastic charities who make a real difference in people lives. We are extremely proud of the positive impact we have made so far and look forward to continuing strengthening
our community partnerships as well as finding new ways to support those who need it most in 2025.”
Community Project of the Year
Barnet Dementia-Friendly Walking Football Team
Shaun Sherrick, from the Walking Football team said, “We’re so very proud of winning and continuing to support those on the dementia path. It’s about Community coming together.”